Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

Republican also-rans: four mules fighting over a turnip.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

People are weird.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

the 10% who apparently lack object permanence

Republicans do not pay their debts.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

Radicalized white males who support Trump are pitching a tent in the abyss.

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Innocent people do not delay justice.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

We can’t confuse what’s necessary to win elections with the policies that we want to implement when we do.

The willow is too close to the house.

“Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.”

America is going up in flames. The NYTimes fawns over MAGA celebrities. No longer a real newspaper.

How any woman could possibly vote for this smug smarmy piece of misogynistic crap is beyond understanding.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2018 / Well, I’m On My Way I Don’t Know Where I’m Going

Well, I’m On My Way I Don’t Know Where I’m Going

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Let me say up front that I like Junius Rodriguez. He is the only viable Democrat running against unrepentant ZEGS fellator Darin LaHood, our current rep. And Junius works hard. Since last summer, he’s been going to every rubber-chicken dinner that can draw five cranky county Democrats between here and the Mississippi. He just posted that he’ll be attending fifty events in the next thirty days. He’s run before, knows how to do it, and has a relationship with all the local Dems. Since he’s a history prof at Reagan’s alma mater, Eureka College, it would be sweet if he could oust our local political princeling. (Darin is the son of beloved bipartisanship bemoaner, former representative, and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood).

But when I read stuff like this:

and this…

… my enthusiasm deflates.

IL-18 is very red. It is a weird-looking district that includes about half of my town and some, but not all, of Peoria and Springfield. Republican candidates carried the district by around fifty points in the last three elections. I’m no gerrymanderologist, but it’s always seemed to me that the district was designed to keep it Republican, in spite of the fact that Democrats drew it up in 2010.

I’m not saying that Junius should go all Dennis Kucinich. That would be absurd and, I’m pretty sure, not his style anyway. Still, I feel like he is trying to peel off a few Republican votes with the kind of posturing above. Rather than make Sensible Centrist his brand, I would prefer he run as an out-and-proud Democrat. Tell us why Democrats are great, Junius! Not how you can feel like a conservative, but not vote for the Republican. All that being said, I will give him as much money and time as my resources allow.

In the marketplace of elections, however, there are more inspiring candidates running for local and–should Daniel Biss beat billionaire chickenheart J.B. Pritzker in the upcoming gubernatorial primary–even statewide office. And I think it’s natural for people, even if they are pragmatically inclined, to give just a little bit more to campaigns that dare to articulate something more ambitious.

But hey! At least we’re fielding someone here. We need to field someone everywhere.  So let’s heap more onto the fund that’s split between all eventual Democratic nominees in House districts currently held by Republicans.

Goal Thermometer

Reader Interactions

187Comments

  1. 1.

    Mike J

    , I would prefer he run as an out-and-proud Democrat.

    And make it clear that no Democrat anywhere wants “excessive” federal spending. We want spending on the right things. Democrats have been the party of fiscal responsibility as long as I’ve been alive. It’s stupid to cede the idea to Republicans.

  3. 3.

    Barbara

    @eemom: Then the radical priest come to get me released and we were all on the cover of Newsweek . . .

    My mother loved Paul Simon and always thought that line was so funny.

  4. 4.

    WaterGirl

    Jewish Steel, I would love it if you would share your thoughts about the Democratic primary for governor. I have a visceral dislike for J.B. Pritzker but I know nothing about him besides his being another rich white man who wants to run my state.

    So i haven’t really tuned in yet, so I guess I am being lazy and hoping you will give me a good jump start. In any case, I appreciate all your posts here.

  7. 7.

    different-church-lady

    “Federal spending is always good!” has never made any more sense to me than “Federal spending is always bad!” Just sayin’…

  10. 10.

    Mandalay

    it’s always seemed to me that the district was designed to keep it Republican, in spite of the fact that Democrats drew it up in 2010

    I don’t doubt that. The goal of gerrymandering is not to win every seat. It is to ensure that overall your party has an unfair advantage over the opposition in terms of representation through redistricting, and that approach specifically involves gifting certain districts to the opposition.

  11. 11.

    efgoldman

    @Jewish Steel:

    The kind of line you would write a whole song around.

    One of the great songwriters of the last 50 years. And he made it look so easy (which it most definitely is not)

  12. 12.

    Mike J

    @WaterGirl: John Green released a video supporting a candidate yesterday. His guy sounds good, but Green always annoys me when he talks politics. He goes on about how the phrase “just another politician” is reductive and ignores the fact that every politician is an actual human with his or her own ideas about making things better. And then strongly implies that this is really only true of his candidate and a rich guy and “an actual Kennedy” must be up to no good.

    Green consistently advocates liberal policy positions and then says it’s rude to call somebody a white supremacist. He desperately wants to have meaningful policy discussions with people of good faith on the other side of the issues and refuses to acknowledge that for the most part they don’t exist.

  13. 13.

    Jager

    You know if he hadn’t stoplight dragged his Ciera every time he got a chance, he’d still be driving the shit box today. Rodriguez could have spent a few bucks with Earl Schieb and Rusty Jones and taken care of that body rot too. Shame on him for beating a fine machine like that Ciera to death with a total lack of maintenance.

  14. 14.

    Jewish Steel

    @WaterGirl: Early on I was interested in Kennedy. For all the obvious reasons. But he has turned out to be a dreadful candidate. There is a reason he hasn’t entered public service before now. Negative charisma. He might be a great guy, a capable administrator, but he is a stumbling, inarticulate public speaker. He has overcome a pronounced stammer. That’s great, but he can’t express himself clearly or with any force. That’s a deal breaker.

