Over 40 groups associated with the Chicago Women Take Action Alliance on Saturday asked the [gubernatorial] candidates about how they’d address sexual harassment in the statehouse, as well as the economic and social barriers many face. The candidates largely said the answers to women’s issues, as well as curbing sexual harassment, is employing more women and protecting their rights.
Biss says that Rauner is turning everything into a personal fight between himself and House Speaker Madigan. Also said Pritzker is Madigan's candidate (to boos). Pritzker says Biss voted for Madigan to be speaker. Doesn't matter who speaker is, he's going to fight for his agenda
BISS: “First of all, what is Bruce Rauner even talking about? Why is he running for re-election, honestly, can someone explain this to me? It’s embarrassing, he’s genuinely just out there and embarrassing himself. But listen, let’s talk about Mike Madigan. He’s been there too long, he’s too powerful. I’ve said that for a long time. I’ve been fighting to limit how long someone can serve as speaker. This is fundamental, it’s important. Let’s just be really direct about what’s going on here. Bruce Rauner has chosen to be governor in the way of just turning everything into a personal fight with Mike Madigan. That’s terrible for the state of Illinois. JB Pritzker is Mike Madigan’s candidate for governor. I don’t think that’s the right way forward for the Democratic party. [Audience boos] I think we ought a have a new generation of real independence from the Speaker because I think his leadership which has gone on for a very long time, and has amassed an extraordinary amount of power that’s held the state back that’s held the Democratic party back and I think the right way forward is someone who will work with everyone, who has a record of accomplishment in the legislator, but is genuinely independent.” [Applause]
AHERN: “JB would you like to respond?”
PRITZKER: “I would like to respond. First of all, who here on this stage voted for Mike Madigan for Speaker? The guy at the end of the table. [Applause] Daniel Biss voted for Mike Madigan for Speaker, and voted for his rules, so it’s hypocrisy. Let me say that I have fought my entire life to change peoples’ lives across the state of Illinois to make their lives better. When I become governor I’m going to take that same record and go fight hard to put working families back in charge. It doesn’t matter who the Speaker of the House is, or who the President of the Senate is. It’s the agenda that I carry with me that I’m going to fight for.” [Applause]
…Adding… Biss’ retort…
“First of all, in my opinion it does matter who the Speaker of House and the Senate President are. I think it certainly matters. But I will say, yes I did vote for Mike Madigan for Speaker. He was the Democratic candidate for Speaker and I’m a proud Democrat. And I’m going to work with everyone in the legislature, including [Madigan]. I’ll work with him to elect the Democratic nominee for governor whoever that person is. You can be a loyal Democrat and be independent as well. That’s who I am.”
He’s a “proud Democrat” who spends much of his time bashing a guy he voted for and ran a super PAC with last year. It’s a free country, but I’m just sayin…
When I become governor I’m going to take that same record and go fight hard to put working families back in charge. It doesn’t matter who the Speaker of the House is, or who the President of the Senate is. It’s the agenda that I carry with me that I’m going to fight for.”
You can fight for your agenda all you want, but if the speaker doesn’t think it is good or good for his members, good luck with that.
I am so so sorry if I’m being ignorant.
But honestly
I am under the impression
That only House members
Vote on the Speaker of the House
How would Senator Biss have voted for him?
Honest question
Am I wrong?
- Saputo's Back Room - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:28 pm:
I wasn’t there, but the video makes it seem like the crowd was booing the fact that Mike Madigan is “breaking legs behind the scenes” for J.B. Pritzker, as one reporter put it, rather than booing Biss for repeating that fact. It very well could be pro-Pritzker folks in the audience booing Biss, though.
Biss the anti-Madigan candidate that voted for Madigan. He’s also the Bernie candidate who supported Hillary. I really thought at the beginning of the process that I would be supporting Biss. Now I wouldn’t support him for dog catcher.
Hey there anonymous. First, it’s an insult to the 40 women’s orgs who packed that room - it wasn’t Pritzker or any other candidate. Second, mic drop by Pritzker. As they say, don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house.
