37 Comments - PublicServant - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 6:24 am: ===Isn’t Rauner a freedom at the workplace kinda guy?=== Absolutely, but only certain freedoms… Freedom to shutup and work. You’re free to be grateful for your betters taking pity on you, and giving you more than you deserve, especially wages. Freedom to do what we tell you to do, when we tell you to do it. Freedom to exercise your rights as an American citizen, after you’re fired for exercising your rights as an American citizen. Freedom to say thanks for paying me while I’m used as a campaign prop for a governor trying to make me work longer hours for less money. Freedom to take full advantage of all the socialist government programs to keep you alive and healthy for me to pay you just enough to get to the next paycheck with the support of those socialist, democrat programs, while I and your stockholder betters do what we do best…profit. - Keyrock - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 6:36 am: I love when he wears his Junior G-Man badge when talking about Capone, Madigan, and the Outfit. I know that a law enforcement officer like Rauner will bring the Speaker to justice. - Anonymous - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 7:39 am: ===Isn’t Rauner a freedom at the workplace kinda guy?=== Absolutely, but only certain freedoms… Freedom to shut up and work. You’re free to be grateful for your betters taking pity on you, and giving you more than you deserve, especially wages. Freedom to do what we tell you to do, when we tell you to do it. Freedom to exercise your rights as an American citizen, after you’re fired for exercising your rights as an American citizen. Freedom to say thanks for paying me while I’m used as a campaign prop for a governor trying to make me work longer hours for less money. Freedom to take full advantage of all the socialist government programs to keep you alive and healthy for me to pay you just enough to get to the next paycheck with the support of those socialist, democrat programs, while I and your stockholder betters do what we do best…profit. - wordslinger - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 7:46 am: –One plant worker said employees had been ordered to attend, and were made aware that they’d be part of campaign photos and videos.– Forced participation in political activity? Sounds like a 1st Amendment issue. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 7:51 am: Madigan is a convenient excuse for Rauner to justify the malicious, intentional damage he caused the state. Madigan is Rauner’s biggest blessing, because he would have nothing to run on without Madigan and would have to invent other mortal enemies. Democrats ought to come out and say that they’d not support Rauner’s anti-labor policies, no matter who is the Speaker. That should be considered, to try to weaken Rauner’s Madigan angle and put the focus back on the governor. - @misterjayem - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 8:03 am: I wonder if Bruce’s obsession with the mafia is the impetus for the Rauners’ plan to move to Italy. (If I remember correctly, Michael Corleone’s first two years in Sicily were rather pleasant.) – MrJM - VanillaMan - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 8:18 am: This is news to people living in states with normal, functioning governors. Just five years ago, calling a speaker of the house a mafia don, or a unified force of evil, would have been considered certifiable nutty-talk here in Illinois. The more Rauner rants, the more he looks like a frightened deer trapped in a forest fire he set. - Henry Francis - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 8:23 am: The Guv is obviously ridiculous with all this mafia talk. Who relies more on extortion and threats than him? His problem with this approach is that he doesn’t really allow any capos in his family. Everyone is just a soldier. A button. Nothing more. And he provides no loyalty. - City Zen - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 8:38 am: ==One plant worker said employees had been ordered to attend, and were made aware that they’d be part of campaign photos and videos.== Rahm visited my workplace a few years ago and my boss ordered me to attend a similar media opp since I was part of a big project that was part of the reason for his visit. Plenty of empty smiles to go around. - wordslinger - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 8:42 am: –Rahm visited my workplace a few years ago and my boss ordered me to attend a similar media opp since I was part of a big project that was part of the reason for his visit.– Why did you do it, if you didn’t want to? - PublicServant - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 8:53 am: Gah. I can’t get what I want to say here past the goofy filters. For the life of me, I can’t see what’s so bad about it. But hey, I’ll get over it. - PublicServant - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 8:54 am: I’ll try to piecemeal it: ===Isn’t Rauner a freedom at the workplace kinda guy?