    JB is a corrupt billionaire. https://pritzkerpapers.wordpress.com/

    The only thing I don’t like about Daniel Biss (full disclosure, my wife is managing the campaign of one of his downstate surrogates) is that he has courted the Bernie vote pretty heavily, but I’m not sure where else he could have started since the Illinois D machine got behind Pritzker very early on. Everything else seems good. Articulate, very intelligent, campaigns like a motherfucker.

    I’m mostly following my wife’s lead on this one. She has met him and heard him speak multiple times and thinks he is great.

  15. 15.

    Jewish Steel

    @rikyrah: Yeah, I think he does. But I’m not sure I trust him to know the new atmosphere. Women, who are much to the left of the old union democratic guard, are swarming the party and things are changing quickly around here.

  16. 16.

    The Lodger

    @Barbara: The cover of Newsweek… one of those things Paul Simon wrote about that’s on the verge of extinction (also see: Kodachrome.)

  17. 17.

    WindyCityCat

    @Jewish Steel: I haven’t been able to dive into the details yet for researching candidates, but all I’ve heard is Biss is the great progressive hope, and Pritzker has both IL Senators campaigning for him. Certainly seems that I have no reason to vote for him in the primary, but will look into Biss more given that there don’t seem to be any other real viable alternatives. Appreciate the info Jewish Steel.

  18. 18.

    Major Major Major Major

    I’m no gerrymanderologist, but it’s always seemed to me that the district was designed to keep it Republican, in spite of the fact that Democrats drew it up in 2010.

    I seem to recall that Illinois democrats are quite famous for politicking as dirtily as republicans, and this is something you would do if you were gerrymandering.

  20. 20.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: That much I know! I loathe that man so much that I can’t even say his name.

    I’m just looking for the best candidate with the best chance of winning. Who do you like / not like?

  21. 21.

    Jeffro

    Josh Marshall at TPM has a pretty good take on how last week’s “Trump/Russia skeptics” are ignoring the obvious:

    Over the weekend, several prominent news media figures announced themselves as Trump/Russia skeptics. Politico’s Blake Hounshell seemed to kick off the discussion with this essay. This isn’t “fake news” type skepticism. It’s much more focused and I think reasonable. These folks fully grant the extensive and multi-pronged Russian effort to interfer in the 2016 election. That involved fake news, email hacking, and multiple approaches to Trump associates to gauge interest in working together. The skepticism is whether we’ll ever find a proven and explicit agreement between President Trump and Vladimir Putin or some other similarly high level Russian official to collaborate in subverting the 2016 election. If not documented proof of such an agreement then at least well-attested evidence of the same.

    Relatedly, they say that the Trump campaign just didn’t seem organized enough to manage a full-blown conspiracy (a frequent explanation from the Trumpers themselves) and that if they had Trump is too impulsive and intemperate not to have spilled the beans by talking.
    I wanted to respond to these claims and doubt both because I partly agree with them but also because I think this read is based on basic misunderstandings of the nature of offensive intelligence operations and, simply, human nature.
    First to the agreement. I’m also skeptical that we’re ever going to find this kind of formal and explicit agreement between Trump and Putin (what Hounshell calls the “silver bullet”) to conspire together at the very highest levels. My skepticism springs from a few sources. One is my simple skepticism of all bad behavior – both my bane and salvation as a reporter. The other is that I’m just skeptical of things for which I have yet to see clear evidence.

    So what’s my problem with the skepitcs? It has a few levels – but they all unite on one key point.
    First, the manifest disorganization of the Trump operation and whether they had their shit together enough to conspire with anyone. This has always struck me as a basic misunderstanding of how spy work operates. Perhaps also human nature. Spies looking to infiltrate, compromise and direct a foreign organization look precisely for chaotic and disorganized contexts. They look for gullible people. They look for pleasers. They look for people who are desperate, broke, blackmail-able. These are all features, not bugs. This must have made the Trump campaign an irresistible target for Russia. Because it had all the key vulnerability points in spades. I think anyone who makes this argument really doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
    The shambling character of the Trump campaign does suggest that the campaign itself likely wasn’t a foreign intelligence operation – as in, Vladimir Putin called up Donald Trump one day, told him he was running for president and that he would be setting him up with a crew of trained operatives to staff out his campaign. But this is of course a ludicrous theory and almost insanely high bar for what counts as a problem.

    Yup.

    As I wrote a month ago, one thing that makes me think the fix wasn’t totally in from the start is precisely the evidence we have of all the contacts. If Trump had a firm understanding or partnership with Russian spies or Vladimir Putin at the outset, why all the cold approaches? That doesn’t quite fit. If anything it’s a potential source of danger. Why send a cut-out to meet with Don Jr. at Trump Tower or strike up a connection with George Papadopoulos? All these pieces of evidence, among the most damning we know of, suggest the relationship was being built over the course of the campaign, regardless of Trump’s pre-existing relationships in Russia.

    But the biggest problem with this skeptics argument is this idea that if that explicit and formal agreement doesn’t exist – the “smoking gun” as skeptic Blake Hounshell puts it – that there’s “nothing there.” This strikes me as entirely wrong, not only as a legal matter but far more as a civic matter. This is for many reasons but the principal one is that corrupt transactions are often tacit. You’re helping me. I’m helping you. It’s a good thing for both sides. No need to complicate it.
    We already know that Russian spies and cut outs made numerous approaches to Trump campaign staffers and, as far as we know, always got a positive reception. As Don Jr. put it, when presented with the possibility of getting dirt on Hillary Clinton from what was explicitly described as the Russian government trying to help elect Trump President, “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.”
    The Trump campaign, through multiple channels that we know about, made it clear repeatedly that they wanted to play ball. Repeatedly with a consistent message. Did Donald Trump himself know about or approve these contacts? I don’t know or rather don’t have proof. But you have to be terribly naive to think that Trump’s comically approval-starved son Don Jr didn’t loop his dad in on this great opportunity he’d come up with.

