* As usual, hypocrisy reins supreme…
Earlier this year, Blagojevich said high-priced lobbyists in “Gucci loafers” were working to defeat his health care ideas.
Just happened to notice that Blagojevich wore Lucky Brand Jeans to open the Illinois State Fair. Those jeans start at about $100.
* And while the State Democratic Party formally endorsed Barack Obama’s presidential bid, there were some objections…
Shirley McCombs of Petersburg, secretary of the state party, voted against the resolution because she supports U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., for the presidency.
“In my lifetime, I want to see a woman get elected,” McCombs said after the meeting. “Women have been in the shotgun seat so long, and it’s time for the move to the driver’s seat, and the person to do that is Hillary Clinton.” […]
Also voting against the endorsement was Julie Kennedy Beckman of Darien, who helps represent the 13th Congressional District on the central committee. Beckman said after the meeting that she backs Obama for president, but knows that many in the party support Clinton. […]
Neil Hartigan, a former state attorney general and appellate court judge, spoke on Clinton’s behalf earlier Wednesday at a Springfield breakfast sponsored by the Democratic County Chairmen’s Association. At that breakfast, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias was among those who backed Obama.
* Blagojevich said he plans to take his time with the electric rate relief bill…
“I’m suspicious when a company like Ameren is telling me there is a deadline for signing the bill,” said Blagojevich, who likened it to being pressured by a used-car salesman. “When Ameren is saying you’ve had the bill for four, five days and sign it by Friday or else, I think it is prudent to be a little suspicious and to take a good look and look at the fine print in the deal. We’ll see if we can make the deal better or not.”
* Sneed has a preview of Republican Day…
A Romney report: Craig Romney, son of GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, will stump for his dad at the Illinois State Fair today and, ostensibly, be queried by the press why none of the candidate’s five adult sons has ever served in the military.
• • Translation: Romney, whose son is here to see if dad will emerge victorious in Illinois’ first Republican straw poll, drew criticism following his straw poll win in Iowa from his response to his sons’ lack of military service.
• • Romney’s response: “. . .one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping to get me elected.”
• • Romney’s response to the question whether they are going over to Iraq: “No, they are not.”
My. My.
* And, as promised, here are some photos from yesterday’s celebrity horse race…
✪ The contestants gather (Dave Dring was a late scratch, by the way)…
✪ Rich and his driver, Jamaica Patton, prepare for the race…
✪ They’re at the Gate…
✪ Here they come, spinning around the turn…
✪ Dismount…
✪ The winner glows…
✪ And we made the SJ-R…
Wednesday’s card featured a celebrity race that was won by Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch and co-driver Marcus Miller, Ervin Miller’s 18-year-old son.
Rich Miller, publisher of the newsletter Capitol Fax and Jamaica Patton placed second. Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, and Andy Miller were third. Cindy Davidsmeyer, spokeswoman for Senate President Emil Jones, and Williamsville High School graduate Brandon Simpson finished fourth. Patty Schuh, spokeswoman for Senate GOP Leader Frank Watson, and Springfield’s Tom Simmons took fifth.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:35 am:
Notice, by the way, that mine was the only cart without a mud-screen. I was filthy after that race. lol.
Also, video of the actual race will be posted later tonight or tomorrow.
- Cassandra - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:44 am:
Blago is absolutely right on the Ameren bill.
And we should all be suspicious of Ameren. Especially since they can afford a lot smarter negotiators than we the people can.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:49 am:
The gucci loafer image comes courtesy of Ross Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign. It was an applause line that obviously Blagojevich plagiarized when he couldn’t think of one of his own.
During the 1992 campaign the issue of lobbyists was effectively used by Clinton and Perot against Bush. As with all effective attacks, there was a modicum of truth in this image. Gucci loafers were popular with the wealthy and a popular brand denoting wealth.
As to Blagojevich’s plagairizing of this term, it never fit what he was trying to claim. For a guy with excellent campaigning instincts, lifting an old Ross Perot applause line was pretty embarrassing to hear regurgitated from Blagojevich 15 years later.