=== Absolutely, but only certain freedoms… - PublicServant - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:00 am: Freedom to do what we tell you to do, when we tell you to do it. Freedom to exercise your rights as an American citizen, after you’re fired for exercising your rights as an American citizen. Freedom to say thanks for paying me while I’m used as a campaign prop for a governor trying to make me work longer hours for less money. Freedom to take full advantage of all the government programs to keep you alive and healthy for me to pay you just enough to get to the next paycheck with the support of those programs, while I and your stockholder betters do what we do best…profit. - Da Big Bad Wolf - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:00 am: ==Isn’t Rauner a freedom at the workplace kinda guy? I thought that’s what the Janus case was all about.== I appreciate the restaurant quality snark Rich. Is there any person that actually believes Janus versus AFSCME is about worker’s freedom? - PublicServant - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:05 am: Freedom to silently work and be grateful to your betters for employing you in the first place. - City Zen - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:05 am: ==Why did you do it, if you didn’t want to?== Because it was a team effort and the boss wanted everyone on the team. I figured if a major Chuy supporter on our team could do it, so could I. I prefer to stay apolitical at work. Getting increasingly hard to do so. - former southerner - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:06 am: We have moved from the neo-con era to the new pseudo-con era personified by politicians like Rauner and Trump. The primary axiom for this group is rules don’t apply to me. - Lucky Pierre - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:15 am: Rauner would have nothing to run on except for Madigan? Madigan is a proxy for the Democrats alliance with big labor and trial lawyers whose stranglehold on state government is the reason Illinois is a high tax state that is not business friendly. Over time, that has led to outward migration and one of the slowest recoveries to the great recession, something the Democrats will never admit. To them the problem is always revenue, not common sense reforms like other Democratic states have done. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:16 am: Did Bruce put on his hard hat costume and drop workin’ stiff slang on workers? “We’re pro-bidness because we’re pro-you.” - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:17 am: Rauner loves props. It’s who he is. You can decide to be a prop for Rauner or not, have no choice to be a prop, because your own job is a consideration… … or again, we’re reminded… Raunerism isn’t popular when props are needed to promote it. - Anonymous - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:36 am: Love me some Alphonse - 360 Degree TurnAround - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:50 am: Somebody needs to follow him around with an applause sign, just to help him. - Blackhawk - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:51 am: I wonder if he got a standing ovation? When he visited us, there was no seats and we politely clapped. - Demoralized - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:55 am: ==Rauner would have nothing to run on except for Madigan?== If he did he’d be doing it. The Governor is the one going with an all Madigan, all the time message. And LP, tell us all exactly what the Governor has accomplished besides spending 3 1/2 years blaming everyone else for everything. - Demoralized - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 9:58 am: ==not common sense reforms== You mean like destroying unions and advocating for less pay for people by getting rid of PW? You mean like those “common sense” reforms? Or how about those term limits, which will have absolutely no effect on the budget. Those “common sense” economic reforms? Please. There’s nothing “common sense” about this Governor. - Practical Politics - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 10:11 am: The defeat of Joe Berrios in the primary knocks one prop out from under the “mafia protection racket” analogy. Rauner is going to have to find another angle. - Lucky Pierre - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 10:23 am: I think it is the Democrats that are blaming Rauner for everything, because they are not “change people”. Can you point to any legislation the Democrats have passed in the past three and half years (feel free to go back further) that has restored faith in Illinois government and our business environment or are they just content to see Illinois continue to lose population? JB seems to think the only thing hindering Illinois economy is our taxes are too low and a Repubican Governor is standing in the way of all the increased spending the Democrats are proposing. - Lester Holt’s Mustache - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 10:26 am: ====Rauner would have nothing to run on except for Madigan?