    Yup.

    But none of these are the key thing. That is this: For the second half of 2016 Donald Trump himself and his campaign knew that Russia was engaged in a wide ranging effort to subvert the 2016 campaign and to work to get him elected. Yet despite this knowledge he and his campaign continued to approve numerous contacts with Russian government officials, clandestine meetings, receive offers of assistance. He also continued to push a decidedly Russia friendly policy agenda, even to the point of threatening to short-circuit or abandon the NATO alliance – probably Russia’s principal foreign policy goal not only today but decades back into the Cold War. They continued to authorize all of this, continued to feel out the possible dimensions of the relationship and, critically, made no effort to contact the FBI or other relevant federal agencies about a plot they knew these agencies were tracking and trying to combat.

    And then here’s the kicker:

    He knew. He 100% knew. And yet they continued on with the contacts and clandestine discussions and public policy promises right up to election day and intensified them during the transition. Not once, as far as we know, did anyone associated with the Trump campaign or Trump himself speak to anyone from law enforcement or the intelligence community and say, “Hey, you told us about that interference campaign. This one guy contacted us and we had a few conversations with him. Just wanted you to know.”
    Not once.
    Of course, Trump or Jared Kushner or Paul Manafort or Don Jr might have said, “Hey, now that you mention it, we actually took this meeting in Trump Tower in June. And someone said it was the Russian government itself trying to give us dirt. We just wanted you to know.”
    Not once. None of that happened. To me this shows a clear consciousness of guilt and more specifically a desire to participate – ‘collaborate’ is probably the better word – in the Russian operation out of the view of the US government which was trying to prevent it.

    Yup. Bought and paid for.

    Note here that I haven’t even gotten into the after the fact obstruction…

    It’s a good piece.

  22. 22.

    WaterGirl

    @Mike J: You haven’t actually encouraged me to watch the Green video. :-) Well meaning just doesn’t cut it these days. Is there anybody you like / don’t like?

  24. 24.

    Yutsano

    @Jewish Steel: You could have stopped at billionaire. No more fucking rich businessmen who think their skills translate to smart governance. I have yet to see it work anywhere in the world.

    @WaterGirl: He likes me. Well he says he does anyway. I still need to try some of his kimchi.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    @Jewish Steel: Thank you, that’s super helpful! I have been tuning out the Republican ads where they are trying to tie JB to our governor who is in prison. Wait, that’s probably not clear enough. The last guy, the one who got into trouble re: Obama’s seat. I see the ad go by as I double-fast-forward with Tivo – is the R ad actually true for once?

  26. 26.

    trollhattan

    @Jager:
    Heh! “Stoplight dragging” a Ciera would be required in any change from resting state, given you’d have to floor it just to pull out of a parking space.

    Did any young person ever acquire one of those in an exchange not involving a dead, old relative?

  27. 27.

    Amir Khalid

    @Mike J:
    Just watched the video. Mr Best-selling YA Author doth seem a bit full of himself. Or maybe it’s just his bias for Biss showing. Obviously I haven’t followed the race for Illinois governor closely; are the Kennedy and the billionaire so bad?

  28. 28.

    Mike J

    @WaterGirl: I don’t live in Illinois, so I don’t really keep up with it. Biss seems like a fine candidate, but I don’t hold any personal animosity towards “establishment” candidates so I wouldn’t go all in (and in fact would be somewhat suspicious) of anyone who ran as anti-establishment.

  29. 29.

    patroclus

    Well, I’m for Biss, but I have my problems with him. For one thing, I’ve always believed that studying matroid bundles and studying real vector bundles were two distinct things and he’s argued in the Annals of Mathematics that there is no difference between them. And, he was the author of the pension reform law that was later declared unconstitutional because of the way it treated labor unions. Otherwise, he’s basically okay. Pritzker is from a very well known hotel magnate family which have been Dem contributors and philanthropists in the Chicago area for a looong time. I suspect I’m gonna be voting for him in November, so hating him now is probably not a good idea, but I really don’t trust him all that much. He’s been on TV with ads for almost a year and while they’re slickly produced and say all the right things, he’s basically over-saturated himself. And there’s something inherently wrong about the entire Illinois Dem establishment being for him. Kennedy would be okay as well, but I’ve watched the debates and he’s not exactly articulate about Illinois’ many problems.

    I’m centering in on Sameena Mustafa for Congress but have yet to make up my mind on AG. I might vote for Quinn, but the many many others deserve a look too. I’m still investigating them.

    Uh, about the gerrymandering, well, politics ain’t beanbag.

  31. 31.

    Ohio Mom

    Life in Ohio is simple: Cordray for governor.

    And if someone could please find a way to derail Kucinich as fast as possible… Just like Bernie, I remember the old days, when he was an amusing novelty and not a spoiler.

  32. 32.

    Matt

    He’s a history prof running as a “centrist” that’s “concerned about deficits”? So in other words, he’s either a scoundrel who’s pushing policies he knows don’t work (based on history) or he’s a piss-poor student of history.

  33. 33.

    Jewish Steel

    @Yutsano: The amount he is spending is obscene. It will likely top 50 million for the primary. How many democrats in toss up districts would that money elect?

    @WaterGirl: You’re welcome! I haven’t seen any ads myself, but it’s possible. Of course Rauner would make hay out of any oppo research no matter where it comes from.

