89 Comments - Molly Maguire - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:43 am: He gone (Biss). An awkward choice from jumpstreet, he’s only made it worse. - Ok - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:45 am: Next time, use the google - Franklin Delano Bluth - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:47 am: The phrase “dumpster fire” comes to mind. - Ravenswood Right Winger - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:47 am: I look forward to Biss choosing another running mate to comply with the new normal of identity politics in the Democratic party…or dropping out of the governor’s race to run for re-election. - OneMan - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:48 am: Also, puts him on par with Kenedy on starting to circulate and likely reduces the number of people who would circulate for him. - YSW - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:52 am: The accusation that BDS is antisemitic is outrageous. BDS is aimed at political decisions by the state of Israel, not at Jews in general. Many Jews support BDS. And many of those same Jews lost family members in the Holocaust, just like Biss. As Frederick Douglass said, power concedes nothing without a demand; Palestinians will not obtain human rights without pressure of the type being brought by BDS. - Natty_B - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:54 am: I just don’t get it. If you pick a 26 year old who is on the cover of the most recent Chicago Reader saying he’s a socialist you gotta expect some rocky moments. To bail at the first one just makes it way worse. Really wasn’t a smart pick to being with - did Biss really need to still impress the dank meme crowd? - TominChicago - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:54 am: What an incredible unforced error by a really smart guy. Picking Rosa in the first place was a mistake because the BernieBros are not going to come out in a statewide primary. The Rosa pick gives Biss nothing with the African American voters or suburban women and only helps them marginally with hispanics given that the party is supporting JB. The Rosa pick made sense of Biss’ only competition was Pawar and now he has thrown away, maybe forever, whatever support of those voters he may have gotten from the Rosa pick. - JoanP - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:54 am: Just what Illinois needs. Another governor who doesn’t vet staff picks. - Shemp - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:55 am: “I will be supporting the candidate who is most likely to deliver a $15 minimum wage, affordable child care and free college tuition for all,” Rosa said. And unicorns and fairies and a balanced budget too! - DuPage - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:56 am: Biss does not have the money to go up against Rauner. End of story. - TopHatMonocle - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:57 am: Biss needs to drop out. Who would even sign up to be his Lt Gov now? Frankly, he should just get out of politics all together after this catastrophe. He’s proven again and again that he has no backbone. Laura Fine is running for his seat in the senate and at least she is willing to take a stand on issues. It would be a total disgrace for him to pull this, drop out, then file for re-election and push her out. What a disaster. - Ducky LaMoore - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:57 am: ===dropping out of the governor’s race to run for re-election.=== Boom. There it is right there. He should anyway. All he has been in this governor’s race is Drury lite. - Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:58 am: Where do the Berniebros go? Not Pritzker because he’s the President of the Hillary fan club plus the machine embodied. Maybe Pawar has a shot - but he’s been lockstep with Rahm Kennedy? Apparently running mates are a big deal to Bernie fans so lets see who he picks. - Just Observing - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:58 am: === The accusation that BDS is antisemitic is outrageous. BDS is aimed at political decisions by the state of Israel, not at Jews in general. === There is a significant amount of both overt and coded antisemiticism within the BDS movement, not to mention the fact that the BDS movement largely holds Israel to different and higher standards than the rest of the world. === Many Jews support BDS. === I hear this nonsense from many BDS supporters. Are there some super far-left Jews that support BDS, yes. By and large though, few Jews support BDS. This Jew here, that lives in a very Jewish community, has yet to meet one. - Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:00 am: Team Kennedy needs to be working to phones nonstop now to raise money from the anti-machine Jewish donors Biss has alienated - Retired Educator - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:00 am: Bliss is finished in the Governor Race. He would be a lot smarter to pull the petitions for Senate, and save the Governor run for the future, He will have a tough time explaining his selection even in his own district. - anonymous - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:01 am: ===a two-state solution is preferable, but the U.S. should use its leverage over Israel and that BDS should be part of the conversation.