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* A poll taken by the Illinois Republican Party in April at then-Chairman Andy McKenna’s behest is creating a minor uproar…

The poll, obtained recently by the Daily Herald, has sparked anger from some Republicans who question why the former party steward’s name would be included when he was vetting other bidders, especially now that McKenna has indeed decided to run for governor.

To some, the poll and McKenna’s entrance into the race reflect the state of the Illinois GOP in recent years, often viewed as a ship adrift with too many lieutenants fighting over the wheel. And the Republican primary for governor has so far shaped up likewise: a pack of moderately known politicians struggling for attention and battling over a few key fundraisers and organizers.

The party poll was commissioned by McKenna as chairman in April and his own name is in it as a possible candidate for both governor and U.S. senator. Other Republican governor hopefuls are upset McKenna has gone from party leader to primary challenger.

“Only Andy McKenna can address the many conflicts surrounding his candidacy,” said Brad Hahn, spokesman for DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, who also is running for governor. “We are anxious to hear his explanation.”

* Meawhile, Greg Hinz gets right to the point about Gov. Quinn’s formal reelection kickoff announcement…

The question — still unanswered — is whether Mr. Quinn really is up to the job.

* And opponents react to Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign announcement…

Hynes said in a statement Quinn was more interested in “placing politics and platitudes above reality” by not focusing more on budget problems and solutions.

“Until you’re serious about addressing our budget mess, you’re not running for governor of Illinois, you’re running for governor of ‘Fantasy Island,’” Hynes said.

Pat Brady, chairman of the state Republican Party, questioned why voters would keep Quinn as governor with a budget crisis ongoing, ethics reform incomplete, a high unemployment rate and a push for higher taxes.

“The people of Illinois are fed up with the dysfunctional leadership of Pat Quinn and the mess that Illinois Democrats have created under single party rule. They must be held accountable,” Brady said in a statement.

If you think things are bad here, check out these California polling numbers…

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval rating of 27 percent is also the lowest the Field Poll has recorded for the movie-star politician.

That’s just a few points above Gray Davis’ worst showing. Oof.

And editorial boards across the country are kicking up dust…

In neighboring New York, The New York Times editorial board this week levied even harsher criticism at the state legislature, assailing it as a “national embarrassment, a swamp of intrigue and corruption, a $131 billion monster controlled by a crowd of smug officials whose main concern is keeping their soft jobs.” Unless state lawmakers make major changes to the way Albany operates, the paper said — including improving budget transparency, reforming campaign finance laws and creating an independent ethics watchdog —“it will be up to the voters to get them out, all of them.”

The last time I recall newspaper editorial boards being this furious as one was in 1994.

…Adding… Speaking of over the top editorials…

* Here’s one easy fix

* We need some examples of courage

* Apply reform to leaders

* Related…

* Quinn’s pick for Prisoner Review Board under scrutiny

* Quinn officially launches campaign for state’s top job

* Quinn to run for governor in 2010 amid mounting troubles

* Quinn launches campaign, stays away from tax talk

* Quinn pushes jobs plan in campaign launch

* Quinn seeks a full term as governor in 2010

* Comptroller hopeful pushes ‘one-stop shopping’ for gov contracts

* Debate & Reception featuring the Candidates for the Republican Nomination for Governor

* Don Wade and Roma react to Alexi Giannoulias breaking his pledge to them about accepting PAC money

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 11:43 am

Comments

You had them include your name in a poll paid for by the party Andy?

Wow, that was beyond dumb.

Comment by OneMan Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 11:55 am
I can’t wait to NOT vote for Andy McKenna again.

He can spend $100 million of the McKenna family fortune and he still won’t win. He did a lousy job as state party chairman and no amount of money can fix that.

I really don’t know what he’s thinking.

Comment by just sayin' Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 12:04 pm
==The New York Times editorial board this week levied even harsher criticism at the state legislature==

this should give conservatives pause when they complain about the “liberal” media. The NYT is considered one of the most “liberal” of the “liberal” media and yet here they are criticizing the administration of state government in New York, which completely run by Democrats, and pretty liberal ones at that.

Comment by this old hack Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 12:15 pm
Ok, I admit that when Pat Quinn took office I WAS excited and thrilled to have him in the governor’s office. However, by May I had to stop drinking the kool-aid, and that’s when I stopped being excited and thrilled to have him in the governor’s office.

Let’s recap (short-list):

Quinn started out this year TALKING about jobs and schools. The year is almost over and guess what? He’s still just TALKING about jobs and schools. LOL! Hasn’t accomplished a darn thing on either front, or any front that he touted for that matter. Illinois lost more jobs under the Quinn administration than it has gained.