  34. 34.

    WaterGirl

    @patroclus:

    And, he was the author of the pension reform law that was later declared unconstitutional because of the way it treated labor unions.

    Which one? Because for me that’s like saying, except for all the people he’s killed, so-and-so seems like a pretty good guy. They tried to take my pension away, so I will never vote for anyone who did that. Was that Biss?

  35. 35.

    Mike J

    @Ohio Mom:

    And if someone could please find a way to derail Kucinich as fast as possible… Just like Bernie, I remember the old days, when he was an amusing novelty and not a spoiler.

    Ask him why somebody who wanted to run for congress in Washington should hold elected office in Ohio.

  37. 37.

    WereBear

    @Yutsano: No more fucking rich businessmen who think their skills translate to smart governance.

    What skills? Most of them are like Mitt Romney; perfectly placed with a legal plan to loot the hard work of others.

  38. 38.

    eemom

    I always wanted to know what the mama saw that was against the law. Was disappointed to read somewhere that Paul S. said he had no idea.

  39. 39.

    Jewish Steel

    @patroclus:

    Well, I’m for Biss, but I have my problems with him. For one thing, I’ve always believed that studying matroid bundles and studying real vector bundles were two distinct things and he’s argued in the Annals of Mathematics that there is no difference between them.

    Alright, folks. Let’s try to keep it civil.

  40. 40.

    JoeyJoeJoe Junior Shabadoo

    Democrats packed the 18th with Republicans in order to make neighboring districts 13 and 17 more Democratic and the 18th was hopeless anyway- it voted narrowly for McCain even in it’s older less Republican version. The plan half worked, Dems won the 17th back in 2012. They almost won the 13th that year, and that district hasn’t elected a Dem in over half a century

  41. 41.

    Served

    @patroclus: The thing I’m most disappointed in with the Dem gubernatorial primary is that none of the candidates have any administrative experience to speak of. A huge chunk of the job is running the joint, and Rauner is a complete failure. Biss and Pritzker are nearly equal policy-wise, (Kennedy’s anti-marijuana stance is very odd) and they both have baggage going into a general. Rauner is scared of JB, hence the attack ads he’s been running. No matter who wins, Rauner’s strategy is gonna be Madigan Madigan Madigan so it just feels like a wash to me.

    The AG is a tough choice for me, but I have had too much Quinn in my life already, and it’s time for him to get a life outside office.

  43. 43.

    The Simp in the Suit

    @Jeffro:

    It’s a good piece.

    Yes, it is a good piece. Does anyone have thoughts on how to get the skeptics to grow up? A few days ago someone linked to a spoof re-write of the Gilbert and Sullivan song “I am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General,” something about being a Contrarian. Maybe we should invite them all to a reading of David Broder’s Best Columns [sic], and when they show up, lock the doors and force them to listen to this spoof covered by, oh, I don’t know, Anal Vomit, followed with a cover by the G&S Opera Company, back and forth, over and over, until their eyes and ears bleed.

    And then forget to unlock the doors.

  44. 44.

    WaterGirl

    Do any of you Illinois folks have the skinny on why Lisa Madigan isn’t running again as AG and why she isn’t running for Gov?

  45. 45.

    patroclus

    @Jewish Steel: It’s not just that. He did the math underlying the plot in An Abundance of Katherines that was written by Vlogbrothers co-creator John Green, which I thought was somewhat contrived and formulaic.

    @WaterGirl: It was SB 1 which he co-sponsored, which became law in 2013 and would have reduced some of the annuity payouts – the Ill. SC found it unconstitutional in 2015. It didn’t “take anybody’s pension away” but it would have reduced payments. It was the “compromise” that passed under Quinn which tried to solve the unfunded pension problem that has bedeviled Illinois for decades and has destroyed our bond rating.

  47. 47.

    Jeffro

    @The Simp in the Suit: I dunno. Can we figure out how to get Cole’s “Italian vs. tire rims and anthrax” onto a t-shirt or bumper sticker? Or should we just go with “The modern GOP is fucking nuts”?

  48. 48.

    Major Major Major Major

    OT: CNN reporting that Melania’s parents are probably here under what trump derides as “chain migration”. CNN neglects to report that she’s an illegal immigrant, but I’ll take what I can get.

  49. 49.

    Jager

    @trollhattan: One of our friend’s son inherited a 15 year old Ford Crown Vic from his grandmother. He hated it until he realized old Crown Vics are so embedded in people’s memory banks as cop cars that when you drive one everybody slows down and gets out of your way. Kid loves his car now, wants to put a spotlight on it. Great car for a teen, they’re safe and reliable and obviously a lot of fun.

  51. 51.

    Roger Moore

    @patroclus:

    For one thing, I’ve always believed that studying matroid bundles and studying real vector bundles were two distinct things and he’s argued in the Annals of Mathematics that there is no difference between them.

    I can see how that would be a critical election issue.

  52. 52.

    patroclus

    @WaterGirl: I have no clue why she decided not to run. I do know that some members of Speaker Madigan’s staff have been in trouble for Rob Porter-like reasons and that there was a thread on the GOS trying to force Madigan to resign about it.

    In Illinois, the AG’s office is a little different than other states. Basically, it’s about “who are we gonna sue today?” So, in voting for candidates, voters have to determine who the candidate doesn’t like because they’re likely to get sued if the candidate wins. Quinn usually targets banks; there’s a PD running, so he’d be going after the criminal justice system and there’s Obama’s Senatorial replacement running as well, but I don’t know as yet who he hates. There’s, like, 8 other candidates and I’m still trying to sort who they are and who they’re likely to sue.

