CapitolFax.com - Latest Comments in Question of the day

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 15:21:00 -0000

hynes is a country club brat with no organization, his dads people have always wanted gov, he inherited his dads bad timing, it's a sorry group in the dem party, ripe for a charismatic leader with blue collar credentials

Re: Question of the day

F. Yanez — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 00:42:00 -0000

Blago has done a good job! It seems everyone is angry, because he does not play ball with al the insiders who seek jobs and contracts. Blago has some serious faults, but look , he inherited all those scandals from Ryan and he needs to make govt. as clean as possible for future dems.to get elected statewide. He has energized the Hispanic community as hAS rewarded them for there support as well as the black community. Whites from cook and from downstate have also done well. Look he is not perfect, but the state is broke and he working hard to keep it going until more revenue comes in. He has also named some star cabinet positions , such as Fernando Grillo from the dept. of Proffessional Regulations, who is an upcoming star for Illinos dems. ! Bravo

Re: Question of the day

Rich Miller — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 19:31:00 -0000

Please, people, just hit that "publish" button once. We're getting way too many double-comments. Be patient.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 19:17:00 -0000

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 19:06:00 -0000

The last anonymous blogger stated that hynes is "perceived to be overly cautious and timid." Perceived to be -- he is timid and cautions. The fact that you would advise him to take the leap and challenge a well funded incumbant shows how little you know about the candidate himself. He is a very good comptroller -- I would be happy to make him the Illinois version of Greenspan -- Comptroller for life. But he doesnt have the political gonads to run in a tough primary and do what it takes to win. We just saw it in his senate race -- he is a kitten. He took shots at hull, but wouldnt shoot at obama. Once obama's numbers started going up, hynes should have gone negative on him th drive the approvals down and disapprovals up. Hynes doesnt have a killer instinct. Ive never seen a persion with a better opportunity (based on his statewide base) to take the next step against a bunch of non statewide pols. He blew it and everybody knows it. If he runs against blago, he loses -- bad. blago will crush him like a bug.

Im neither here nor there on hynes, but lets face reality -- a profile in courage he is not. Stay in the comptrollers office and wait for the critical mass to swoop you into your next position -- dont take a risk because you cant handle it. youre a good comptroller -- keep at it.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 15:19:00 -0000

Hynes keeps tweeking Blago....to what end? Maybe he's just trying to show he still has political pulse despite getting clobbered in the Senate race. Or maybe he really is thinking about challenging Rod. Running now is a huge risk (taking on an incumbent in a primary is always tough, no matter the office and no matter the circumstances.) But it might be worth a roll of the dice. There is no where else for Hynes to go right now. Like an earlier post said, his path to higher office is blocked by better positioned pols, both statewide and in Cook County. He would leap-frog every one if he runs now.

Danny is perceived as an overly cautious (almost timid,) politician following his father's carefully crafted script. Taking on Rod would represent a bold, daring and unexpected political transformation -- and I think a lot of people who are kind of cool towards Hynes now would really warm up to him. The media would love it.

I'm sure he doesn't want to risk losing two races in a row, which would effectively kill his political career. But if I were advising Danny, I'd encourage him to ignore his political DNA and go for it. His Dad's retirement as 19th Ward committeeman provides a symbolic opportunity for him to be perceived as his own man. He can seize the moment and try to catch lightening in a bottle, or he can sit back and wait for his turn, becoming the state's longest serving Comptroller in the process.

Re: Question of the day

DownLeft — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 01:07:00 -0000

No Democrat I talk to is personally excited about Rod except people who work for him. And frankly, he's so unpopular in Sangamon County that he would probably lose to George Ryan in Springfield. I'd like to see a poll on that.

If LaHood is the Republican nominee we may see enough of the central Illinois swing voters go Republican that we'll have a new Governor who will actually use the patronage system in Springfield instead of putting half the town out of a job. People should remember that downstate voters are a lot more likely to split their ticket than Cook or Collar County voters. LaHood is a real threat if Democrats don't come up with a new candidate.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 18:57:00 -0000

Stroger and Tom Hynes are close political allies. Stroger let the elder Hynes hand-pick his successor when he stepped down as county assessor a few years ago. No way does Danny challenge Stroger.

Re: Question of the day

Carl Nyberg — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 17:48:00 -0000

I would get enthusiastic about Hynes challenging Stroger. It's a good place for Hynes.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 17:31:00 -0000

Dick Devine? The Cook Co. State's Attorney gig is a great launching pad, but if he didn't run in an open primary in `02, (as was once rumored,) why would he challenge a sitting incumbent in the `06 primary?
Vallas, by the way, was 100 PERCENT INTERESTED IN MOVING BACK FROM PHILLY to challange Rod. Many key figures in his last campaign were ready to geer up for `06, until they talked to a couple of election lawyers and found out there was no way around the residency requirement.

Dan Hynes for Cook Cty. Board Pres? Nobody is going to force Stroger out except for Stroger - or the Mayor. And it makes no sense for Daley to ditch him at this point. Besides, wouldn't Danny have to get in line behind Houlihan, Sheahan, John Daley, etc.?

Interesting that Tom Hynes just quit as 19th Ward Committeeman. Does that make Danny more of his own man and less of a product of the "old way"? And does that make him a more attractive "reform" candidate for Gov against Rod? Maybe. He can either run now or wait in line behind Lisa.

