* About the only thing that national conventions are good for these days are stories about people who are floating their names for office, or people who are taking themselves out of contention…
Quinn’s low approval ratings and his ugly rift with organized labor have some Democrats buzzing about a primary challenge. But, Hynes said Wednesday you can count him out.
“I’ve not given thought to that at all. Right now, my thoughts are on re-electing the President,” Hynes said before the Il. delegation’s breakfast.
“I’ve got a young family and a new job with Ariel Investments. So, that’s pretty much my focus.”
Asked if he has ruled out a race completely, Hynes said, “Yeah. I’m not really thinking about that….I don’t have any political plans right now.”
But, that doesn’t mean that Quinn will get a pass. Hynes warned the govenor to make amends with labor or risk a damaging backlash.
“We have to recognize that organized labor is a critical ally of the Democratic party. We have some opportunities to, not only strengthen that alliance, but create jobs for our people. And he would be advised to listen” to them.
* There was also chatter about Mayor Rahm Emanuel…
“Oh, I think clearly that Rahm Emanuel has the potential to be the president of the United States,” said Rep. Mike Madigan (D) Ill. Democratic chairman.
Madigan points to the Emanuel resume: prolific fundraiser, senior adviser to President Clinton, U.S. Congressman, Democratic Congressional campaign committee chairman, White House chief of staff and mayor of the nation’s third largest city.
“If he chooses to run for president of the United States, that clearly is a possibility for him,” Madigan said. […]
The 51-year-old father of three children insists he has no interest in returning to Washington. And many Chicago Democrats take him at his word:
“He loves the job. I don’t believe he has national ambitions. I hope not. I hope he stays in Chicago as the mayor,” said John Cullerton (D) Illinois Senate president.
* I’m sure people will be talking up Duckworth as well…
But it was Iraq war veteran and Illinois congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth who brought down the house, when she said crewmates had her back when her Blackhawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq.
“Even though they were wounded themselves, and insurgents were nearby, they simply refused to leave a fallen comrade behind. Their heroism is why I’m alive today. And, ultimately, that is what this election is about,” Duckworth said.
Afterward, Duckworth said her speech was “electric, it was energizing, and it was great that we had a moment tonight to talk about veterans, and supporting our military men and women.”
* And, this being Illinois, we have the obligatory Lisa Madigan story…
As Republicans make her last name a dirty word, Attorney General Lisa Madigan played coy Tuesday about whether she might challenge a politically weakened Gov. Pat Quinn in the 2014 governor’s race.
“You know what? I am here at the Democratic convention focused on one race, and that’s the race for the White House,” Madigan told reporters Tuesday when asked if she intended to run for governor. “We have to make sure that Barack Obama is re-elected, and we move forward on the path to recovery.” […]
“Pat Quinn, like President Obama, has been in a situation when things are very difficult in our state and in our nation. And so you’re going to have difficulties. You’re going to have tough decisions, and you’re going to have disgruntled people. I think that’s what you see at the state and the national level,” Madigan said.
Madigan and her husband, Pat Byrnes, have two young children, ages 7 and 4. She was asked whether she could serve as governor and still raise her kids the way she wants to.
“Wow. Does anybody ever ask that question?” she said. “I’m very lucky to have the support of my family. My husband helps take care of our kids. But, I think more people should ask that of men running for office as well.”
Pressed further on whether she could simultaneously hold both jobs — governor and mom — she said, “I can be the attorney general and do that. There are plenty of women who juggle.”
Reminded that being governor is a lot more demanding than attorney general, she said, “All of these jobs are very demanding. And people who, unfortunately, have to work three jobs and don’t necessarily have health-care coverage — they’re even in a worse situation. So nobody needs to give any pity on what elected officials have to endure.”
Any other Democrats we should be watching?
