CTU prez doubles down on ISIS remark
Friday, Apr 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* CTU President Karen Lewis has come under intense criticism for saying Gov. Bruce Rauner is an ISIS recruit…
“You know, I`ve been reading in the news lately about all of these ISIS recruits popping up all over the place — has Homeland Security checked this man out yet?” Lewis said. “Because the things he`s doing look like acts of terror on poor and working class people.” […]
When asked about her comments after the event, Lewis said the governor is “holding people hostage” by delaying the budget.
“Who does that?” Lewis said. “You hold defenseless mothers who are brand new, you hold people who are disabled hostage because you can’t get something you else want that has nothing to do with a budget? It’s ideological. That’s terrorism.”
* She was pretty defensive with a Twitter user…
* And then came the double-down…
Oh, please.
Just stop it. You won your reelection by default. End the campaign already.
* Meanwhile…
A day after Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis made inflammatory remarks about Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, the Illinois GOP looked to raise some money from her comments and added its own spin. […]
In the fundraising email appeal, Illinois Republican Chairman Tim Schneider, whom Rauner hand-picked for the top party post, called Lewis’ comments “beyond despicable.”
“Our governor was compared to a group that murders innocent children in cold blood and sells women in to slavery,” Schneider said in the email.
“Stand with Gov. Rauner and tell Karen Lewis that her obscene rhetoric won’t be tolerated. She must be held accountable for such grossly inappropriate statements,” Schneider said. He said Lewis should “set a better example for our school children.”
- Formerly Known as Frenchie M - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:22 am:
“Domestic terrorism” means activities with the following three characteristics:
Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law;
Appear intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination. or kidnapping; and
Occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/terrorism/terrorism-definition
- Anon221 - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:25 am:
To Ms. Lewis-
This.Is.Not.Helping!
Take a breath (or ten) and work on a Go Around of Rauner. You will get more allies that way than trying to rile up anger. The anger is already there, it doesn’t need to take a road toward violence either in words or actions.
- Chicago Cynic - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:28 am:
Anon221 - EXACTLY RIGHT! This is soooo not helping. For all those who thought Karen Lewis would have beaten Rahm, this is exactly why you’re wrong. Her incendiary rhetoric fires up her base, but turns off large swaths of people and is totally counterproductive. Just stop it already.
- A Modest Proposal - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:31 am:
Anyone else find it funny that the person who is threatening to shut down government unless given billions of dollars is calling someone else a terrorist?
- Almost the Weekend - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:33 am:
Karen Lewis is the perfect example of living in a bubble and having nobody on her team or staff telling her something isn’t a good idea. In other words all “yes men/women.”
- Honeybear - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:34 am:
Being one who gets passionate and losed control of the mouth/keyboard, I get her rage at Rauner. But the epiphany that I was given the other day about not making November the only pressure valve so that governing can happen in April really changed my perspective. This is patently unhelpful in building towards governing. As I have been counseled, unleash the dogs of war in July, not now. But then again, I don’t understand CTU’s timetable. I also don’t know how their timetable coordinates with AFSCME’s. I am just a Chief (NCO) down in the bilge getting my sailors to pump water out of the compartment and shore up the bulkhead.
- Mama - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:34 am:
Karen, your heart is in the right place, but calling people names is not the right path to getting what you need.
- Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:39 am:
Why do people have to do this? The governor has done an absolutely horrible job. Why give people a reason for sympathy? And why do it in a way that makes you look even more disconnected from reality than him?
- Anonymous - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:44 am:
I am not a Rauner fan, but this is just foolish. We need to update Moore’s law to include ISIS. You’re losing Ms Lewis.
- Chicago Taxpayer - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:48 am:
=Anyone else find it funny that the person who is threatening to shut down government unless given billions of dollars is calling someone else a terrorist?=
And her threats to “shut it down” are because the broke CPS won’t give her union bigger raises because they don’t have any money. And the reason they don’t have any money? They have to pay for the teachers pensions, which are eating up an increasingly dangerous share of available education dollars.
- Anon - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:49 am:
While I agree that her rhetoric doesn’t help, the tone of this blog is increasingly supportive of Rauner, which worries me far more.
