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* I actually agree with the folks over at Illinois Review and Breitbart that some Chicago political reporters have been way too hard on 2nd Congressional District GOP nominee Paul McKinley. Yeah, he was a felon. He served a whole lot of time in prison. But he has risen above his past and is now living a decent life and encouraging others to do so as well.
Some of his positions are a bit odd, but, whatever the case, the guy has no chance of winning, so this breathless hyperbole just doesn’t resonate…
But what none of them is watching is one of the most interesting races in Illinois’ history develop in front of their own eyes.
An opportunity that is only possible in a special election such as this one: a lazily campaigning Democrat, an awakened populace tired of being trampled on, an enthralling candidate, and an energized grassroots making history by coming together across racial and economic barriers to support McKinley, a convicted felon who has turned his life around and is trying to save his community. Is it any wonder, as McKinley says, “The Machine is panicking?”
The Illinois Republican Party did not respond to Breitbart for comment.
I do believe that the national, state and local GOP ought to put some resources into his campaign to build some infrastructure there for future reference, like the 2014 statewide races. Hey, it couldn’t hurt.
McKinley, unfortunately like a lot of black men, did some time behind bars. But he’s now on the straight and narrow and he ought to be celebrated for that, not condemned.
* Meanwhile, I still don’t think we have the full story about why state Sen. Toi Hutchinson dropped out of the Democratic primary…
Monday, in what is believed to be her first public comments on the race since she bowed out, Hutchinson answered questions about her candidacy before the Kankakee Kiwanis Club during the club’s luncheon at the Quality Inn & Suites in Bradley.
[…]Hutchinson said she had raised more than $300,000, and might have been able to double that, but that she was unwilling to do what it took to win.
“It would have meant scorched earth, going right to the wall to raise that kind of money,” she said. “And I would have had to go entirely negative.”
She said leaving was the hardest decision she ever had to make. Her own teen daughter advised her against quitting. But, she said, she couldn’t complain about negative campaigns and million dollar fundraising and then do the same thing.
“It would have made me something I’m not,” she said.
That is essentially what she told everyone who asked when she dropped out. But she didn’t run an entirely positive campaign, and she’s still having some trouble in the Senate because of it.
* Related…
* Planned Parenthood Endorses Robin Kelly In 2nd District Race
* Kadner: Mr. Lewis wants to go to Washington
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:28 pm
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I was surprised that the Illinois GOP did not actively recruit a candidate for the special election.
As said, you have to start party building somewhere. And if you can’t gain some traction with a scandal involving someone named Jesse Jackson, I don’t know what you’re waiting for.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:43 pm
“As a convicted felon, McKinley served nearly 20 years in state prison for burglaries, armed robberies and aggravated battery, the Tribune reports.”
These are serious crimes, and Mr. McKinley is not a person who should be sent to the US Congress to represent the people.
Comment by Ruby Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:43 pm
Why did you omit the part of the article where Ms. Hutchinson said she could not compete with the millions of dollars poured into Robin Kelly’s campaign by NY mayor Michael Bloomberg? Mayor Bloomberg spent so much to support Kelly specifically because she is such an ardent gun control proponent.
Comment by RetiredArmyMP Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:43 pm
===Why did you omit===
It’s called the Fair Use Doctrine. I can only use so much of an article. You’re free, however, to click through and comment on whatever else isn’t posted.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:45 pm
===These are serious crimes===
Yep. And he paid for them with 20 years of his life.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:47 pm
@Ruby:
I would tend to agree with you but the Constitution provides no limitation on membership to Congress except those outlined below:
*All members of the House must be at least 25 years old, and members of the Senate must be at least 30 years old.
*Members of the House must have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and members of the Senate must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years.
*They have to be an “inhabitant” of the state “when elected.”
Unless the Constitution is changed then meeting the criteria listed above is sufficient.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:50 pm
I’m not sure. Where I’ve seen Paul the most over the past 5 years has been with his buddy Mark Carter. These guys looked like instigators for hire. They’d show up to community meetings on many issues and just try to bad mouth the establishment.
Remember those bigoted ‘Soldier 4 Strogers’ flyers that were being handed out? That’s was all Mark and Paul.
Who benefited from the 24/9s that Carla Oglesby handed out? Mark Carter was listed as the front exec for one of the campaigns.
Mark may be guilt by association, but Paul could be seen at the County board meetings distributing those dirty flyers back in 2010 (which were just plain dirty and bigoted), so I don’t buy that he’s made his life better. I think the questions are valid.
Comment by Downfall Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:53 pm
“one of the most interesting races in Illinois history” Whatever–the guy got less than 1,000 votes in the primary. The Breitbart columnist (and this is at least his sceond column about McKinley) needs to get a slightly tighter grip on reality.
The fact that McKinley is a convicted felon and has paid for his crimes doesn’t disqualify him or his views however.
train111
Comment by train111 Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:53 pm
Didn’t McKinley defeat Eric Wallace in the primary? Maybe if the IL Review crowd expended some shoe leather in the primary they could have nominated one of their own.
Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:58 pm
Sen. Hutchinson was unable to compete with Kelly’s millions.
All those trying to hire Sen Hutchinson’s mother as a nurse couldn’t compete with the $57K salary offered by the Hutchinson campaign.
Comment by Kasich Walker, Jr. Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 1:59 pm
=It’s called the Fair Use Doctrine.=
Fair enough. I just thought that was a very important point. Although it may not explain the full story, as you suggested, it had to be the overriding factor in her decision to drop out. By the way, I followed this issue pretty close as I live in the area which was added to the 2nd CD during the last remap.
Comment by RetiredArmyMP Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:00 pm
4 months ago, Jesse Jr. got 63% of the vote in that District while on leave from office and getting psychiatric care.
