>fascinating. Please convey my regards and support to Ms.
Kaszak.
>In fact, I may do it myself. mbs
Here's a more detailed report from today's Chicago Tribune (which has endorsed Emanuel, who was known during his tour in DC as Rhambo)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0203100331mar10.stor y
Emanuel, Kaszak battling to gain edge with voters 5th District race goes down to wire By David Mendell Tribune staff reporter Published March 10, 2002
Democratic rivals Nancy Kaszak and Rahm Emanuel are running neck and neck as their fierce primary battle in the 5th Congressional District heads into its final days, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows.
Emanuel and Kaszak, who together may spend $3 million in vying for the open congressional seat, likely will use the final stretch to woo a large bloc of undecided voters. One in four probable voters in the primary have yet to choose a preferred candidate, the survey found.
The poll showed Emanuel, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, favored by 35 percent of likely Democratic primary voters in the Northwest Side district. Kaszak, a former state representative, was the choice of 33 percent. The difference is statistically insignificant.
Six other candidates seeking the Democratic nomination barely registered in the poll.
The poll surveyed 400 likely voters in the highly diverse district, which runs from the lake through the Northwest Side and as far west as Melrose Park. It was conducted Monday through Wednesday as a controversy erupted over comments made in support of Kaszak by a Polish-American community leader at a Pulaski Day event.
In such a tight race, the flap might prove to be the wild card.
Emanuel and some supporters in the religious and political communities accused Edward Moskal, who heads two national Polish-American organizations based in Chicago, of anti-Semitism. Moskal claimed--incorrectly--that Emanuel, who is Jewish, was a citizen of Israel and served in the Israeli army. Moskal implied that Emanuel holds more allegiance to Israel than to the United States.
Kaszak had courted Moskal but said she would sever ties with him after his remarks, which she called "deplorable."
Kaszak, who is of Polish descent, has played up her ethnic heritage and is counting heavily on Polish support. Indeed, the Tribune poll showed that nearly six in 10 voters described themselves as having an ethnic Polish, German or Irish background.
How the anti-Semitism flap played in the district is uncertain. The district encompasses a wide tract of urban territory that also is home to a large influx of young Latino immigrants as well as gays and lesbians and political progressives near the lakefront.
Between frames at Turner Bowl in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, George Majewski and his regular Wednesday morning bowling crew were captivated by the latest twist in the race.
"Can you believe what that fellow said about that Clinton guy, Rahm?" said Majewski, 77, a retired U.S. postal worker of Polish descent. "My feeling is this guy Rahm was born in America and he's an American like the rest of us. Those things that fellow said were wrong, and he wouldn't even apologize."
Moskal's comments touched on long-held feelings of animosity between some in the Jewish and Polish communities that have their roots in World War II. But as Majewski's sentiments and interviews with others of Polish descent reveal, Moskal's comments are not representative of all Polish-Americans.
"I think what he said was rude, just terrible," said Sophie Bielikowicz, who immigrated to Chicago from Poland more than 50 years ago.
Amid the controversy, Emanuel took his campaign right to the heart of the Polish community, tossing gutter balls and giving high-five hand slaps to older ethnic Poles at Turner Bowl on Thursday.
"I'm feeling very good about the race today," said a smiling Emanuel.
Tricky spot Indeed, Kaszak's campaign has been unnerved by the focus on Moskal, whose standing in the Polish community she had hoped to leverage into votes. Now she is in a tricky spot, trying to hold on to that voting bloc while distancing herself from Moskal.
She denounced Moskal at a news conference at which Emanuel was present. And that, said her campaign manager, Chris Mather, has led some Polish volunteers with limited English proficiency to quit in the mistaken belief that Kaszak had endorsed Emanuel.
Mather said she thought it unfortunate that Moskal's "bigoted" remarks had become the center of the race. She said Kaszak did the right thing morally in condemning Moskal--but it could cost Kaszak votes.
"We probably alienated ourselves from an important part of Nancy's support," she said.
On Friday, Kaszak returned to attacking Emanuel, criticizing him for dumping $450,000 of his personal wealth into the race in February. She alleged that he has become rich, earning $10 million in investment banking after leaving the White House in 1998-- "on the backs of residents of the 5th District."
Emanuel helped broker Commonwealth Edison's merger with another power company, and Kaszak has charged that thousands of local jobs were lost as a result of the combination. Emanuel said the merger saved jobs that would have otherwise been eliminated.
On Saturday, Mayor Richard Daley formally endorsed Emanuel's campaign, something the mayor rarely does in primaries.
Daley had already given his tacit support, lending field and staff help from political operatives, but Emanuel will be able to tout the endorsement in last-minute campaign literature and commercials.
Emanuel promises to maintain his hectic campaign pace through Election Day, and anecdotal evidence suggests he is reaching voters. One bowler in the Turner lanes said he'd met Emanuel at three seniors' functions. Although Emanuel was little known in the district when the campaign began, the poll showed that by last week, 87 percent of Democratic voters canvassed in the district said they had heard of him.
That was slightly more than those who said they had heard of Kaszak, who is campaigning as the candidate who has lived far longer in the district and is closer to its soul.
Who's more in tune?
Kaszak's message appears to be resonating. The poll found 35 percent of respondents said Kaszak was more in tune with them and the issues they care about. Only 18 percent said that of Emanuel. Even so, she hasn't been able to leverage that advantage into a clear edge over Emanuel.
While Kaszak's campaign has focused primarily on ethnic Poles and seniors, Emanuel's aides said they are working every corner of the diverse district.
"The 5th really is retail politics at its best," noted Greg Goldner, Emanuel's campaign manager. "It is one of America's true melting pots, and we've taken the approach that anywhere there are 15 voters in one spot, we want to be there." [end]