“Well, these are strange times”
Tuesday, Mar 26, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chicago Republican Party Chairman Chris Cleveland told the Illinois Review that both mayoral candidates sent out feelers asking for his party’s endorsement. This exchange between Cleveland and a Preckwinkle person made me laugh out loud…
The Preckwinkle inquiry was a bit more ham-handed, the Chicago GOP chairman said.
“I received a call this morning from what sounded like a junior staffer,” said Cleveland. “He just asked straight out — would the Chicago GOP endorse Preckwinkle? I said, um, there’s a bit more to the endorsement process than just a phone call. The staffer sounded offended — ‘She’s against tax increases!’ he said. No, she’s not, I said, and don’t you think it’s unlikely that the Republicans would endorse the head of the Cook County Democratic Party?
“‘Well, these are strange times,’ he said before he hung up,” Cleveland said.
“Yes .. Yes, they are,” he concluded.
Hilarious.
- Hammer - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:26 am:
Bahahhahaha
- Cheryl44 - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:28 am:
Until very recently, I thought Toni Preckwinkle knew how to run a campaign.
- Wensicia - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:29 am:
Desperate much?
- lakeside - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:32 am:
Lightfoot’s comms team should just screenshot that paragraph about her and put it out on twitter. Reads like my dreams.
- Grandpa2 - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:33 am:
Maybe the Russians are getting involved in local politics.
- Southfarmllama - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:34 am:
In essence, Toni is a perfect example of controlled chaos. If this is how she runs her campaign, think of how she would run Chicago.
- Northsider - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:38 am:
From these sources, I’m not buying. When the Sun-Times, Tribune, or Block Club Chicago report it, then we can talk.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:39 am:
If either Lightfoot or Preckwinkle received the “endorsement” of the Chicago GOP, such as it is, would not the other candidate use that against her?
I would think the potential harm of such an endorsement would far outweigh any possible good.
Did Emanuel or Garcia contact them last time out?
I’m taking Cleveland’s tale with a block of salt. Perhaps the IR wants to commit some journalism and seek confirmation from those attorneys Cleveland claimed he talked to.
- a drop in - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:42 am:
” Chicago Republican Party Chairman Chris Cleveland told the Illinois Review that both mayoral candidates sent out feelers asking for his party’s endorsement. ”
You forgot to include the web url for the daily onion story.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:45 am:
“The staffer sounded offended — ‘She’s against tax increases!’ he said. No, she’s not, I said”
Perhaps Preckwinkle is like Mark Twain’s cat. The soda tax burnt her once, any new tax might not seem so desirable.
Not sure why either candidate would want the Chicago GOP’s endorsement.
- @misterjayem> - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:48 am:
Reads like a classic too good to check story.
– MrJM
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 11:50 am:
Cleveland left out “ and then the junior staffer asked if Seymour Butz could come to the phone.”
- Fav human - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:02 pm:
Why do I have this vision of TP sitting in a chair like the King of Rohan, saying
“How did it ever come to this?”
- Responsa - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:06 pm:
IF this conversation actually occurred as presented it is hilarious and hamhanded. However, *somebody* between these two is going to be elected mayor of Chicago soon and at least *some* of the voters are in fact Republicans. There seems to be little interest in reaching out to them or considering why or why not they might vote for a particular candidate over another who is in this run-off election. If the current polls are close to correct it will probably not make much difference. But in a close(r) election R voters could actually have a considerable impact on who becomes mayor — yet nobody ever seems to notice.
- A guy - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:08 pm:
Sounds like a job for a very junior staffer when you put the flow charts next to one another.
- Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:09 pm:
Bizarre and sounds far too good to be true
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:28 pm:
As much as I enjoy laughing at the ineptitude the Preckwinkle campaign, I can’t help but imagine how angry some of her donors have to be. Can you imagine donating a bunch of money to her, only to see her blow it all early and have to resort to basically calling her opponent an “Uncle Tom” and seek support of the GOP in order to get free media? I’d be apoplectic. Who in their right mind would offer financial support or endorsements after this dumpster fire of a campaign?
- Flapdoodle - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:42 pm:
Sounds like that junior staffer might have gone off on her/his own with what at the time seemed like a bright idea . . . .
- Angry Republican - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:50 pm:
Are we sure this wasn’t Sacha Baron Cohen trolling for material for his show?
- frustrated GOP - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 12:52 pm:
The only thing that would have made this better if the staffer asked if they were hiring.
I’m trying to think how this played out.
Campaign meeting: “who haven’t we reached out yet? Call them, I don’t care who it is, call them. …..
Ok, I know who we haven’t called, the GOP.
the next call was to Coke cola and Pepsi.
- Fran Eaton - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 2:45 pm:
Thanks for sharing our story - it brought a chuckle over here on the far right, too …
- Rather B. Fishin - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 3:22 pm:
Early April Fool’s gag?
- newly Anon - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 3:53 pm:
Toni is to Lori, as
Preckwinkle was to Stroger
- Tyler Kochman - Tuesday, Mar 26, 19 @ 4:49 pm:
The Illinois Review article also claims that “polls show a close race”, so something tells me that it is not strongly grounded in reality.