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Because… Madigan!

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Illinois

* From a Republican pal regarding the fight over Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s legal motion to stop paying employees without a formal appropriation…

I’m not sure I buy the theory that this is going to take away Rauner’s leverage… I think he’d rather not shut it down, but if it has to be done, he’ll let it happen and blame Speaker Madigan for it.

He’ll certainly try.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 10:51 am

Comments

Funny theory, but fails to recognize that the union now on nearly the same page as unions who already bought the BigBrain deal — zero raise and don’t F* with health insurance.
BigBrain gets all the credit

Comment by Annonin' Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 10:54 am
Nah, he’ll do the bare minimum to keep it going without a budget - approve an appropriation for employee pay and nothing else.

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 10:57 am
Blame him for what? Having a daughter who is the AG? Writing the IL Constitution? Not independently creating and passing a budget? Ever the feckless victim…

Comment by Cubs in '16 Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 10:57 am
It’s worth a shot, but I suppose the question is, how many GA Republicans think that will save them?

Comment by Arsenal Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:01 am
===Rauner’s leverage===

What leverage? Theoretical leverage? Potential leverage?

Leverage implies some kind of real authority. This implies that Rauner would have the ability to take hostages, kill the hostages, and then somehow maintain leverage.

I think we all might be buying into the concept that the governor has more power than he does, and at this point what exactly does he want his legacy to be?

Ruining the lives of millions? Destroying higher education?

“If only I had been able to have the absolute power of a dictator, then and only then would Illinois have prospered. Illinois shall not prosper so long as people continue to have constitutional protections and divisions of power, and that’s why it’s my enemies fault that I am don’t doing my job.”

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:03 am
Two points…

State agencies have Goveror Bruce Rauner on doors, letterhead, websites…

State agencies are led by Bruce Rauner appointees and are driven in purpose and mission framed by governors, and our current governor is Bruce Rauner.

Note: neither of those two points can be directed by Rauner as to Madigan, and any stoppage of government, with the actors involved as they are, will reflect poorly on any governor due in large part by the two points I make above.

If up to those Non-Raunerites to make clear this stoppage is a Raunerite ending from Rauner’s action since his beginning as governor.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:06 am
Also, the shutdown will be especially painful for the republican members who represent districts with lots of state employees. This could be the first crack in the impenetrable wall of support that Rauner has enjoyed from republicans to this point. Imagine the pressure Sam McCann felt times ten on the republican caucuses!

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:09 am
===Blame him for what?===

Have you been on the dark side of the moon for the past two years?

Serious question.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:09 am
===This could be the first crack in the impenetrable wall of support that Rauner has enjoyed===

Maybe. Could be. Might happen. But people have been expecting this exact thing to happen for two years and it hasn’t.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:11 am
True, Rich, but there is no event that compares to full shutdown in terms of pressure on the caucuses.

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:12 am
If Rauner isn’t responsible for anything and hasn’t done anything but be a passive observer, why would we re-elect him? This guy is either a massive failure or the biggest cuck in the history of the mankind. Either way, not a good look.

Comment by Precinct Captain Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:13 am
===no event that compares to full shutdown===

Ain’t gonna be a “full shutdown.” Subscribe.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:13 am
===why would we re-elect him?===

We reelected Rod.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:14 am
Rod’s innocent. Let’s leave him out of this! Snark

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:17 am
AG “Madigan” does play into Rauner’s narrative better than an AG by any other name. It makes an easy story line for a complicated mess.

