Rahm Emanuel,
current mayor of my old hometown, Chicago, is not a gentle soul. But he's
smarter than his big-spending predecessor, Richard M. Daley, and the union
pawn, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who becomes the new mayor if he beats
Emanuel in a run-off election April 7.
Emanuel was the
tough Obama chief of staff who reportedly stabbed a table with a steak knife as
he listed political enemies. He relishes conflict and famously said that in
politics, "You never let a serious crisis go to waste." That comment
scared libertarians and conservatives, who know that government usually uses
crises as excuses to increase its power.
But here's the surprise: Emanuel
has been in crisis mode for four years now, and sometimes he made the right
decisions as a result……his predecessors pandered to a shallow public and
gullible media by spending, borrowing and refinancing……but cities can't keep
borrowing…...Moody's downgraded Chicago's credit rating almost to junk-bond
level last year because the city promised to pay billions of dollars in
pensions to city workers but doesn't have the money.
He privatized some jobs, giving private contractors a
chance to prove that they do city work better than city workers do it. He
closed 50 of the city's worst schools. But he made little progress in
addressing the immense pension liability……The pensions are owed mostly to union
teachers, cops and firemen, and none will give an inch…..To Read More……
My Take – There’s are eight things here I think worth
reviewing.
One. Why is Emanuel having to do a runoff in the first
place? Answer - he’s amazingly unlikable! He’s rude, arrogant, profane, belligerent, vindictive and
he’s connected to the hip to the Obama crowd, and no matter what the polls say –
I find it impossible to believe Obama can still muster a 47% approval rating. I put Rasmussen’s
polls in the same category as the polls that showed Netanyahu was on the ropes
and was going to lose his election.
Two. The media in Chicago – and everywhere else - are
leftists and connected to the hip with the teachers union, so coverage over
the school issues in Chicago has been slanted.
Three. I think those votes against Emanuel were “up yours”
object lesson votes.
Four. Now that the field is clear everything will have to drift away
from the emotional sound bites and focus on what each of these guys has to
offer, and Jesus "Chuy" Garcia - although likable - has no answers and no solutions to any
of the issues, except more of the same, which leads to bankruptcy, lousy
schools and crummy teachers. Now the voters will be forced to focus on Chicago's serious economic problems, and since the internet is available in Chicago - they will bypass their local media to find that focus. Being likeable will not win this election!
Five. Corruption will always be with Chicago. It’s endemic in Illinois, just ask all the
governors of Illinois that have been convicted of corruption, including Blagojevich, so solving that can only be a
side issue as opposed to the very real bankruptcy they're looking at if someone doesn't start changing the economic issues that are fixable.
Six. At some
point between now and April 7th Chicagoans will realize that even as
miserable a human being as Emanuel is – he’s at least moving in the right economic direction, and
will have no option but to re-elect him.
Seven. He almost sounds like a moderate Republican with
his efforts to thwart these run away unions, but he is now, and will always be,
the same vindictive Rahm Emanuel he’s
always been. One who believes in destroying
his enemies, and the teachers unions – and all those who worked to unseat him –
are his enemies and they will find him unrelenting in his efforts against them.
Eight. But here's the rub - those who were the most adamant against him belong
to the base of the Democratic party. It should be
interesting to watch!
If he's not elected, the author is right - Chicago is the next Detroit - and may be anyway!
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