=== Seems like a reasonable, measured, perspective. Why has that become political suicide? - Just Observing - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:01 am: It was a weird choice for Biss to begin with. That said, it seems like Rosa is trying to play both sides — he supports BDS at the federal level but not at the state/local level — maybe that’s really his position but I’ve never heard a BDS activist make that distinction and I follow the movement very closely (not as a supporter). - iggy - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:01 am: The Dems are falling over themselves to hand this one to JB. Biss you are sad sad person you knew Rosa was pro divestment and yet you put him on your ticket regardless. As a fellow MOT you are an embarrassment to your family and your faith. the fact that you only dropped the Socialist Rosa after you lost endorsements says so much about your character. Drop out. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:02 am: To the post, This is an epic failure in the vetting and understanding where two people forming a ticket need to be seen as partners and in concert with a bigger picture. I, myself, must own my own words, typed August 31st… ===To the Post, I’ve said all along, the Biss campaign knows it’s sweet spots and what and where Biss needs to be in this race with Kennedy and Pritzker. I’ve also said Biss is going from “coffee shops” and “living rooms”… But need to end up, exactly like Sanders in full gymnasiums and football fields, with people, who supported Sanders and such that Pritzker and Kennedy can’t try to grasp… today. This fits into that strategy. “You” may not like it. Geography. Age. Elected position. Name a possible negative, you could make a case and appear correct. But here’s the rub. An admitted “socialist”… independent”… from New Hampsire… with a good arm, you can throw a stone across it… and who is on the back 9 of life…Bernie Sanders energized a whole lotta Dems, and a whole lot of Illinois voters too. We have a 3, maybe 4-way race. This helps Biss in his groove. I’m not a Dem, but I can see a building block placement here, and with all the “negatives”… Chicago… Chicago alderman… “Socialist”… you can’t say… “This isn’t where Biss is canpaigning” You can say “This isn’t really a Biss of the past” thingy, or connect that, but look where Biss “is” now, and it makes sense. With .CTU and all that, let’s get to brass tax; Can these two get from “diners” and “living rooms” and get to gymnasiums and football stands? That’s where they need to get, and this move keeps Biss on his seen path. Good pick for him in this campaign.=== I saw this pick as Biss knowing who Rosa was, and I hadn’t pictured the failure that happened because vetting the #2 is the most criticized decision out of the box, and this decision lacked a clarity of “what’s next” when questions and issues arose. Biss has a couple “outs” here… Try to go back to the Senate, ask Fine to be fine going back to the House and have the SDems be fine with the audible. Or… Try to find a #2 that flat out mirrors Biss. Interchangeable. No daylight, they are in complete sync and they compliment each other by being exactly like the other. Think Clinton/Gore type of sync. Biss’ hope in this taxe was to be not only the Bernie type candidate, but be overtly unique to Rauner, Kennedy, and Pritzker. Biss can do that, just choose another mirrored image of himself and try to be that alternative candidate come March… and “no hard feelings” to the groups and people who wanted Rosa but now see that the choice was never, ever tenable. - City Zen - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:05 am: Best Team In The Middle East - YSW - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:06 am: @Just Observing, you should get out more. This Jew knows lots of Jews who support BDS. How do you account for the fact that the fastest growing Jewish communal org in the US supports BDS? All antisemitism is deplorable - I’m proud to stand with the Palestinian leaders in the BDS movement who denounce antisemitism at every turn. They are crystal clear that they are opposed to Israeli dispossession and inequality, NOT the Jewish people. - Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:06 am: Per OW’s comment - who would fit that bill? Scott Waguespack comes to mind. - Just Observing - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:07 am: === ===a two-state solution is preferable, but the U.S. should use its leverage over Israel and that BDS should be part of the conversation.=== Seems like a reasonable, measured, perspective. Why has that become political suicide? === Ummmm…. because it takes the position that only Israel is to blame for the lack of a Palestinian state and that only Israel should be boycotted, divested, and sanctioned. That’s a very extreme and disgusting position, and not one shared by “reasonable, measured” policy makers. - Carhartt Representative - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:07 am: It’s going to be our clueless billionaire vs. their clueless billionaire. This is inspiring. - Fax Machine - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:07 am: Jews who write 4 & 5 figure checks to Gubernatorial candidates DO NOT support BDS - Last Bull Moose - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:08 am: Lt. Governor should be picked by the primary winner after