Pritzker is nobody’s doormat. This quick response shows he’s prepared and ready to take on Rauner in the debates.
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:43 pm:
==You can fight for your agenda all you want, but if the speaker doesn’t think it is good or good for his members, good luck with that. ==
Part of good negotiation is showing the other party how your agenda meets their needs. Governors from both parties have been doing this with Madigan for years.
Did these guys never hear of the “Reagan Rule”? I don’t think it helps the party to campaign negatively in the primaries, makes it harder to unite once the candidate advances, as we saw with Hill v. Bern.
I’d frankly prefer to hear more detail on these “agendas”, position papers on the key issues. Don’t bag on the competition, rather sell me on what YOU’re going to do for me.
=Biss the anti-Madigan candidate that voted for Madigan. He’s also the Bernie candidate who supported Hillary. I really thought at the beginning of the process that I would be supporting Biss. Now I wouldn’t support him for dog catcher.=
Biss appears to be a reincarnation of Pat Quinn - a shameless faux populist with a questionable record of government service. He repeats populist themes assuming voters will forget about his actions.
While Rauner is horrible, that doesn’t make the Quinn/Biss model OK.
“Peak Biss” was the day - or maybe the day before - he made his first Lt. Gov pick. Ironically, Biss helps JB/Madigan by staying in the race, because it prevents the non-Jb, not-Madigan vote from consolidating behind Kennedy.
==First of all, who here on this stage voted for Mike Madigan for Speaker? The guy at the end of the table. [Applause] Daniel Biss voted for Mike Madigan for Speaker, and voted for his rules==
And Biss is the one who claims to be “genuinely independent” while claiming Pritzker is a puppet of MJM? Biss is going to end up wrecking any chance he has at a future higher office unless he gets his act together soon.
**I’d frankly prefer to hear more detail on these “agendas”, position papers on the key issues. Don’t bag on the competition, rather sell me on what YOU’re going to do for me.**
A lot was said at the forum about each of their agendas. But the Madigan comments are what is getting highlighted.
If Biss doesn’t think Rauner won’t use, “You voted for Madigan,” also, he better think again. Rauner will hammer on that over and over and over again if Biss wins the primary, so he better come up with some quick retorts and reason why he voted for Madigan when he was in the House.
With the recent high profile endorsements for Pritzker, this race is essentially over. Bliss and the rest are running up hill, and will not see the top. Time for them to cut their losses, concede, and unite the party. I just don’t see any other candidate but Pritzker having the money, organization, or the endorsement needed to move ahead.
== I’d frankly prefer to hear more detail on these “agendas” ==
Unlike the GOP primary for governor, the Dem candidates agree with each other on almost every single issue. So expect all the “debate” between the candidates to be about who’s closest to Madigan, who’s too rich and supposedly out of touch, and who is the most electable in the fall.
“Did these guys never hear of the “Reagan Rule”? I don’t think it helps the party to campaign negatively in the primaries, makes it harder to unite once the candidate advances, as we saw with Hill v. Bern.”
It’s not “these guys.” It’s not JB. It’s mostly not Chris Kennedy. The person who has been running a negative campaign against another candidate, as Rich point out on Friday, is Dan Biss. Apparently JB decided not to be a human punching bag for Biss so he countered. That’s not the same as running a negative campaign.
As I’ve been saying for weeks, Biss can’t credibly run as an Anti-Madigan candidate. He’s been coming off these statements looking like an insincere and boring guy. Daniel needs to tell us how he will “outdo” Pritzker - not “notbe” Pritzker.
==Have we reached “peak Kennedy” or was it before anyone started paying attention and he polled well.==
I think it was last spring (?) when reporters followed him into an elevator, zinging him with questions.
Peak Kennedy was the split-second before he started to respond. After this, it was all pretty much dowhill.
- Lucky Pierre Bot - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 3:03 pm:
Daniel Biss is with at least 75 percent of Illinois residents who think Mike Madigan is terrible for the state, has too much power and needs to retire.
