"The news is a blow to the White House and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, since Madigan was widely viewed as the Democrats' top choice for Barack Obama's old Senate seat that's now filled by the embattled Roland Burris. " -First Read
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I don't have any "connections" or anything, but I have a funny feeling that the White House is not involving itself in the "Chicago Senate Seat" game, seeing how well that all went before . . .

I think you all just needed a reason to type the phrase "The news is a blow to the White House"  . . . next time, perhaps a little meat to back up the hysterical phrasing?

Thanks! :)
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From previous post:

"How many stories does Obama and his administration have to put out? First it was a huge rush to pass the first stimulus bill because, well, unemployment would go above 8% if we didn't." - True Moderate
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You truly need to do your own research, because the Obama Administration never stated definitively that unemployment would not go over 8%.

That claim is simply spin of a PRE-INAUGURAL report based on a FICTIONAL stimulus package, that plainly stated that it would EVOLVE and could not ACCURATELY report unemployment using the available economic models.

Read it for yourself here:
http://otrans.3cdn.net/45593e8ecbd339d074_l3m6bt1te.pdf

Here is the first endnote from the report:

"Forecasts of the unemployment rate without the recovery plan vary substantially.  Some private forecasters anticipate unemployment rates as high as 11% in the absence of action."

Ronald Reagan said it best "Trust but verify".

Illinois is deep blue.  The Dem's will win that Senate seat, regardless of who runs. Captain Kirk may be better of going into space on the Enterprise.

Lisa Maidgan is the AG in state crawling with corruption, and we're waiting for her to prosecute her first case against any corrupt state politican or employee. Most of the problem stems from her father being the speaker of the Illinois House. It would be a little uncomfortable for her to charge her daddy with a crime.

That's too bad that Madigan decided to skip a run for the Senate, but she seems to know her comfort level by staying in her House seat.  Lisa has shown that she is not so ambitious as to overreach her political reach but it doesn't mean she'll always stay put.

Still there are a few good Democrats to pick up the ball, like Chris Kennedy.  He certainly has the magic last name and hopefully he'll have the political moxy.  I hope that Beverly from Chicago will chime in since she's our local expert on Illinois politics.

If Kirk is smart he'll have Scotty beam him out of that race so he avoids the agony of defeat.

In Madigan We Trust!

>>>Burris also may or may not run.
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He can run all he wants, but the chances of him maintaining the seat are almost nil.  Doubtful that he'll get support from the DNC, since they didn't really want him there in the first place.  Burris is an opportunist who was more interested in making a name for himself by being handed a seat he wouldn't have gotten through legitimate means.  People like him are the reason all politicians (D's, R's, I's and etc.) are seen as corrupt and amoral.

(Yes, it's me.  Yes, I'm criticizing a democrat.  No, I didn't fall and hit my head.)

http://jawillie.blog.com

Kirk would be a strong candidate that would have good independent support. He is a moderate that doesn't tow the party line on hot button issues like gay marriage, abortion, and the environment. He even received a "D" from the NRA.

I don't know much about Chris Kennedy or Alexi Giannoulias yet.

If the Democrats put up Burris, Kirk can count on my vote! It is hard to imagine someone much less qualified than Roland Burris!

Per the Washington Post Cillizza, who broke this story: "To be clear, Madigan would have been a favorite had she decided to run for either the Senate or for governor, a fact that makes her decision to run for neither office all the more puzzling.

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You have got to be kidding. Any one that votes Democrat in the next election in Illinois needs to have their head examined. Illinois is just another state being driven into economic and political hell by all the Democrats running the state top to bottom. An impeached governor, a phony Senator, a $10 billion budget deficit, a clout system used to get unqualified students into the U of Illinois, and taxes being raised at both the state and local level, and the Washington Post thinks Madigan would have been favored to win? It's unclear how dense you would have to be to believe that, but rest assured, that would be pretty dense.

"The Republicans top potential candidate is Illinois congressman Mark Kirk, but he has not yet decided whether he'll jump into the race."
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If Mark Kirk thinks that we Illinoisans are going to forget that he told the Chinese not to trust the U.S. government's economic forecasts, then he is sadly mistaken.  That lapse of judgment is inexcusable.  