the primary with concurrence by the party chairs. Make it more like the Federal system. This was a Palin moment for Biss. - Henry County Pale Ale - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:10 am: Carhartt Representative said it best. - So_Ill - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:11 am: What a disaster. Anyone with a brain could see this as a terrible pick for Biss. Surprised it took this long to completely blow up. Biss is usually the smartest guy in the room, but his political skills are pretty sad. - Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:13 am: Biss really stepped on a political land mine here, and a loud one at that. An aside from the prior post on this issue which is comments off - Anyone else notice that Rosa’s statement and the Revolution Illinois/Chicago statement both rattled off the same four issues in almost the same wording in the same order? Medicare for all, $15 minimum wage, affordable childcare and free college tuition. Coincidence? I think not. Which came first? - JJJJJJJJJJ - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:18 am: @Ron Burgundy Not sure what you are getting at. Isn’t this just typical Our Rev/Bernie/Bernie Delegate (Rosa) language? - Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:19 am: @Ron Burgundy What exactly are suggesting? - Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:19 am: Biss now has an additional hurdle to overcome. In addition to antagonizing the Bernie crew, there are still a considerable number of public employees who remember Biss’ prominent role in the failed pension reform who will never forgive him. Whatever base he is counting on continues to shrink. - Lucky Pierre - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:20 am: Chicago Democratic Socialists of America called Biss a coward, then accused him of “abandoning principle and yielding to this sort of pressure and causes us to question the commitments he claims to have towards democracy, solidarity, and the interests of working people and marginalized communities.” They are outraged that a Jewish State Senator who has family members born in Israel would have to distance himself from a radical who supports boycotts against Israel and does not condemn Palestinian terrorist organizations? Maybe the Democratic Socialists can explain how on earth Illinois which has 15 billion in unpaid bills and hundreds of millions in unfunded pension and health care liabilities will be able to fund new entitlements like “free” college for all and affordable child care etc. on top of “free” healthcare ? - Michael Westen - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:20 am: “Divest from Israel” is as much a dogwhistle as anything Trump has said. USA divesting from Israel would give those who want to “wipe Israel off the face of the earth” every chance to do that. Couldn’t possibly be more anti-Semitic. - Northsider - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:30 am: Biss really shot himself in the left foot, didn’t he? Strange move, from the beginning, for such a smart guy. Makes me think he’s not quite ready for prime time. - Boone's is Back - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:35 am: I don’t know enough about BDS and Israeli politics, but the frothy reactions from the fallout by the Bernie crowd illustrates how a large number of them equate to the tea party on the right. They are impossible to work with and demand ideological purity rather than focusing on the larger goal of coalition building and BEATING the other side. - YSW - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:35 am: @Michael Westen, ironically, it’s antisemitic to conflate Israel with the Jewish people. One can oppose Israeli subjugation of Palestinians and be a proud Jew. The occupation has devastating consequences for both Jews and Palestinians. - Arsenal - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:37 am: Ugh, getting Attaboys from Team Superstar may be the final indignity of this ordeal. - Alternative Logic - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:38 am: Bless your hearts. Such weeping and gnashing of teeth. “It’s a storm in a tea cup, Mr. Dryden - a sideshow. If you want my own opinion, this whole theater of operations is a sideshow. The real war’s not being fought against the Turks, but the Germans.” - YSW - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:39 am: @Boone’s um, the ideological purity in this instance is Biss dropping his running mate for one foreign policy position. Bernie consistently polls as the most popular politician in America. - Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:39 am: –What exactly are suggesting?