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* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
Remember the “Road Runner” cartoons? I loved them when I was a kid in the 1960s, even though the plot never once changed.
There were only two characters: Road Runner and his pursuer, Wile E. Coyote. The hungry coyote would chase the bird and always come up short. The coyote would develop more and more elaborate methods of capturing or killing the bird throughout each episode, often involving bizarre machines manufactured by Acme.
But the traps never worked. Dynamite failed to detonate under the bird, but the plunger would explode in the coyote’s paws. A catapult would misfire, crushing the coyote under a boulder. Some crazy Rube Goldberg contraption would fail, dashing the coyote’s hopes yet again.
“Meep-meep,” the bird would say as he dashed down the road.
Some folks saw the cartoon as a metaphor for our failure in Vietnam. We had ultramodern equipment, but our Third World enemy always evaded defeat. Former political blogger Andrew Sullivan often compared President Barack Obama to the Road Runner and the Republican Congress to the coyote.
I think we now have a more recent, more local metaphor.
Read the rest before commenting, please. Thanks.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:21 am
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I see what your saying, but another way to look at it is that money is slowly getting out to the groups that need it (too slowly and not enough but still…) while Rauner’s agenda is no closer to being passed.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:25 am
in at least one cartoon, the Coyote caught the Road Runner. When he caught him, Wil E, holds up a sign saying “Now that I caught him, what do I do?”. If memory serves me right, I believe the Road Runner was like five hundred feet high at the time but oh well.
Comment by NATTY BOY Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:28 am
That’s what the pundits and observers who claim “Boss Madigan” has “controlled” Springfield for decades don’t get: in Illinois, the governor is the Big Dog, for better or worse.
Madigan has been highly influential, but as long as any governor has that array of vetoes, those jobs, those contracts, those grants, etc., his power is a distant second.
Remember that the next time Gov. Rauner does his “I hope something happens soon” act.
Things will happen when Rauner wants them to happen.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:32 am
I think the “race” is far from being over. Frankly I don’t see winners, only losers in this battle of wills.
Comment by Stones Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:34 am
Not sure the ACME company is going to save us….
Comment by Anothereetiree Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:35 am
Responsible cuts combined with additional revenues crafted into a bipartisan budget that addresses our short and long term fiscal issues is the way forward. Republicans need to share ownership of the added revenues and Democrats need to share ownership of the cuts.
One parallel involving the Road Runner cartoons, Wile E. Coyote always survived.
Comment by AC Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:36 am
Madigan’s patience, stay-the-course, it’s a marathon not a sprint & sometimes outright stall tactics aren’t working vs Rauner like vs previous rival.
Comment by justacitizen Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:42 am
At least Wile E. was smart enough to try and entice the Road Runner with birdseed. I also don’t recall the coyote blaming ACME for his botched attempts.
Comment by Jocko Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:46 am
The explosions aren’t harming Wile E. Coyote. They’re hurting the people of Illinois. This is not a one on one fight in the middle of the desert. Though the resulting devastation to the state will resemble a wasteland by the time these two are finished.
Comment by Wensicia Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:47 am
The Speaker has to feel like Robert Wallace toward the end of Braveheart when he plans his battle strategy perfectly and then it all falls apart when the other clans abandon him.
Comment by SAP Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:51 am
Was that ACME or AFSCME?
Comment by Whatever Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:55 am
Sorry, but Wile E. will always be reserved for Lee Daniels for me.
Comment by Indochine Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:57 am
==It’s time to change the channel.==
It’s stuck on “Turnaround TV.”
Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, May 2, 16 @ 9:59 am
Great column, Rich, the use of the “Road Runner - Wile E. Coyote” imagery is spot on to what is happening.
To the Post,
As Rauner continues to passively shut down things, in hopes of decimating unions, it’s been fascinating watching the gymnastics to the Rauner Administration’s ends and means thought process.
