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* Sun-Times…
“We need a governor who will listen to our pain, to our cries and not just listen, but roll up their sleeves and do something about it. That’s why I believe in Chris Kennedy,” Rush said.
“When he speaks to the problem of violence . . . he don’t just speak from talking points, he speaks from his own family experience,” Rush said.
A reporter at Monday’s event reminded Kennedy that he’s downplayed the importance of endorsements in the past.
“What you see today is one of the great leaders of the civil rights movement speaking to the people he represents, saying that we need to come together and support a candidate who will look after all of us,” Kennedy said. “That’s different than the insiders, the establishment, the party leadership cramming down a choice on everybody else.”
* Tribune…
“I know Chris Kennedy,” Rush said. “I know the DNA that makes up a Kennedy. As he indicated, I served with four Kennedys in the Congress, and one thing you can say about all of them — they have the same character and they have the same consciousness. They believe and they work for those who are left out, those who are denied access to the American dream.”
Rush said when Kennedy speaks about gun violence and “the problem of the pain of families that violence has visited upon (them), he doesn’t just speak from talking points. He speaks from his own family experience.” Chris Kennedy is the son of the late U.S. Sen. Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, both of whom were slain by assassins. […]
“I will not be a party to, nor support, the shenanigans of the Democratic establishment here in Illinois. They want to package with ribbons (and) deliver a gift of the nomination to their choice,” Rush said. “My message to them is that you can’t gift-wrap the gubernatorial nomination because it’s not yours to give. It belongs to the citizens of the … state of Illinois.”
Rush has had a history of being an outspoken critic of power. He defeated a young Barack Obama in 2000 to win re-election to Congress, endorsed an Obama rival for U.S. Senate in Illinois in 2004 and has never been close to the now former president.
* CBS 2…
“The money talks, but money doesn’t listen. And we need a governor who will listen to our pain; to our cries,” Rush said.
* ABC 7…
And, Rush represents a big district. But, which endorsement carries more weight for the governor’s race?
“I would say Gutierrez has more clout because he’s got a higher profile because he has a very large base among the immigrant community. And he’s very popular,” ABC7 political analyst Laura Washington said.
Rush is popular too among his constituency, although, his base is not as big. To win the Democratic primary, a candidate will need a significant portion of the African American and Latino vote.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:11 am
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Neither endorsement means a ton, but given the fact that African-Americans out-vote Latinos by wide, wide margin, Rush’s endorsement is more significant.
Comment by Anon414 Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:18 am
Seriously Laura Washington? Gutierrez has more clout than Bobby Rush? I’ll look it up to verify, but my guess is turnout in the Democratic primary in Rush’s district is 3 times turnout in Gutierrez’ district. (This is now a public test of my memory of turnout comparing the 1st and 4th districts….)
Comment by Dan Johnson Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:18 am
Rod came in 3rd in Dem primary in Cook County in 2002. Don’t have to win Cook to get the nomination. Plus if the primary really does have 4 or more candidates who knows. Somebody gonna ask Jay to come through down state again?
Comment by eire17 Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:21 am
That was a well thought out and to my mind sincere endorsement
Comment by DuPage Saint Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:23 am
Well, I was off.
In the analogous primary (2014):
46,506 total cast in Rush (1st CD)
29,091 total cast in Gutierrez (4th CD)
Of note, Gutierrez had two opponents and earned 21,625. Rush was unopposed.
So maybe you could argue Rush is roughly 2x more important than Gutierrez (with the obvious caveat that an endorsement doesn’t mean every voter follows along) but clearly more votes in Rush’s sphere of influence than Gutierrez’
Comment by Dan Johnson Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:23 am
===clearly more votes in Rush’s sphere of influence than Gutierrez’ ===
True, but Rush has been almost invisible for the past year or so.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:24 am
Same old, Same old. Nothing new here. Lip service nothing more.
Comment by The All KNowing Oz Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:24 am
Dan Johnson - I think she’s conveying that Gutierrez’ base extends well beyond his district. He has been a very effective voice for the immigrant community as a whole. I’m not sure if the same holds true for Rush.
Comment by Pundent Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:26 am
An endorsement from a former member of the Black Panthers !
How much street cred does it give him with the anti gun violence
crowd?
Comment by GLG Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:26 am
Former Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones attended the endorsement session for Chris Kennedy. That add’s weight to Congressman Bobby Rush’s endorsement.
Comment by Ward Heeler Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:32 am
“I think she’s conveying that Gutierrez’ base extends well beyond his district.”
That’s also how I read it.
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:37 am
Gubernatorial endorsements this cycle have been completely lackluster and unconsidered. Just another step towards a state with zero enthusiasm and political entrenchment of the elites.
Comment by DuPager Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:41 am
Gutierrez turned off a lot of people in his district by endorsing Rahm over Chuy, and a lot of people view him as a sellout. His endorsement of a billionaire surprises no one.
The Trib article makes it sound like Rush had a tough time winning and needed to be bailed out. Sure, he had a serious problem almost not making the ballot, but then he won over 70% of the vote with two challengers. His district loves him & there are more voters there than in the 4th district.
Press-wise these probably cancel each other out. I wonder which one was announced first? I also thought the message in Rush’s endorsement about gun violence was sincere. Sore subject for him I’m sure, but why does Kennedy not speak out against gun violence more? Seems like he’s been all property taxes all the time lately.
