Rahm Emanuel: C/D? (probably going to be a Chicago politics complaint thread too)

HE SUCKS SO MUCH ARGHHHHHHHH

Good article!

Like the political operative he once was, he frames any situation in the context not of what is right or fair or decent but of what is possible. The issue, in Rahm’s view, isn’t city workers who signed a contract filled with promises; the issue is that those promises were never real to begin with, and the only choice he has is to replace them with something that actually might happen. “Life is a series of choices,” Rahm says. “You may have to work longer, and that is pain. And it is also certainty. My view is I would like to give more certainty to more people, which doesn’t exist today.”

i cannot read that right now
i hate him so much

what a charmer:

A five-seven, fifty-four-year-old fitness fanatic who exercises seven days a week, whose weight fluctuates between 149 and 150 pounds, who as a child put pinholes in his mother’s cigarettes to protest her smoking, Rahm rebukes Walmart shoppers picking up alcohol and little else. “That’s a lot of beer,” he tells one young man hoisting an eighteen-pack of Modelo. “Don’t drink it alone.” (Rahm is what they call in Yiddish a kibitzer—he teases, he needles, he taunts, and even though he is in full greet-the-public mode, the booze hounds give him a chance to chide somebody.) Elsewhere in the store, Rahm sees a crying three-year-old standing next to a shopping cart, and checking first with Mom—or perhaps Grandma—he lifts him into the seat, calling for a pack of tissues from his press secretary to address the boy’s runny nose. “You okay now? Better?” Then the lesson. “What do you say to Tarrah?” he asks the boy, who is silent. “Thank you?” prompts the mayor, himself a father of three. Working his way to the front of the store, Rahm says “I’m ready” to his security man, and they head out to the pair of big black Chevy Tahoes idling outside.

Opponent for 2015?

http://inthesetimes.com/article/16321/amara_enyia_rahm_emanuel

A five-seven, fifty-four-year-old fitness fanatic who exercises seven days a week, whose weight fluctuates between 149 and 150 pounds,

I can't figure this out. I'm 5' 7", I rarely exercise and my weight hovers between 142 and 145. Does this mean Rahm has 5 pounds of pure muscle on me?

he's got an aluminum skeleton

he had some weights implanted in order to walk the brass balls walk in addition to talking the talk

http://inthesetimes.com/article/16321/amara_enyia_rahm_emanuel

Opponent for 2015?

http://inthesetimes.com/article/16321/amara_enyia_rahm_emanuel

― That's So (Eazy), Friday, February 21, 2014 3:38 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oops! Sorry! I should read first then post.

Anyway, I like this lady and while I don't think she'll win, I hope she helps spur some viable opposition.

me too -- i don't think he's a stick around forever kinda guy but i could see him going for another term until he decides what he will decimate next.

I dunno, Washington faced a pretty steep uphill battle in 1983, and people are more pissed at Rahm today than they were at Byrne then. And most of the old racist white Democratic machine are either dead, retired, in jail, or are now Republicans who wouldn't stand a chance anyway.

But will those pissed off people vote, that's the question. I sure hope so! I do my part to make voting seem like a vital/necessary activity.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BhcOeaRIMAA7-H8.jpg

uuuuuuuuuugh

people are more pissed at Rahm today than they were at Byrne then.

are a lot of people really pissed at him? i mean, sure, huge numbers of folks in progressive and many minority communities. but i don't get the sense that rahm-hate is quite as widespread as it would appear from reading this thread.

also the problem electorally is not really rahm it's whoever might run against rahm. there just haven't been good high-profile candidates with enough name recognition, personality, and funding prospects.

http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Woman-Heckles-Mayor-at-City-Birthday-Celebration-248426171.html

my CPS teacher friends were all fired up about that. apparently heckling is the only way to get him to listen. also, he deserves it.

Announcing the James Beard nominees right now:

http://new.livestream.com/jamesbeardfoundation/events/2839907

rahm always keeps himself where the real city action is

but i don't get the sense that rahm-hate is quite as widespread as it would appear from reading this thread.

I thought it was nearly as widespread...? I assumed his closing schools while funding that dumbass DePaul stadium was pretty much writing off huge voting blocs.