Funny, if a Democrat had done this- the right-wing radio chorus would still be screaming "TREASON!"  So do Republicans now think that it is somehow "patriotic" to badmouth our nation to other superpowers?      

If Bumbling Burris is STOOOPID enough to make a run... I'll make sure I do EVERYTHING I can to make sure he loses!

As for the rest of the field - haven't decided yet but at this point leaning towards Alexi Giannoulias...

What say you... to the rest of the IL representatives on this board?

First Read: Burris also may or may not run.

Glad to see that you've got this one covered. Good reporting.

Alexi Giannoulias is 29 years old; young and fresh was backed by president Obama the state treasurer's race.  I see since Lisa  Madigan doesn't want the position a chance for more change. We don't need any more obstructionist republicans.
<><><><>><><><<>
Justine Case (Sent Wednesday, July 08, 2009 10:23 AM)
Really? Who needed it more, the nearly 500,000 that were laid-off last month? Or the nearly 300,000 that we're laid-off the month before?
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Justine Case

Just in Case you didn't understand it would be a drop in the bucket to you but those who are unemployed, maybe you ask them would they rather have no benefits extended, a chance to go back to school and become marketable as opposed to either watching the clouds go by or complaining about the glass being half empty.  

Hmmm. What's the mud on Madigan making her withdraw from consideration?  And WTF, how many cloned Kennedy's are there?  Just like maggots on roadkill, these squiggly cardboard cutouts are popping up at every highway interchange in every state.  For Christ's sake (and for the sake of everyone else), please, oh please, no more from the freakin' dead Kennedy clan.  Oh, and by the way, isn't Ted dead yet? That'll be the day the music really plays.

Republican Mark Kirk is a liar.

I can't wait until the Democrats have a virtual monopoly on power like they do in Chicago and Crook County. Then the rest of the country can enjoy our astronomical sales taxes and fees supporting massive ghost payrolls of patronage workers that vote straight ticket Democrat every election!

Alexi Giannoulias, implicated in a politically rigged admissions scam at the U of I. Alexi was also endorsed by Barack Obama! Imagine that. Barack associated with crooked Chicago pols! That story was in the Chicagobama Tribune no less. Look it up libs. Baracks buddy Tony Rezko was also involved in the admissions scam.

Hope and Change the Chicago Way!

Cool, Chris Kennedy may run.  Like we need more nepotism (remember the Bushes and beware).

BTW Has Ted bequeathed his seat to a relative yet?  

Ah yes, the senate seat of Roland Burris.  Do you still remember it all?  Do you remember pious Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, and Barack Obama with their very serious and outraged faces promising us that they'd NEVER seat a Blagoyevich appointee to that senate seat?  It sounded so righteous and ethical, didn't it?  And then, on a dime, when this situation wasn't be resolved quick enough and Mr Obama's inauguration extravaganza with his Hollywood chums and the largest party bill in history (during the "worst economic crisis of this generatation"--his words), Mr Obama took Reid, Durbin, and other lib leaders aside and told them to get Mr Burris (corrupt ex-Gov Blago's appointee) seated so as NOT to distract from his happy party....and thus they obeyed.  Where were the serious faces and strong statements of ethics then?  Just like many of Mr OBama's campaign promises (lobbyists, earmarks, integrity, public viewing of bills before signing....etc)....they were mere words meant to impress the public but not intended to actually be acted on.  How sad for America!!!

Alexi Giannoulias is tightly wrapped up in the University of Illinois scandal to admit students that were not qualified to enter the school because of not so good GPAs, ACT scores, etc. But ethics don't matter much in Illinois, especially for Democrats who are not expected to have any anyway, so maybe Alexi has a chance.

The Dems wil PROBABLY hold the Illinois seat-it's hard to imagine that the state will elect a Republican senator.

It would be the only bright spot for Dems, however.  Realclearpolitics has the latest polling on '09 and '10, and the Washington Post has an article on Republican recruitment, which is showing signs of strength.