The fact he received loud boos from Democratic insiders who benefit from the status quo is a badge of honor.
Hmmmm…..that’s interesting. Voting for the Speaker is finally starting to be a negative in a Democratic primary. That might start to give other House Democrats something to think about if they plan to ever want to run for a higher office.
“Daniel Biss is with at least 75 percent of Illinois residents who think Mike Madigan is terrible for the state, has too much power and needs to retire. The fact he received loud boos from Democratic insiders who benefit from the status quo is a badge of honor.”
==The fact he received loud boos from Democratic insiders who benefit from the status quo is a badge of honor.==
The non-bot version of Rauners Last Loyal Defender should totally tell Gov Junk at the next staff meeting that going forward he should always refer to women’s orgs as “Democratic insiders who benefit from the status quo”. There’s gotta be at least 20 percent of women that haven’t completely abandoned Bruce yet, but it’s not too late to drive them off using this kind of insightful political strategy.
Will Biss just be another Governor that blames his failures on the Speaker? If so, we already had one of those Governors and he didn’t work out so well.
This is becoming a 2 man race. Kennedy? Or Pritzker. I don’t know why Daiber and Hardimann are still in. They’re not going to win. Give them an A for effort, but they’re finished. Biss can get as much speed as a go-kart, but there’s constant slick spots on his track. JB Pritzker or Chris Kennedy will be the next governor. If Sen. Biss really wanted to hurt Pritzker, he’d drop out and endorse Chris Kennedy.
- Veil of Ignorance - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 5:28 pm:
couldn’t tell from audio, but was it a few boos or small turnout and that was the whole room? Seems like to cover it as booing would require it to be more than just a handful of attendees.
- OneMan - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:22 pm:
You can fight for your agenda all you want, but if the speaker doesn’t think it is good or good for his members, good luck with that.
- Anonymous - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:23 pm:
Props to JB’s team - they packed that forum (and the subsequent straw poll) very well.
- Honeybear - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:27 pm:
I am so so sorry if I’m being ignorant.
But honestly
I am under the impression
That only House members
Vote on the Speaker of the House
How would Senator Biss have voted for him?
Honest question
Am I wrong?
- Saputo's Back Room - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:28 pm:
I wasn’t there, but the video makes it seem like the crowd was booing the fact that Mike Madigan is “breaking legs behind the scenes” for J.B. Pritzker, as one reporter put it, rather than booing Biss for repeating that fact. It very well could be pro-Pritzker folks in the audience booing Biss, though.
- Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:28 pm:
Biss the anti-Madigan candidate that voted for Madigan. He’s also the Bernie candidate who supported Hillary. I really thought at the beginning of the process that I would be supporting Biss. Now I wouldn’t support him for dog catcher.
- Anonish - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:29 pm:
Biss was elected to the House in 2010, served one term
- Anon - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:29 pm:
Biss was in the House before he was in the Senate.
- Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:30 pm:
@Honeybear
He was in the House first, 2011-2013.
- Saluki - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:34 pm:
Biss is a train wreck.
- Roman - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:37 pm:
Both JB and Biss are 100 percent correct: Biss voted for Madigan for Speaker. JB is Madigan’s candidate for governor.
Nuff said.
- People Over Parties - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:37 pm:
Biss ain’t wrong.
- blue dog dem - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:39 pm:
‘its the agenda that I carry..’. This is what scares me he most.
- Shytown - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:39 pm:
Hey there anonymous. First, it’s an insult to the 40 women’s orgs who packed that room - it wasn’t Pritzker or any other candidate. Second, mic drop by Pritzker. As they say, don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house.
- Lamont - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:42 pm:
Pritzker is nobody’s doormat. This quick response shows he’s prepared and ready to take on Rauner in the debates.
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:43 pm:
==You can fight for your agenda all you want, but if the speaker doesn’t think it is good or good for his members, good luck with that. ==
Part of good negotiation is showing the other party how your agenda meets their needs. Governors from both parties have been doing this with Madigan for years.
