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Businessman Chris Kennedy said Wednesday that if Democratic nemesis J.B. Pritzker beats him in the March primary, he would support Pritzker over Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner — but Kennedy dubbed it a choice between the “unethical” and the “immoral.”
“It’s a pretty tough choice,” Kennedy said. […]
Kennedy also clarified the promise he made in a Tuesday debate to support whichever candidate wins the Democratic nomination.
“I think he [Pritzker] does represent the poster child for the pay-to-play political system in the state. Do I think ultimately he is a better candidate? Do I think it is better to have him in charge rather than Bruce Rauner? Yes, I think Bruce Rauner, based on his speech today, where he’s accomplished nothing in his years in office, has attacked the poor, relentlessly pushed those who have no resources out of our state, I think he’s immoral. That’s different than being unethical. If you have a choice between the immoral and the unethical, I guess I’d go with the unethical,” Kennedy said.
* But Kennedy didn’t even bother with the praise in Bloomington…
“I don’t think that the pandering that Biss has been doing and the plundering that Pritzker is doing is of great interest to anybody,” said Kennedy.
He said Pritzker, particularly, “can’t win a general election.”
“When you buy $40 million of a campaign and 40 percent of (likely primary voters) are undecided,” said Kennedy, referring to a WeAskAmerica poll released Wednesday, “it’s because they don’t want you.”
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:21 pm
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Previous Post: Rauner falsely claims yet again that he introduced three balanced budgets
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Kennedy is not going to win this. He never was. However, he could have built an organization and respect within the party for House or Senate (if seats open up).
Instead, he’s got many Dems wondering if Kennedy is really a Dem at all.
So much for a political future.
Comment by Gooner Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:25 pm
===“It’s a pretty tough choice,” Kennedy said.===
Remember…
Only Ken Dunkin, Rauner’s Democrat in the House… has sided with Rauner over Democrats.
Kennedy IS the Rauner candidate.
Kennedy’s last ad was a Raunerite script.
Kennedy applauded Bruce Rauner.
Food for thought.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:28 pm
After that whiny “compliment,” he wouldn’t be welcome at the Democrats’ table at Mary Lou’s diner, much less as a serious person in the state party. Not cool, Chris.
Comment by Ray del Camino Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:36 pm
There’s little arguing that Pritizker “bought,” with his vast financial resources, his entry into the race… but it’s also true that Kennedy “bought” his entry into the race with his financial resources (not nearly that of Pritzker) and his family name. I don’t really see the difference between how Pritzker arrived to the race vs. how Kennedy arrived, and therefore, I don’t think Kennedy has much of a right to be this bitter. I can much more understand why a Biss or Daiber would be bitter, but not Kennedy.
Comment by Just Observing Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:36 pm
==“When you buy $40 million of a campaign and 40 percent of (likely primary voters) are undecided, it’s because they don’t want you.”==
…OK, who wants to tell him?
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:37 pm
Is he getting really bad campaign advice or not listening to the advice he is getting?
Comment by Montrose Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:37 pm
Sounds like someone is bitter that the party isn’t fawning over him.
Comment by Back to the Mountains Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:37 pm
Kennedy launched his campaign calling Rauner a madman and to this day continues assailing his reckless destruction of our state. But the handful of insulated Springfield insiders who comment here just can’t seem to recognize the warts on the end of their own noses. The faster Dems self-police and wash their hands of Madigan’s stench, the faster Dems strip the GOP of their only tired, yet incredibly effective, talking point. Can you imagine a bold Democratic Party free of Madigan’s cold, calculating influence? It would obliterate Rauner’s trickle down anti-worker Koch Bros agenda and send him and his one-trick pony off to Montana for good.
Comment by Forgetting Robert Marshall Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:38 pm
Well isn’t he special? What label do we put on you Chris. A man with outstanding name recognition, who is a distant third place. How about incompetent? We already have one of those sitting in the Governor’s office. We don’t need another four years.
Comment by Retired Educator Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:40 pm
“It’s a pretty tough choice.”
Not for me, in the Democratic primary.
Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:42 pm
Chris Kennedy seems very hateful, angry, and off-balance. There is so much hostility toward JB. Seems very unnatural.
Comment by Off balance Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:42 pm
Rauner wants anyone but Pritzker. Rauner can carpet-bomb any other opponent with negative ads and win the election. Pritzker is the only Democrat that has enough money to effectively counter-attack Rauner.
Comment by DuPage Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:43 pm
===It would obliterate Rauner’s trickle down anti-worker Koch Bros agenda===
How?
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:44 pm
Hey, Happy Warrior, at least wait until after the primary for the deep-dive into self-pity.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:44 pm
It was unethical and immoral to not fund pensions for decades and pass budgets you knew were not balanced knowing you used accounting principles from Fantasy Land. Both parties are too blame for this fiasco, but one party wants to continue this charade, the one with Madigan as its leader.
Comment by Stand Tall Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:45 pm
This is what happens when your campaign structure is an echo chamber comprised of family members. Can’t wait to see what reward Kennedy gets from Rauner should he continue this whining through the general election.