– I usually don’t respond to anonymous posters, but OK. I’m suggesting one copied the other. Not casting aspersions or suggesting who did what. - EVanstonian - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:39 am: This whole thing is just…weird. Where was the staff call to Schneider before he pulled his endorsement and figure out how to keep him? Where was the attempt to cast CRR’s BDS feelings as a “Team of Rivals” type disagreement? Where was the announcement of CRR “gracefully stepping aside and we now have ________ as a running mate”? Staff failure after staff failure. All in all, this is what happens when you let a team of people used to our little Evanston/Skokie bubble out into the rest of the state. Also, to the Trib, “ratio’d” is when the replies on twitter are bigger than retweets, which are likely bigger than favorites. The standard tweet would see mostly favorites, then second most retweets, then third most replies. Getting ratio’d is the opposite order. #millenial - Century Club - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:46 am: It seemed like the only path to victory for Biss was that Kennedy would appeal to enough African American voters and moderate Dems to keep Pritzker’s totals down, while Biss consolidated the left side of the party. In that light, the decision to dump Ramirez-Rosa seems like a fatal blow. And given that, it’s hard to believe they could not work this out. It’s hard to believe that there will not be a viable progressive candidate for governor in Illinois because of disagreement over federal foreign policy. They both put their allegiance to their personal bases on one issue over the possibility of a progressive leader in the Governor’s mansion. - Anon0091 - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:52 am: There were more than 1000 Twitter and FB comments on his statement. I counted four that stood by Biss. Stick a fork in him. He’s now angered both the left and the middle of the Democratic Party. He spent eight months pretending to be something he is not in an attempt to mobilize the Bernie Bros to support a guy who passed petitions for Hillary. Now he’s angered them to no end. They won’t forgive the betrayal so Biss has no path. None. And no, $3 million ain’t gonna undo this damage. And while we’re at it, the pick of Rosa so angered many of his financial supporters that a lot of his money dried up. I personally know multiple fundraisers who have told me they are done because of the Rosa pick. Abandoning Rosa and lying about it (anyone with Google knew who he was) has only taken a political six on the Richter scale and turned it into a nine. As I said, he’s done. - Honeybear - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:52 am: Biss got caught in his own Perfidy. The sponsor of SB1 pension reform shouldn’t act progressive or use progressives to cover up his anti-worker tendencies. - Illinois Native - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:54 am: “Lt. Governor should be picked by the primary winner after the primary with concurrence by the party chairs.” I think that the ballot box is a better place than the ’smoke filled room’ to pick the Lt. Governor candidates. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:00 am: === I counted four that stood by Biss=== Facebook comments and Twitter mentions are not scientific polls, particularly when the topic is favored by radical activists. Take a breath. - Judah Maccabee - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:01 am: Let’s face it, throughout history Jews have been hated solely because they are Jewish. Things are no different today. Israel is the only country in the world today being threatened with BDS. When a sanction is directed against only a state with one of the best records of human rights, and that nation happens to be the state of the Jewish people, the suspicion of bigotry must be considered. - Actual Red - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:05 am: Biss really expletived the bed on this one. I thought the pick was good for shoring up his left flank, which as OW, myself, and others have said was always his only real lane to success. I think letting a disagreement over an issue, that, while certainly meaningful on a personal level, doesn’t really have anything to do with the Illinois governors race expose that flank was a terrible, terrible idea. I still like him for his policies, and unlike other leftists I don’t think this means he has no progressive credibility. But very ideologically committed people like ideologically pure candidates, and this looks to them like a rejection of their ideology. Bad move all around, I really think this will tank his campaign. - SAP - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:06 am: “I’m sorry the senator didn’t understand the facts,” Ramirez-Rosa said. Heh. - Boone's is Back - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:08 am: YSW- ===the ideological purity in this instance is Biss dropping his running mate for one foreign policy position.=== So they go where now? It likely ain’t with Pritzker. This smells a lot like 2016. They can’t get everything they want so they won’t vote for the guy who shares most of their policy positions. They’d rather sulk, stay home, and let the Republican (who shares none of their policy positions) win. ===Bernie consistently polls as the most popular politician in America.