- Union Activist - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:49 am:
I was in Springfield Thursday lobbying for higher ed. Lewis got her remark into to all the stories covering our efforts. That one remark helped Rauner more than anything Rauner has done all year. Thanks, Karen, for undermining the efforts of hundreds of union activists.
- Chungas revenge - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:51 am:
Maybe she is just auditioning to be Donald Trump’s running mate.
- Mouthy - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:53 am:
Aw, can’t the girl have a little fun?
- Blue Bayou - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:55 am:
Must read for details of how Rauner & Co (including Rahm) broke CPS:
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/04/chicago-public-schools-charters-closings-emanuel/
By the brilliant Rick Perlstein.
- x ace - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:56 am:
Schneider should avoid “Stand with Gov. Rauner”
“Stand with Our Party”would be a better choice.
Schneider can make a logical long run difference.
Rauner can’t , So use the opportunity W/out name.
- Anon - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:56 am:
STOP falling for the red herrings, people. Karen’s comments are completely insignifigant and this unfortunate story that Rich has decided to highlight does nothing but take the attention away from Rauner, once again. It’s all very contrived and incredibly strategic.
- Allen D - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:57 am:
— Anon - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:49 am:While I agree that her rhetoric doesn’t help, the tone of this blog is increasingly supportive of Rauner, which worries me far more.—
Some of us do Support our Governor Rauner on here… just sayin.
- SJR Headline - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 10:59 am:
Rather ironic in light of yesterday’s higher ed funding delay. Guess who that was, KL? It sure wasn’t Rauner.
- pundent - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:01 am:
=While I agree that her rhetoric doesn’t help, the tone of this blog is increasingly supportive of Rauner, which worries me far more.=
Then you haven’t been paying attention. I think the tone of these comments suggest that at this point there are very few ways to make Rauner’s actions appear reasoned and measured. Lewis’ comments could likely have that effect.
I chalk this up to her trying to rebuild some credibility with the rank and file. As Rich points out she won her reelection by default. But she also recommended that CTU accept the deal that CPS put on the table and received a resounding no from her members.
- AnonymousOne - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:01 am:
Definitely not a fan of Rauner in any sense of that word but Lewis does need to tone it down. I understand what drives her to say things like this though.
Teachers only seem to become critically vital to us when they stop doing their job. The idea of having to make plans for kids not in school seems to make the world insane. Kids not in school magically elevates the job of teacher to precious saint. However, when everything is working as it should, suddenly the teachers are nobodies who are screwing the public. So most of the angst is really about respect.
And no, the pensions are not robbing anyone blind. If anyone was robbed, it is the teachers whose pension contributions were denied them to artificially hold down taxes for everyone in the city (state). Anyone who harps on the old pension story really needs to get themselves up to speed. Quickly. Or they are embarrassing themselves with dumb comments.
- Anon on Fridays - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:02 am:
- Allen D: Some of us do Support our Governor Rauner on here… just sayin.
About 1% of you?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:02 am:
===the tone of this blog is increasingly supportive of Rauner, which worries me far more===
lol
Only someone opposed to any progress at all would be blind to the forward movement of the past few days. That should be encouraged. Also, too, you need to realize that Pat Quinn lost. You’ve got a Republican governor who has never lost an override vote. You want to just shut everything down for 3 years?
- West Side The Best Side - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:03 am:
Does anyone expect anything different from Ms. Lewis. She hasn’t disavowed the speaker at her strike rally who said F— the Police. There are more than a few CTU members who are married to the police. Whatever position she takes her strident language and the language she endorses by not disavowing is going to make supporters of the opposite side, even the Gov. So Anon. at 10:49 thank Ms. Lewis for doing the impossible.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:05 am:
=== It’s all very contrived and incredibly strategic. ===
LOL.
The first time was kind of a joke. Distasteful, but a joke. When she was asked about it she defended her argument and even expanded it. So, that tweet was actually a triple-down.
Y’all complain about Trump all the time, then defend this? C’mon.
- Mouthy - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:08 am:
A number of years back in Springfield the Teamsters were in a labor dispute with Pepsi (If my memory serves me correctly) and they put in big, bold letters on a billboard “Pepsi kills kids” Of course there was outrage but it got what the Teamsters wanted, attention. What Karen said is over the top. Rauner is no ISIS terrorist. But it got what she wanted. Attention. It’s something that labor unions do. Draw attention to their plight whether the attention getting device is over the top or not. Much ado about nothing in my book…
- wordslinger - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:09 am:
–Just stop it. You won your reelection by default. End the campaign already.–
Exactly. You got the gig, you can quit shouting.
