Neither. I still think he does the Indian Chief best. (And don’t know why he’s never tried the Construction Worker bit, considering the obvious tie-in with capital budget needs.)
It says so much about him and how he views himself. It’s also a statement about what he thinks Illinois is. We are not really that much of a cowboy state.
Cowboy,definitely. Biker guy reminds me too much of Dukakis, trying too hard, whereas his cowboy looks like the cattle barron he’d be if only he could figure out how to slash the feed and water costs….
Cowboy, and it’s not even close. It’s a look that really fits him. Whenever I see him in his biker stuff I feel like I’m looking at stagecraft.
- South of Sherman - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:39 am:
His cowboy look says to me: “This is what a billionaire thinks cowboys look like.” I think the biker look is more authentic, at least in the category of middle-aged guys with more money than street cred.
I do think what’s exciting about both Cowboy Bruce and Biker Bruce is the lengths Bruce will make these costumes work.
Cowboy Bruce bought a $104K steer. Cowboy Bruce and the prop steer, really selling the costume.
Biker Bruce, with his flair, has his bike, not like the trashcan van, no, this is a “nice” bike, a prop designed to even outshine the flair.
Anyone can play dress-up. It’s always the prop accessories that sell the costumes. It’s exciting to see.
- Six Degrees of Separation. - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:55 am:
Love the Village People references. For me, my first thought to both pics was “Mike Dukakis in the tank”, but I think the biker look is more Illinois. No one east of the Mississippi River should wear a cowboy hat, unless they are an actor.
Cowboy. I’ve missed the cowboy hat ever since Roland Burris used to wear his at the state fair. The biker gear is missing tassels on the handle bars. That would have made the difference.
- Former State Employee - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:01 pm:
I know I’m off topic but please humor me. I was watching the US State Deparment spokesman on MSNBC this morning and he actually said “we workin to solve the problem”. So it’s catching. Big Brain has been ahead of the curve on this one folks. Even the Dem’s are now using the word “workin”.
===Let’s just be thankful he doesn’t own a pirate shirt===
Lol. He left that back at GTCR, with the eye patch, peg leg and parrot. Ye-argh, mateys.
I voted neither. Both bikers and cowboys are tough guy characters. Rauner is afraid of a 74 year old grandfather who wears his pants too high.
Bikers and cowboys are plain-spoken straight-shooters. Rauner won’t ever reveal his actual agenda, and ran a campaign that never once gave voters any inkling that he was about to zero out funding for higher education and human services.
A biker or a cowboy would look you in the eye and tell you he was about to give you some bitter medicine, but it would make you feel better later. Rauner? He pretends the mess is someone else’s fault.
Finally, cowboys and bikers don’t wear costumes and pretend to be something they aren’t. They are comfortable in their own skin and not ashamed of who they are.
Cowboy Bruce looks better to me, because biker Bruce always looks like a middle-aged guy trying to be cool. But I honestly believe both are completely authentic to him. Neither exactly fits my idea of the Governor of Illinois, but he has a right to dress any way he wants, especially when he’s going to the fair.
In October of 2014, my neighbor’s accidentally put a Rauner for Governor sign next to an inflatable Grim Reaper riding a motorcycle.
I so wish I had taken a picture before they moved the sign. Anyway that is exactly what I think of now when I see him on a bike.
Perhaps that will give the Democrats some ideas for this October, some of those biker Grim Reapers with a Rauner name attached. Might be s fun mailer too.
The nice thing about action figures is you don’t need to choose, you can collect the whole set. Personally, I like Billionaire Bruce, but if I had to choose between these two I’d pick Cowboy Bruce. I wonder if he bought that outfit for trips to his Montana ranch?
Wonder which guy in his security detail had to hold the cowboy hat when he was ridin’ the motorcycle and then the helmet when he was wearin’ his cowboy hat? Does he wear a beret when he visits the local wineries?