=== It’s easy to poll as the most popular politician in America when you promise everyone a free pony. - blue dog dem - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:10 am: The dud duo is still intact. - Michael Westen - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:18 am: YSW “Divest from Israel” goes far beyond advocating for a two-state solution, as many Jews and others do. I suspect you know what would happen to Israel (i.e. the Jews who live in Israel) if the US were to “divest from Israel.” I stand by my statement that “divest from Israel” couldn’t possibly be more anti-Semitic. - wndycty - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:18 am: @- Anon0091 a good portion of those accounts attacking Biss are not even from Illinois. - Three Dimensional Checkers - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:20 am: == In an interview with DNAinfo, Ramirez-Rosa said Wednesday evening his position had been consistent in favoring BDS at the federal level while opposing it at the state and local level. == What is consistent about that? Ramirez-Rosa’s position is basically a meaningless distinction. What makes BDS ok on a federal level but not ok for states and local governments? Of course, Biss deserves the lion’s share of the blame here, but Ramirez-Rosa really comes across as immature in all of this to me. Here is a 28 year old, with ambition for higher office no less, given a chance at statewide exposure who seems willing to throw that opportunity away because he won’t change or clarify a position that makes no sense to begin with. He doesn’t seem to appreciate Biss’s campaign or the people involved in his campaign. Also, Bernie Sanders doesn’t support BDS. It’s disingenuous to keep using Bernie Sanders’ name as cover to support BDS. - Some1 - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:22 am: I read through the Chicago DSA statement. I don’t see the word ‘coward’ in it anywhere. - Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:25 am: ==Team Kennedy== Does he still have a team? Where are they? - Century Club - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:35 am: ===So they go where now? It likely ain’t with Pritzker. === Boone’s, this is a great question. I think the people who liked Biss before will stay with Biss. The people who prioritize BDS or who didn’t trust Biss before will go to Pawar. But Biss needed an enthusiastic and unified left to win, so he’s in trouble. - Arsenal - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:37 am: ==So they go where now?== Depends on who “they” are. I suspect Pawar’s in a good position to scoop some of them up, but a lot of them will just drop out of the system. - Love Biss - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:44 am: Dan Biss is a very wealthy and highly educated individual. His life as a socialite and career politician should have prepared him to vet people around him. Biss Dan good bye. - Chicagonk - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:45 am: Good on Biss to dismiss a running mate that supports the BDS movement, but man, do your homework! - West Side the Best Side - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:09 pm: Do some of these candidates not realize they are running for governor of the State of Illinois and there are people outside of Cook County who will be voting? How much support from that group did Sen. Bliss think he was going to get with a socialist Chicago alderman as his running mate? Or with a Chicago alderman how much support outside Chicago? (Or just plain alderman even inside the city.) - Anon0091 - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:13 pm: “- Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:00 am: Facebook comments and Twitter mentions are not scientific polls, particularly when the topic is favored by radical activists. Take a breath.” Breathing fine. The point still stands. It’s the left he was sucking up to with the pick. It’s the left millennials that tend to dominate social media. And those are the same people who ripped him up one side and down another for dumping Rosa. The point remains that he’s now alienated those on the left and those in the center who didn’t like the pick in the first place. And while volume of comments is not a scientific poll, it does indicate topics which have a lot of energy behind them - such as when you get 100 comments on a post. Lot of energy behind this anger from the left. - So_Ill - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:22 pm: == YSW - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:39 am: Bernie consistently polls as the most popular politician in America.== He’s so popular he lost by 3.7 million votes to the least popular politician in America… - walker - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:27 pm: If I had to guess, Rosa has probably been fairly general and ideological in his political positions, and is still clarifying their implications as he is put under the public microscope. - Trapped in the 'burbs - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:31 pm: This might give an opportunity for people to bring more negatives out on Biss. It will be interesting. Now, the replacement will cause more problems. Big mistake. - Steve - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:32 pm: This will probably hurt Biss with some Jewish progressives . However, Biss’ political career isn’t over. Illinois is no longer a mainstream political state. - Red tower - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:36 pm: @centur club I used to like biss because he was smart and competent. This move, or the selection in the first place, is neither. I’m dropping biss because of the stupid, not the international political implications. - lake county democrat - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:44 pm: Even many BDS supporters don’t know that the founders/organizers of BDS are against Israel’s existence, not just looking to leverage a Palestinian state. That