Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Carnival barkers are upset at being dragged into politics, but will spelunkers be next?

Posted in:

Illinois
Updated Posts

* From the governor’s budget/State of the State address…

Leadership in times like these does not dance idly wherever the wind might blow. Leadership in times like these means having the courage to stand on deck while the waves crash around you and you keep the ship pointing toward home.

The din of a crisis is when a carnival barker’s shout becomes a whisper soft enough to find the ears of the sick or worried or grieving or scared…and the poison they worm into the hearts of the vulnerable is that it’s “those people” …the ones who live in that city, the ones who worship at that altar, the ones who were born in that place…who are responsible for the hard times.

It’s a playbook as old as the play. And it’s that kind of thinking I am asking you to reject in this moment.

* Dave Dahl followed up with some real life carneys…

“I’d like to correct the governor, if I may. They’ve always been referred to in the profession as talkers,” said Lee Stevens, past president of the International Independent Showmen’s Association. “Not barkers.”

Adding her voice to the chorus to defend the honor of circus performers and carnival workers is Amancay Kugler of Chicago. She uses the lyra – a hoop strung high in the air, not unlike a trapeze.

Kugler says Pritzker is not the first, nor will he be the last, to try to smear someone with the performers’ good name. “Even (then-President Barack) Obama in 2011 referred to Donald Trump as a carnival barker, which was very distressing for real carnival workers,” she said with a laugh, “to be compared to that man.” […]

“Clowns are very hardworking people,” she said after a pause. “Honestly, I’ve done clowning workshops. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I routinely hang from one elbow twenty feet in the air.”

In other words, calling a politician a clown is offensive – to clowns.

Heh.

I asked about this over the weekend and was half-jokingly told by a top Pritzker official that they had already decided to move on from “carnival barkers” to “spelunkers of misery”…

Contrary to those folks who spend their time orbiting Illinois politics just spelunking for misery, our state has a lot to be proud of.

* Mark Glennon at Wirepoints…

On a related note, Pritzker’s press secretary yesterday made her own contribution to excellence in journalism by introducing a new Twitter hashtag to use on critics — #spelunkingformisery. That’s from Jordan Abudayyeh, who was the first appointment to the task force.

What the hell does spelunkingformisery mean, you ask? Well in his Wednesday State of the State speech Pritzker expanded on the usual “carnival barkers” label he uses on us critics. We are “folks who spend their time orbiting Illinois politics just spelunking for misery,” he said. Abudayyeh’s colleagues apparently were impressed with her creativity. Christian Mitchell and Andy Manar, both deputy governors, began using the hashtag.

Now, I happen to know some actual spelunkers. They are swell people. I can’t imagine the pain they must feel seeing spelunking used as part of an insult. So, on their behalf, I hereby demand addition to the Local Journalism Task Force of one member of the Illinois Spelunkers Association.

That piece was probably the wittiest thing the pointy wires guy has ever written.

…Adding… The BGA’S David Greising has been eagerly inviting Illinoisans into Ken Griffin’s anti-tax carnival tent for years and is a noted misery spelunker, yet professes ignorance and throws in what looks like a fat joke in his own op-ed…

Such truths, he claimed, were not seen by “those folks who spend their time orbiting Illinois politics just spelunking for misery.”

I’m not sure who those people are, or what caves they crawled out of. But they must have spurned deep-fried Twinkies at the state fair to get Pritzker so ticked.

I’d say that was clownish behavior on Greising’s part, but I’ve taken Ms. Kugler’s comments to heart. /s

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:38 am

Comments

Anti-spelunkerism thrives in the darkness. Thanks to Mark Glennon for shining a light on this dark cavern of hate.

Comment by Original Anon Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:46 am
That Greising is bewildered at the idea that there are people out there who continually run down Illinois says a lot more about him than anything else.

Go touch some grass, Dave.

Comment by Arsenal Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:49 am
=== spelunking for misery ===

I love it and it’s so appropriate. I don’t think spelunkers will be offended, WI FI doesn’t work to well in caves.

Comment by Norseman Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:49 am
“I can’t imagine the pain they must feel seeing spelunking used as part of an insult”

I can.

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:49 am
==the wittiest thing==

That’s a low bar, and it’s not even clear this was aiming at wit and not just his usual scorn.

Comment by Socially DIstant watcher Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:49 am
Spelunkers of Misery is totally the name of a band I would have gone and seen in college.

Comment by OneMan Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:53 am
Sure. Nothing more fair and on the level as a carnival midway.

Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:54 am
==They’ve always been referred to in the profession as talkers,” said Lee Stevens, past president of the International Independent Showmen’s Association. “Not barkers.”==

Guess what. People who explore caves refer to themselves as cavers, not spelunkers.

Comment by Don't Bloc Me In Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:56 am
making me laugh after watching Nightmare Alley.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:57 am
If we’re worried about offending somebody, how about “Court Jesters of Jingoism?”

Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 10:58 am
“spelunkers of misery”
Is that a common expression or a Pritzkerism? I have never heard that before. It sounds like a good song or album title though.

Comment by Correcting Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:03 am
Mark Glennon is a snowflake.

Comment by Google Is Your Friend Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:08 am
Spelunkers of misery should be less offensive, because you can be a spelunker of history, of knowledge, of many positive things.

Using carnival barkers as a pejorative leaves no such room. It casts all such members, whether legitimate buzz-makers or political wolf-criers, as deserving contempt.

Comment by thechampaignlife Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:23 am
Greising owes an apology for that little piece of fat shaming.

Comment by New Day Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:25 am
== orbiting Illinois politics just spelunking for misery==

Mixed metaphor; please pick a lane. Orbiting is going around the outside of something while spelunking is going into something. You can orbit, you can spelunk, it’s difficult to do both at the same time.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:30 am
They teach spelunking as part of geology in state universities.

Comment by NorthsideNoMore Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:33 am
It’s been two days since anyone used that hashtag on Twitter. Not exactly taking social media by storm. Forcing it seems sad at this point.

Besides, “misery miners” or “mining for misery” were far better choices.

Comment by City Zen Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:39 am
By the looks of his photo in the Sun Times David Greising hasn’t turned down too many deep fried twinkies himself.

Comment by Da big bad wolf Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:47 am
-Mixed metaphor;- I dunno, couldn’t you just orbit like a satellite and then spelunk in for the juicy finds? Nimble, funny and worthy of snowflake outrage.

Comment by froganon Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:47 am
“Now 98-year old Bob Barker is disappointed that he’s being brought into Illinois politics. More at 10.”

Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 11:55 am
The Spelunkers of Misery ” is the name of a Nick Cave cover band. Saw ‘em in DeKalb I think. . .

Comment by Lt Guv Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 12:07 pm
I think the beauty of a very well crafted and very smart to the witty… the discussion to words is a reminder that the budget has gone beyond the Wirepoints asks of… well, misery.

It was probably Pritzker’s best speech given in this term.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 12:14 pm
==deep fried twinkie==

I’m a little obese for my height but that looks like the most disgusting thing to me. Then again, I think Horseshoes look disgusting.

Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 12:31 pm
JB: People that disagree with me are clownish carnival barking non-adult misery spelunkers.

Chris Welch: Our state politics are so divisive, why can’t we all just get along?

Comment by How high Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 12:38 pm
“spelunking for misery“

I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s a little obscure. Sometimes speech writers try a little too hard.

Comment by TNR Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 1:00 pm
“it’s a little obscure. Sometimes speech writers try a little too hard.”

The republic survived “nattering nabobs of negativism,” we’ll make it through this.

– MrJM

Comment by MisterJayEm Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 1:12 pm
I think I’ve heard this before…

Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald, Republican of Illinois, told Mr. [Kenneth] Lay he was “perhaps the most accomplished confidence man since Charles Ponzi.”

He went on: “I’d say you were a carnival barker, except that wouldn’t be fair to carnival barkers. A carnie will at least tell you up front that he’s running a shell game.”

Comment by Ice Scream Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 1:35 pm
During my reign of terror my allies would refer to those who found fault with any action by city government as CAVEs: Citizens Against Virtually Everything.

Comment by Hon Don Gerard Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 1:58 pm
As long as they don’t go after Filipino Tilt A Whirl operators we’re all good.

Comment by Da big bad wolf Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 2:18 pm
== In other words, calling a politician a clown is offensive – to clowns. ==

After reading this, I got a laugh when I saw that Boris Johnson’s new press chief said that Johnson is “not a complete clown”.

Comment by JoanP Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 2:36 pm
I’m thinking of forming a twelve step program for long suffering carny barkers…eh eh?

Comment by Dotnonymous Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 2:43 pm
== survived “nattering nabobs of negativism” ==

Well played, MrJM.

Allegedly penned by Pat Buchanan. Speech writers love using alliteration.

Comment by TNR Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 2:50 pm
This reminded me of Seinfeld being offended by Jewish jokes, not as a Jew but as a comedian.

Comment by don the legend Monday, Feb 7, 22 @ 5:12 pm