It isn’t very often that the president of the United States intervenes in a primary election for a seat in the state legislature, particularly against an incumbent of his own party, but that’s what has happened today. President Obama appeared in an election spot for Juliana Stratton, running to unseat incumbent Ken Dunkin from his seat in the Illinois House. From the Chicago Tribune:
In a rare political move, President Barack Obama has inserted himself in a Democratic state legislative primary race in his home state, backing challenger Juliana Stratton over Rep. Ken Dunkin of Chicago.
In a TV and radio ad, Obama says he learned from his days in Chicago that “follow-through is everything.”
“The people of Chicago deserve leaders who follow through. Juliana Stratton has spent her career serving our community, improving the juvenile justice system and protecting public safety,” Obama says in the TV ad.
This isn’t actually all that surprising. In February the president criticized Dunkin in remarks he made before the Illinois legislature in Springfield. Coincidentally, Rep. Dunkin has been bucking moves made by Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan. Break party discipline and not only do you get primaried, the president of the United States endorses the challenger.
The President, Vice President, and Senate Minority Leader have also all weighed in concerning the Democratic primary for Marco Rubio’s Senate seat this year. They’ve all come out opposed to the front-runner, Alan Grayson. Grayson came out in support of Bernie Sanders, but he’s in a bit of hot water because of the off-shore hedge fund he runs. (!!) According to Grayson, everything is on the up and up, and such NOTED CONSERVATIVE SCUMBAGS and KOCH BROTHER STOOGES as Barack Obama and Joe Biden are out to get him because he’s on the side of Truth, Justice and the Communist Manifesto. Or some crazy shit like that. Grayson has to be the most ethically challenged Florida politician I can personally remember, and given what huge sleezes people like Lawton Chiles and Charlie Crist have been, that’s saying something. Grayson is right out of a Hiaasen novel.