The polling for Obama does not look good, and is declining rapidly.  I want to thank Sara from Iowa for her dissection of the Gallup poll on Sarah Palin-good job from a fellow mathlete; unfortunately, most on this board do not understand statistics, and do not have the underlying math TO comprehend it.

I'll try to keep it as simple as possible.  Polling organizations use different groups.  Gallup polls 'adults', who may or may not be citizens,registered to vote, or likely to vote.

Rasmussen polls 'likely voters', those who have voted consistently in past elections.

Quinnipiac uses a pool of registered voters; they may or may not vote depending on the strength of their candidate, the weather, etc.

Polling organizations that use registered and or likely voters poll every month in order to hit targets for the voting pool-how many are self-described Democrats, Republicans, or Independents.

Rasmussen, which polls likely voters on a three day rolling average, shows that on July 6, Obama's approval was 52%, disapproval 47%.  On June 1, his approval was 58%, disapproval 41%.  There was a drop in his approval of 6 points, and a corresponding rise in his disapproval of 6 points.

Gallup polls, which polls all adults, had Obama's approval on July 6 at 58%, his disapproval at 41%.  On June 1, Gallup had his approval at 64%, disapproval at 30%.  Therefore, in Gallup, his approval dropped 6 points, and his disapproval rose 5 points.

Quinnipiac, which polls registered voters, does their polls on a monthly basis.  Their latest, on June 23, showed Obama's approval at 57%, disapproval at 33%.  On May 26, they reported that Obama's approval was 59%, and disapproval 31%, for a change of 2 points in each direction.

When the size of the pool, accuracy, and margin of error are factored in, the slopes of all of these polls match.  It should be noted that Quinnipiac was done before the June Unemployment numbers were out.

With Obama's numbers falling, and the number of those dissatisfied with the direction of the country increasing in each of these polls, it will be a bad time for the Democrats.

I can't wait until the Democrats have a virtual monopoly on power like they do in Chicago and Crook County. Then the rest of the country can enjoy our astronomical sales taxes and fees supporting massive ghost payrolls of patronage workers that vote straight ticket Democrat every election!

Alexi Giannoulias, implicated in a politically rigged admissions scam at the U of I. Alexi was also endorsed by Barack Obama! Imagine that. Barack associated with crooked Chicago pols! That story was in the Chicagobama Tribune no less. Look it up libs. Baracks buddy Tony Rezko was also involved in the admissions scam.

Hope and Change the Chicago Way!

For all you complaining about Harry Reid

He's NOT LBJ (who is?)

From Washington Monthly:


'...WHEN HARRY REID GETS IMPATIENT.... Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) was moving forward with a health care reform plan that broke with the vision embraced by the Democratic majority. It would scrap a public option, tax health benefits, and embrace nonprofit health cooperatives. In exchange, Baucus said, a couple of Republicans would vote for the bill, and reform would be "bipartisan."

Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sent word to Baucus: you're going in the wrong direction. Roll Call reported late yesterday that Reid "strongly urged" Baucus to "drop a proposal to tax health benefits and stop chasing Republican votes."

According to Democratic sources, Reid told Baucus that taxing health benefits and failing to include a strong government-run insurance option of some sort in his bill would cost 10 to 15 Democratic votes; Reid told Baucus that several in the Conference had serious concerns and that it wasn't worth securing the support of Grassley and at best a few additional Republicans.


The New York Times reported something similar, noting that Reid "apparently decided that some of his fellow Democrats were trying too hard to win Republican support." Josh Marshall spoke to a knowledgeable Hill source who added, "Now that they have 60, Reid and Durbin need to remind Dem members that when your Leader files cloture, you support him. If you want political cover, vote against final passage. Fine. But opposing cloture means you're supporting a filibuster of your party's agenda. From what I hear, they started delivering that message, if a softer version of it, earlier today."

On the flip side, Roll Call talked to a Democratic source who said, "I'm concerned we're going to be perceived as abandoning the Republicans.... Going the partisan route doesn't get this bill done any faster."

That, of course, is nonsense. For one thing, Republicans deserve to be abandoned on this. They don't want health care reform, and making the bill worse to placate a shrinking minority, with no credibility or support on this issue, is ridiculous. For another, going the "partisan route" may absolutely get the bill done faster, since the negotiations can be limited to members of the same party who share a common goal.