  53. 53.

    rikyrah

    @patroclus:
    I am looking forward to voting for Quinn for AG. In a strange way, I think it’s the position he was born to do. It plays to his strengths and his core as a public servant.

  54. 54.

    efgoldman

    @patroclus:

    I’ve always believed that studying matroid bundles and studying real vector bundles were two distinct things and he’s argued in the Annals of Mathematics that there is no difference between them.

    Oh gawds! That’s probably worse than opposing same sex marriage and SNAP!!

  55. 55.

    Captain C

    @Barbara:

    Then the radical priest come to get me released and we were all on the cover of Newsweek

    I always heard that line as “the radical grease…”

    (a la the Outsiders by S.E. Hinton)

  57. 57.

    WaterGirl

    @patroclus: Thanks for clarifying. I made major life decisions based on the pension that I paid into for all those years, so if they want to reduce my pension amount, that is still taking away my pension, though thankfully not all of it!

    That’s a deal breaker for me. So all our Democratic choices suck. Lovely.

  59. 59.

    rikyrah

    @WaterGirl:
    I think that she could actually be tired of the office.
    I have no problem with Duckworth, but I did want Madigan to run for that seat.
    I think that she wants to be Governor, but can’t, as long as her Daddy is in office.

    Shyt, I would take her as Mayor against Rahm in a nanosecond.

  60. 60.

    patroclus

    @Jewish Steel: So you’re the culprit! Man I wish he could play better – we can hear that screeching all the way here in Chicago!

    @Roger Moore: Exactly! If there is merely a distinction without a difference between real vector bundles and matroid bundles, this issue needs to be clarified well before we vote in the primary!!

  61. 61.

    WaterGirl

    @Jewish Steel: I am in IL-13, and I am hopeful that we can unseat Rodney Davis.

    A lot of people are pissed at Gill, though, for running as an independent and (possibly) causing the Democratic loss the year he did that. All I care about the primary in IL-13 is choosing the Democrat who can beat Rodney Davis in the general. I’m just not sure who that is.

  63. 63.

    Roger Moore

    @WereBear:

    They are paid very well to be that way. So good luck with all that.

    So the way to do it is to cut off their funding. Now we just need to figure out how to cut off their funding.

  64. 64.

    Timurid

    I’ve known a few people who were stingy enough to drive an old rustbucket when they could have easily afforded better.
    None of them were nice people.

  65. 65.

    Jewish Steel

    @patroclus:

    @rikyrah: All of my friends are hot for Renato Mariotti. Apart from observing he’s a bit of a grandstander (not a disqualifying trait), I know nothing about him.

  66. 66.

    WaterGirl

    @patroclus: Maybe Lisa Madigan will wait until her dad retires. Like Madigan or not, and I’m from downstate and lots of people here don’t care for him, but I for one have been grateful that he has been there to stop the awful governor.

    edit: Forgot to thank you for the info on the AG race.

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: I think that she could actually be tired of the office. (I wondered about that, too.)

    I have no problem with Duckworth, but I did want Madigan to run for that seat. (Me, too.)

    I think that she wants to be Governor, but can’t, as long as her Daddy is in office. (Me, too.)

    Shyt, I would take her as Mayor against Rahm in a nanosecond. (In a heartbeat.)

  70. 70.

    patroclus

    @WaterGirl: It’s a pretty complicated issue. Illinois doesn’t have the money to pay out what was contracted for in good times, so virtually every politician in Illinois is compromised in some way on how to solve the problem of the state’s bond issuances being regarded as junk bonds. Biss’ solution was WAY less draconian than those of others (like, uh, Rauner) and JB and Kennedy have, let’s say, equivocated and waffled on their “plans.” There is no easy solution.

  73. 73.

    trollhattan

    @Jager:
    Heh, installing a spot is just mean!

    As once explained to me by somebody who liked Really Big Cars, “When you have an accident, it’s waaaaaay out there.”

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    @patroclus: Then they shouldn’t have spent the pension money on other stuff. They fucked it up, they need to fix it without taking a dime from pensions.

  75. 75.

    smintheus

    Who does he think he’s going to persuade by announcing ‘Hey look I was suckered into buying a terrible car but it took longer than you might have thought to break down!’?

  76. 76.

    patroclus

    @rikyrah: Agreed. I thought Quinn was not too impressive as Treasurer and, at the time, vowed to myself NEVER to vote for him ever for anything. Then, as LG, he didn’t have to do anything because the office has no power and I thought he was fine at that. Then, I was once again underwhelmed when he was Gov’ner (uh, pension reform and my discussion with Water Girl), albeit certainly better than any Republican (er, Rauner). But, he’s almost ideal for AG. Still, though, there are many many many candidates and I’m undecided at present.

  77. 77.

    narya

    I’m voting for Biss in the primary and whoever is the dem in the general. I liked some of JB’s early ads (though the saturation was annoying), but his recent attacks on Biss bug me.

  78. 78.

    trollhattan

    @smintheus:
    Overanalyze much? He’s a Democrat announcing he’s not a spender in a way some will relate to. Jerry Brown was quite successful doing this with the blue Plymouth decades ago.

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    @Jewish Steel: It totally was. Are you in IL-13? Who are you going for this time around?

    I volunteered for Gill for one of his races, but he had too much of a purity position on health care for my tastes. He would have held out for something different instead of voting for what we can get.

    I DID NOT LIKE the candidate I saw a week or two ago – Eric Jones. He said all the right stuff but he creeped me out with his family on display and his wife preening like a little girl showing off for daddy. Definitely not going for Betsy Londrigan. So that leaves me with Gill or Jonathan Ebel.

