That’s a lot of backbones
Wednesday, May 3, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Rauner speaking in Springfield this week…
“From storefront shops that anchor Main Street to the high tech startups that keep American on the cutting edge, small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstone or our nation’s promise”
* Last month…
Rauner, promoting his pro-business agenda in the speech in Elk Grove Village, called the suburbs “the backbone of Illinois prosperity.”
* Last summer…
Rauner said he enjoyed his time at the Du Quoin State Fair, calling the fairgrounds “beautiful.”
“It’s wonderful to support our farm families and agriculture. It’s the backbone of our prosperity,” he said.
* Also from last summer…
Governor Bruce Rauner visited Woods Equipment in Oregon on Monday afternoon. He said businesses like Woods are the backbone of the state.
“Manufacturing is the key to our prosperity here in Illinois,” says Rauner.
* May of 2015…
Governor Bruce Rauner served as the keynote speaker at the sixth annual DuPage County Regional Business Outlook event held Tuesday at the Drury Lane Conference Center, providing his framework for driving growth and economic development in DuPage County and statewide.
Governor Rauner shared his insight with a gathering of nearly 1,000 of the region’s business and civic leaders, welcoming them as “the backbone of the Illinois economy,” before sharing his vision for the future of the state.
- Mr. K - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:04 pm:
A tired metaphor.
It’s usually employed by folks who have nothing interesting to say — but feel like they must say something fundamental nonetheless.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:04 pm:
“That’s a lot of backbones”
To be fair, I’m pretty sure the governor has a hard time recognizing a spine.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:06 pm:
When you borrow the mocking ongoing bit from Will Ferrell in “The Campaign”, wearing ridiculous costumes, it’s tough to take your “word” seriously…
- Red Rider - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:07 pm:
Propaganda 2.0
- Former hillrod - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:07 pm:
Perhaps the governor should show some backbone and finally propose a balanced budget outlining which cuts should be made and which revenues to raise as required by the constitution
- Honeybear - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:07 pm:
Filipino tiltiwhirl operators are this nations backbone- Will Ferrel in The Candidate
- Anonymous - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:10 pm:
From the man who has none…
- Whatever - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:10 pm:
Ms. Flaherty beat me to it. I was going to say that he’s been in Springfield so long he’s forgotten what a spine looks like. And that includes when he’s looking in the mirror.
- Gruntled University Employee - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:13 pm:
And you dear Governor are the gizzard of our great state.
- Ducky LaMoore - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:16 pm:
“That’s a lot of backbones” should read, “Boy oh boy that’s a lot of backbones”….
- Just Sayin' - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:16 pm:
Well, we humans do have a lot of backbones (33 vertebrae to be exact)….so he has 28 more uses before it gets ridiculous
- A guy - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:17 pm:
The backbone’s connected to the backbone, the backbone’s connected to the backbone, the backbone’s connected to the backbone…etc.
- LakeviewJ - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:19 pm:
Flashback to freshman year at Dartmouth, when a young Bruce Vincent Rauner was bounced from the archaeology program after answering “backbone” to every question on the midterm.
- Rocky Rosi - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:20 pm:
Those words are misleading from a paper pusher billionaire. I make my living pushing paper/LBO but this man takes the cake.
- Huh? - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:25 pm:
Unfortunately, many of the backbones have osteoporosis that is becoming increasingly debilitating because of 1.4% increasingly inability to do his job.
- Joe M - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:25 pm:
Didn’t I hear Governor Rauner once say that our Illinois universities, colleges and community colleges are the backbone of Illinois’ financial well-bring?
No, probably not. That must have been somebody else.
- Captain Illini - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:27 pm:
The Governor may be able to understand backbones, but he is clueless to know that he’s the colon of Illinois, and we can’t wait for him to go…
- Norseman - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:30 pm:
Yes, Michelle beat a lot of people to it. She’s good at that.
- Aldyth - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:30 pm:
Michelle Flaherty won the Internet today. Thank you all for participating.
- KAA-boom - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:32 pm:
The Governor can’t really be serious, can he? This has to be some kind of inside joke by the staff. He’s using the Will Ferrell bit from The Campaign…Filipino tilt-a-whirl operators are this nations’s backbone.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:35 pm:
Michelle Flaherty -
Restaurant-Quality. You outdid yourself, and that says something.
I guess if the phony Rauner is intolerable, the real Rauner Bruvr is hiding must be a peach of a guy…
- MovieGuy - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:42 pm:
“Filipino Tilt-a-Whirl operators are this nation’s backbone!”
- Bogey Golfer - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:44 pm:
If Illinois is a back, it has spinal stenosis.
- fed up - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:45 pm:
So if Governor Rauner sees Illinois as quadruple jointed, maybe he’ll support legalizing marijuana after all?
- Nobody Sent - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 3:58 pm:
Where’s he getting all of the backbones?
Oh, wait, …. I see…
- IRLJ - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:00 pm:
Amazing how broadly you can employ the same rhetoric when you’re not bound by the truth. When’s he going to say that killing AFSCME and keeing poor women from having abortions is the backbone of Making Illinois Great Again?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:02 pm:
The Rauner communications crew has been phoning it in for some time.
From the sheer number of flacks alone, you’d think you’d get a little variety.
But when you have an audience of one, why bother?