In that cowboy get up it appears that the governor is stylin’ himself after Woody in Toy Story. Just needs a kerchief.
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 2:59 pm:
The first thing I thought of was the intro to Green Acres with Oliver Douglas in a three-piece suit shoveling hay. [tied for best TV intro with the original Hawaii 5-0].
I have lived in Montana and you will see real cowboys dressed like that but they have manure on their boots and blood on their jeans. There are no cowboys in Illinois
- Trapped in the 'burbs - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 4:31 pm:
I’m waiting to see him as a cop. construction worker and Indian chief before I commit.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:21 am:
I always choose “Biker Bruce” due in large part for the 37 pieces of flair. Bruce is choosing to express himself with his flair.
People can go to other states and see those states anytime. People come to Illinois to see Biker Bruce for the atmosphere Biker Bruce brings.
- Linus - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:22 am:
Neither. I still think he does the Indian Chief best. (And don’t know why he’s never tried the Construction Worker bit, considering the obvious tie-in with capital budget needs.)
- siriusly - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:24 am:
I vote cowboy.
It says so much about him and how he views himself. It’s also a statement about what he thinks Illinois is. We are not really that much of a cowboy state.
- Ratso Rizzo - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:25 am:
+1 to OW for the Office Space reference.
He looks phony either way, but I’d say Cowboy Bruce is a better look. His bike riding form is stiff.
- Just Sayin' - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:26 am:
Cowboy. He looks so stiff as the biker. They are much more relaxed (like his Cowboy self).
- Honeybear - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:27 am:
Cowboy
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:28 am:
Biker, because he actually rides. Too all hat, no cattle for the cowboy look.
As an aside, at least he doesn’t run around without pants like Buddy the Budget.
- sal-says - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:28 am:
Tough one. Just guessing prices here, but:
His $500 shirt with his $600 shirt?
Or
His $50K cycle & outfit?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:29 am:
Let’s just be thankful he doesn’t own a pirate shirt.
- Dance Band on the Titanic - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:30 am:
Harley Davidson Road King - $19,749
Helmet and leather chaps - $749
Stetson cowboy hat - $270
Striped shirt - $129
Getting photobombed by Buddy Budget - PRICELESS
- Joe Cannon - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:30 am:
Cowboy,definitely. Biker guy reminds me too much of Dukakis, trying too hard, whereas his cowboy looks like the cattle barron he’d be if only he could figure out how to slash the feed and water costs….
- DGD - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:30 am:
Biker Bruce, because it drives his ISP security detail crazy.
- Bobby Catalpa - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:31 am:
One step away from a puffy shirt.
- LizPhairTax - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:33 am:
You should see him in his sailor suit!
- Former State Employee - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:34 am:
For some reason I started humming “YMCA”.
- Politix - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:36 am:
I will go with cowboy but they both looks make me cringe. He doesn’t wear a suit well, either.
- The Captain - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:37 am:
Cowboy, and it’s not even close. It’s a look that really fits him. Whenever I see him in his biker stuff I feel like I’m looking at stagecraft.
- South of Sherman - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:39 am:
His cowboy look says to me: “This is what a billionaire thinks cowboys look like.” I think the biker look is more authentic, at least in the category of middle-aged guys with more money than street cred.
- Piece of Work - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:39 am:
Looks good in both but not nearly as good as MJM with his pants hiked up to his chest!
- Cindy Lou - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:40 am:
The fair photographs of Cowboy Bruce looked as if somebody desperately needed to feed him a sandwich (or two or three).
Biker Bruce? He doesn’t look comfortable riding. Somehow I can’t picture him on a poker run. *shrugs*
- Anonymous - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:40 am:
Cowboy. He needs a Mike Madigan tattoo and sleeveless shirt to be a biker.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:42 am:
I do think what’s exciting about both Cowboy Bruce and Biker Bruce is the lengths Bruce will make these costumes work.
Cowboy Bruce bought a $104K steer. Cowboy Bruce and the prop steer, really selling the costume.
