Zopp “better than Obama”
Thursday, Aug 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* US Sen. Dick Durbin reiterated his support today for US Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s Senate bid. But others are touting one of her opponents…
U.S. Senate candidate Andrea Zopp is more qualified for the post now than President Barack Obama was when he ran for the Senate in 2004, one state senator said Thursday.
“If you look at President Obama’s experience at the time he was running for U.S. Senate, yes, [Zopp is] better than President Obama,” Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, told reporters. “President Obama did not have the experience of being in the U.S. Attorney’s office, running the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. President Obama didn’t have the experience of being the senior vice president and general counsel of three major corporations. President Obama, you know, he was a community organizer but he did not run the Chicago Urban League.”
“I don’t think we’ve had a candidate like this,” said Raoul, who replaced Obama in the Illinois Senate.
* Sen. Raoul left out part of her work history, however. Zopp sat on the CPS board when it closed all those schools. And one of the other African-American Senate hopefuls brings that topic up everywhere he goes, including today…
* Zopp, who will formally announce her candidacy today, responded…
Zopp said it was a “very difficult decision” but it was the right one and she doesn’t regret it.
* Meanwhile, a bit of member management…
* Duckworth spent a good part of her speech today talking about her upbringing. Her middle class family went broke after her middle-aged father was deemed “over qualified” for his job, she said. They wound up in a one-room apartment and had real trouble making the rent payments.
She also told some jokes…
- walker - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:19 am:
“Zopp is better than everyone at everything!”
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:20 am:
It’s now a meme - Kirk was avoiding Rauner with his no-show.
- @MisterJayEm - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:21 am:
“If you look at President Obama’s experience at the time he was running for U.S. Senate, yes, [Zopp is] better than President Obama.”
And no one could fashion a better argument that an election must be about more than the candidates’ resumes.
– MrJM
- Formerly Known As... - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:22 am:
Sen Raoul may have something. Hadn’t thought about it that way before.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:22 am:
Good on President Cullerton.
It doesn’t always have to be about doling out punishments in Caucus governing, it can be about rewards, earned rewards, too
- The Captain - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:26 am:
Zopp:
1. Doesn’t have an electoral track record, and is starting at the top of the ballot.
2. Is already being forced to play defense (it’s only the State Fair)
3. Her defense of the wildly unpopular school closings is “Zopp said it was a “very difficult decision” but it was the right one and she doesn’t regret it.”
Don’t procrastinate the concession speech.
- walker - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:27 am:
Best guess is that Durbin also likes Harris in, since Zopp’s in.
Duckworth’s gonna be primaried anyway.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 11:36 am:
Wasn’t Zopp also on the CPS board when it voted to hand out a $20 million no-bid contract to Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s former employer? You know, the contract that the FBI is so very interested in? Did Zopp vote for that too, or just to close all of those schools?
Yep, with votes like that, she sure does have more experience than Obama. I’m not sure it’s the kind of experience I’d like to have in a Senate nominee, but it’s definitely experience.
- Judgment Day (on the road) - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:04 pm:
Ok, so it’s….
Kirk with Rauner
or
Duckworth with Blagojevich
Somebody better tell Tammy that’s probably not a winning approach.
- Precinct Captain - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:08 pm:
47, Zopp voted for that no-bid contract. Let’s also not forget twice she refused to investigate police torture, as an ASA and AUSA.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:20 pm:
===Let’s also not forget twice she refused to investigate police torture, as an ASA and AUSA.===
Very experienced indeed.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:22 pm:
Good point, Precinct Captain.
- Wordslinger - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:29 pm:
Kirk’s electoral vulnerability in a presidential year represents a once-in-a-lifetime shot for a Dem looking to bust into the Senate.
- Carhartt Representative - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:50 pm:
Zopp was on with Dick Kay this past weekend and defended her stint on the CPS Board as having to make the tough decisions. I really wanted somebody to ask her about a time when she had to make the difficult decision to oppose anything that Mayor Emanuel wanted. When you’re part of a rubber stamp organization, it’s hard to claim there were any decisions to be made at all. You just vote the way you’re told.
- Gone, but not forgotten - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:50 pm:
To “The Captain” 11:26 a.m.: Not that I’m supporting Zopp, but your #1 regarding electoral track record . . . what record did Obama have????? And then did not even finish his term before going for the absolute top of all ballots! How soon we forget so many things, not just Zopp’s resume or Tammy’s resume (whatever that includes). The upcoming 2016 races are utterly ridiculous, disappointing and not being based on what is good for the American people. Rather, based on resumes, popularity, how much money they raise, and last, but not least, Party.
- Tom Joad - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:13 pm:
What a motley crew to be running for Senator and Comptroller.
- Carhartt Representative - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:16 pm:
As far as I can tell, the highlights of Zopp’s resume
1. Chose not to investigate Burge when evidence of his wrong doing was brought to here.
2. Corporate council for Exelon
3. Member of CPS Board who voted for non-bid contracts, toxic swaps, and closing 50 schools.
- The Velour Nail - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:26 pm:
Duckworth is a flawed candidate who cannot beat Kirk. Glad to see others running and hope she does not make it out of the primary.
- Left Leaner - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 1:28 pm:
Look at Raoul doggin’ on Obama like that. Ouch.
Is that the color of envy he’s wearing?
Some of the world’s most accomplished people have a resume a page long.
- Precinct Captain - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:03 pm:
==- Gone, but not forgotten - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 12:50 pm:==
Try reading for comprehension. The Captain clearly said electoral track. President Obama had been through the process of being a candidate before at a smaller level. Zopp has never done that period.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:31 pm:
And let’s not forget her years as General Counsel at Exelon learning how to use government to fleece ratepayers.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:33 pm:
So is the Napolean Harris thing for real? Are there really going to be three African American candidates going up against Tammy Duckworth? At first I thought Boykin was a Duckworth plant, but not Harris.
- DuPage - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:42 pm:
“Better qualified then Obama when he ran for senate in 2004″. That is not saying much.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 2:46 pm:
Well let’s just see whose campaign will flop.
- Soccermom - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:04 pm:
She’s also more qualified than Abraham Lincoln was.
- truthteller - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:31 pm:
Didn’t realize that Raoul had supported the candidate with the better resume- Clinton- over Obama in 2008.
- Amalia - Thursday, Aug 20, 15 @ 3:58 pm:
@Truthteller, right on! Kwame sounds bitter.