Let’s start with Rauner himself. Rauner is quoted and seen in video making clear he was willing, and it may come down to “shutting down the state”. Big words, “bold leadership”. Talking and knowing full well the impression Bruce Rauner wants to leave… I am in charge, I’m doing this, I’m going to show them.
Now throw in the “famous” @RonSandack tweet…
@RonSandack: I’m frustrated 2, but taking steps towards reforming IL more important than short term budget stalemate. - Ron Sandack, 9/28/15
What that tweet does, it gives true insight. The budget, the running of government is SECOND to reforms. It IS a choice. It’s purposeful. It’s Ron Sandack himself being A-Ok with the layoffs at Lutheran Social Services, for example, in the name of decimating unions.
My final example goes back to the Rauner presser where the Governor makes clear, “Short term pain, for big, long term gain.” Again, Governor Rauner makes very clear, no retreat, no surrender. However, when it came to budget “choices”, Rauner also made very clear, “that’s on the GA, I’m not going to make cut choices, no”. Rauner, not funding his agencies, services, no income tax increase (See #TaxHikeMike) and no clear blueprint of Gubernatorial ownership of passive decisions to let Illinois self-destruct.
“What does this have to do with Rich’s column?”
Speaker Madigan’s Wile E. Coyote “failings” go directly to the genius way Goldberg, “ck”, and Lance have made sure at every turn the damage is ebough to destroy things, but to make clear, Rauner is but a passenger. Speaker Madigan, try has he might, has failed to catch Bruce Rauner in his purposeful destruction, and Rauner’s ridiculous countering of having his hands tied as he continues to make hurtful choices is Wile E. Coyote trying and missing time and again to pin down the Road Runner.
Rauner will make sure his cunning will continue, and Madigan will coninue to be going to ACME for more ways to hold 1/3 of the state government accountable.
Let’s start with IRN/INN/IPI. Rauner will be “on” radio, with thise not towing the line looking for work elsewhere. You will have Proft giving commentary on another outlet, you will have slanted stories presented as unbiased news, you will have the Tribune Editorial Board being the mouthpiece of the Rauner doctrine.
Had Rauner run as an independent (all but impossible in Illinois) my “admiration” to the political genius of this all would grow at least 10-fold. If read what I write, you’d know it true. Rauner has taken himself to, not being Teflon, but literally owing the message and the messenger(s) to remove himself from his own real strategy.
Rauner didn’t run as a Republican, but instead made clear that his own ownership means the Ron Sandack tweet IS the ILGOP.
Raunerites refuse to care until Raunerites get what they want. Republicans… you are the vessel for Raunerite demands.
So, with the refusal to own purposeful choices, a Press and Legislative Shop having the goal of keeping things running, but not running well, and admitting it needs to be done, but Rauner isn’t doing it. Whew. You only need to see the “state workers make too much” and “I want state workers paid for their hard work” mixed messages to see how the Road Rauner is beating Speaker E. Coyote and IRN/INN/IPI will make sure to frame each elusive move, and cheer the Road Rauner all along the way.
State Gomvernment is imploding. Road Rauner is watching on top of the cliff as Speaker E. Coyote and real people are engulfed in a mushroom cloud. Road Rauner will smile, shrug his shoulders in a flannel shirt, and smirk… “beep beep… I’m winning”… while Speaker E. Coyote and Illinois most needy wipe the fallout from their faces.
Governors own, but Road Rauners run, before the ownership of their choices can catch them.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:01 am
One lesson from nature: Coyotes do better in packs.
Comment by Dome Gnome Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:02 am
Cleverly written.
Each time the Speaker thinks he has the Governor where he wants him, ready to spring his latest contraption, the Governor slips through the Speaker’s grasp yet again.
May they tire of this soon and get serious.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:03 am
I love this column. I could picture the Road Runner and Wil E—those cartoons used to annoy me since, even as a kid, I knew the ending.
We don’t know the ending in the Rauner-Madgian cartoon series. But, like the cartoon, it sure is annoying to watch since the citizens are the constant losers in this battle of the wits.