Biker Bruce, with his flair, has his bike, not like the trashcan van, no, this is a “nice” bike, a prop designed to even outshine the flair.
Anyone can play dress-up. It’s always the prop accessories that sell the costumes. It’s exciting to see.
- Six Degrees of Separation. - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:55 am:
Love the Village People references. For me, my first thought to both pics was “Mike Dukakis in the tank”, but I think the biker look is more Illinois. No one east of the Mississippi River should wear a cowboy hat, unless they are an actor.
- Michelle Flaherty - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:57 am:
Still waiting for the authentic downstate Rauner “jorts and Skynyrd shirt” look.
- Tough Guy - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 11:59 am:
Cowboy. I’ve missed the cowboy hat ever since Roland Burris used to wear his at the state fair. The biker gear is missing tassels on the handle bars. That would have made the difference.
- Former State Employee - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:01 pm:
I know I’m off topic but please humor me. I was watching the US State Deparment spokesman on MSNBC this morning and he actually said “we workin to solve the problem”. So it’s catching. Big Brain has been ahead of the curve on this one folks. Even the Dem’s are now using the word “workin”.
- @MisterJayEm - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:02 pm:
I vote for the leather-daddy outfit.
(My father is a kind man and an actual rancher, so it’s sickening to see Rauner play dress-up in that cowboy costume.)
– MrJM
- Dale Cooper - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:02 pm:
== Let’s just be thankful he doesn’t own a pirate shirt. ==
That’s his business suit.
- From the 'Dale to HP - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:03 pm:
Who says everyday can’t be Halloween?
- walker - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:06 pm:
Biker because he really rides that way.
Owning a gentleman’s ranch/wine cellar/tax dodge doesn’t merit the hat.
Now if he ditched the brain bucket and wore a flag bandana, that’d be over the line.
- Joe Bidenopolous - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:07 pm:
Neither looks authentic, just as his no-tie schtick doesn’t look authentic either.
But, the biker deal does look stiff, and the cowboy look has more of that “I don’t give a crap” look, so I voted cowboy
- 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:11 pm:
===Let’s just be thankful he doesn’t own a pirate shirt===
Lol. He left that back at GTCR, with the eye patch, peg leg and parrot. Ye-argh, mateys.
I voted neither. Both bikers and cowboys are tough guy characters. Rauner is afraid of a 74 year old grandfather who wears his pants too high.
Bikers and cowboys are plain-spoken straight-shooters. Rauner won’t ever reveal his actual agenda, and ran a campaign that never once gave voters any inkling that he was about to zero out funding for higher education and human services.
A biker or a cowboy would look you in the eye and tell you he was about to give you some bitter medicine, but it would make you feel better later. Rauner? He pretends the mess is someone else’s fault.
Finally, cowboys and bikers don’t wear costumes and pretend to be something they aren’t. They are comfortable in their own skin and not ashamed of who they are.
- Archiesmom - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:13 pm:
Cowboy Bruce looks better to me, because biker Bruce always looks like a middle-aged guy trying to be cool. But I honestly believe both are completely authentic to him. Neither exactly fits my idea of the Governor of Illinois, but he has a right to dress any way he wants, especially when he’s going to the fair.
- Shanks - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:16 pm:
Neither, it’s all a show.
- Flynn's mom - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:16 pm:
He looks silly as both biker and cowboy. He should just stick to his lord of the manor costume.
- Noneoftheabove - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:17 pm:
@Shanks
Agree with you. I’m voting for Faker Bruce.
- Keyrock - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:23 pm:
I kind of prefer Dartmouth Bruce. It looks more authentic.
- Wensicia - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:24 pm:
If he really wants to fake it, go American Gothic. That fits his dour outlook for Illinois.
- Bluegrass Boy - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:25 pm:
Considering the response his name got from the grandstand crowd this week perhaps he should paint his face and pander to the KISS Army.