said, even some mainstream progressive Jews (like Peter Beinart) think goods from the occupied territories should be boycotted. It’s complex, but most BDS’ers sure seem to single out Israel for their contempt. I’d be more impressed if Ramirez-Ramos boycotted the occupier of Tibet - that requires some real sacrifice. - Anon III - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:18 pm: March is a long time from now. - YSW - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:35 pm: There’s a reason why white nationalist Richard Spencer frequently points to Israel as a model for what he wants for white people in this country. The desire for a Jewish safe haven following the Holocaust, in which much of my family was wiped out, is eminently understandable. In practice, however, the state of Israel has displaced and oppressed millions of Palestinians, which is an injustice too. Biss appears to recognize this to a degree, yet claims that BDS hurts the cause of peace without any support. If violence is verboten and the right to engage in BDS is criminalized, what’s left for Palestinians and others who support Palestinian human rights? You think Israel will take steps towards full human rights for Palesrubiabs without pressure? The Palestinians leading the BDS movement want inequality in Israel to end. Ending Israel’s status as a Jewish state, meaning an ethnostate in which Jews are privileged over others in law and policy in ways that devastate Palestinians, does not mean that Jews must be driven from the land or that it can’t be a haven for Jews. We Jews in America have found a haven here despite not having more rights than others. Rosa represents the future of the party; Biss represents the fading status quo. - TKMH - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:36 pm: It’s too presumptive to say Biss is done, but this has been the biggest story about his campaign so far, and that’s not a good thing. JB’s campaign, with his repeated scandals regarding his mansions and connections to Blago, is weakening with every Tribune article. Biss has so far failed to capitalize on those weaknesses. DSA has a strong online presence, but remember that there are only 1,500 members in the Chicagoland area. I think the loss of their support doesn’t do much in and of itself, but the media waves regarding this (including Schneider yanking support) will make it tougher to win undecideds. I couldn’t believe Biss chose CRR. It was a boneheaded move. The guy was a neophyte do-nothing alderman with no appeal outside his ward. Ammons, Kwame Raoul, Manar–all would have been better picks. Each has something to offer the ticket; a 20something socialist wouldn’t play well downstate in the general. It was a ticking liability, and Biss was unwise to take it on. The BDS thing, as someone who opposes the movement, was unsurprising; the DSA endorsed it at its latest meeting, with CRR leading the charge. This issue getting the play on the state level is what’s so shocking (albeit the anger is directed in the right direction, towards CRR). I remember the Biss who was a wonky technocrat, sounding the alarm on our pension crisis and lack of good jobs. The SB1 ruling, along with the Bernie campaign, changed his political instincts for the worse. - Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:41 pm: == I’d be more impressed if Ramirez-Ramos boycotted the occupier of Tibet - that requires some real sacrifice.== That doesn’t play well to the SJW crowd at UIC. ==Rosa represents the future of the party== Everyone gets a new Nissan in their garage? - Periwinkle - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 1:48 pm: This was an impossible decision, but the right one. Bernie Bros are vicious and always win the social media game, but they’re not as numerous as they are loud, as evidenced by Bernie’s 4 million vote loss to Hillary. Good luck to them in finding a better progressive candidate than Biss. There’s no way any of the other candidates support BDS. Someone should ask them. As for Jewish progressives, they are happy with this development. They were suspicious of Rosa, and Biss’s heartfelt statement, referencing both his family history and his commitment to justice for the Palestinians (and no, not through the misguided, ineffective, and yes, antisemitic BDS movement) has gotten a positive response from Jewish progressives I’ve spoken to. As for Rosa, he’s been inconsistent and misleading on his position on BDS. He voted for a strongly anti-BDS resolution while alderman and, given that, probably represented his more recent position as closer to anti-BDS to get on the ticket. Then when it became an actual issue he refused to risk the Bros’ wrath by publicly denouncing the movement. I appreciate what Biss tried to do with this pick and appreciate that he acknowledged that it wasn’t going to work out. Right move, lots of time left in the primary to mend bridges. The Bros are gonna Bro. There are other voters. - Responsa - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 2:07 pm: Biss made a huge mistake in his choice of Gov. Lite. It never made sense and now I think we see that was largely because he did not perform due diligence on Rosa before jumping to announce. It’s likely that this debacle will prove fatal to his candidacy. But Biss may have inadvertently done a major public service by highlighting BDS