When I read this:
The Chicago Sun Times, according to a poll released on September 1, shows that Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, may be in serious trouble in Illinois, a solidly blue state. The poll shows that Durbin is only seven points ahead of Republican Jim Oberweis. More troubling for Durbin, this establishment Democrat boss in a Democrat state polls only 47% of the vote, well below the 50% margin usually considered healthy for incumbents. Even worse for Durbin, the Libertarian candidate, Sharon Hansen, polls over 4% of the vote so that Durbin, if Oberweis woos those voters to his right, polls only two points behind Durbin.
Durbin’s problems are aggravated by a deep and wide malaise among Illinois Democrats. Governor Quinn is losing his battle for re-election, and the polls show increasingly that this race will likely become a Republican landslide. Quinn’s administration is generally considered a flop.
I could only think what in the world is he smoking? I would not vote for Oberweis for local school council let alone the Senate. The only reason that Oberweis is closing is that Durbin has barely started campaigning yet.
I believe that the only circumstance under which Durbin would lose is a Republican wave election so broad and deep that the Republicans gain ten seats or more in the Senate and twenty or more in the House, something nobody is predicting.
My prediction is the same as it has been for months: Democrats narrowly hold the Senate, Republicans increase their House majority slightly and nothing I’ve seen lately has dissuaded me from that.
I think the Durbin loses scenario is built on Governor Quinn being enveloped in scandal and severely depressing Democratic turnout for all. Either the federal probe into the ant-violence slush fund or the political hiring/firing scandals at stage agencies. The federal investigators have hinted that they might release their findings in October.
So far, the Republicans have not given me any compelling reason to drag my fat lazy ass to the polls and vote against Sen. Landreaux. She is not going to f*ck with my VA. While sh is no J Lo, she is not a troll either, and to my knowledge, she has kept her d*ck in her pants, so to speak.
Unfortunately, I will have to wait until 2020 to write-in Nicki Minaj for President.
“ant-violence slush fund?” That sounds interesting.
Also, read today that some poor woman was killed in Chicago when a Gargoyle fell on her head.
As best as I can tell public money was used to pay off gang members in the name of an anti-violence campaign.
So, did the paid off gangsters behave peaceably? If so, what’s the scandal?
The lowdown is here. I would say not so much.
The Republicans claim that last gubernatorial election, Quinn was facing a severe enthusiasm gap from the Blagojevich hangover, so the Democrats made up an anti-violence program to distribute money to African-Americans on the Chicago South-Side to help encourage the vote. Under the claim that the money had to be distributed quickly because people are dying, the funds were distributed without competent oversight or accountability. Some of the money went to gang-bangers to distribute anti-violence leaflets. The defense to criminal misconduct is administrative incompetence, and it might be a good defense. Federal grand jury has been investigating for a while.
I recently talked with a relative working for the highway authority about the other scandal. They have been short-staffed for road construction work for several years, and then all of the sudden they got all of these “advisors” and “consultants” coming to their job site, asking questions and demanding explanations. None of them had any knowledge about construction. At one point, a worker in a ditch got tired of being questioned by a man in a wheelchair, he barked at him, “Why don’t you come down here and show me how to do my job.” The crew broke into laughter . . .
Basically, the Governor’s office has continued illegal hiring of political allies and their relatives for jobs that are Constitutionally protected from such practices. Hundreds of jobs to people with familiar last names; and the Governor has fired about fifty, who will now probably get wrongful termination judgments against the State.
Yes, but can they catch dogs?
So the anti-violence leaflets distribution didn’t work. This makes it different from most government programs how, exactly?
Just more of the same old same old.
Drew, the question is, who let the dogs out?
I think the DoJ should investigate.
In other news, the Florida gubernatorial campaign is just as nasty as you’d expect. At least so far neither side has resorted to the kind of bullshit that Lawton Chiles resorted to in 1994 against Jeb, but it’s only a matter of time.
The key thing is that both campaigns have gone extremely negative, because neithr has much of a positive message. I expected a campaign that would feature negative ads from both sides that would be depressing in their accurate portrayals of the opposition, and that has largely been true. But it seems old Charlie has managed to come up with an inaccurate negative ad. I’m not sure why he bothered, given all the readily available and true crap that he can fling, but I’m sure that Governor Dick will follow suit, if he hasn’t already.
Increasingly, I’m not seeing any difference in our Ieadership class and that of any other corrupt country.
My wife informs me that it is prostate cancer awareness month. So consider yourselves aware. Now go get some fingers shoved up your asses in the interest of a good cause.