Instead of “gucci loafer”, he might want to try “Lucky Jeans wearer” to paint an opponent as a wealthy insider today. That is, if his opponents were actually wealthy insiders like him, that is.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:51 am:
Blagojevich doesn’t need to say that he is suspicious of signing deadlines, does he?
He is incapable of punctuality in any form.
- amy - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:53 am:
congrats on the second place finish Rich. will
GRod include the win in his list of
accomplishments?
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:59 am:
Romney’s line about how his sons are serving their country by working for his election is a seriously demented thing to say.
While the facts clearly show that our troops are not poor ignorant children fighting unwillingly in the Middle East, if Romney did as he preaches, at least one of his sons would have reflected his father’s beliefs by serving our country in some way. The fact that none of them has or is makes Romney’s actions fit his critic’s pattern of insincerity and priviledge.
It is lame criticism of Romney, but like the gucci loafer applause line, appears to contain that modicum of truth enough to be effective.
- L.S. - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:01 am:
Cassandra - It’s not just Ameren telling him to sign the bill, it’s AARP, CUB, the Attorney General and about two dozen downstate lawmakers who actually WORKED on the relief package. More games from a man who doesn’t know how to govern.
- Wumpus - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:24 am:
What ROmney said was stupid. He should have said they chose not to serve the country in that manner. All the men/women in the armed services had the same choice and elected to etc…so on and so forth. He seems a bit silly.
- Team Sleep - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:30 am:
VanMan, you are correct. Romney’s line about his sons shows what’s wrong with our current political culture. Helping your father’s political campaign is not really a service to your country. Yes, they are involved in the democratic process, but Romney’s support of the Iraq War would be more valid if he had served in Vietnam or if one or more of his sons were currently overseas.
Romney is the product of political power and wealth. I really hope people in the GOP see him for what he really is.
- Cassandra - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:34 am:
Uh, wait a sec.
Why hasn’t Hillary been criticized for not sending
Chelsea to serve. Or Edwards re daughter Cate.
Has Obama been asked if he would send his young daughters when they came of age. Giuliani’s son
is of draft age, right? Not to mention Al Gore Jr, who might particularly benefit from a stint in
the military service–if they’d take him.
Romney isn’t the only presidential wannabee with
children of service age.
The sons and daughters of the privileged are rarely found in a volunteer army. But let’s be fair here.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:41 am:
Cassandra, I think the context is Romney brought up the subject first.
- Ike - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:42 am:
Wait, so now we’re judging a presidential candidate on whether or not his kids were in the service? I’m not a huge Mitt fan, but this seems insane to me. Cassandra is right, it’s a volunteer army, enough said. Oh, and it’s the best army period!
- Sweet Polly Purebred - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:44 am:
Romney’s comments about his sons service or lack there of, was thoughtless and rather vain of him. It made me think of only one person - our current president. He dropped out of military service to “HELP GET HIS FATHER” elected. I do not think that Romney should be courting this comparison. I think it will work against him in the long run by making him appear arrogant and out of touch with the day to day working class families whose children are the backbone of our military.
- Enemy of the State - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:45 am:
Rich, you should have done better in the race. After all, covering Illinois state government gives you plenty of experience looking at the rear end of a horse.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:51 am:
As to our current situation, no parents are “sending” their children to fight. We don’t need children, we need mature intelligent adults. Our current military is not being “sent”, “drafted”, or “shipped-out”. There is no draft.
Our fighting force is comprised of adults who deserve our respect. I am pretty tired of hearing nay-sayers portrait our uniformed men and women as stupid dupes too poor to find real jobs.
Vietnam had a draft. There is no draft today. Even if we had a draft, there would be fewer Forrest Gumps in it than are found in our current General Assembly. A little respect, please.
- Cassandra - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 11:56 am:
Actually, I think Chelsea would make a pretty good
soldier.
- SO ILL - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 12:01 pm:
Proving once again that RR does her best work when faced with a horse’s arse.