== If he did he’d be doing it. The Governor is the one going with an all Madigan, all the time message.== Demoralized, you should tell the Luckybot 6000 to check the scribble feed to the right of these posts for this Sunday’s Trib editorial. Even Hurricane McQuery and Bruce Dold think Rauner’s “Blame Madigan” obsession needs to stop. - wordslinger - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 10:34 am: –Even Hurricane McQuery and Bruce Dold think Rauner’s “Blame Madigan” obsession needs to stop.– The lack of self-awareness among the troncsylvania deep thinkers is truly amazing. And strange. If anything, Rauner stole their bit, their bread-and-butter for years. That’s like Richard Pryor telling Eddie Murphy, “hey, enough with the curse words, already. It’s not funny, anymore.” - Mike Cirrincione - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 10:39 am: No such thing as “Right to Work”, just like there is no such thing as “Religious Freedom”. @lucky: The reason the income tax had to be raised is because the current bills were not being paid. For some reason Bruce has an unhealthy obsession with Mike Madigan,who has had no problem reaching across the aisle with Republicans in the past. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 10:47 am: ===Madigan is a proxy for the Democrats alliance with big labor and trial lawyers whose stranglehold on state government is the reason Illinois is a high tax state that is not business friendly.=== With all that… Rauner polls at 30% approval, 20+ points under water and is losing to Pritzker, who is himself under water, by double digits. This ain’t working. Rauner failed, this messaging is failing too. ===Over time, that has led to outward migration and one of the slowest recoveries to the great recession, something the Democrats will never admit.=== If you blame Dems, then you have to blame Rauner for his own three years… unless you want to say Rauner isn’t in charge… then why re-elect a governor who hasn’t done anything? ===To them the problem is always revenue, not common sense reforms like other Democratic states have done.=== 60 and 30. Ask Rep. Reick. Heck, Rauner can get 60 in the stairs anytime he wants. Why won’t he? Is this all you got “Lucky Pierre”… it’s a failed message already… otherwise Rauner would be the Worst Republican governor in America, lol. Your argument is losing, the voters have seen Rauner as a failure, 48% of his own party thinks so. - Chris Widger - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 10:59 am: ==Your argument is losing, the voters have seen Rauner as a failure, 48% of his own party thinks so.== It’s absolutely true. Rauner will lose in November, that’s just primary math. But that doesn’t mean voters are acting in the state’s self-interest or that the future is brighter because of it. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 11:15 am: ===I think it is the Democrats that are blaming Rauner for everything, because they are not “change people”.=== Bruce Rauner isn’t in charge. Bruce Rauner can’t do anything. No reason to re-elect Bruce Rauner if nothing changed abs nothing will change… Bruce isn’t in charge, after all. ===Can you point to any legislation the Democrats have passed in the past three and half years (feel free to go back further) that has restored faith in Illinois government and our business environment or are they just content to see Illinois continue to lose population?=== Over Rauner’s veto, a bipartisan legislature overrode Rauner to save Illinois from Rauner… and while Rauner complained, Rauner used that budget and then some, overspending $1.1 billion, hurting Illinois, spending unappropriated funds, now seeking funds to pay. How’s that for one? ===Repubican Governor is standing in the way of all the increased spending the Democrats are proposing.=== You may be right. Rauner says he’s not in charge. How can Rauner do or be… anything… but s hindrance to Illinois. Anything else, “Lucky Pierre” - Honeybear - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 11:33 am: But LP you willfully hide The “change” Democrats fight And Rauner wants Is Corporo-fascism and oligarchy - Soccermom - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 12:10 pm: Why is hustings plural? Can you have a single husting? - Rabid - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 12:44 pm: Reinventing himself as Melvin Purvis cleaning up the cook county cosa nostra - Demoralized - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 12:50 pm: LP You are such a bot and are required to spew the same stuff day in and day out that you are completely incapable of acknowledging the fact that the Governor has absolutely, positively nothing to run on except whining about everything being someone else’s fault. The level of dishonesty from you amazes me sometimes. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.