Comment by TopHatMonocle Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:47 am
@TopHatMonocle:
“Gutierrez turned off a lot of people in his district by endorsing Rahm over Chuy, and a lot of people view him as a sellout.”
History repeating itself. Luis the cabbie was elevated by Harold Washington. He flipped sides when Washington died and abandoned Tim Evans for Daley.
I will grant that he is a fixture in his Congressional District, but it is one of the most heavily gerrymandered election maps in the USA.
Is your nickname from the “Monopoly” board game?
Comment by W Flag Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:56 am
I’m still confused. I thought Kennedy said endorsements don’t matter and were just dirty backroom dealing. Why isn’t that true here?
And just to be clear, Rush seemed to spend most of his remarks not on Chris Kennedy, but on generic Kennedy. Or did I misread this? “I know the DNA that makes up a Kennedy. As he indicated, I served with four Kennedys in the Congress, and one thing you can say about all of them — they have the same character and they have the same consciousness. They believe and they work for those who are left out, those who are denied access to the American dream.”
It would be nice if someone endorsed Chris Kennedy because they knew Chris Kennedy and not his family.
Comment by Anon0091 Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:59 am
Not sure which of those Congress Critters delivers more votes, but I do know that if I was running in a Dem primary and I had to choose between carrying either the Hispanic or African-American vote, I’d choose the latter.
There are more Latinos than blacks in Illinois, but voter turnout is a different story.
Comment by Telly Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 11:09 am
==I’m still confused.==
You must try to somewhat inoculate yourself from this feeling. Or else you will be unhappy and unnecessarily confused every day of your life between now and the 2018 election. Partisan politics is a petri dish teeming with hypocrisy, counter-intuitiveness, and exploitative daily twitter and PR talking points. No candidate is pure of this.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 11:15 am
I caught some video of the endorsements. Kennedy’s comments seemed to succinct and appropriate.
Pritzker insisted that he is a fighter and a supporter of Latino rights. It was unclear to me what precisely he has done for Latinos?
I had largely forgotten him since his Congressional run and thought that his activism was limited to writing checks to Democratic incumbents.
As sound bites go, I think Kennedy came across better yesterday than Pritzker did.
Comment by W Flag Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 11:26 am
Kennedy’s route is coming into focus: He needs to win over substantial portions of the Pawar/Biss anti-establishment constituencies. He doesn’t beat JB head-to-head on establishment Dem turf. No real difference on their respective abilities to beat Rauner.
Comment by walker Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 11:34 am
Chris Kennedy losing both his father and uncle to gun violence does give him a lot of credibility when it comes to speaking about what I feel is the second most important issue in Illinois after the budget.
Comment by Chicagonk Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 11:44 am
== True, but Rush has been almost invisible for the past year or so. ==
I’d go a step farther. Between illness, not being opposed, etc., Rush has been invisible for quite a while. You never read about him getting involved with the district’s committeemen or aldermen. The votes fall to him because there is no alternative. He is a good working Congressman, but I don’t see him as a force in his district. Gutierrez seems to be a greater force because he is more actively involved. In the end, I’m not sure how much any of these endorsements mean in an age where elections are controlled more by media and targeting than precinct captains.
Comment by Southside Markie Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 11:50 am
Louie has no coattails, period. Name one candidate that he has delivered for other than himself. As for JB as a fighter for Latino rights, he is really starting to have the DC/Hillary style of full on pandering. It sure seems a little early for that to me
Comment by anon Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 12:49 pm
===Name one candidate that he has delivered for other than himself===
Rep. Theresa Mah.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 12:53 pm
Yeah, I can appreciate that Gutierrez has been more visible than Rush, but comparing the two 20-year (?) congressional incumbents with high name ID but not much in the way of organization, I’d still pick the AA over Latino as more influential in a Dem primary. Good get for them both.
Comment by Dan Johnson Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 1:34 pm
Say what you will, but when he was healthy, Bobby Rush beat back actual opponents, unlike Guitierrez who was anointed for each of his elected positions and placed in specially drawn election districts designed for him to run.
Rush unseated an incumbent Congressman (Charles Hayes) and handed Barack Obama his only electoral defeat in 2000. Luis got into the City Council through the efforts of Mayor Harold Washington, who worked to promote him, and Congress through the efforts of Richard M. Daley who had him put into a gerrymandered Latino district.
Comment by W Flag Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 2:46 pm
===but when he was healthy===
That was a long time ago, unfortunately.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 2:48 pm
Agreed.
Rush has had his difficulties, but he has managed to avoid the perception of becoming a blatant sell out.
Guitierrez’s real estate speculating and payments to his own wife as a campaign consultant are a far cry from the Progressive politics that he claimed support. Pritzker has the endorsement from someone with a less than sterling reputation.
Comment by W Flag Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 3:13 pm
its awesome article thank u
Comment by العاب بدون تحميل Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 7:53 pm
This just occurred to me.
JB was a huge Hillary supporter. Meanwhile, Chris’ Uncle Ted and cousin Caroline endorsed a fellow named Barack Obama.
Hmmm, don’t know whether it will happen but a Barack endorsement could very well be a game changer.
Indeed, one might say a Barack Obama endorsement would–please forgive me–trump any other.
Comment by Midwester Tuesday, Jun 20, 17 @ 10:20 pm