* Related…
* Rahm Emanuel Again Denies 2016 Rumors
* Rahm defends shortened convention trip as teacher strike looms
* Walter’s Perspective: Rahm Lying About Why He Changed DNC Plans
* Rahm Emanuel: Obama’s ‘Incomplete’ Is A ‘Proper Grade’
* Report: Emanuel to seek big-money donations for Obama
* VIDEO: Rahm Emanuel at Bloomberg/Washington Post breakfast
- Ann - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:10 am:
Three authors on the Sun-Times article so no way to know who was asking Lisa those stupid stupid questions about whether she could be a mom and governor but whoever it was should be ashamed of themselves.
- Shore - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:11 am:
Duckworth got badly outmaneuvered against Joe Walsh in that debate and will likely be so again. Like a lot of resume candidates she’s too reliant on the combination of that and her advisors and not good enough out on her own to do it. Hynes has Romney esque icyness. Rahm can’t manage parts of his own city, the country is a bit much.
- Curious - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:14 am:
I think Sens. Frerichs and Raoul could have a big future in the party if they can expand their donor range, name I.D. Same for Rep. Bradley. Dart’s name will always be floated but he seems to gunshy to try for a bigger office if there’s a chance he’d lose.
- phocion - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:21 am:
Pretty obnoxious questions for Lisa Madigan. She handled them well, but I mean, geez! Reporters think it’s ok to ask a woman about holding office and raising children?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:26 am:
–Pressed further on whether she could simultaneously hold both jobs — governor and mom–
Wow is right.
When did Rick Santorum start working for the Sun-Times?
I wonder if it’s possible to hold both jobs — governor and father? Or mayor and father? Or president and father?
News flash to the Sun-Times: Tens of millions mothers and fathers work hard outside the home every day.
Is it possible? Sometimes, it might not seem so, but it is, out of necessity.
Welcome to 1975.
- PQ's Primary Opponent - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:30 am:
Rahm, Bill Daley, Tom Dart, Lisa Madigan, Toni Preckwinkle, Sen. Frerichs, any of them could beat this current Gov. Let’s hope one of them actually step up and take him on. Hypocracy, bad numbers with union members, tax hiker, many reasons to beat PQ: of course we must remember that God did give us PQ to solve the pension crisis!!How is that working out Gov?
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:32 am:
Someone from any of the other 101 counties in Illinois would be a nice change, and give them a needed edge in a statewide election because they would know there are other places in Illinois where people live.
- Robert the Bruce - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:35 am:
So if/when Lisa Madigan runs, does Mike Madigan announce his retirement, in order to avoid being a distraction in the campaign?
- Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:35 am:
It’s questions like that that remind me why I never went in to politics.
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:37 am:
I heard POTUS wants to bring his clear-headed stewartship to Illinois directly and will run for governor in 2014.
- Robert the Bruce - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:37 am:
The crowd loved Duckworth, understandably so. But to me, she didn’t sound ready for prime time yesterday. Her speaking style was surprisingly quite weak; she looked nervous, as she struggled to adjust to the audience’s cheering. I’ve seen her do a lot better.
- Rick - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:46 am:
I still think Preckwinkle has a decent shot against Quinn despite her icy personality and her “special place in hell” misstep a couple of weeks ago.
Watch and see if early next year she announces some kind of deal with the unions on reforming the Cook County Pension Fund (Greg Hinz mention a few months back that they were in talks.)
Combining a big African-American vote with the public employee unions is a pretty good 1-2 punch in a Dem primary.
- redrum - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 10:56 am:
Quinn controls the Cook County vote and until that changes, he’s in. My guess is that Quinn retires after a single term, and leaves the mess to anyone dumb enough to tackle it.
- langhorne - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 11:05 am:
i agree with others, those mom/governor questions were out of whack. lisa deflected the question appropriately. i mean seriously — can you be a soldier and be a mom?
- Cassiopeia - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 11:09 am:
Quinn and a few of his closest followers, especially the ones who have never had high jobs like they have now, are the only ones that don’t know that he cannot be re-elected.
It is sad to watch how delusional they have become.
- lake county democrat - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 11:17 am:
While I think the Sun-Times question was offensive, there’s one qualifier: Lisa Madigan reportedly bowed-out of the senate race because she didn’t want to sacrifice the time from her family. I didn’t buy it, but IF she offered that in public (I didn’t think she did, but don’t recall for sure) then it wouldn’t be that unfair to raise the matter again.