- A Jack - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:37 pm:
In October of 2014, my neighbor’s accidentally put a Rauner for Governor sign next to an inflatable Grim Reaper riding a motorcycle.
I so wish I had taken a picture before they moved the sign. Anyway that is exactly what I think of now when I see him on a bike.
Perhaps that will give the Democrats some ideas for this October, some of those biker Grim Reapers with a Rauner name attached. Might be s fun mailer too.
- Cheryl44 - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:38 pm:
I would like to see him pretend to be a statesman.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:38 pm:
All he needs now is to dress as a construction worker, sailor, Indian and cop to complete the personal Village People Grand Slam.
- Politix - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 12:48 pm:
“I would like to see him pretend to be a statesman.”
That would require wearing a tie, which he doesn’t seem to like to do.
- Almost the Weekend - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:05 pm:
It has to be the motor cycle. Because no matter how bad the state is Rauner will be able to leave the scene, and continue to live his life.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:19 pm:
It’s a trick question, right?
The best thing about Rauner is how much more attractive he makes everyone around him appear.
- zatoichi - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:23 pm:
They both have that ‘tryin too hard’ look. The biker just screams Grandpa’s putt-putt toy at 20 mph.
- Rabid - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:30 pm:
Marlon brando biker hat,cowboys don’t have wingman, sidekicks
- AC - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:33 pm:
The nice thing about action figures is you don’t need to choose, you can collect the whole set. Personally, I like Billionaire Bruce, but if I had to choose between these two I’d pick Cowboy Bruce. I wonder if he bought that outfit for trips to his Montana ranch?
- Liberty - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:34 pm:
Isn’t that a new Road Glide Ultra the model for old guy geezers-harkening back to the AMF glory days.
Definitely voting for the Dallas look.
- Belle - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:37 pm:
What is more disturbing?
That our Gov dresses up in costumes or that we’re rating them?
Rich dudes don’t seem to care what other people think of them.
- Michelle Flaherty - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:46 pm:
Google the Montana Governor.
That guy doesn’t dress this “western.”
Rauner appears to be single-handedly propping up the turquoise button market.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:47 pm:
Who wore it better: Rauner dressed up as a cowboy or that poor kid who wore the duck costume yesterday?
- Stones - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 1:50 pm:
The dude is like Barbie’s beau, Ken. You just dress him up for whatever the occasion is.
- Southside Markie - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 2:07 pm:
Biker Bruce looks slightly less out forced (but only slightly) and is not photobombed by Buddy the Budget.
- JDuc - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 2:19 pm:
I guess Biker. Fits his image as just one of the “normal working folk”
- Tough Guy - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 2:37 pm:
Wonder which guy in his security detail had to hold the cowboy hat when he was ridin’ the motorcycle and then the helmet when he was wearin’ his cowboy hat? Does he wear a beret when he visits the local wineries?
- Wednesday morning - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 2:52 pm:
In that cowboy get up it appears that the governor is stylin’ himself after Woody in Toy Story. Just needs a kerchief.
- 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 2:59 pm:
The first thing I thought of was the intro to Green Acres with Oliver Douglas in a three-piece suit shoveling hay. [tied for best TV intro with the original Hawaii 5-0].
- Omay - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 3:05 pm:
The Toy Story - Woody cowboy look. The cowboy look will help with taking some more of those arrows.
- atsuishin - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 3:10 pm:
the cowboy hate looks great!
- uptown progressive - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 3:15 pm:
Cowboy - but in a different part of the Country. I see lots of guys who look like this in the small towns along the Rio Grande in Texas.
- very old soil - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 4:22 pm:
I have lived in Montana and you will see real cowboys dressed like that but they have manure on their boots and blood on their jeans. There are no cowboys in Illinois
- Trapped in the 'burbs - Friday, Aug 19, 16 @ 4:31 pm:
I’m waiting to see him as a cop. construction worker and Indian chief before I commit.