- Team Sleep - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 12:10 pm:
Cassandra, I believe Romney’s statement is a bit different. Obama’s children are young, and Rudy’s son being subject to a draft is not relevant since there is no draft at this time. Romney seems to be very cavalier about a good deal of issues. War just happens to be one of them.
- Loop Lady - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 12:15 pm:
I waited 25 years for a Dem Governor and this is what we end up with? Rods healthcare tirade reminds me of Ryans moratorium on capital punishment right before he got indicted…if and when Rod gets indicted, stick a fork in me, I’m done…the majority of politicians in this state on both sides of the aisle dont know squat about leadership, but ARE experts in self interest…
I was glad to hear Hartigans speech for Hillary…her supporters in IL will fight long and hard for her…let the fun begin…
- Anon1 - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 12:17 pm:
Just a clarification. How did Romney bring up the subject first? I believe he was first asked the question in Iowa. Dont get me wrong his answer was stupid, but you know what he mispoke and has since acknowledged that. To think he really equates campaign work with serving our country is just silly.
- unclesam - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 12:48 pm:
Rich,
You look like you should be vacationing in the Bahamas… and the hat makes the outfit. Try to get out of town and relax… you know, match the outfit with the locale.
- Paul Revere - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 1:20 pm:
LS,
The gov should take his sweet time before signing or vetoing the rate relief bill. While the immediate rate relief itself is fine, the overall bill is a disaster in the making and very bad public policy. The inevitable result of the bill will be higher rates for consumers now and into the foreseeable future. It was ramrodded through the legislature by the Speaker, acting on behalf of his daughter’s grand plan, shielded under a carrot of $1 billion so nobody would pay attention to the crazy IPA scheme.
If Rod can improve it (I realize that’s a crazy thought), he should go ahead and do it.
- L.S. - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 1:36 pm:
PR - I don’t really agree. How is it removing the rigged reverse auction and relpacing it with an independant agency going to lead to higer price? The electric market is volatile for sure and I’m not saying the plan is a end-all cure. But it’s an attempt. One that was carefully negoiated and signed off on by consumer groups. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but exactly how is the plan a disaster and how could it realisticly be improved?
- Southern Right - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 1:37 pm:
PR Give us a break Rod is using it for leverage. He has no clue of what’s in that bill and he still won’t when he signs it in September.He has one thing on his mind how many can I get Healthcare for my voters. Maybe two things. The donation by Well Care/Harmony Health on 11/21/2006 to his campaign could be a second item or part of the first you decide.
- Moderate Repub - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 1:39 pm:
Cassandra - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:44 am:
Blago is absolutely right on the Ameren bill.
And we should all be suspicious of Ameren. Especially since they can afford a lot smarter negotiators than we the people can.
What? Sorry to say, you obviously don’t know what you are talking about. These negotiations included not only members of the GA and the Utilities, it also included the advocates. If Blago was SO concerned about the deal, why did he NEVER engage in the process? It went on for over 6 months and he just sat there. He is just dragging his feet in hopes of using it as leverage for something (probably capital).
- The Crack - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 1:40 pm:
Yesterday can be summed up in one word: THUNDERCRACK
- dc - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 2:04 pm:
The discussion on Romney’s kids joining the military is an interesting one. Aside from arguments that there is no longer a draft, no one yet has made the argument that perhaps Romney raised his kids to make their own decisions about their lives. I’m not a big fan of Romney but I think the reporters should have pointed their questions to Romney’s children about their own choices, not whether their dad somehow conspired with them to avoid military service.
It would be interesting to turn the question back on the reporters and ask them whether they have served in the military. I dare say that most of them chose to hone their skills working on college newspapers and TV stations rather than writing stories from a foxhole.
- Paul Revere - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 2:13 pm:
LS,
You’re absolutely right that the old system was a disaster. But the new system has the potential to be just as big of a disaster. From the perspective of rates, the biggest problem with the bill is that other than happy talk, it does nothing to encourage the development of new base load generation in Illinois. Without new base load, we will increasingly rely on natural gas plants for our power. Natural gas pricing is very volatile, meaning pricing have and will spike increasingly often. That means rates will likely go up, and a LOT.