  82. 82.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    @smintheus:
    I think it was supposed to relate to people who drive old cars and can’t afford any better. What that has to do with federal spending I don’t know. Poor people should want increased spending for social programs, I would think.

  83. 83.

    Spider-Dan

    I mean, if you don’t run centrists in “very red” districts, where do you run them?

    This sounds like the “Bernie Sanders is the perfect candidate for every district” mindset.

  84. 84.

    smintheus

    @trollhattan: If a modern transmission blows before your car rusts out or your engine is shot, then you probably didn’t treat the tranny well. I don’t think that reflects well on a candidate either, but maybe it’s just me.

  88. 88.

    patroclus

    Just to be crystal clear, the main reason I like Biss is because he’s for legalizing cannabis, and not for just medicinal purposes. I mean, I care a LOT about matroid bundles, but sometimes, you just have to prioritize in politics.

  89. 89.

    opiejeanne

    @Jager: The Earl Scheib property in downtown Riverside, Ca caught fire one night and the blaze could be seen for miles. Took many hours to put out because of the materials that were burning, not to mention the cars in the adjacent lot and inside the building. When it was all over there wasn’t much left, but that sign was still there in the company’s parking lot: not responsible for loss or damage to items left on this site.
    It turns out the sign was wrong.

  91. 91.

    patroclus

    @WereBear: True. A major tax increase would solve the problem simply. Which is another reason I like Biss – he has proposed a massive change in Illinois’ tax structure. Currently, it is a proportional tax – the same rate on everyone. As Guv’nor, he would try to get it changed to a progressive system, which would make wealthy higher income people pay more – which would be a way to raise a tremendous amount of revenue, which could pay the pensions and raise the bond rating. This, in addition to weed legalization, is undoubtedly the defining issue of the campaign.

  92. 92.

    trollhattan

    @smintheus:

    If a modern transmission blows before your car rusts out or your engine is shot, then you probably didn’t treat the tranny well. I don’t think that reflects well on a candidate either, but maybe it’s just me.

    It’s just you. 1989 Cutlass Ciera, made by a company that vanished thirteen years ago. Ponder.

  99. 99.

    JPL

    The President is going to have a listening session with students, teachers and parents and I have a question for all of you to consider. What are the chances that he brings up the FBI? What are the chances that he brings up the Russia investigation?

  102. 102.

    ? ?? Goku (aka Baka Amerikahito) ? ?

    I got a silly question. Should the Democratic Party change it’s name to something else, like Democratic Action or Democratic Renewal, similar to political parties in other nations. No real reason, I just got it stuck in my head today.

  109. 109.

    trollhattan

    This is just about the strangest thing I’ve read. Starts off being one thing, then takes a whole other path.

    Parishioners in Pennsylvania are planning to attend church services armed with AR-15 rifles so that they can be blessed, WNEP reported. “This will be a big thing for us. It’s a new stage for us because it incorporates the rod of iron, as it is in Revelations. Revelations talks about the returning Christ ruling with the rod of iron,” said Tim Elder.

    Sanctuary Church and Rod of Iron Ministries is an offshoot of the Unification Church, founded by the late Sun Myung Moon. It is led by his son, the Rev. Sean Moon. “This rod of iron is the AR-15, in today’s terms,” Elder claimed.

    Elder is referencing Revelation 2:27.

    “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father,” the King James translation reads. Other translations refer to an “iron scepter” instead of “rod of iron.”

    Sun Myung Moon also founded the conservative Washington Times. The AR-15 blessing ceremony will occur in Dreher Township in Northeast Pennsylvania. The Moon family moved their Kahr Firearms factory to nearby Blooming Grove in 2015. The Rev. Sean Moon attended the Kahr Firearms grand opening, which is run by his brother, Justin Moon.

    So goddamn on the nose I can’t even….

  117. 117.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: I had to change it after he Churchill-faced the first few people. I can only hope he gets triggered and goes full thin skinned snowflake on these people.
    Although, the room did look like it had several staffers or security in there than normal…

  118. 118.

    rikyrah

    @Jewish Steel:
    I have nothing against him. I have always liked Quinn, and thought that he was an Ill fit for Governor. I think that the AG position is one of an Advocate, and Quinn does that well.

  122. 122.

    FlipYrWhig

    Scott Brown won an election he had no business winning because he made an ad with him driving a truck. He bought the truck to tow a horse trailer to equestrian competitions but then stopped using it for that because he couldn’t figure out how to back up with a trailer. And this became his _big selling point_, that he had a truck. Of course it’s stupid. Stupid is no hindrance in politics. Use what ya got.

  123. 123.

    Steeplejack

    @trollhattan:

    “This will be a big thing for us. It’s a new stage for us because it incorporates the rod of iron, as it is in Revelations. Revelations talks about the returning Christ ruling with the rod of iron,” said Tim Elder.

    It’s Revelation, church guy. The Book of Revelation.

    And Rod of Iron Ministries has to be a spoof, amirite?

  125. 125.

    Steeplejack

    @germy:

    I really hope the kids take down Dana Loesch tonight, but I am a little nervous. Not all of the yoots the networks have been flooding the TV shows with have been as articulate as Emma Gonzalez and a few of the others, and Loesch is a professional agitator. But fingers crossed for a pleasant surprise.

  127. 127.

    Amir Khalid

    @smintheus:
    “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all” — now there’s a lyric for the ages.

  129. 129.

    Corner Stone

    I’m still baffled that Trump’s WH comms people allowed this “listening session” to happen. There is zero upside to it.

  132. 132.

