My friend Eric Kohn runs a terrific new site: Illinois Mirror.
Here is his opening manifesto.
Illinois’ legacy, calcified media long ago abdicated its obligation to provide useful knowledge that engenders an informed public. I don’t really care if it’s out of disinterest, laziness, partisanship, or cozy relationships with those in power, but the establishment media outlets stand by and tap their keyboards while Illinois crumbles. So, if the air-brushed, teleprompter-fed local media won’t do its job, Illinois Mirror will.
We accept the responsibility that they abandoned. We’ll offer a perspectives that they ignore to reveal how Illinois government really works and its effects on the public.
Right on.
And so far, so good. In fact: So far, so outstanding.
The Illinois Mirror today published the amazing results of its poll for the Governor’s race.
This is the first poll for this race.
The Illinois Mirror poll shows GOP candidate Bruce Rauner up THIRTEEN POINTS over Donk Pat Quinn!
Wow. We know Pat is awful, and we know the state is an ongoing train wreck. But still, for a purportedly Blue state, that is a surprising number.
Barring a disaster, we will elect a GOP governor who at least talks like a reformer and, fingers crossed, will actually be one.
I, and many others like me, ask only this of Bruce Rauner: Be what you say you are, do what you say you will do.
Please.
The old timers in the GOP were against Rauner. And the teachers unions pushed their members to switch-hit and take GOP ballots to vote for Kirk Dillard, the main establishment GOP candidate. As a result, Dillard got within a couple of points of Rauner, confounding many polls which predicted a Rauner blowout.
In fact, the only poll that correctly showed the race would be close was the Illinois Mirror poll!
Nice work.
Question for the studio audience: Is there any chance this lopsided poll result will be a bellwether for the USA generally in November?
I sure hope so.
And keep your eye on the Illinois Mirror!
If IL is going to elect a Repub I am expecting a national tidal wave. And kudus to the Illinois Mirror.
Quinn ran in 2010 on a platform to temporarily raise taxes 33%.
He won and raised taxes 67%
Now he’s running on a platform to makes those taxes permanent.
However, the electorate is less in the bag for democrats this time around, so he’s proposed a property tax relief scheme. They’re going to cut $500 rebate checks to homeowners this tax season (to be deposited before the election, of course).
I hope this poll is right.
The voters of Illinois have now learned that there’s nothing more permanent than a temporary tax hike.
Are they smart enough to figure out the half-life of the new rebate may not be so long after the election?
If Rauner wins and does what he says, is there any chance any real reforms can get through the Illinois Senate and House? If not, does he then just excoriate them in the media and hope for changes in 2016?
I have lived in Illinoisy for 17 years and have seen first hand the corruption of both parties. I am suspicious of Rauner given his cozy relationships with the rahmfather and othehr Crook county democraps. He will probably win, but I still have a sneaking feeling he’s a trojan horse put in by Madigan and Emmanuel. There might be some token reform, but not enough to stop the train wreck.
It will just take a few more years to happen, by which time Madigan will be retired and Emmanuel will be in another political job.
“[I]s there any chance any real reforms can get through the Illinois Senate and House?”
He can veto things the Democrats want to do.
We may be able to get out of super-minority status in the House in November. In that case it will not be possible to override a veto.
He can also propose plans, and stump for them. The Donks will oppose them. Then it is on to 2016 and we try to get more GOP votes in both house of the General Assembly that positive action becomes possible.
We are in a very deep hole here. Digging out is going to be a multi-stage process.
Simply removing Pat Quinn would be progress, for sure.
“… he’s a trojan horse put in by Madigan and Emmanuel.”
All I can tell you is second-hand hearsay: People I know who have met Rauner and who know him fairly well tell me he is serious. He is very wealthy and could move to a nicer state and be very comfortable and never have to deal with the crap-pile that is Illinois and the snake-pit that is Springfield for the rest of his life. He got in this race, so I am told by reliable sources, because he is disgusted by what is happening to the state and wants to try to turn it around.
This is Illinois, after all, and it is hard to be too cynical. But merely replacing Quinn would be something. And to the extent Rauner vetoes destructive policies, and actually tries to make some positive changes, that’s all upside.
I knew Rauner 35 years ago. Very smart, Very quiet (I was surprised to see him be so public, but his success may have inured him to the light of publicity.) Very hard worker. I seriously doubt he is anybody’s Trojan horse. I think it most likely he is doing this for fairly noble reasons, though that doesn’t mean he won’t play hardball. It’s that time of life.
“I think it most likely he is doing this for fairly noble reasons, though that doesn’t mean he won’t play hardball. It’s that time of life.”
That applied to Romney, as far as I can tell, and it didn’t help him from being trashed. The Democrats couldn’t find any scandals so they invented them. I hope this guy can make it as the end is coming on us like a train with no engineer.
Mitt was too nice for the big leagues. I don’t think Rauner is as nice as Mitt.
I’d have to agree with Mrs. Davis. Mitt did not go negative on 0bama when he really should have in the summer of 2012. Define 0bama like the 0bama campaign defined him.
“Mitt did not go negative on 0bama when he really should have in the summer of 2012.”
I blame the GOP which had its convention very late in the election season. Mitt was unable to spend the money to counter the Democrats’ attacks because he could not spend money until he was the nominee. It was very poor planning by the party.