If I were a tin-foil-hat type, I’d say she’s secretly promoting Rauner. Because she sure is helping him outside her hard-core supporters.
Here’s a clue: Politics is a game of addition.
Dorm-room word-games on “definitions” have nothing to do with what you’re trying to accomplish.
They say you’re smart. Show it, already.
- SJR Headline - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:09 am:
Rauner & Co broke CPS? They ran up those billions of dollars in debt, voted for those budgets, and kept city taxes artificially low for decades?
And the ‘unfortunate’ thing about this is KL’s despicable rhetoric, even after she had time to reconsider her words.
- Mama - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:11 am:
“And the reason they don’t have any money? They have to pay for the teachers pensions, which are eating up an increasingly dangerous share of available education dollars.”
Chicago Taxpayer, you need to do your homework.
- Wensicia - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:14 am:
Lewis should take her cue from Rauner. Has his extreme vilification of Madigan helped his cause? This tactic is foolish and shows weakness on her part, as if she can’t defend her postions and must attack instead.
- Chicago Taxpayer - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:16 am:
=Chicago Taxpayer, you need to do your homework.=
$700 million a year and rising. Nearly three-quarters of the Billion dollar budget hole.
- lake county democrat - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:19 am:
If you include Rauner in (ii) of the definition, you include any protest march at a government building.
Go back to mocking Arne Duncan’s physical disability Karen - at least that doesn’t make me envision a widow or widower of an ISIS victim having to listen to your callous remarks.
- pundent - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:26 am:
$700 million a year and rising. Nearly three-quarters of the Billion dollar budget hole.
If I only pay the minimum balance on my credit card month after month and year after year I can’t point a finger at Visa when the debt becomes crushing can I?
- Anonymous - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:27 am:
=I chalk this up to her trying to rebuild some credibility with the rank-and-file. As Rich points out she won her reelection by default but she also recommended CTU accept the deal put on the table and received a resounding no from her members.=
Uh, not exactly. CTU members never got to vote on it. Nor did the House of Delegates, the elected representatives of the rank and file. An appointed group blocked it from going further.
For a union that brags all the time about how democratic they are, this lack of democracy smacks of hypocrisy.
- A guy - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:27 am:
Her heart is not in the right place. It’s not just inflammatory rhetoric. She’s a dangerous and delusional person in the wrong place at the wrong time, doing and saying the wrong things. I feel sorry for her health issues, but her record was established long before that. She’s an impediment to progress…and she uses disgusting language and methods. No one should be defending her or enabling her.
===the tone of this blog is increasingly supportive of Rauner, which worries me far more===
Not even two words for this. Just two letters; BS
- Keyser Soze - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:28 am:
I hope Ms. Lewis is reading this blog. If so, there is no need to add to the lecture she is receiving.
- Whatever - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:29 am:
==$700 million a year and rising. Nearly three-quarters of the Billion dollar budget hole. ==
Then you might as well say the the entire hole is caused by teacher salaries, which exceed $1 billion. The budget includes a lot of things and all contribute to the hole, saying that one item causes it is silly.
To the post itself, do we need to adopt a corolary to Godwin’s law? Maybe the GA could enact that as a bridge-building exercise.
- crazybleedingheart - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:32 am:
Again: Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate state law; Appear intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.
Huh.
I wish people got fits of the vapors as easily about what’s happening in the real world as they do about Lewis, protesters, respectability politics, etc.
- Anonymous - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:33 am:
“Domestic terrorism … Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law;”
- The only reason parts of the social safety net are still intact is due to Federal consent decrees.
“Appear intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;”
- Refusing to discuss the budget until 1.4%’s agenda is passed could be construed as an attempt to coerce the social service providers to pressure the GA to pass legislation that is destructive to the middle class.
“(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion;”
- 1.4%’s political and funding activities during the primary elections could be seen as an attempt to intimidate the GA to pass his disaster of an agenda.
“and occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.”
- Last I checked, Illinois is within the territorial jurisdiction of the US.