At times this year he has been disengaged from the budget crisis. In fact, it got so bad that at one point Dan Hynes had to suggest that Quinn just do the budget over. Sadly, he is still very much disengaged when it comes to the state’s fiscal crisis. I mean, what real chief executive officer, public or private sector, who claims to care about people and honesty and integrity, honestly thinks paying $16 million in tourism advertising is more of a priority than tackling the enormous backlog of bills? It’s a sad state of affairs (pun intended) when a governor/chief executive officer refuses to work with the state’s chief fiscal officer, Dan Hynes, to come up with a workable plan on how to proceed on the state’s billions of dollars worth of unpaid bills. And, it was in very poor form for the governor to tag-team with the mayor to mock and belittle Dan Hynes’ concerns as the state’s chief fiscal officer during a press conference. Funny how, post losing the 2016 Olympic bid and coming back down to reality, Mayor Daley no longer thinks tourism should take priority over other expenditures (for his city).
Hynes’ point was obvious, he was asking the governor if he cared that people who had done work or performed service for the state of Illinois were not being paid? Clearly Quinn did not care. What type of leadership/governing is that, at a time of crisis? Governor Quinn was out to lunch, or rather out to Denmark kissing and holding babies according to some news accounts of his “crucial” involvement in Chicago’s Olympic bid.

To be fair, if Pat Quinn did have a productive month out of the last nine, I would say it was August. That was the month that he just signed legislation. But, it is worth noting that he never did give any sponsors credit for their legislation. The only person he did credit was Lisa Madigan for her legislation, though not surprisingly.

(but hey, we’ve had governors before who like to take credit for work that is not theirs, and then shirk blame onto others when they find themsleves in trouble e.g., MAP etc)

Indeed, Greg Hinz of Crain’s gets it just right. Quinn is in fact not up to the job, and his inability to provide details on his plans for Illinois yesterday was very telling. Quinn’s platitudes and populists appeals yesterday, and truthfully throughout this year, were downright intellectually dishonest and intellectually insulting. To claim, as he did, that Illinois is much better shape now than when he took office was sad and reveals just how out of touch he is and has been this year.

As an Illinoisan, what have I done to deserve this?

Comment by Will County Woman Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 12:29 pm
In response to the question posed by Greg Hinz, all I can say is that after George Ryan and Blago, Pat Quinn is certainly “up for the job,” and certainly more so than Danny-Boy Hynes or any of the Republican candidates for the job!

Comment by fedup dem Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 12:41 pm
On behalf of North Shore Republicans I would like to apologize for Andy McKenna. Not since Mike McCaskey ran the bears into the ground has a wealthy North Shore heir done as much damage to a beloved entity. As a younger Republican I would personally like to see the whole Republican thing blown up with leaders who talk about today rather than ideological battles of the past and leaders of the past.

As far as unpopularity goes, I think this recession is great in that it shows which of these political leaders is really up to their stuff and a true leader. Like a wave crashing up on shore, hopefully the recession will take out to see the political leaders and awful political programs that can’t hold their own: quinn,hynes,stroger (just created a film office because we don’t have one statewide or for the city), hopefully obama, coulson.

Comment by shore Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 12:51 pm
Shore - I’m not sure North Shore Republicans would like to have you speaking for them in any post that includes the phrase “this recession is great…”

Comment by 10th Indy Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 12:59 pm
The one thing most Republicans can agree upon- Andy McKenna was a horrible Chairman.

Comment by ElliotPervis Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 1:08 pm
“As an Illinoisan, what have I done to deserve this?”

If you voted AGAINST the people responsible for this mess, the answer is “Nothing.”

If you voted FOR any of these people — I’m thinking particularly of those who fell for Blago’s 2006 campaign shtick — or didn’t vote at all, there’s your answer right there.

Comment by Secret Square Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 1:12 pm
ss, thanks for that sobering assessment.
exercising franchise really is a life or death matter. I choose life! and, to be sure I will exercise my franchise very carefully and wisely on Feb 2, 2010.

Comment by Will County Woman Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 1:32 pm
Junior! You got sum ’splainin to do!

Comment by Paperboy Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 1:40 pm
The events surrounding McKenna’s departure from the GOP State Chairman’s role has yet to be told, and may never be. But suffice to say that by August 2009 there were huge tensions between McKenna and State Central Committee members over a number of issues, all performance based.

Comment by Bubs Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 2:19 pm
McKenna couldn’t run the Republican Party. I don’t see how he could run the state.

Comment by Fan of the Game Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 2:43 pm
Fedup Dem-
Quinn is surrounded by the Machine Dems who will probably be looking for favors just as did with Blagojevich. Hynes is beholden to no one in this race. When he becomes governor, he will be free to dedicate all of his time to the people of Illinois and budget matters. Quinn will probably be busy checking his favors list, once, twice and more, to see who he owes and where to place party hacks in his administration (patronage). Yeah sure, Quinn is a real departure from the previous two governors. If you want more of the same, I guess you will be voting for Quinn. You get what you deserve, my friend.