Baseload is either coal or nuclear. Nuclear is generally off the table and would require a ten year lead time anyway. Coal requires about a five year lead, but is historically a dirty fuel and especially Illinois coal. There are new technologies for clean coal that could be built, but they won’t be under the language in the bill.
This bill sets up the largest energy bureaucracy in the country in an attempt to control the market. Sounds good in theory. But price controls without adequate supply never work and they won’t here.
And Southern Right, you write as if Rod is personally the one to look through the bill in search of improvement. That’s a naive way of looking at the executive branch. There are some around Rod who are pretty smart about protecting consumers from electric price spikes (such as Marty Cohen). Personally, I’m very curious what they’ll come up with.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 2:18 pm:
The whole Romney thing is being misunderstood. It’s all about the hypocrisy. The issue is that Republican war hawks all talk a good game when it is other people’s kids who will be doing the fighting and dying. They never seem to volunteer themselves (i.e. Cheney, Bush, Wolfowitz, etc.) or their kids to back up their ideology.
Jim Webb is a great example for the Dems. His son is fighting in Iraq right now, despite the fact that he opposes the war. For him and his family, it is about duty and honor and service.
Romney compared the service of soldiers in harms way to the service of his own kids in his campaign. It was a ridiculous argument that should have been and has been widely ridiculed.
- dc - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 2:38 pm:
Romney’s weak explanation does deserve scrutiny, but the underlying issue should not be about “what aren’t your kids fighting”; it should be “what is your plan for addressing the issue of terrorism?”.
The logic that all republicans are warhawks and that their children should be fighting in the army to justify their parent’s policy position is absurd. It would be the same logic that children of democratic candidates should be questioned why they are not driving fuel efficient cars or perhaps why they are not members of a union.
These types of issues do nothing but divide people and we should not be surprised that politics of division has already taken center stage in this much-too-early presidential election.
Jim Webb is not necessarily the great example you hold him out to be. His son should be proud of his own decision and the Webb family can be proud of his decision, but I live in the D.C. area and Jim Webb has a long way to go before he is the poster boy that some would have him be.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 2:42 pm:
If you live in DC, what are you doing on an Illinois blog? And while I make no claim that Jim Webb is a perfect guy, he’s given a hell of a lot more service to his country than a lot of these Republican Chickenhawks.
- dc - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 2:50 pm:
I may live in the D.C. area but I was born and raised in Illinois and spent nine years working at the Capitol in Springfield. I find the shenanigans with Governor Blagojevich to be more entertaining and enlightening than anything here (especially now that Congress is on recess), thus my attentiveness to the Illinois blog.
I respect Jim Webb’s service to his country, don’t get me wrong and I would agree that any candidate seeking to be the Commander in Chief needs to be politically astute to defend his or her position. My point here is that the “gotcha” journalism we see today does nothing to advance the political process, other than to perhaps give bloggers something to get excited about for their own writings. I’ve enjoyed the discussion…
- Sango Dem - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 2:51 pm:
I frequently see pairs of Lucky’s under $100. I have a pair I got on sale for $55. They’re one of the few jean brands made in America.
- dc - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 3:05 pm:
My guess is that Blago didn’t get his jeans off the sale rack in Springfield. They probably had a Michigan Avenue point of sale, along with his $150 ties.
- Anon1 - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 3:06 pm:
CC: “The issue is that Republican war hawks all talk a good game when it is other people’s kids who will be doing the fighting and dying. They never seem to volunteer themselves (i.e. Cheney, Bush, Wolfowitz, etc.) or their kids to back up their ideology.” That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard, so if you are a “republican warhawk” you must volunteer your children to serve in the military. News flash…last time I checked the children get to decide. This is America. Also, most of the Republicans you mentioned have children that are daughters. I suppose you think Pres. Bush should put Jenna and Barbara on the next plane to Iraq. Dick Cheney also better sign his 2 girls up. Oh and the Wolfowitz family lived and died during WW2, so I am sure he knows a thing or 2 about service.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 3:09 pm:
dc,
It’s good to have a refugee on the board! Springfield is making DC look sane. Scary.