- Anonymous - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:43 pm:
Did these guys never hear of the “Reagan Rule”? I don’t think it helps the party to campaign negatively in the primaries, makes it harder to unite once the candidate advances, as we saw with Hill v. Bern.
I’d frankly prefer to hear more detail on these “agendas”, position papers on the key issues. Don’t bag on the competition, rather sell me on what YOU’re going to do for me.
- Bissocrisy - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:44 pm:
=Biss the anti-Madigan candidate that voted for Madigan. He’s also the Bernie candidate who supported Hillary. I really thought at the beginning of the process that I would be supporting Biss. Now I wouldn’t support him for dog catcher.=
Biss appears to be a reincarnation of Pat Quinn - a shameless faux populist with a questionable record of government service. He repeats populist themes assuming voters will forget about his actions.
While Rauner is horrible, that doesn’t make the Quinn/Biss model OK.
- DarkHorse - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:45 pm:
“Peak Biss” was the day - or maybe the day before - he made his first Lt. Gov pick. Ironically, Biss helps JB/Madigan by staying in the race, because it prevents the non-Jb, not-Madigan vote from consolidating behind Kennedy.
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:45 pm:
==First of all, who here on this stage voted for Mike Madigan for Speaker? The guy at the end of the table. [Applause] Daniel Biss voted for Mike Madigan for Speaker, and voted for his rules==
And Biss is the one who claims to be “genuinely independent” while claiming Pritzker is a puppet of MJM? Biss is going to end up wrecking any chance he has at a future higher office unless he gets his act together soon.
- SaulGoodman - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:47 pm:
**I’d frankly prefer to hear more detail on these “agendas”, position papers on the key issues. Don’t bag on the competition, rather sell me on what YOU’re going to do for me.**
A lot was said at the forum about each of their agendas. But the Madigan comments are what is getting highlighted.
- Anon221 - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:51 pm:
If Biss doesn’t think Rauner won’t use, “You voted for Madigan,” also, he better think again. Rauner will hammer on that over and over and over again if Biss wins the primary, so he better come up with some quick retorts and reason why he voted for Madigan when he was in the House.
- starcross - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:55 pm:
Biss has a history of miscalculations. This is another one!
- Rich Miller - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:57 pm:
===A lot was said at the forum about each of their agendas===
Not much if anything new, so I skipped it.
- Retired Educator - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 12:58 pm:
With the recent high profile endorsements for Pritzker, this race is essentially over. Bliss and the rest are running up hill, and will not see the top. Time for them to cut their losses, concede, and unite the party. I just don’t see any other candidate but Pritzker having the money, organization, or the endorsement needed to move ahead.
- Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 1:04 pm:
===Time for them to cut their losses, concede, and unite the party.===
While I do support JB, I wholeheartedly disagree with that. The time to do that is March 21st. Democracy is more important than unity.
- Roman - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 1:19 pm:
== I’d frankly prefer to hear more detail on these “agendas” ==
Unlike the GOP primary for governor, the Dem candidates agree with each other on almost every single issue. So expect all the “debate” between the candidates to be about who’s closest to Madigan, who’s too rich and supposedly out of touch, and who is the most electable in the fall.
- Anon0091 - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 1:29 pm:
“Did these guys never hear of the “Reagan Rule”? I don’t think it helps the party to campaign negatively in the primaries, makes it harder to unite once the candidate advances, as we saw with Hill v. Bern.”
It’s not “these guys.” It’s not JB. It’s mostly not Chris Kennedy. The person who has been running a negative campaign against another candidate, as Rich point out on Friday, is Dan Biss. Apparently JB decided not to be a human punching bag for Biss so he countered. That’s not the same as running a negative campaign.
- m - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 1:40 pm:
=“Peak Biss”=
I like that.
Have we reached “peak Kennedy” or was it before anyone started paying attention and he polled well.
Is it too early to proclaim “peak Pritzker” or will there be a stumble?
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 1:48 pm:
==Have we reached “peak Kennedy” or was it before anyone started paying attention and he polled well.==
It appears to have been sometime last Spring.