- Huh? - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:34 am:
11:33 was me.
- Austin Blvd - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:37 am:
It’s amazing how someone so whacky can be head of a union. But when you think about it, part of her job, no different than, say GOP floor spokesperson Ron Sandack, is to stir it up.
But we kind of let it roll off our backs when he says things that are greatly offensive.
Or when Rauner calls honest judges corrupt. That’s ok.
- lake county democrat - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:42 am:
Actually, compared to some of her past actions(vowing the *successful* Freakonomics-tied experiment with a form of merit pay will never be repeated, rejecting millions in federal funds for CPS, etc) this wasn’t so terrible - no kids were hurt.
- walker - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:45 am:
Used to think Lewis was just being outrageous to play to her voting union members. A “Donald” with an audience.
Then thought she was simply passionate and sometimes verbally got out of control.
After reading her triple-down over a full day, I realize I was wrong. This is her sober mind set, not hyperbole or temporary outburst at all.
She undercuts Chicago teachers with the voting public.
- tobor - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:45 am:
did she use a banned word? He’s not hurting people? He’s not holding hostages? Really???????
- OneMan - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:46 am:
===the tone of this blog is increasingly supportive of Rauner, which worries me far more===
Been on the road a bit so haven’t been able to follow things here until this week… Thanks for the laugh…
- Not It - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:48 am:
I’m especially offended that she used the City Club platform, which is supposed to be about respectful and civil policy discussions, to engage in this rhetoric.
- James Knell - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:54 am:
I love Karen Lewis and support the teachers, but I also don’t think her ISIS comparison is helpful. But I’m not Karen Lewis. And the honest truth is that Bruce Rauner keeps me up at night. ISIS doesn’t. That’s the truth.
To have a political equivalent to Rauner there would have to be a Jacobin party or something like that.
- Lester Holt's Mustache - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 11:57 am:
===the tone of this blog is increasingly supportive of Rauner, which worries me far more===
I have been following this blog since George Ryan was Governor, and Rich has always been pretty much straight down the middle in his postings. I think you are confusing the “tone of this blog” with the number of Raunerites commenting.
While there has been an uptick in the number of comments supporting Rauner (Governor’s office staff has to have something to do while the boss burns the state down), the “tone” is where it has always been.
- Lucky Pierre - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 12:01 pm:
I really do ‘t get the upside of a strike for CTU. Are they expecting a better deal than the one they already turned down?
Even the completely unhinged Ms Lewis thought it was a good deal.
- Just Me - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 12:01 pm:
Did anyone else notice that in her City Club speech she called CPS students “petulant little children”? I’m sure parents love a teacher calling their kids brats.
She also called the longer school day abusing children. If kids are being abused by the longer school day then they are being abused by CTU members.
- Triple fat - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 12:05 pm:
I believe a more reasonable and measured comparison would be to liken the Governor to a Somali Pirate Captain taking hostages on the high seas of Illinois. She might want to keep it in her back pocket till September 19th, though. International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
- Original Rambler - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 12:29 pm:
Lewis is out of line. Probably helps her with the extremists in the CTU, but certainly not with the general public. Fortunately for her it got drowned out by Prince, Arrietta and the Hawks.
BTW I got a robocall from the CTU a few days ago gauging their public perception (I think - I hung up a little too quickly). Maybe they’re giving that some consideration finally.
- crazybleedingheart - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 12:38 pm:
==Lewis is out of line.==
Oh, you must be her boss.
- Pelonski - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 12:51 pm:
The thing you have to remember about statements from Lewis and other union leaders like AFSCME’s Roberta Lynch is that their constituency is the hardcore, active union member who control the election process. Many of them love this kind of inflammatory rhetoric.
- Allen D - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 12:56 pm:
— crazybleedingheart — Oh, you must be her boss. —
We the people are her boss, and she is out of line…
- Original Rambler - Friday, Apr 22, 16 @ 1:17 pm:
No cbh, not her boss but a taxpayer and parent whose support she would like to have. Not going to get it with that language because, in my OPINION, she was out of line. Disagreeing with someone politically does not warrant comparing them to the most heinous foreign (not domestic) terror group of our time. I had connections to James Foley who was publicly beheaded by ISIS Gov. Rauner nothing lSIS.
I’m done commenting on this.