No word, as of yet, on what Baucus thinks about all of this, and/or whether the Finance Committee will follow the leadership's "strong urging."...'


What's UP with Rahm Emmanuel ?
Is he SERIOUS about No Public Ooption is acceptable ??

"You guys are still talking about Palin.  You should just stop.  She would go away if the media would stop talkign about her.  At least let her actually do something significant to talk about."
Jonathan Flint, MI

Hey Jonathan - Get a clue Quitter Palin brought all this media attention upon herself as she has been the one calling for media pressers.  After saying she was on vacation she called the media to join her so she could prattle nonsensically about how by quitting her post she's not a quitter.  If the media had to wait for the Wicked Wasilla Witch to actually do something significant they'd be waiting until heck froze over.  Don't blame the media for Caribou Barbie's ignorance and refusal to shut her ignorant mouth, blame Bible Spice for thinking she's holier than the rest of us and thinking she's got something intelligent to say.

Quitter Palin is Self Destructing!

I hope that Burris doesn't embarress himself or the state by running for election after being appointed by the now former governor.  He has been tainted.  It will take time for the taint to go away.

some scandal must be discouraging her from running

Cilizza - this decision is not puzzling at all to anyone in Illinois.  The state budget and government is a total mess and she really doesn't want to move her young family to DC.  She loves her job.

Just what we need another Kennedy in govt.

1 2 3 let the repukes comments start rolling in any minute now!!!!

With Obama's numbers falling, and the number of those dissatisfied with the direction of the country increasing in each of these polls, it will be a bad time for the Democrats.
no joe, no bo, nj (Sent Wednesday, July 08, 2009 11:22 AM)

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And if the negative crap keeps up in the republican it will be a long eight years because another democratic win will happen!!!!!!! He is still very popular so get out of your fantasy world and wake up!!!!!

To all you conservative trolls:

Based on the logic that no one in Illinois should ever vote Dem because of past corruption and screw ups, it therefore follows that on a national level NO ONE should ever vote Republican again because of past corruption and screw ups. If Blago = no more Dems in Illinois, then Bush should = no more Republicans in DC.

I hope we have a deal.

Linda Hughs, Rockford IL (Sent Wednesday, July 08, 2009 11:13 AM)
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Fortunately, the republicans in Illinois are all clean. Unless you count George Ryan being in prison and all! Which is why an idiot like Blago got elected in the first place. He promised to be an honest governor and many of his fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.

And he got re-elected because the republicans couldn't find a real candidate to challenge him in his re-election campaign - even though the allegations were already flying that he was corrupt.

Oh, and by the way, isn't Ted dead yet? That'll be the day the music really plays.

Mary Jo Waterworks, in at ditch in MA (Sent Wednesday, July 08, 2009 11:16 AM)
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Wow. Just wow! You are a hateful person.

I'm reminded of a story told by my grandfather back when Nixon was at his first low (you know, the one before he was forced to resign). He came to St. Louis and as he walked through Union Station, no one would shake his hand. My grandfather, a dedicated Democratic railroad union man reached out and shook his hand. The lesson I took away from that as a kid was that you should always treat people with dignity and respect - even if you dont' agree with them.

Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Wednesday, July 08, 2009 11:08 AM

I hope that Beverly from Chicago will chime in since she's our local expert on Illinois politics.

If Kirk is smart he'll have Scotty beam him out of that race so he avoids the agony of defeat.


Eric
I'm for either Chris Kennedy or Alexi Giannoulias. As we liberals know the Republicans always invent scandals and smear; which is their MO. In essence that means we are right.
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Big Al
Implicated in a politically rigged admissions scam at the U of I. Alexi was also endorsed by Barack Obama!  Imagine that. Barack associated with crooked Chicago pols! That story was in the Chicagobama Tribune no less. Look it up libs. Baracks buddy Tony Rezko was also involved in the admissions scam.
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Can you imagine the difference between implication and truth which is what typical Right Wing Nuts can't do? Although the Tribune endorsed President Obama it's still a republican paper, Big Al. You are a Fake.
Mark  Kirk is a liar.

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