- Trapped in the 'burbs - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 2:03 pm:
Nobody can make Biss look worse more than Biss himself.
- VanillaMan - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 2:06 pm:
As I’ve been saying for weeks, Biss can’t credibly run as an Anti-Madigan candidate. He’s been coming off these statements looking like an insincere and boring guy. Daniel needs to tell us how he will “outdo” Pritzker - not “notbe” Pritzker.
His messages are worn out and no longer heard.
- FDB - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 2:09 pm:
“Rauner wants to make everything about Madigan! So allow me to make this race about Madigan”
-the laymans translation for Biss’ “point”
- City Zen - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 2:20 pm:
No, Daniel…they’re saying boo-iss.
- Cheryl44 - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 2:57 pm:
I really want to listen to Dan Biss and hear some ideas, but all I am hearing from him is what a jerk he is.
- Macbeth - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 3:00 pm:
==Have we reached “peak Kennedy” or was it before anyone started paying attention and he polled well.==
I think it was last spring (?) when reporters followed him into an elevator, zinging him with questions.
Peak Kennedy was the split-second before he started to respond. After this, it was all pretty much dowhill.
- Lucky Pierre Bot - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 3:03 pm:
Daniel Biss is with at least 75 percent of Illinois residents who think Mike Madigan is terrible for the state, has too much power and needs to retire.
The fact he received loud boos from Democratic insiders who benefit from the status quo is a badge of honor.
- Just Me - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 3:32 pm:
Hmmmm…..that’s interesting. Voting for the Speaker is finally starting to be a negative in a Democratic primary. That might start to give other House Democrats something to think about if they plan to ever want to run for a higher office.
- Anon0091 - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 3:44 pm:
“Daniel Biss is with at least 75 percent of Illinois residents who think Mike Madigan is terrible for the state, has too much power and needs to retire. The fact he received loud boos from Democratic insiders who benefit from the status quo is a badge of honor.”
That’s not why he was booed. Nice spin though.
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 3:50 pm:
==The fact he received loud boos from Democratic insiders who benefit from the status quo is a badge of honor.==
The non-bot version of Rauners Last Loyal Defender should totally tell Gov Junk at the next staff meeting that going forward he should always refer to women’s orgs as “Democratic insiders who benefit from the status quo”. There’s gotta be at least 20 percent of women that haven’t completely abandoned Bruce yet, but it’s not too late to drive them off using this kind of insightful political strategy.
- A Jack - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 4:03 pm:
Will Biss just be another Governor that blames his failures on the Speaker? If so, we already had one of those Governors and he didn’t work out so well.
- Arsenal - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 4:17 pm:
==If so, we already had one of those Governors and he didn’t work out so well.==
One? By my count, we’re on our third.
- Thomas Stepp - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 4:34 pm:
- Be Independent
- Be Democrat
Pick one.
- Anon - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 5:11 pm:
Biss = Bust
- Hottot - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 5:25 pm:
This is becoming a 2 man race. Kennedy? Or Pritzker. I don’t know why Daiber and Hardimann are still in. They’re not going to win. Give them an A for effort, but they’re finished. Biss can get as much speed as a go-kart, but there’s constant slick spots on his track. JB Pritzker or Chris Kennedy will be the next governor. If Sen. Biss really wanted to hurt Pritzker, he’d drop out and endorse Chris Kennedy.
- Veil of Ignorance - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 5:28 pm:
couldn’t tell from audio, but was it a few boos or small turnout and that was the whole room? Seems like to cover it as booing would require it to be more than just a handful of attendees.
- Anonymous - Monday, Dec 11, 17 @ 10:00 pm:
For all those who claimed that Pritzker unfairly packed the room and polls - Biss ended up winning the straw poll that took place afterwards
- SaulGoodman - Tuesday, Dec 12, 17 @ 8:32 am:
**Props to JB’s team - they packed that forum (and the subsequent straw poll) very well.**
So this is what it looks like when JB packs a poll?
https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Biss-Wins-Straw-Poll-of-Democratic-Gubernatorial-Candidates-463535663.html