Biss, Pawar battling for the Bernie vote
Tuesday, Aug 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* August 11th…
Bernie Delegates for Biss: From a release: “more than 30 delegates and committee members who attended the 2016 Democratic National Convention on behalf of Senator Bernie Sanders endorsed Daniel Biss for governor. ‘We believe that if Senator Biss were in a position to implement things like the Financial Transaction Tax, close the loophole for hedge fund managers, and pursue other similar measures, he would be the driving force in turning the state’s budget crisis around and taking politics in a new direction in the State of Illinois’ said the delegates in an open letter to Our Revolution. The letter, signed by a coalition of politicians, community leaders, and organizers from across the state, cites Senator Biss’ record of passing progressive legislation in Springfield and vision for a fair tax system as reasons for the endorsement, and concludes by urging Our Revolution to endorse as well.”
* August 14th…
Berniecrats for Pawar: Ameya Pawar over the weekend carved out support from Illinois Bernie Sanders’ supporters after the Illinois Berniecrats, the official state chapter of Bernie Sanders’ Our Revolution political action organization, announced its endorsement for Pawar. “Ameya Pawar has shown his progressive bona fides time and time again. From his leadership on single-payer healthcare policy to his pursuit of equitable education funding, to his push for comprehensive criminal justice reform, Ameya’s vision for the state is compelling,” Dean Martin, president of the Illinois Berniecrats, said in a statement. “He has a history of progressive action as an Alderman, including the creation of the independent budget office, passage of one of the strongest anti-wage theft ordinances in the country, and fighting for public housing.”
* Not quite. Tribune…
* Sanders’ group backing Pawar: Chicago Ald. Ameya Pawar got the backing for his candidacy for the Democratic governor nomination from the “Illinois Berniecrats,” a subgroup of the U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders “Our Revolution” support organization.
The endorsement came Saturday at a meeting in Naperville. The main “Our Revolution” group is a tax-exempt organization that backs the unsuccessful 2016 presidential candidate’s agenda.
The “Illinois Berniecrats” are located in DuPage County and were formed in 2015.
* August 15th…
FIGHTING OVER SANDERS — Clem Balanoff, the chairman of Our Revolution Illinois, who was also the state director of the Bernie Sanders campaign in Illinois, made a note of telling us that neither Our Revolution Illinois nor the national Our Revolution have made an endorsement yet in the Illinois gubernatorial race. That was after we noted “Berniecrats” who supported primary candidate Ameya Pawar. A bunch of Bernie delegates have already said they support Biss.
* From a recent interview of Sen. Daniel Biss…
HOST: “And that was a division within the Democratic party in the last Presidential election and where were you at that point. In other words, when it was the Clinton-Sanders division in the Party with Sanders arguing very much the same argument you’re making now, is that where you were?”
BISS: “I voted for Clinton… in the primary. And I think you know you can argue with whether that was the right call or the wrong call, there’s good points on both sides but I don’t think it was the same situation. I don’t think the idea was that Clinton was our version of Trump, I don’t think that was the theory.”
- TopHatMonocle - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:00 pm:
I imagine Pawar choosing someone who endorsed Mike Bost as his running mate is gonna hurt him with people still feeling the bern.
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:10 pm:
They’re fighting for the skinny-jean wearing, bike-riding, bearded, man-bun hipster vote. That is the shallow end of the Illinois Democratic Primary pool.
Craft beer, lattes and bike lanes for everyone, huzzah!
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:12 pm:
The only chance either of them has is to pull most of the Bernie vote. If they both stay on the ballot, neither has a chance.
- Responsa - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:14 pm:
In some respects Pawar seems less partisan and more outsider than his competitors and seems to get that many voters in Illinois are open to candidates who are not scorched earth partisans. Yes, I know they have to get through the primary first, but Pawar is differentiating himself in a number of ways especially with downstaters and non-machine types.
- Actual Red - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:19 pm:
@Responsa
I agree. I really like Pawar, both in his policies and style of politics. I don’t see a way for him to overcome his massive deficit in terms of name recognition and money this cycle, but I hope he keeps seeking higher office.