Curious is right - Dart’s name will be out there but until he shows more gumpsion I won’t believe he’s running.
- olddog - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 11:19 am:
Why would Rahm Emanuel want to run for president? He already holds the highest office in the land.
- Tony - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 11:25 am:
Disagree with redrum. Don’t think there’s any chance Quinn retires. He’s divorced, so it’s not like the wife is getting on him to give up the grind and retire to Florida. His kids are grown. He doesn’t seem like the retiring type…doesn’t golf, has never been interested in making big bucks at a law firm.
I’d be shocked if he walks away.
- jake - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 11:53 am:
The other Democrat people should be watching is Mike Frerichs. He has quickly made a Republican-leaning Senate district into a safe district for himself personally, he has raised a large campaign war chest that he does not need for his State Senate campaign, and he has a very interesting profile–a somewhat liberal Democrat with a large extended family in rural southern Illinois. He also has been very publicly critical of the Governor with respect to the Governor not being willing to work with the legislature to craft solutions to Illinois’ problems. All the Democratic legislators I know of feel the same way about the Governor, but few are willing to make those feelings public.
- Fed up - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 1:05 pm:
Love the Duckworth story but she is a creation of Rahm. It’s nice that Duckworth thinks her speech was electric I’m not so sure others would agree. Plus she can’t even figure out how not to get caught cheating on property taxes. I expect better from a Rahm protege.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 1:05 pm:
The current Democratic officeholder with the best chance — maybe the only chance — of beating Quinn is John Bradley, but I’m not sure he even wants the job.
- Niles Township - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 1:12 pm:
I think Dart and Preckwinkle would be the only ones to seriously consider it. PQ may luck out.
- reformer - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 1:44 pm:
I’d be surprised if Quinn retires, unless his polls are so low that discretion seems the better part of valor.
Preckwinkle can’t be counted out.
- Carlos S. - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 1:57 pm:
Let’s talk about the strike in Chicago: the only ending I can imagine (and I don’t have a great imagination) is some kind of cave-in by Rahm because an extended strike will hurt the president’s reelection bid and because the city won’t be able to make good on the promises to the union anyway. As I understand it, the city is zero-outing all of its remaining surplus and will be in hole about 700 million next year. Would love to know what others expect.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 2:06 pm:
–Let’s talk about the strike in Chicago: the only ending I can imagine (and I don’t have a great imagination) is some kind of cave-in by Rahm because an extended strike will hurt the president’s reelection bid…–
I think you have an active imagination. Where and with whom would a teacher’s strike impact the presidential election?
I’d imagine about 400,000 students would have little to do right after the school year had started.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 2:26 pm:
@Niles Township -
Dart’s best move politically is to convince Preckwinkle to run for Governor and secure her support for County Board President.
But, as I’ve said before, I doubt Preckwinkle runs for Governor. There will be entreaties from Quinn’s antagonists. Someone — probably Sneed — will start some buzz about the first woman AND first African American governor of Illinois. But at the end-of-the-day, Cook County Board President is the fourth-best job in American politics:
1. President of the U.S.
2. Mayor of New York City or Chicago (virtual tie)
4. Cook County Board President
6. U.S. House Speaker
7. U.S. Senate Majority leader
8. Vice-President or Governor of California
9. Governor of New York
10. Governor of Texas
Illinois Governor doesn’t even make the Top 10.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 2:40 pm:
The governor’s office is relatively week compared to other states.
The governor of New Jersey is very powerful, as it is in the only non-federal statewide elected office.
In addition, New Jersey governors appoint, with confirmation by the state Senate, the state attorney general and secretary of state, as well as all judges and county prosecutors.
That’s a job worth having.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 2:50 pm:
Good points wordslinger.
The one solid benefit Illinois governors have is that they do not have term limits.
That said, only one of Illinois’ 41 governors has served more than two term - Jim Thompson - and only a relative handful have ever even been re-elected.