WCW-
Quinn has not been very gracious toward Hynes. It’s ashame really. Dan Hynes is a very nice guy. Hardworking and honest. Too bad Quinn hasn’t learned from Obama’s leadership style. What would Obama have done? He would have met with Hynes to discuss the state’s finances. He would have done it because it is right thing to do, but also because it would made him look good aka taking the high road. Besides, it is really about Illinois and what is good for it, not who’s running against whom, right?

Quinn seems to be the petty type. After his U.S. Senate primary race Dick Durbin, Quinn sulked about it for years, and only presumably got over it this year when he became governor. When Hynes lost his U.S. Senate Primary race to Barack Obama, he manned up and fully supported Obama, and was one of the first statewide elected Dems to do so. Hynes is a real class act, and he will serve Illinois well.

Comment by Ghost of Christmas Past Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 3:24 pm
Quinn, Raja, and other candidates don’t seem to have a firm grasp of the key responsibilities of the offices they seek to hold or retain. For instance, I can’t find a reference in the Constitution or the ILCS that even opens the door a crack to argue that a priority of the State Comptroller should be to create a (redundant) database of State contracting opportunities. If this is a good idea, it should be evaluated by the statutory, bipartisan Procurement Policy Board and enacted into law.

Secondly, the Governor of Illinois is not the Fed Chair or the Secretary of the Treasury. As such, his or her ability to create private sector “jobs, jobs, jobs” through State spending is very limited and of dubious effectiveness in many cases. Ironically, the $16 million Tourism Promotion Fund ad buy (funded by a City of Chicago hotel-motel tax, not GRF) that Hynes unwisely bricked likely creates or retains more jobs for the money than any other State program of a comparable magnitude.

The whole batch of them, save one or two, ain’t worth a bucket of warm spit.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 4:24 pm
Pat Quinn isn’t really governor. Since his swearing in, he has been putting decision off regarding most of the issues burning down Illinois. He did this to keep himself from becoming the sacrificial governor for the Democrats. Quinn decided early on to not make enemies, and has flip-flopped his way across Illinois, to appease any possible supporters. Do you blame him for this? Not me.

Yeah - he could have gone in and started leading. He could have slashed and cut, raised taxes and done what he could. That would have been a risk, and Pat Quinn decided not to do it. In a dream world, perhaps Governor Quinn could have shown himself as a guy who makes tough, but necessary decisions. In a dream world, he would have taken a principled stand and claim he did the tough things so that voters would come to him during these tough times. But this is no dream world, and after a lifetime of chasing dreams, Governor Quinn has decided to try a lot more reality and cynicism. The man who charged at the public utilities, and the General Assembly, has matured into a party hack with a need to win an election instead of taking a stand.

This disappoints those who had hoped he would take a stand when stands were so badly needed. But we’d have been the fools, dreaming about a Frank Capraesque ending in a state where Frank Capra couldn’t have lived. Illinois in 2009 isn’t led by good government types, and Pat Quinn has learned that the hard way.

If you want a seasoned reformer with an instinct for political survival which at times turns him into a two-faced ninny, Pat Quinn is your guy. You can always hope that this kind of a guy would one day sit down and start actually reforming. On the other hand, there are a lot of voters tired of this kind of game. I am one of them.

Pat sat on his laurels too long. Over the past ten months, it looks like he forgot he even had any. I’m utterly unimpressed with him.

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 5:03 pm
McKenna paid more for the poll than the salary of one of the staff he laid off. Is this the way he’d run the state?

Comment by anon Friday, Oct 23, 09 @ 8:42 pm
McKenna shouldn’t be governor, but I don’t think he deserves all the blame for the state of the IL GOP. He didn’t create George Ryan, Jack Ryan, Alan Keyes, or any of those other messes. He successfully fought off the extremist kooks, and he raised a lot of money considering the circumstances. I’m not saying the party is robust or anything, but it could be worse. Those state committeemen are largely worthless.

Comment by LincolnLounger Sunday, Oct 25, 09 @ 1:26 am
Illinois Unemployment Trends - August 2009

Illinois Unemployment Trends in Heat Map form:
here is a map of Illinois Unemployment in August 2009 (BLS data)
http://www.localetrends.com/st/il_illinois_unemployment.php?MAP_TYPE=curr_ue

versus Illinois Unemployment Levels 1 year ago
http://www.localetrends.com/st/il_illinois_unemployment.php?MAP_TYPE=m12_ue

Comment by paul Tuesday, Oct 27, 09 @ 6:21 am