    Corner Stone

    @Steeplejack: She’s going to pwn them with gish gallop. No one will be able to real time fact check her and they will be drawn in to make the attempt. It’s going to spin down the rabbit hole faster than you can say “squirrel!”.

  133. 133.

    germy

    @Gin & Tonic: @Steeplejack: Already Dana is on twitter doing her “I hope we can have a civilized discussion tonight without people acting crazy and calling me a murderer”

    (Which is exactly what she’s hoping for. So she can lean back, make a DeVos face and say “See?”)

  135. 135.

    Barbara

    @germy: Maybe the logical question is how Jill Stein knows so much about Russia that she feels qualified to explain what actually happened.

  136. 136.

    Spanky

    @Steeplejack:

    And Rod of Iron Ministries has to be a spoof, amirite?

    I’m quite sure you can find out all about their “ministries” in their series of videos. Produced in Glendale, CA.

  137. 137.

    Corner Stone

    I see we have reached the filibuster part of the listening session, where the Old doesn’t want to give up the mic.

  138. 138.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Spanky:

    in their series of videos. Produced in Glendale, CA.

    Coming from a guy named “Spanky”, that’s extra-amusing.

    I’ll show myself out.

  139. 139.

    Sab

    @Ohio Mom: What is it with the media obsession with Kucinich? Even the local PBS and NPR stations. He has been around forever. Everyone living near Cleveland knows he is an idiot and was useless in Congress, but he is all they talk about.

    I am terrified that the youngsters will get turned against Cordray and not vote for him in November, and then we’d get DeWine. The only thing more fightening than DeWine as governor is Mary Taylor.

  141. 141.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah: Yep. Even my liberal friends (not as political as me) hate on Madigan. Makes no sense to me when he is all that has been protecting us from he who shall not be named.

  142. 142.

    Amir Khalid

    @TenguPhule:
    You know, it is possible to express disagreement with people, even very strong disagreement, without calling them names or wishing sexual violence upon them. You might consider trying it.

  144. 144.

    germy

    Odd how folks suspect these kids have been 'coached' yet never think about how the shooter was radicalized by right-wing propaganda, ain't it ?

    — Hill Billie (@jill4house) February 21, 2018

  146. 146.

    normal liberal

    @Jewish Steel:
    Perennial is putting it mildly. I have a vintage Gill sign in my garage left over from, I think, 2004. I’m not sure how it got there.
    As several people have noted, the 13th and 18th were specifically redrawn to split our mutual community’s comparative liberal bent in both districts. I’m in the 13th, served by the bland yet poisonous Rodney Davis. I assume that Betsy Dirksen Londrigan is using her maiden name in a truly Illinois move, not to mention a stupid one, and she did apparently work for Durbin, so pretty darn establishment.
    Somebody is spending lots of money going after Biss in TV ads.
    None of these people exactly tune up my civic enthusiasm.

  147. 147.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic: I know what you mean, but I’m gonna watch the Parkland kids. I hope they eat the faces off the NRA rep. And the kids will surely call bullshit if the audience is packed with pro-Trump pro-gun nuts.

  148. 148.

    trollhattan

    “They don’t send their best.”

    White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will reportedly represent the United States at the Olympics closing ceremony.

    OANN revealed on Wednesday that Sanders would be part of the U.S. delegation traveling to Pyeongchang, South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics. The delegation is being led by Ivanka Trump, a White House aide and daughter of President Donald Trump.

  149. 149.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @FlipYrWhig: reminds me of Marco Rubio’s totally coincidental history of gun shopping as major campaigns approach

    If ISIS militants ever come knocking on the door of Marco Rubio’s West Miami home, the Republican presidential candidate says he’ll be ready for them.
    The senator from Florida went on CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday, revealing that he purchased a handgun on Christmas Eve to protect his family from terrorists.
    ‘I think many Americans around the country feel the same way. I’m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I have a right to protect my family if someone were to come after us,’ he told moderator John Dickerson.
    ‘In fact, if ISIS were to visit us or our communities at any moment, the last line of defense between ISIS and my family is the ability that I have to protect my family from them or from a criminal or anyone else who seeks to do us harm. Millions of Americans feel that way.’

    January, 2016

    Rubio blasted President Barack Obama’s recent executive order strengthening gun control laws, saying he was making it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to purchase firearms for the purpose of self-defense.
    ‘I am convinced if this president could confiscate every gun, he would,’ Rubio said.

    Where do the goobers get their crazy ideas? Of course, home security and firearms training are a Rubio family tradition that go back more than half a decade

    The Tampa Bay Times has reported that Rubio, who holds an A rating from the National Rifle Association, purchased his first gun, a .357 Magnum, in 2010 while running for the US Senate.
    ‘Rubio said he decided to get a permit because he talks a lot about the 2nd Amendment on the campaign trail and wanted to show the importance of safety. He wanted to lead “by example,”’ the paper reported.

  151. 151.

    germy

    @Spanky:

    Police also announced that they had arrested Nir Hefetz, a former Netanyahu spokesman, this week, alleging that had he tried to bribe a judge to drop a fraud case against Netanyahu’s wife.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/21/benjamin-netanyahu-aide-shlomo-filber-testify-against-israeli-pm-reports

    Avi Gabbay, the head of the opposition Labor party, said on Tuesday night: “The events of the last two days and recent hours make very clear: the Netanyahu age is over. We must prepare for an election soon.

    “The criminal house of cards the prime minister built in recent years – corrupting the civil service, harming the rule of law, threatening freedom of the press and more than all else, dividing Israeli society – is crashing down on him and around him.”

  153. 153.

    Steeplejack

    @Corner Stone:

    Agree completely. His scripted speech was a complete bomb. No way this could be better.