(but I'm 800 miles away)

well, this is a speshul pol

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/19/chicago-republican-who-blamed-autism-and-tornadoes-on-lgbt-rights-wins-her-primary/

did any of y'all hear the bold shameless pandering to latin@s that rauner (and the lady who introduced him) were doing during the acceptance speeches last night? whoa. never heard anything like it in this state. quinn is over there talking about how the ford plant has THREE shifts and it only had ONE when he started; rauner and gang are literally screaming MAS TRABAJOS

does Rauner have a chance? I live in the People's Republic of Urb@n@ so I haven't kept up with what the Chi feeling is on this. as a state employee I'm not super keen on Quinn's pension "reform" but otoh I don't know what better options there are

i think so
mainly because quinn is weak

he's not a bad person and he is way better than having an activist republican governor, so i'll vote for him, but he is from another time
rauner is thinking forward more than quinn is, and i can see him getting a significant # of votes

i'm not talking about actual policies here, just demographic courting

hey even the .01% need gardeners

well, this is a speshul pol

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/19/chicago-republican-who-blamed-autism-and-tornadoes-on-lgbt-rights-wins-her-primary/

― images of war violence and historical smoking (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, March 19, 2014 2:22 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

“God is angry,” she told the Herald. “We are provoking him with abortions and same-sex marriage and civil unions. Same-sex activity is going to increase AIDS. If it’s in our military, it will weaken our military. We need to respect God.”

Yep, that'll win her Evanston.

Holy shit that lady won!

She is a ridiculous human being. I can't believe she won the primary.

Even a legit candidate would probably not unseat Jan Schakowsky so I'm going to just sit back and enjoy this political absurdity.

he's not a bad person and he is way better than having an activist republican governor, so i'll vote for him, but he is from another time

This is OTM. Quinn is the definition of meet the new boss, same as the old boss. He just hasn't been caught yet. And as a former state employee, I actively dislike him and would love to vote against him but there is no way in hell I'm voting for a Republican for governor.

i will admit that i voted for tio hardiman on account of wanting to express support for his attempt to run
he got 108,065 votes i think (which was 28%)

is Rahm dead yet

Immortal, motherfuckers.

Think I didn't vote for Governor at all yesterday because it didn't seem to matter.

I went on Rauner's website to see if there was a chance he was a "reasonable republican" and a bunch of his plans seem to be "I will crush unions like a bug and this will fix everything." I hope Illinois doesn't get stuck with the new Scott Walker.

i would advise everyone to consider that possibility
he has a lot of money and is pandering furiously

Yeah, I suspect "pension reform" is a dog whistle for "destroy AFSCME."

He's not totally anti-choice, surprisingly enough.

Yeah, at least he doesn't seem socially conservative. Though if ALEC get their claws into him, it might not matter.

Even a legit candidate would probably not unseat Jan Schakowsky so I'm going to just sit back and enjoy this political absurdity.

― carl agatha, Wednesday, March 19, 2014 1:49 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, think about it this way: jan can save a lot of money on campaigning this year.

pro-choice republicans are pretty common in Illinois, no? and in New England...

governor's race is definitely a "lesser of two evils" proposition. even is launer wins (yikes), my guess is that neither the senate nor the house will turn over to the GOP so at least there will be MAJOR checks on the gov's power. so it won't get as bad as here in wisconsin, where the GOP owns the government right now.

Or Ohio (sob)

I remember very different times.

Or Ohio (sob)

― we slowly invented brains (La Lechera), Wednesday, March 19, 2014 8:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

or michigan, right?

2010 was a BAD YEAR.

Amusing to look at what counties Pat Quinn carried in 2010:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Illinois2010.png/403px-Illinois2010.png.

I assume he'll win Cook again. He he'll still probably lose all those other counties as well, but by bigger amounts this time? Who knows.

cook county is worth over 1/2 of those other counties tho

btw did anyone see that CNN online doc or whatever it was about chicago whose ads featured our man rahm in this steely chiaroscuro portrait? i assumed it was trash.

Here's some good links for you guys:

http://pando.com/2014/04/08/revealed-rahm-emanuels-top-donor-bought-stock-in-marriott-just-before-it-was-awarded-huge-chicago-contract/
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117247/contentious-interview-rahm-emanuel

Oops.