and making it more known to the public. One doesn’t have to be Jewish to think BDS is wrongheaded and dangerous both to Israel and to U.S. interests. - wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 2:55 pm: The Israel/Palestine question should be left to big hitters like Jared Kushner. It’s possible to oppose actions by the Israeli government without being anti-semitic. Jews in Israel and around the world do it every day. - Stark - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:05 pm: Love to see Chapo get the recognition it deserves. Smart, blunt, hilarious, and cunning all at the same time. - Anon0091 - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:19 pm: “The Bros are gonna Bro. There are other voters.” Like who? He alienated “establishment Democrats (other than the ones that endorsed him)” that he built his reputation on and has now alienated the Bernie Bros. So where does he go to move from 5 to 40? Where are those votes? How will he get them? Is Daniel suddenly going to be big in the black community? Latinos? If the answer is no on those as well, then that just proves my point. He’s done. - moof - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:24 pm: CDR is a child who is more interested in being a professional protestor than actually being a leader. - jake - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:48 pm: The big reason to continue to support Biss is that he is the best opportunity to move beyond Madigan machine politics as the big driver of policy in Illinois. Rich is right–this is a mess. Biss stepped on a land mine in the Democratic political landscape–the Israel-Palestine issue–and it blew up. I suspect that, while wounded, he will be able to carry on and be credible, but we’ll see. It all depends on whom he chooses now, how they both handle themselves, and how rational or otherwise people on the left are. - Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:52 pm: “Not to appreciate that there is some level of antisemitism involved in that [BDS] I think would be a mistake” — Bernie Sanders. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5uwFGT5zbk This isn’t a conflict between people who want to silence criticism of Israel and people who want to criticize Israel, no matter how the bros try to spin it. This is a conflict people who criticize Israel without supporting BDS like Biss and Bernie Sanders and people like Ramirez-Rosa who [something unintelligible] BDS. - Juvenal - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:58 pm: === reason to continue to support Biss is that he is the best opportunity to move beyond Madigan machine politics === And replace it with what, exactly? Because right now, Madigan and the Democratic Party are the only thing standing between Bruce Rauner’s vision of an oligarchic state and my family. So, explain to me what you would like to replace that with? - Ron - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:59 pm: Rosa is one of the worst Alermen on the city council. Which is quite a feat. Biss is done either way now. Which is good. When can we get a real liberal Democrat to run? - Arsenal - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 4:04 pm: ==The big reason to continue to support Biss is that he is the best opportunity to move beyond Madigan machine politics as the big driver of policy in Illinois.== Real talk: that’s not a very good opportunity. He’s already taken money from Madigan, and doesn’t have the resources to create a completely separate structure from him. - Anon0091 - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 4:30 pm: “- jake - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 3:48 pm: The big reason to continue to support Biss is that he is the best opportunity to move beyond Madigan machine politics as the big driver of policy in Illinois.” You’re saying the guy who ran Madigan’s LiftPAC, who repeatedly voted for Madigan for Speaker, and who took Madigan’s support is the guy to move us past Madigan? Please read more and drink the Kool-Aid less. - Veil of Ignorance - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 4:30 pm: I think all candidates will face hurdles and mistakes, but the key question is how do they respond and handle them. For Pritzker, it’ll be Blago ties. For Pawar, it’ll be his previous allegiance to Rahm. For Kennedy, it’ll be forming a clear identity/political theme. For Biss, it’ll be this. I don’t read this incident as Biss caving, but rather it seems he and Rosa were not on the same page at best or at worst Rosa really wanted that Lt. Guv spot initially (he walks away from this in better standing w/his Bernie crowd than even before). As others have pointed out, where will the far Left in Dem party go in next year’s primary? Pritzker (no)? Pawar (Biss’ decision is really worse than having carried serious water for Rahm?)? Kennedy? If they want ideological purity, a 100% score on their litmus tests, then stay home and embrace the call-out culture that is plaguing the progressive movement. If they want to win, they’ll reconsider their positions if/when Biss recovers from this. - Mama - Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 6:21 pm: I don’t feel this is Biss’s time to run for governor. Please withdraw from the governor’s race and stay in the Senate for a few more years. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.