- MissingG - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:27 pm:
Bernie got 48% of the vote in the IL Democratic Primary. That’s a bit more than just “the skinny-jean wearing, bike-riding, bearded, man-bun hipster vote”
- MissingG - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:29 pm:
Also, I agree that the only chance either of them has is to pull the Bernie vote, but really neither can win while the other survives. It’s like Pawar put a horcrux in Biss’ campaign, and he can’t win until he takes him out (metaphorically speaking).
- Anon III - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:35 pm:
Well, JB ain’t wearin’ any skinny-jeans.
- Reality Check - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:37 pm:
neither can win while the other survives
More importantly, neither can win while their name recognition among Dem primary voters is in the single digits.
- blue dog dem - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:37 pm:
Responsa/ActualRed. I respect your thoughts, but in my neck of the woods(and I run? With mostly blue collar), none of the big four have traction.
- Mr B. - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:47 pm:
Pawar is the weaker of the two. By far. Biss might get some of the Bernie types and his questioning Madigan might score him a few points with some.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 4:57 pm:
If he can, Pritzker would be wise to direct money to both of them. Actually, all of them, except Kennedy.
The more candidates in the primary the more better for JB. His money and organization strength should provide a solid core of sure-Dem primary voters.
The last thing he wants is a one-on-one with anybody.
- Actual Red - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 5:00 pm:
-blue dog dem-
I guess that doesn’t surprise me much. I think Pawar’s path forward is probably through the non-state elections for the time being. I agree that he will likely have a hard time selling himself to non-urban/suburban voters, demographic-regional-political trends being what they are. I hope he either runs for mayor of Chicago or state legislature in some form and moves from there.
- Ducky LaMoore - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 5:16 pm:
Meh. Pawar’s lt gov endorsed Bost and Biss supported Hillary. These guys really don’t make me feel bad about selling out to Pritzker. Not one bit. (caveat; I would pull an R ballot if there was a credible challenge to the governor)
- Mr B. - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 5:31 pm:
Seems like this is a feckless attempt by Pawar to increase his name recognition. And then he’ll jump to the mayor’s race, if that opens up. I’d rather have Chuy over him. I cringed with his drug war statement the other day. On the positive, I do like Biss.
- Grandpa2 - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 5:31 pm:
Senator Biss is very good with numbers, and maybe his heart is in the right place. But, retirees and state employees will not forget that he tried to reduce their pensions.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 5:40 pm:
When did Bernie become a Democrat?
- Blue dog dem - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 5:49 pm:
Grandpa. I thought Biss was good with numbers…..but medicaid expansion, or any variation of it, requires the Cadillac Tax.
- Ducky LaMoore - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 6:31 pm:
===When did Bernie become a Democrat===
He’s democratish. That should be the word for it. And he might be a democrat. I mean, he ran in the democratic primary for president, although he remains an independent in the Senate.
- Anon0091 - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 6:51 pm:
“BISS: “I voted for Clinton… in the primary.” I wonder how Bernie supporters are going to feel about that. Anti-single payer as a legislator and voted for Hillary. Perfect vehicle for the Bernie Bros, right?
- LakeviewJ - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 10:05 pm:
47th Ward, you’re aware that Sanders actually won the 47th Ward last year?
- Periwinkle - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 10:16 pm:
Anon0091 and others — There’s a missing piece here, which is that Biss is running as the “resistance” candidate and working with grassroots groups as a decentralized organizing apparatus.
Spend some time in the new grassroots groups and you’ll see that most of them are dominated by women, and that many of those women were Hillary supporters. You might even find that many of those women are not particularly fond of Bernie Sanders.
It’s not all about Bernie and his supporters. Not by a long shot. Look to the women.
- Quiet Sage - Tuesday, Aug 15, 17 @ 11:37 pm:
The Sanders/Clinton dichotomy doesn’t really apply in this contest. Overwhelmingly, the Democratic primary gubernatorial primary revolves around who is the strongest candidate to face Rauner in November. There are Bernie supporters who will back the candidate they feel is most progressive regardless of other considerations, but in my view only a minority of Sanderistas will vote this way. Pritzker, who has consistently been staking out well-developed positions which are more clearly progressive than those of Kennedy (to the extent we know what his positions are at all), will do very well among this bloc if present trends continue.