Does anyone rally see the 2nd District as a hot contest?
Comment by titan Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:03 pm
Note about the salary paid by the campaign: that was over the course of 2 and a half years, so if mom was working full time, Sen Hutchinson’s campaign got a bargain.
Comment by Kasich Walker, Jr. Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:07 pm
hope races like this one do not overshadow the many municipal and township elections where things are still quite competitive.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:25 pm
“These are serious crimes, and Mr. McKinley is not a person who should be sent to the US Congress to represent the people.”
Guy made some bad decisions early on, and paid a serious price for those decisions. But he’s also decided that he’s going to get out of that life style. And he’s made it stick. We could probably use a lot more like him.
So, maybe the real question is, why can’t you let go? Seems you are advocating applying the old ‘Scarlet Letter’ concept for political candidates.
Comment by Judgment Day Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:25 pm
Chicago Alderman Walter Burnett is a convicted Felon ( armed robbery) don’t see many stories from these news organizations when he runs for re election.
Comment by Fed up Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:41 pm
–Guy made some bad decisions early on, and paid a serious price for those decisions. But he’s also decided that he’s going to get out of that life style. And he’s made it stick. We could probably use a lot more like him.–
Good on you.
I have friends that I grew up with who did time for burglary, car theft and dealing blow. They weren’t evil, or career criminals. Basically, they were wild, young, drunk and stupid. But they are my friends.
After you’ve done your time, you shouldn’t have to serve a life sentence on the outside. Time in Stateville is real punishment. Getting out and walking the line is hard. Try filling out a job application and answering questions at that interview.
It’s called the Department of Corrections, right? For those who do the hard work to live up to it, they deserve our respect and support, not our scorn.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:46 pm
“He was convicted on 6 felony counts and served nearly 20 years behind bars for crimes including burglarizing a store, pistol-whipping a man for his watch and robbing a woman of $60 at gunpoint…McKinley was in and out of prison through 1981 and ‘82 until he was convicted of two counts of armed robbery and four counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in connection to a violent assault in Harvey in September 1982.”
http://www.chicagonow.com/windy-city-young-republicans/2013/03/shameful-media-presentation-of-paul-mckinley/
This is not someone who would receive my vote for US Congress. Sorry.
Comment by Ruby Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:50 pm
=Chicago Alderman Walter Burnett is a convicted Felon ( armed robbery)=
But he’s a Democrat. As is former Black Panther/felon, and now Congressman Rush. So all of the concerns about integrity, morals, etc, apparently only apply if the person with the criminal record decides to run as a Republican.
Comment by RetiredArmyMP Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 2:55 pm
Oh boohoo. The poor Republicans are so oppressed.
Comment by Chavez-respecting Obamist Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 3:13 pm
–But he’s a Democrat. As is former Black Panther/felon, and now Congressman Rush. So all of the concerns about integrity, morals, etc, apparently only apply if the person with the criminal record decides to run as a Republican.–
Ollie North was convicted of 16 felony counts. They were booted on appeal because he had previously been compelled to incriminate himself before Congress (the right decision).
He got lucky that there’s a Constitution.
That’s ironic. Because while he was busy committing felonies at the NSC, in his spare time, he and Admiral Pointdexter took it upon themselves to draft contingency plans to suspend the Constitution and establish martial law districts throughout the country in the event of an undefined “national emergency.”
Some might call it initiative. Some might call it treason (of course, none would dare call it treason if it succeeds).
But he has a right run for office and has.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 3:15 pm
Toi doesn’t need to apologize to anyone in the Senate…her campaign shut down because of a huge influx of money from an out of state pol…who just happened to be from the State that Kelly moved from when she relocated to IL…I am unhappy about this fact and think it is as patently undemocratic as it was during the 2012 Presidential campaign when well heeled GOPers were doing it…now tell me that Kelly owes nothing to Bloombeg and I’ll tell you about some land I have for sale in Florida…c’mon…
Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 3:16 pm
AND…let’s cut the Girl (i.e. Sen. Toi Hutchinson) a little slack, too. Maybe I’m being somewhat naive here, but I, for one, believe her, she followed her conscience–mostly at least (oh sure, there were still a LOT of poLITical considerations, too)–and you can’t really deride her for that….
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 3:25 pm
Isn’t it a little ironic that McKinley is being attacked by Chicago Reporters for being a felon. For some reason I can’t remember that much being said about Mel Reynolds when he was running.
Comment by Irish Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 3:29 pm
===For some reason I can’t remember that much being said about Mel Reynolds when he was running. ===
Don’t be a fool. He got more publicity than any other candidate for weeks on end.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 3:31 pm
I’ve met Paul McKinley he’s a straight talker and he has served his time deserves a chance.
Comment by mokenavince Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 3:56 pm
I still say that Sam Adam, Jr., should have ran as a Republican and rolled the dice on the seat.
To the idea the GOP needs to start building infastructure, while I always agree that a good ground game is needed, with all that is going on with the ILGOP right now, and the special election timing, my hope is the building will be state-wide and uniformed, not hastily put together to show “something” and yield nothing.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 5:32 pm
===Chicago Alderman Walter Burnett is a convicted Felon ( armed robbery) don’t see many stories from these news organizations when he runs for re election.===
I believe a few General Assemblies ago, a Bill was passed and signed almost specifically for Walter Burnett and his history, and was passed fairly easily(?)
If someone recalls more of the facts than I have, that would be great.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 5:35 pm
–Maybe if the IL Review crowd expended some shoe leather in the primary they could have nominated one of their own.
Bingo!!
Comment by LincolnLounger Wednesday, Mar 20, 13 @ 6:20 pm