- dc - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 3:17 pm:
I miss hanging out by the Rail but thank God for this blog and for Rich’s commitment to timely updates. This is a great forum for news and views. The insanity in Springfield is no accident, it’s just taken 5 years longer than I thought it would to become public. I met Rod when he was a State Representative and I worked on the GOP staff. I liked many of the democratic members but I had some strong reservations about him and his ability to lead (rather than hype). He’s a great campaigner but Illinois needs a leader now. The election is over (way over) and I pray that some common sense will prevail. Until then, I will remain glued to this blog for the lastest entertainment and stories about Lucky Brand jeans :-)
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 3:24 pm:
Anon1,
Cheney got five deferments. Bush was basically AWOL drinking in Alabama while working on a Senate campaign. Rove, Gingrich, Wolfowitz, the list goes on and on of those who speak so loudly about fighting, who, in the words of Cheney, “had other priorities than military service.”
It’s a lot easier to send invisible people to fight than yourself or your progeny. And if it’s not important enough for you or your progeny to fight, why is it ok for other people’s kids to fight and die?
- Anon1 - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 3:55 pm:
That is fine to take issue with the politicians cc, but to say that they need to volunteer their children in order to realize that the people fighting are not invisible is not much of an argument. Also, you failed to mention all the Democrats that have no record of military service. Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson. And how do you feel about Bill Clinton?
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 5:26 pm:
Anon,
You’re not getting the whole hypocrisy problem here. Last time I checked, Obama and Kucinich have consistently been opposed to the war. And none of them could be considered war hawks. While some voted to give the president the power to go to war, NONE were quite so jingoistic as Rudy, Cheney, Romney or Tancredo (all of whom avoided military service themselves) etc. It’s about matching up ideology and action. Why is that so hard to understand?
- downhereforyears - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 6:04 pm:
Hey Rich, nice race and wonderful picture. Tell Steve Brown to pull his pants up. He’s starting to look like Andy Rooney
- Everybody Loves Hypnotoad - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 9:49 pm:
Rich, saw you tonight in the tie-dye shirt. I think you missed the Phish concert, they weren’t at the grandstand tonight… :-)
- cynic of chicynic - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:03 pm:
Hillary voted FOR the war. Edwards voted for the war. Clinton sent troops into Somolia, bombed Bosnia. Your arguments are tired. Oh, and I liked how you slipped in the “invisible people” line from Hillary’s campaign. A lack of military experience did not disqualify FDR nor make him a a hypocrite.
- Establishment Republican - Thursday, Aug 16, 07 @ 10:42 pm:
Michael Sneed often has great sources, but her blurb about Mitt Romney is completely out of context.
Over a week ago, Romney was at an “Ask Mitt Anything” event in Iowa and an left-wing anti-war activist asked him if his sons were going to Iraq.
Romney explained that we have an all volunteer military where people make their own decisions and his sons have decided to not serve in the military.
He also said that there are many different ways to serve the nation and that his sons were doing so by helping him get elected.
More recently, he has said that he misspoke and did not want to leave the impression that taking part in the political process was akin to serving in the military, but nobody in the Romney family has anything to feel guilty about.
This all happened *before* the Iowa Straw Poll. Sneed is incorrect on her timeline. Romney did not bring this matter up, a liberal activist brought it up and he at least answered the question instead of dodging it.
The concept that any politician who supports victory in Iraq must force their adult sons to join the military for that cause is ridiculous and it is a waste of ink space in the Sun-Times and a waste of space here to make an issue about this.
I did enjoy my first ever visit to the State Fair today (including seeing Mr. Miller in person) and it was great to see all the Republican enthusiasm for Mitt Romney.
- Sponge! - Friday, Aug 17, 07 @ 12:00 am:
I see no viddeo of de race … and dis makes me sadd.
- Anon1 - Friday, Aug 17, 07 @ 10:07 am:
Thank you cynic of chicynic for being so reasonable!!!