Today’s quotables
Friday, Sep 14, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the governor’s Tribune editorial board meeting…
TRIBUNE: “So Governor, my next-door neighbor just lost his job because of continuing fallout of the budget impasse. So how do you talk to Illinois voters who are still feeling the effects of that impasse?”
RAUNER: “I say every day what I said yesterday, and I’ll say tomorrow, that budget impasse was deeply disruptive, caused suffering. We should never let that happen again but we also can’t stop the struggle for reform. We cannot just think that deficit spending and higher tax rates will solve the problem. They won’t. That in and of itself causes even more suffering for longer periods of time, we cannot give up the struggle because of frustrations during that particular round of the struggle. One battle does not define the whole effort. My request of your friend, you neighbor, is to recognize that it’s a failure of all of us as a system. It’s a, we let the people down when we don’t get balanced budgets and we don’t change our system that has been failing us for decades. We have to keep trying and hopefully we don’t have any more disruptions while we struggle for the reforms. I hope we don’t ever have that. I will be willing to compromise on every possible way to find common ground and get incremental changes so we can keep making progress and not have major disruptions.”
TRIBUNE: “The tragic budget shortfall standoff was solved by Republicans coming and overriding your veto. So, I think the question is, how should voters think that we’re not going to see another standoff? Do you regret not signing that budget?”
RAUNER: “No, not at all.”
* Another one…
TRIBUNE: “Given your speech yesterday, can you give us more of a window into why you said what you said, and why it took you so long for you to say it.”
RAUNER: “Yesterday, I felt it was very important to speak directly to the people of Illinois at this critical juncture in our state’s history. I believe that this election is the most important election of my lifetime. I was born in Chicago and lived in Illinois for most of my 62 years. I don’t know of a more important election. This election will determine the future for our state for decades to come and two very different potential paths. The voters of this state will have a crystal-clear, stark choice to make in this election. It’s essential that we choose to support my efforts with Evelyn Sanguinetti to get our state reformed and turned in a better direction. In my first term, we’ve made important progress but also have had some important frustrations. We’ve learned some lessons from those frustrations. And I’d like to build on the successes we’ve had, progress we made, and lessons learned, and try to get even more done in my 2nd term. And I felt it was critically important now with basically less than 60 days to go until the election that the people of Illinois heard directly from me about that. About what’s at stake in this election. And that we can together, Democrats as well as Republicans, reform minded people, independent voters, everyone, we come together to get done what has to get done to create a better future. We cannot tax our way to a better future. We cannot give more power to the same insiders that have created the problems in our state for the past 35 years. We need to get reforms. And these are reforms that are not partisan reforms. They are not Republican reforms. They are reforms that Democrats in other states have done.”
…Adding… Tribune…
“I am cautiously optimistic that the dynamic in the General Assembly is different. I do not believe that the speaker is as powerful and dominant and domineering as he was four years ago and as he has been for much of the last 35 years. I think there’s more willingness within his caucus to stand up and challenge him on issues,” said Rauner, who has spent millions of dollars attacking Madigan, who also is state Democratic chairman. […]
He said, in retrospect, he would have accepted smaller changes in such issues as workers’ compensation, local mandate relief, property tax controls and state pensions. During his first term, Rauner pulled back from Senate Republican-led efforts to fashion a “grand bargain” aimed at trying to resolve differences between the governor’s agenda and the Democratic-led General Assembly because it didn’t go far enough.
“The simple fact is I’ve learned. I’ve learned a lot. I was highly successful in business by being very aggressive, very dynamic, very quick to act, innovative in thinking. I’ve tried to be the same in government and what I’ve learned is that doesn’t work very well in a political process where we are in the super-minority and now the minority,” Rauner said.
“We just have to take wins where we can get them. We have to change the system slowly. It takes time. We have to gradually convince not only the legislators but also the voters — and communicating about these issues with 12.8 million people is hard and takes time and we’ve just got to stay persistent,” he said. “What we can’t do is let our frustrations, let our frustrations stop us from continuing to work and continuing to try to make progress.”
- 47th Ward - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:08 pm:
===”My request of your friend, you neighbor, is to recognize that it’s a failure of all of us as a system. It’s a, we let the people down when we don’t get balanced budgets…”===
This is what failure looks like. At any time, Governor Rauner could have proposed cuts to the budget as an alternative to tax hike. He had three budget speeches in a row where he failed to lead, failed to present a balanced budget, failed to specify exactly what he wanted in terms of his “reforms.” And now he’s trying to blame the General Assembly for his failure?
He hasn’t learned a thing.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:11 pm:
===We should never let that happen again but we also can’t stop the struggle for reform. We cannot just think that deficit spending and higher tax rates will solve the problem. They won’t. That in and of itself causes even more suffering for longer periods of time, we cannot give up the struggle because of frustrations during that particular round of the struggle. One battle does not define the whole effort.===
“I’m frustrated too but taking steps to reform Illinois is more important than a short term budget stalemate”
Yep.
Rauner caused the impass. Purposely.
The Owl told us.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:12 pm:
===“Do you regret not signing that budget?”
RAUNER: “No, not at all.”===
Rauner causes pain, “No ‘Regerts’… “
What a pathetic little man.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:16 pm:
===In my first term, we’ve made important progress but also have had some important frustrations.===
Hmm.
“I’m frustrated too but taking steps to reform Illinois is more important than a short term budget stalemate.”
Same ole… same ole.
Rauner’s speech was a sham.
===We need to get reforms.===
That’s how we got stalemates, and no budgets for a whole General Assembly.
We need to end Raunerism.
Diana and Bruce Rauner need to be stopped from ruining Illinois more.
These comments only underscore that Diana and Bruce want more time to close state universities, social services, and hurt working people who unionize.