- Former hillrod - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:10 pm:
Destroyin’ AFSCME, closin’ universities and forcin’ social service agencies to shut their doors are the backbones of my administration.
- Former hillrod - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:12 pm:
Perfidy is the backbone of my administration.
- El Conquistador - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:22 pm:
The man’s a tool. He can’t help himself.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:32 pm:
Rauner thinks so little of the people of Illinois, he’ll dress in costumes and make up things mocking the intelligence of us all.
You don’t have 4,758 backbones when you actually respect 1 state and her citizens.
- Vole - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:35 pm:
… and my arthritic administration has the duct tape prosthesis for your back pains
- Skeptic - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:35 pm:
“When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a backbone.” I think it needs work.
- Waffle fries - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:42 pm:
Carnival ride operators are the backbone of Illinois’ prosperity.
- Anon221 - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:43 pm:
The Rauner says… Backbone!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=09Uc4ZFvNt4
- wordslinger - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:48 pm:
Seriously, none of the superstars have seen this flick? Is it self-parody? Are they makin’ fun of the boss when they send him out there babblin’ like that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJQ4SwC0Rbg
- Anon221 - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:52 pm:
wordslinger- the Dems should make a similar montage of Rauner’s backboned quotes!
- ste_with_a_v_en - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:54 pm:
Well technically the “backbone” contains 33 individual bones. So he has 28 parts to go to cover our diverse economy.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 4:57 pm:
===the Dems should make a similar montage of Rauner’s backboned quotes!===
Respectfully, “why?”
The Dems have yet to show any serious life in going after Rauner’s phoniness in any media advertising way.
Can they start now?
That would be fun.
Maybe Labor can help with Pritzker(?)
- Anon221 - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 5:02 pm:
OW- my response would be , why not. Would be more entertaining than the “Tool Man” ads. And, if they coupled it with serious notes of backbones that have been broken by Rauner, maybe it would be more impressionable.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 5:06 pm:
===why not===
Judge Smails said it best, “Well, we’re waiting”
I’m with ya, but where o where has the pushback been?
Maybe things will change.
I hope.
- walker - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 5:14 pm:
“budget with reforms” covers a lot of
ground too.
- Ryan - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 5:15 pm:
Carharts worn by a conman. That’s the backbone.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 5:57 pm:
That’s a lot of backbones and not many G’s from our governor the jelly fish.
- illinoised - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 6:16 pm:
Unfortunately he doesn’t have one.
- Dog - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 6:26 pm:
Well somebody in this state has gotta have some backbone…….
- Wizzard of Ozzie - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 7:01 pm:
He stole this from Will Ferrell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJQ4SwC0Rbg
- XDNR - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 7:01 pm:
Dr. Rauner’s deliberate devastation on Illinois’ fiscal, higher ed and social services backbones has malpractice written all over it!
- Blago's Hare - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 7:40 pm:
Amish heater cabinet makers are the backbone of the Illinois economy.
- Blago's Hare - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 7:43 pm:
Asian Carp fish meal factory workers are the backbone of the Ilinois economy.
- Blago's Hare - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 7:48 pm:
Calhoun peach pickers are the backbone of the Illinois economy.
- Blago's Hare - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 7:54 pm:
Wrigley Field groundskeepers are the backbone of the Illinois economy.
- Blago's Hare - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 7:56 pm:
Bloomington area windmill inspectors are the backbone of the Illinois economy.
- Blago's Hare - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 8:06 pm:
Morton pumpkin chuckin’ official distance measures are the backbone of the Illinois economy.
- Blago's Hare - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 8:17 pm:
Marion toothpick manufacturers are the backbone of the Illinois economy.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 9:49 pm:
I know I speak for many Illinois citizens when I say that we’re all sick and tired of being backboned by Bruce Rauner.
- A Modest Proposal - Wednesday, May 3, 17 @ 11:03 pm:
Lots of bones in the spine..
- Rabid - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 7:04 am:
Spinal tap tour
- @misterjayem - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 8:15 am:
“Like I’ve always said: The backbone is the key to the backbone of Illinois’ backbone.”
– MrJM
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 8:29 am:
Capitol fax commenters are the backbone of the Illinois Economy!
- Rabid - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 8:42 am:
Boneheaded thinking
- weary - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 8:54 am:
Wow, such a deep topic. Slow news day? You can pick any politician of either party at any level of government and come up with the same kind of post, using any number of campaign speech keywords. But this is a liberal-leaning blog so let’s do it with the Republican governor and give the faithful liberal followers something to type clever replies about.
- DeseDemDose - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 9:01 am:
Heartless Rauner only has a checkbook as his backbone.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 9:06 am:
- weary -
You must’ve missed the Blago-Quinn years.
Rauner likes backbones, not unlike Cam Brady.
Rauner made himself a caricature, no one did it for him
- Exhausted - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 9:22 am:
Wow, to be fair I would say that every Governor that has been unable to stand up to the Speaker, ultimately giving in to the demands of ever more spending without the means to pay for it are the ones without a backbone. You can say what you want about the Speaker and Rauner with nearly a million bad things, but to say that they don’t have backbones is not one of them. Each has their opinion and no one is going to change their minds. I would say they have very strong backbones…
- Anon - Friday, May 5, 17 @ 12:53 pm:
Given how slow growth in Illinois has been under his administration, maybe the animal he is describing is a turtle.