Blago to run for re-election in 2010?

[Tweed]

http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2008/01/14/question-of-the-day-452

Rich Miller posts in his CapitolFaxBlog that he has been reassured that Blago will be running for re-election in 2008. I believe he has verbal confirmation from Blago insiders but he also points to the free public transit for seniors that Blago demanded be added to the recent transportation bill. If you are going to break your promise not to raise taxes, might as well get something in there that sounds great in a TV ad, right?

We can get into a transit debate if anyone wants too (I'm personally am for the bill as it stands), but does anyone here support Blago in 2010? I think his time to lead the state has run out and we need new leadership in Illinois.

[Hailtothechimp]

1. Blago is toast.

He was willing to risk CTA doomsday to give seniors a free ride. That's unforgivable for me.

And anyone who thinks the free rides are a good idea hasn't considered they will also be
a)rife with fraud, just as the supposedly "disabled" parking spots in the city are,
b)a pain for the CTA, since drivers may have to card suspected cheats, and
c) a pain for riders, since the increased senior ridership isn't as spry and lively as they once were.

Count me out, governor.

[Tweed]

4. I think the senior rides are poorly planned

Blago's idea was not out there when I posted this.

I'm all for looking into free rides for senior citizens who are under a certain income line, but law partners, real estate developers, and other people who don't need a couple of extra dollars in their pockets can take the L into town now? This isn't good policy, it's an attempt to boost negative poll numbers. I agree that the political future does not look bright and I won't be trying to help add light to it anytime soon.

[mopinko]

2. heya tweed. long time no read.

i think that blago has been deliberately hung out to dry by the 4 tops and the media. any time someone attracts enemies like that, i tend to think better of them. the guy loves his job, which is something that i also like to see.
i understand how people feel about him, i just wish i had a real picture of him, because i know that what we are being shown is mostly bullshit.

[Radical Activist]

3. He has lost his mind.

Bring it on.

[davsand]

5. Are we certain he won't be indicted by then?

I'm not wishing him ill or anything, but I really wonder about what all is hanging out there on him. He's cross ways with Madigan AND Jones and several other power players, and that just bodes ill for any Dem in Illinois. You give those guys ANY kind of rope and they will hang you with it...

:nuke:



Laura

[mopinko]

6. keep blaggo, dump the 4 tops?

:shrug:

[davsand]

7. Can you maybe whisper that in the right ears, Mo?

Seems to me that there are a fair number of folks in Illinois that share that sentiment. Illinois is a mess right now, and there is blame enough to go round--yet the "usual suspects" just keep on winning every time.

On the flip side, I always figured that if I could survive in Illinois politics I could probably survive just abut any place you put me. We eat our young here, and more often than not, it seems like the good people (who might be able to change it) give up in frustration all too soon.

Short of divine intervention, I'm not sure we will ever be free of the corruption that is Illinois politics.

Feel free, Mo!

:hi:


Laura

[mopinko]

8. how do we get rid of mike madigan?

anyone who thinks that someone ought to be fired, and puts blaggo higher on that list than mike madigan is either lying or not paying attention. we have a guy running for the board of tax review whose platform is that mike got $85M in reductions for his big corporate clients. something is seriously wrong this that whole scenario. best of luck to jay paul deratany, but :wtf:

[davsand]

9. I swear I'm living in the wrong part of the state.

Then again--maybe I am just doing it wrong...

The big thing down here is NOT caving to the big bucks. We pin on targets down here.



Laura

[mopinko]

10. hey, in my ward we do, too.

but then again, we have a well deserved reputation as unrepentant old hippies. interesting, tho. somehow we are allowed to march to our own drummer here. it can be done. we actually VOTE on our endorsements. and still, our garbage is picked up. course, i think we have THE poorest local party in the city. hmm.

[beachbum bob]

11. what else can he do??

to me, what else can Blogo do? He aint national material under any circumstance.Personally I see Lisa Madigan running against him in the primaries and winning

[mopinko]

12. that would be the whole point

of the democratic leadership (and the chicago media) making a democratic governor look like a clown.

[murielm99]

18. Amen. They have decided that it is Lisa's turn

to be governor. The ones you are calling the four tops will do what they have to in order to make that come true.

The whole Rezko thing was not to implicate Obama. They want to take Blago down with Rezko.

We certainly like to send our former governors to jail in this state, don't we?

I don't know how I feel. I enjoy Illinois politics in my own small foot soldier way.

[davsand]

13. I like Lisa.

While I'm no big fan of her daddy Mike, I have been favorably impressed with Lisa Madigan's office when we've had to deal with them on stuff. I honestly have felt like her staff "gets" it and that is a HUGE improvement over some of the other offices in this state.

She was pregnant for the last Primary, and I always kind of wondered if that played a role in her decision not to run against Blago at that point in time. You have to wonder if she'll give it a pass this next time around. She will be in her second term of office and will probably have navigated the reefs and shoals of Illinois long enough to have earned her stripes.

We are a county dominated by University people, and the pension raid really did not play well down here. Blago lost Champaign County to Eisendrath this last time, and I remain convinced that it was largely due to the University of Illinois factor. If Lisa Madigan runs in a Primary against Blago, I have little doubt she'll show strongly in Champaign County along with several others.

YMMV.


Laura

[nemo137]

14. No, thanks

Really, after Ryan left, I was looking forward to a government that was less corrupt than your average former Soviet Bloc country, and was disappointed.

[mopinko]

15. ryan left, but

the rest of the very, very extensive cast of characters remain. and now they want to amend the state constitution so that they can recall, or threaten to recall, anyone who might threaten their little mafia. or want to change the cut.
blaggo is not the problem. the 4 tops are the problem.

[tritsofme]

16. If Blago somehow gets the nomination in 2010, I'll probably vote for the Republican.

I voted twice for Jim Edgar and I am not ashamed of it all.

[olkaz]

17. I probably will too.

He's done nothing for me. Been an embarrassment.

[Gary Kleppe]

21. No, please don't.

If you can't vote for Blagojevich, fine. But don't support a Republican. Anybody they might possibly come up with is bound to be ten times worse then what we've got now. Voting for a Green or another non-major candidate, or just skipping that race entirely are better options.

Personally, when I don't like anybody on the ballot I write in Theodore A. Kleppe. He's a "favorite son" candidate.

[tritsofme]

26. Nope. I would vote Republican to make sure Blago loses.

I will not support that crook, directly or indirectly.

[ColesCountyDem]

19. No, please, for the love of the party.

He won't receive 1/2 of the votes from Democrats, if he does. I'd like to see Lisa Madigan run.

[murielm99]

20. Okay, I have a pretty good source who tells me that

Lisa does not want to run for governor now. She has children and would like to stay in her current job.

I don't know if that is going to be true forever, but it seems to be for now.

[ColesCountyDem]

22. I've heard the same thing.

I understand and empathize with her decision. Oh well, she's doing a fantastic job as AG, and that doesn't look to change, so maybe in 2014?

:hi:

[Chisox08]

23. His chances are better than Todd Stroger's

It really comes down to who runs against him.

[truebrit71]

25. Maybe we can persuade the milkman to run again...

...that way Blago is GUARANTEED a victory!!!

[truebrit71]

24. He is toast. Rightly or wrongly he is damaged goods and the Dems need to run someone else...

...or God forbid Oberweis will run for Gov.....again....