Frankly, a great gambit from the Dem side would be for Mike Madigan to announce his retirement sometime during the summer of 2018. If the Raunerites keep putting all their eggs into the “dump Madigan” basket, it would be fun to see that basket upended. Their campaign would fall apart.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:21 am
===Have you been on the dark side of the moon for the past two years?===

Sometimes I wish I had been. I get that Rauner blames the Speaker for anything and everything. But trying to pin blame directly on Speaker Madigan for this seems like a stretch. Then again, that’s never stopped Rauner before…

Comment by Cubs in '16 Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:25 am
==But trying to pin blame directly on Speaker Madigan for this seems like a stretch.==

The stretch is much easier to make when you have tens of millions of dollars to make it with.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:27 am
The pressure on Rauner will never change his hardened positions unless those hurt can give sufficient pressure to the Republican legislature that enable him to hold to his extreme views. The more individuals that are impacted, the more pressure manifests through the legislature to convince Rauner to begin to negotiate instead of hold hostage. This is what he has done with the voters and this is what he has done with AFSME. He has a hostage mentality. The only way to solve him is to put pressure through to the Republican enablers in the legislature.

Comment by Gobblers Knob Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:29 am
To me it’s just more (and effective) distraction from the squeeze the beast effort.

Comment by Earnest Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:37 am
Blaming another makes you look diminutive unable to meet deadlines and commitments

Comment by Rabid Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:38 am
This feels like it is going to boil down to whether people think the governor is standing up for them against the “big government” and those that support it. There is a lot of animosity against people who have good jobs and get paid well for working for the government, and that won’t just go away.

Comment by Delimma Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 11:39 am
Maybe, just maybe, R members (with a lot of state worker constituents) will band together and write the Gov a pretty please letter urging him to do anything he can to stop a shutdown!

Comment by MAD MAX Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 12:36 pm
–.. he’ll let it happen and blame Speaker Madigan for it.–

Kind of pathetic as to what constitutes “victory” for this governor.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 12:48 pm
Anon@ 11:09 Agree, except that Sara Wojicki Jiminez has voted against the unions, still got reelected, and has already began blasting Lisa Magidan… And the Republican voters in this area still blame “the Madigans” for everything…

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 1:31 pm
According to his own pollster, Rauner’s approval is in the mid to high 30’s. Does he think that number is going to go up with a shutdown?

Comment by Michael Westen Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 1:42 pm
The Illinois economy has taken a $15 billion dollar hit by this summer by not paying State of Illinois vendors (state unpaid bills). I wonder what the hit will be when they stop paying employees? When the state does not pay people in our state that in turn spend that money in our state economy, we are simply imposing a state recession on ourselves. How is that prosperous for our state?

Comment by Team Warwick Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 2:01 pm
Illinois has gone into new fiscal years without a budget in place before, and employee paychecks were late but they were paid out. Nobody got shutdown and people came to work. No work, no pay. It has happened before.

Comment by My New Handle Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 2:14 pm
Anon @ 1:31 Sangamon County is a weird place… That’s all there is to say about that.

Comment by Union Man Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 2:19 pm
Michael Westen - I don’t think his numbers would go down. The 30% who still approve of Rauner today probably would approve of a shut down because they believe we really don’t need government.

Sort of like the Trump voters who hated Obama care but needed the ACA to buy insurance (snark)

Comment by siriusly Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 2:39 pm
I think it’s cute that they are saying it wouldn’t affect Rauners leverage.

“I know you are but what am I” kinda thing.

Well we’ll see won’t we?

Ready to pull the trigger Bruce?

People will only remember it was you who did it

Governors Own!

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 4:19 pm
“Ain’t gonna be a “full shutdown.” Subscribe.”

Rich, I subscribe, but I either missed your piece on “Ain’t gonna be a full shutdown.” or I never received it.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 4:36 pm
I understand prison guards can not be locked out, but other than prison guards, everyone else can be locked out. Right? Please inform. Thanks

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 4:41 pm
I still say if it’s leverage why hasn’t it led to TA items yet ?

If it’s magic leverage that needs 4 years to work, then good luck with that argument in 2018, Madigan or no Madigan.

Comment by peon Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 5:02 pm
The reason he has to blame madigan is he has only one other choice

Comment by Rabid Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 7:46 pm
== except that Sara Wojicki Jiminez has voted against the unions, still got reelected==

Think “primary.”

Comment by Whatever Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 7:56 pm
If it’s not everybody, as in “full shutdown “, then it won’t make any difference.

Comment by Property of IDOC Tuesday, Jan 31, 17 @ 8:58 pm