Re: Question of the day

KEL — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 14:13:00 -0000

Franks may be a bit egotistical but at least he's intelligent and he works for the people. He used to sit on the House floor calling constituents in his area introducing himself and asking if there were any concerns that they had. Politics or not, GREAT IDEA!
Sidenote: I've often wondered if the Dem Party knew what an idiot Rod was when they decided he should be a candidate. I asked someone that once and they said, "Sure we did, but we thought he'd surround himself with better people."

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 14:05:00 -0000

So I read Capitol Fax today about Franks - a couple of issues though. Mell may provoke Franks just to mess with Rod, but can't/won't give any significant support. Two, the guy that has the chits to call in citywide (and beyond) right now is, and I'm not sure how I feel about this, Fritchey. While his ambition is a little too apparent, he is making a lot of the right moves. But running against Rod? He'd never do it.

Re: Question of the day

Carl Nyberg — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 12:36:00 -0000

I'm going to create a couple Condorcet polls on the governors race.

I've created a thread to discuss who should be included in the polls. Please visit Blogging Blagojevich's Blunders and nominate candidates (or argue for candidates not to be included).

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 12:06:00 -0000

Carl,

Poshard is slinging deals with Blago, so likely won't run for governor again.

There has been some speculation (even by Rich, I think?) that Blago's people might be encouraging Poshard to run in the primary for Lieutenant Governor. The thought being, if he won, that might help Blago with the southern vote in the general election.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 11:53:00 -0000

Which do you want? Four more years of saying "Man, I wish the Guv would do X differently," or four years of vetoes and loss of patronage rights? That's the question I keep wondering about. Sure, a conservative, right-wing ideologue is worse than Blagojevich (from my point of view). But I'm not so certain that Blagojevich is better than a moderate Republican.

I generally agree with the idea of holding your nose and voting for Blagojevich. But then he or his staff do something that is just so stupid, or so offensive, that I wonder why I should even bother.

After all, Illinois had a line of Republican Governors since 1976, and we still have a pretty decent record. It's not as if the Blagojevich admnistration has fundamentally changed the direction of the state. So, a GOP moderate? Might not be so bad.

Isn't it sad that someone who has voted a straight Democratic party ticket since 1988 has to ask that question. (Full disclosure: I did not have a moral dilemna in 1998 with Poshard since I was living in a different state that year.)

Re: Question of the day

Carl Nyberg — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 11:52:00 -0000

David Orr would be a credible challenge to Blagojevich too.

Re: Question of the day

Captn. — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 11:00:00 -0000

My vote is for Mr. Morals himself.

Rep. John Bradley of Marion. One Legislative election under his belt and he thinks he's "God"

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 10:20:00 -0000

Yeah, Ken Dunkin for Governor. He's shallow and vain. He doubled crossed and lied to Mike Madigan and Dan Hynes. He hasn't supported a single substantial initiative, but goes for easy sound bites. He flies to Hollywood on ego trips. Oh wait, we already have Blagojevich. Never mind.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 04:39:00 -0000

All these Dems who don't like Rod getting so pumped over these theoretical challengers remind me a little of Ralph Nader fans in 2000... They don't realize how good they've got it.

Which do you want? Four more years of saying "Man, I wish the Guv would do X differently," or four years of vetoes and loss of patronage rights?

Rod isn't perfect. Far from it. But as we stand here tonight, a Democratic administration is a near certainty until at least 2010. A Primary challenge is just about the only thing short of indictment that could change that. Don't screw it up, Dems.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 04:28:00 -0000

Is the goal just to beat Rod in the primary a la Mike Howlett or is it to actually hold on to the guv's mansion? How's a no-name state legislator gonna stack up against proven fundraisers on the GOP side? I know we have a charisma deficit on both sides here, but the Dems would presumably want to hold on to the gov's mansion, I assume.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 03:32:00 -0000

While the Mell thing is funny, Fritchy, his former rep, and the Gov;s replacement in the House, would actually be a great match up. He'd never do it, but I bet Mell would endorse him :) Oh, the drama and amusement of it all. I agree with the Yarbrough evaluation, sounds like a self-promotion deal.

Re: Question of the day

Rich Miller — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 03:24:00 -0000

This post has been removed by the author.

Re: Question of the day

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 03:20:00 -0000

Yarbrough, are you guys (or ladies) on crack?! Who approached her, the checkout person at the Maywood 7-11? Has anybody ever seen her take the lead on ANY significant issue? (that doesn't impact her insurance business) Is she known for anything? I think somebody threw it out there as a joke (I hope that it was a joke) Who's the next suggestion, a Soto/Dunkin ticket?

I think the reality is that 06 will be relatively mundane on the D side. What will be more interesting is 2010, both sides have some real stars ready (and by that time) raring to go.

Re: Question of the day

Carl Nyberg — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 03:16:00 -0000

Could Glenn Poshard beat Blagojevich?

Lauren Beth Gash

Dorothy Brown

Is Corrinne Wood's cancer still in remission? She made noises about wanting back in the game in 2004, right? And the GOP has pretty much said she's not welcome to play for Team Republican. What keeps her from cutting a deal with Madigan and taking Blagojevich one-on-one in the primary?

Re: Question of the day

Rich Miller — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 03:14:00 -0000

I talked to Rep. Yarbrough yesterday. Believe it or not, she says she has been approached about running for governor, but is committed to seeking another term in the House.

As for Franks... Well, you'll have to subscribe to the fax for that info.