- Carlos S. - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 3:39 pm:
==Where and with whom would a teacher’s strike impact the presidential election==
National Repubs hanging dysfunctional Chicago around Obama’s neck; creating a wedge between organized labor and the Dems.
I am curious about what people’s predictions are about how this gets resolved.
- Endangered Moderate Species - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 4:11 pm:
Jake -”a large extended family in rural southern Illinois”-
We love Sen. Frerichs and we also love Southern Illinois, but I am not sure Champaign, Vermilion, Ford, Douglas, Piatt and Iroquois Counties should be considered Southern Illinois. EC Illinois has it’s own identity with many German/American roots, rich agriculture / heavy industrial economy, quick drive to Indy / Chicago, and the University of Illinois. I-L-L-I-N-I
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 4:18 pm:
YDD,
An offshoot of your comment, you’ve illustrated another reason why term limits are not needed. In the GA, about 90% of the legislature flips every 10 years.
- johhnypizza - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 4:22 pm:
Granted if a woman is going to be asked about raising children so should a man. However, Lisa was being asked the question. I don’t think Quinn has to worry about that and Rahm’s wife wants to be the person raising the children according to her various interviews. Lisa did not answer the question, she deflected. Just what I want to see - another politician who can’t (won’t?) give a straight forward answer to a straight forward question.
- soccermom - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 4:34 pm:
YDD- I thought the real muscle in Texas was the Lt. Gov. (seriously)
http://www.laits.utexas.edu/txp_media/html/leg/0601.html
- Brendan - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 4:42 pm:
There were no “excessively rabid comments,” “gratuitous insults,” “rumors”, “profanity” or “Sock puppetry” in my criticism of Duckworth’s skill as a public speaker.
So, you deleted my comment, because?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 4:51 pm:
–YDD- I thought the real muscle in Texas was the Lt. Gov. (seriously)–
I’d say the big heat in Texas is the Railroad Commission, three statewide elected members that regulate (shocking word) the oil and gas industry there and assign quotas on how much each producer can take out of the ground.
The goal is to keep prices high and the money flowing. At 1.4 million barrels a day at about $95 a barrel, deciding who gets what is real power.
The commission is the model for OPEC, and effectively set the price of worldwide oil until OPEC came on the scene.
http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/
- yinn - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 5:06 pm:
Brenden, you didn’t get deleted. I just saw your comment in the Edgar thread.
- at practice - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 7:12 pm:
Someone explain to me how the Dems had Rahm and Quinn nationwide? I’ll admit, I’m an independent. A mayor of a city that is in crisis. And a governor that is ineffective and presiding over the worst economy in America behind California. That seems like a softball even the republicans can hit. I’m writing in Rich for Pres. I urge you all to vote the same.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 7:35 pm:
@at practice -
If the GOP is attacking Quinn and Rahm, they are losing, for the same reason I’d advise Democrats not to waste their time attacking Governor Christie or Governor Walker. They’re not on the ballot.
Quinn delivered a decent message very effectively.
Rahm had a very strong message to deliver, but I have to admit isn’t really well-suited to speaking to such a large audience.
His “Change we believed in, Change we fought for, Change President Obama delivered” rap never really caught on, for example.
The right pieces were there, but he’s no Reverend Jackson.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 7:37 pm:
@Cincy -
I’ve always thought term-limits were boneheaded, and, although I understand why they were implemented for Presidents, I’d rather we elect Presidents to one six year term than have two four-year terms.
- at practice - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 8:02 pm:
Yellow I guess the point is. They may have given a strong message. But they, the messengers are great examples of failure. Sorry. Strike, murder rate, budget mess…..
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 9:25 pm:
AA has never seen the word “floater” used in this context before. All the meanings I am aware of aren’t very flattering.
- Fed up - Wednesday, Sep 5, 12 @ 9:39 pm:
No real fan of Lisa Madigan but that is a crap question. No one made a big deal out of Obama having school age children and I think his job is a little more involved than being Gov of Illinois.