You seemed to have provoked the Crain’s readers on both sides of the fence which is a great sign of a political column.
Comment by Belle Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:04 am
More parallels: The Road Runner cartoons were originally a parody of Tom and Jerry. Similarly, the budget impasse/hostage crisis is a parody of a functional democracy. In the Road Runner cartoons, the laws of physics didn’t apply. In Illinois’ crisis, the logic of fiscal management doesn’t apply. Also, like the Road Runner cartoons, the battle continues, everyone watches it thinking this time it’s going to be different, but the result is always essentially the same. So, I’ll continue following Rich’s blog, as enamored with the continuation of this saga as a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, but made ill by the adult realization that the continued conflict has an immeasurable human cost.
Comment by AC Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:05 am
The road runner/coyote comparison is pretty reductionist. I get it, but I also know — from watching many, many episodes of the cartoon as a kid — is that Road Runner doesn’t change.
As a character in a narrative, Road Runner is flat — and he doesn’t move the story forward — it’s coyote. He’s the one we (the viewer) feel for. Coyote gets our sympathy — not Road Runner.
If you look at the actual structure of the Road Runner narratives, the key piece — the foundation, really — is Coyote. He’s the thing that keeps things interesting. The joke, of course, is that we know the outcome — but we admire Coyote nonetheless.
In the Illinois budget picture — unlike the Road Runner narratives — we *don’t* know the outcome. We think we do — or we hope we do — but it’s still relatively ambiguous. That, in fact, would make Road Runner quite interesting, quite a bit less funny, and especially cruel.
Comment by Formerly Known as Frenchie M Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:09 am
Very interesting analysis. Hope the tide turns toward true cooperation soon, before too many more anvils drop.
As an aside–as a kid, I always hated that smug little bird, and always rooted for the old dog, even though I knew the outcome was pre-ordained. Hmm. …
Comment by Crispy Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:09 am
===Republicans need to share ownership of the added revenues and Democrats need to share ownership of the cuts.===
Well said. $1 in tax increase for $1 in cuts could be a reasonable trade.
Democrats can select the first cuts while Republicans select the first $, they can trade notes, and settle on a deal. It is better than what they are doing now, which is zero.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:10 am
Rich -
The concept actually dates back at least to the Greeks:
“a fox knows many things, but a hedgehog one important thing.”
Not really sure that Rauner isn’t the fox in this scenario.
Comment by Juvenal Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:10 am
Meant to say:
“That ambiguity — the not knowing the outcome — would make the Road Runner narratives quite interesting, quite a bit less funny, and especially cruel.”
And that, I think, is where we are right now.
Comment by Formerly Known as Frenchie M Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:10 am
=Let’s start with IRN/INN/IPI.=
Yes, let’s. WCIA already has the propaganda machine rolling.
https://whileonboard.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/misleading-reporting-from-wcia/
Comment by MSIX Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:17 am
===Republicans need to share ownership of the added revenues and Democrats need to share ownership of the cuts.===
Well said. $1 in tax increase for $1 in cuts could be a reasonable trade.–
When did the budget become the “issue?”
From my observation, they haven’t gotten to that part yet. Hasn’t someone set pre-conditions?
Comment by wordslinger Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:20 am
===Well said. $1 in tax increase for $1 in cuts could be a reasonable trade.===
The starting point should include the counting of the many cuts the democrats have already made, FKA…History didn’t start yesterday, and although you might like to ignore those cuts, they were appreciable, and you don’t get to ignore the cuts the democrats already implemented.
Comment by PublicServant Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:29 am
==When did the budget become the “issue?”==
I’ll breathe a sigh of relief when it is!
Comment by AC Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:30 am
Well, Willy agreed with you Rich, and you two are more politically knowledgeable than me, but I still feel that a better parable will be the one about the rabbit versus the hare, or, say, Blagojevic vs. Madigan…
Comment by downstate commissioner Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:31 am
===or, say, Blagojevic vs. Madigan===
Meh. That was an intra-party fight. Madigan used Republicans to attack RRB. And he used every skill he had to strip Senate Democrats away from Emil Jones. Far different war. Wake up.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:34 am
MSIX, thanks for sharing that excellent blog post.
