andie nachgeborenen: Time presevents excessive discussion, but it's sort of amazing to hold up Ill, politics as a model. The current Dem gov is only in office because his GOP predecessor is spiraling down into federal prison for corruption and cronyism, and when staying clean is worth its weight in gold, Rod B appears to be up to his ears in the same old same old -- I don't envy him when Pat Fitz gets finished putting Ryan and his pals in the can, as well as Scooter Libby, maybe Rove.
The Dem machine in the City of Chicago --you know, the one that natahn sort of overlooked in going on about New York's unique corruption -- is leaking high level officials who are resigning and negotiating with prosecutors faster than a dam break, and who tells how close it's going to get to the Mayor. The school system, still one of the orst inthe country, and the least integrated, is about to shed 1,000 teachers -- the School Super's not a bad guy, but the money's not there. Maybe you can ask the Mayor's friends in the Hired Truck Program where it went.
Every major construction job in Illinois is run in clout. The machine regulars -- GOP downstate, Dem in the city, are short-sighted thieves. The minimum wage may be going up but jobs are disppearing as throughtout the rust best.
The only semi-decent thing in Ill. politics is Barak Obama, and he's in DC. Now, if we could get Dems to talk like Barak -- look hwo deftly he handled McCain's ugly attack -- we might have something going. So far as one can tell he's honest too
^^^^^ Even before the latest discussion on Illinois, I had been saying to myself that Illinois seems so progressive compared to most states these days ( which I guess is not saying much) ; and I thought maybe it's was because Carrol and andie are there. Maybe they're just being modest.
Even the former Republican Governor had a conversion and suspended the death penalty. And hey, now he's going to federal prison. That's what we want all the Republicans to do. Knock off some rightwing institution and then go to prison. So, even that's cool.
What other state has elected a Black woman Senator ? Even if she didn't turn out so good, what an anti-racist message the white people of Illinois send out by that vote and the vote for Obama.
Now Nathan brings up more evidence good works. I think you guys are doing better than you think. Hey, let us dream.
John Henry