Vote according.
- Demoralized - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:18 pm:
Isn’t he way off message here? Not a single Blame Madigan.
And to suggest he has no regrets about the budget standoff and his seeming suggestion that the “friend” should get over the pain because the long term struggle is more important. He still doesn’t understand.
- Pundent - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:19 pm:
Rauner’s “reforms” have always come down to one thing - labor unions. He believes that they have too much power and influence and his singular objective was to put an end to it. He had a chance at making incremental progress through a property tax freeze. But he lost interest as soon as his collective bargaining demands were excluded. I don’t see his goals being any different if re-elected.
- anon2 - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:20 pm:
== lessons learned ==
In order to learn from your mistakes, you have to admit them. When did he ever do that? Not on Quincy? Not on the budget stalemate.
- wondering - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:23 pm:
I wonder why the Trib Editorial Board wants to play hardball this late in the game. They backed him to the hilt when he was doing these things. Me thinks they are attempting the impossible,redeeming their irredeemable reputation.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:24 pm:
The good?
Even the wholly Rauner-owned Tribune Editorial Board will find the task Herculean…
… to help a failed governor polling at 24% approval and 27% against his opponent… and trailing by a whopping 17 points.
These quotes only help… that Rauner is unlikable, cold, heartless, and sees failures only to fool those wanting to be fooled.
So.. have at it Tribune Editorial Board.
- Politix - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:25 pm:
We were all guinea pigs or sacrificial lambs and he’s cool with it. Got it.
- @misterjayem - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:29 pm:
Rauner’s tactical use of we is all the evidence one could need that he will never take responsibility for his first term’s catastrophes.
– MrJM
- Anon0091 - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:38 pm:
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you, to find out yesterday was just a hostage video, he didn’t believe a word of it and didn’t learn a thing. The only change is he now has different talking points. Sigh.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:41 pm:
Based on what I saw on the video this morning before the Tribune, Pritzker was foolish to blow off the Tribune editorial board.
- Skeptic - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:41 pm:
“We just have to take wins where we can get them.” Especially when they’re handed to you on a silver platter.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:45 pm:
===Pritzker was foolish to blow off the Tribune editorial board.===
LOL
It would be such malpractice to have Pritzker with the Rauner Editorial Board at Tribune…
No way. No how. No.
- Louis G Atsaves -
Rauner is polling at 27%, down 17 points, and with a weak 24% approval.
Why sit for Rauner’s Editorial Board?
You don’t.
- Jocko - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:46 pm:
==we cannot give up the struggle because of frustrations during that particular round of the struggle==
It sounded better in it’s original German…Oops, I meant Swedish. /s
- Skeptic - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:51 pm:
“It sounded better in it’s original German…Oops, I meant Swedish. /s ‘Bork bork bork.’ Yup, and makes just as much sense too.
- wondering - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 1:54 pm:
don’t fall for it Louis. The Trib is only trying to look objective, comes cheap with Rauner. J.B. refused to legitimatize them and he was right. Politicos should have pulled the pin on the Trib years ago. Don’t talk to them, they will fade away.
- The Dude Abides - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 2:00 pm:
OW is on point. He intentionally created a budget crisis, got nothing he wanted from it, deeply affected thousand of lives but he says that he has no regrets. Just think about that.
He spoke about how bad deficit spending is but we had more deficit spending under Rauner than any Governor in history.
- zatoichi - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 2:44 pm:
How many times has Rauner talked about shutting down the government and now he is mister let’s work together? Did 27% suddenly cause his heart to grow 3 sizes that day?
- Anonymous - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 3:07 pm:
Who are “We”?
The improper use of the royal form of “We” is a clue to a deep seated inability to take personal responsibility for one’s own failure.
We… have only one Governor at a time.
- TominChicago - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 3:13 pm:
In response to the third block quote, Christine Rodogno could be heard softly murmuring “thanks Bruce” from under the bus.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 3:17 pm:
===…and communicating about these issues with 12.8 million people is hard and takes time and we’ve just got to stay persistent…===
Diana Rauner wanted Goldberg and the Superstars fired… she brought in the IPI… and “as a white male”, Bruce’s messaging and branding suffered.
For those upset about HB40 and Diana Rauner’s role in making Bruce the uber-left, costal, limousine liberal governor, know it was Diana and her messaging wants that might be a big part to what finished off Bruce a summer ago…
“and communicating about these issues with 12.8 million people is hard and takes time and we’ve just got to stay persistent”
… and that Bruce quote… they learned nothing from firing the Superstars too.
- Rabid - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 3:31 pm:
No regrets, I did everything on purpose
- Little Egypt - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 3:48 pm:
Michael Madigan is just as powerful as he has been for the past few decades. Bruce has just made him now a household word in Illinois.
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Friday, Sep 14, 18 @ 4:09 pm:
==He said, in retrospect, he would have accepted smaller changes in such issues as workers’ compensation, local mandate relief, property tax controls and state pensions.==
This can’t be right. I’ve been told repeatedly by certain members of the commentariat here are Capfax that dems have never done anything to address these issues. If the governor is telling the truth here, does that mean that - gasp - some of you (I think y’all know who you are) have been lying to us for the last three years while trying to defend this guy?
- The Dude Abides - Saturday, Sep 15, 18 @ 11:36 am:
@Lester, that’s just one of so many mistakes Rauner made. There were a lot of Democrats and Republicans negotiating in good faith for a compromise, which included among other things some workman’s comp reform. Rauner called the GOP members off the vote when an agreement was at hand, thinking that if he continued with the impasse he could squeeze even more concessions out of the Democrats. It was a huge miscalculation and he ended up with nothing. There are a lot of businesses in the state who would have appreciated those reforms. They can thank good old Bruce for screwing that one up.