    Maybe he has some demented idea that he can “work the crowd” the way he does at his rallies.

  156. 156.

    Bobby Thomson

    I’m not saying that Junius should go all Dennis Kucinich.

    Certainly not. He should run as a Democrat, not a Fox News Trump supporter. Kucinich is a snake.

  157. 157.

    Spanky

    @Gin & Tonic: In other evangelical news today, Michael Gerson (WaPo) tells us

    Billy Graham was consumed by grace

    Leaves a lot to the imagination, that one does.
    (ET spell fix)

  159. 159.

    JPL

    @Corner Stone: Why do you say that, when Trump will take the opportunity to say only I can fix this. Then the dems will be blamed for not backing a bill that has concealed carry across state lines in it.

  162. 162.

    Bobby Thomson

    @Amir Khalid:

    I only know Fred Thompson from his acting career. What was he like as a Republican pol?

    very conservative, very harsh on Bill Clinton during the impeachment, but not insane. Like Lindsay Graham and Draco Malfoy, but more low key. I preferred him as an actor.

    ETA: and I almost forgot the comedic stylings of his presidential campaign. He was probably the laziest candidate in history, lazier even than Rudy Giuliani.

  164. 164.

    JPL

    My local news said that it was the first time that a president and victims showed such raw emotion. Yup if shaking your head like a marionette is showing raw emotion, the president excels.

  168. 168.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: If crossing your arms over your chest and having the facial expression that makes one think you’re playing a game of Frogger in your head is showing raw emotion – then yeah, I guess so.

  170. 170.

    Corner Stone

    @JPL: I don’t think any R can take a vote on any form of gun control, no matter how toothless it may be – at this point in an election year. I doubt we see anything hit the House floor for a vote.

  171. 171.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    So… I’m not watching, because trump, but twitter suggests the ape has officially proposed arming teachers and other school employees.

  172. 172.

    neldob

    Democrats are mainly centrists. It’s the right wing that is extreme. Democrats are sensible. Support someone sensible. Support a Democrat. did someone already say that?

  176. 176.

    JoeyJoeJoe Junior Shabadoo

    @Bobby Thomson: He was one of the ten Republicans who voted No on at least one of the articles. Snowe, Collins, Specter, Chafee, and Jeffords were no on both; Thompson, Gorton of Washington, Ted Stevens, John Warner, and Bill Roth were yes/no I think

  179. 179.

    smintheus

    @Spanky: Billy “We all have our personal My Lais” Graham. Full of grace. And he’s responsible for his despicable son too.

  180. 180.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    Well, keep in mind that, if you describe “liberal” as someone who didn’t like the huge corporate giveaway because it means the government can do less, and a “conservative” as someone who didn’t like it because *now* is the time to reduce debt, then there’s nothing wrong with a “centrist”.

    There’s nothing conservative about this country’s right wing. *IF* a congresscritter recognizes that, and uses the term “centrist” to mean “center of what the nation actually is concerned about, rather than what a lot of righties have been programmed to be concerned about” then it’s okay.

  182. 182.

    prostratedragon

    @WaterGirl: She has still given no reason, maybe it’s personal. Just today though I found myself wondering whether she had some clue that her father was heading into rough going and decided not to present another attack angle.

  183. 183.

    Origuy

    @Mike J: Your matroid bundle is so fat that…
    When it sits around the vector space, it really sits AROUND the vector space.
    #NotATopologist.

  185. 185.

    opiejeanne

    @trollhattan: Ugh. I checked. It’s a parking lot now.

    This is only a few miles from the Stringfellow Acid Pits, one of the first and worst supersites. People were careless because it was only land, only dirt, who would care that we dumped crap on it. And then it gets into the aquifer and people get sick. At least the site of the fire isn’t able to get into the aquifer. I remember huge truckloads of dirt being hauled away from the site before they paved it. mr opiejeanne had to find safe places to put wells for a nearby town because of the PCB’s moving through the area.

    Old man Stringfellow’s widow came to my in-laws’ 50th wedding anniversary and all the old farts in San Bernardino were clucking about what a shame it was that she was getting blamed for what he did, and he certainly had no idea what that company was going to do with the land they leased from him. My husband and I threw the party with the help of a great aunt so we had to be polite. I had to, I don’t think he heard it and he’s a lot better at behaving than I am.

  186. 186.

    AnneWith

    @WaterGirl:

    I know this is way late but–

    What’s wrong with Betsy Londrigan? I haven’t heard anything bad about her & was thinking of voting for her. David Gill is the Harold Stassen of the 13th district.

    Renato has my vote for AG. I think he’s very sharp, & he’s been outspoken on the need for states’ AG to hold the line against Trump’s dafter orders.

    AFAIK, Lisa Madigan wants some time out of the public eye & wants to make some money.

    I lean Biss. I don’t think he’ll win in which case that our nominee for governor wouldn’t have any government experience either, and I am very tired of government executive positions being turned over to Amateur Hour. Of course it’s easier for me to say since I have just a small amount in SURS from my college teaching days.

    Illinois’ main fiscal problem stems from the fact that we have a flat income tax mandated by our state Constitution. (Thanks, Dawn Clark Nesch, et al.) We need a progressive tax, but we can’t get one unless we amend the constitution, which won’t be easy.

  187. 187.

    WaterGirl

    @AnneWith: Thanks very much for all this!

    Betsy Londrigan looks good ob paper but she did not impress in person and I don’t think she can win. Interesting to hear your thoughts on Lisa Madigan.

    I don’t want us to EVER amend the constitution – that would risk removal of our protections for our pensions completely.

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