I called WCIA to complain about that 4 minute IPI advertorial and got nowhere.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:36 am
Road Rauner has been extremely successful in running away from his governing responsibilities. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help the folks dependent upon him doing his job.
Comment by Norseman Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:42 am
Michael J. Madigan — Super Genius!
Comment by Secret Square Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:43 am
MSIX, I second AA’s thanks for sharing that excellent blog post.
Comment by Norseman Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:50 am
=Remember that the next time Gov. Rauner does his “I hope something happens soon” act. =
Add to the the old “Madigan and the legislators he controls” nonsense!
Comment by JS Mill Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:51 am
While the Crain’s firewall does not open the whole piece it is hard to see the premise is accurate
Capt Fax’s road runner has been forced to spend time and time again without a win (the 1%er non budget issues).
Whether he fell for the court orders or blinked before revolts the outcome has been the same BigBrain spends with nothin’ to show.
But let’s not ruin Capt Fax weekend trip so quickly.
Comment by Annonin' Monday, May 2, 16 @ 10:59 am
===has been forced to spend time and time again without a win===
It’s time to stop thinking about winning and start thinking about governing.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, May 2, 16 @ 11:04 am
I can see the Speaker getting his dynamite or catapult or rocket powered roller skates from AFSCME, not ACME.
And last week’s MAP “compromise” was reminiscent of the Coyote/Madigan standing on the cliff ledge, hanging in mid-air, before falling to the bottom of the canyon into a plume of dust.
Excellent metaphor Rich. Meep meep indeed.
Comment by 47th Ward Monday, May 2, 16 @ 11:25 am
Great advice for BigBrain. Hope he listens to you
Comment by Annonin' Monday, May 2, 16 @ 11:28 am
I too grew up in the 1960s and loved the Road Runner. But I think there is an alternative 1960s metaphor for the current Illinois situation. That is Mad Magazine’s Spy versus Spy.
My sense is that while Rauner is able to stymie Madigan, Rauner is not able to make any real progress on the “Turn Around” agenda. There is lots of collatoral damage, but neither side is able to truly attain their goals. Classic 1960s Spy versus Spy with its Cold War / stalemate undertones.
Comment by Scamp640 Monday, May 2, 16 @ 11:28 am
Family Guy did a bit on what would happen if Madigan ever caught the Road Rauner. I’d post a link to it, but it’s not safe for work. The curious can easily find it on You Tube.
Comment by 47th Ward Monday, May 2, 16 @ 11:32 am
Link to the video mentioned in the comments
Comment by Come on man! Monday, May 2, 16 @ 11:33 am
-From my observation, they haven’t gotten to that part yet. Hasn’t someone set pre-conditions? -
Bingo. I think that Rauner is finally having his folks craft a bipartisan budget in order to create the perfect hostage, the perfect leverage. “Here I’ve got everything you want, everything the state needs. But you HAVE to give me Labors head on a platter to get it.” Who knows if that’s the play but I can see it.
Comment by Honeybear Monday, May 2, 16 @ 12:06 pm
I was a big fan of both the Road Runner and Spy vs. Spy cartoons. However, I think the situation we have now more closely resembles the old Japanese movies with Godzilla and Murtha fighting each other to the death while Tokyo is destroyed as collateral damage to their fight.
Comment by Past the Rule of 85 Monday, May 2, 16 @ 12:19 pm
It’s Godzilla vs. MOTHRA, not Murtha.
Comment by NoNews Monday, May 2, 16 @ 12:41 pm
I think it’s more Snidley Whiplash vs. Dudley Doright, but Dudley has ultimately been thwarted by Snidley’s Citizen’s United-enabled buying of our “democracy”.
Comment by PublicServant Monday, May 2, 16 @ 5:10 pm
Spot on Rich.
Comment by Keep it simple.. Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 11:17 am