Comment by Concerned Dem Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:49 pm
Maybe it’s me, but Chris is acting like the runner-up to prom king. He should simply put a slam letter in JB’s locker and be done with it.
Comment by Jocko Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:53 pm
==How?==
I think the argument goes something like “a nimble and progressive Democratic Party that can actually do things like raise the minimum wage and legalize marijuana would create huge voter support, whereas the bloated Democratic Party is currently terrific at winning elections but does so through perfidious means like non-binding voter referendums that Dems have no intent to pass even if approved in order to drum up turnout, thereby allowing Republicans to make sensible arguments against the various flaws of Democrats.”
The argument is squarely incorrect, in that arguments against union excesses aren’t going anywhere, and it’s not a very useful argument. People who go around saying that everyone in a community is stupid and wrong tend to get force-fed hemlock, right or not.
Comment by Chris Widger Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:54 pm
Chris, stop behaving like Bernie Sanders. Channel your frustration with all that JB is (and is not) by campaigning like heck against him and Biss (who many I know describe as arrogant) . Just let the issues you pursue do the talking. when you are asked if you will support JB, just say that you will support the Dem nominee. get off personalities and get on to the issues.
Comment by Amalia Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 2:58 pm
I posted this thought a few weeks back, kind of tongue-in-cheek at the time, but now I seriously wonder: has Chris Kennedy’s sense of entitlement killed his future in Democratic Party politics in Illinois? You can easily tell he’s furious over not being handed the nomination on a platter, but after the last 6 weeks, what dem voter is going to support this guy in the future? Even if Pritzker or Biss loses to Rauner this fall, who in their right mind would choose this kind of sore loser as their standard bearer? Mayor of Kenilworth might now be the highest office he’d be capable of winning, and that might even be a stretch. Will he fade into Bolivia (to paraphrase Mike Tyson), or does he become the “republican” Kennedy? This while thing is just bizarre.
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:01 pm
==“When you buy $40 million of a campaign and 40 percent of (likely primary voters) are undecided,” said Kennedy, referring to a WeAskAmerica poll released Wednesday, “it’s because they don’t want you.”==
He’s got a point.
Comment by A guy Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:01 pm
== the handful of insulated Springfield insiders who comment here ==
The nicest thing I’ve been called all week.
Comment by Back to the Mountains Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:06 pm
Like Bill Daley, Kennedy seems to believe the Democratic Party owes him the nomination solely due to his last name. And like Daley, when spurned Kennedy says things that are ugly, spiteful and injurious to the party who’s familial loyalty he presumed. The Daley and Kennedy campaigns for governor disgraced themselves and their families.
A word of advice to the 22-year old Adlai E. Stevenson V: Do better, kid.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:13 pm
==He’s got a point.==
Yeah, right there on the top of his head. There’s always people who claim the winning candidate isn’t winning by enough. The ancient Sumerian word for them is “Losers”.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:14 pm
===“When you buy $40 million of a campaign and 40 percent of (likely primary voters) are undecided,”===
I guess JB only needs to spend another $10 million to get above 50% then. Good to know.
Kennedy should have the good sense to wait until he officially loses before whining like a loser.
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:20 pm
Kennedy is angry, really angry, that JB is running the race he thought he was entitled to. He has told people that labor and the black community were his and as JB starting eating into those advantages, Kennedy got angrier and angrier. But it’s simple psychological transference. The person Kennedy should be angriest at is Kennedy, but he’s transferring his anger onto JB. It’s not a good look for him.
Comment by Anon0091 Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:23 pm
Maybe Kennedy is most suited to live in Hyannisport. That would be best for everyone.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:26 pm
How? Because it would put the Democratic Party back on offense. That’s how. It would mean no more apologizing for a Speaker who simultaneously moves legislation and chairs the political apparatus, an embodiment of absolute power. It would allow the party to embrace its core values of direct democracy, and it would erase Rauner’s most noxious line of attack. When you isolate Rauner on his record and take away his favorite weapon, you reduce him to what he is: just a thin man with a fat wallet.
Comment by Forgetting Robert Marshall Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:27 pm
47, yesterday Kennedy trotted out the loser’s lament in response to a reporter question about the poll. He actually said, “the only poll that matters is the one on election day.” It may be the earliest I’ve ever seen that quote used and continues to show how horrible Kennedy’s political instincts are.
Comment by Anon0091 Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:30 pm
Kennedy might want to get mad at the guy who authorized $680K to Adelstein for “media consulting” last quarter when he didn’t even run a spot.
How does that work?
CK: “Should I run a spot now?”
EA: “No. That will be $680K.”
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:32 pm
Forgetting Robert Marshall,
Madigan’s “cold, calculating influence” is a large part of why Democrats have such a dominant majority in the State House. Madigan has spent decades building up the party’s machinery, recruiting candidates, and forging alliances.
The Democratic party without Madigan is impossible to imagine for me, but it would surely be a very different party. It wouldn’t just be the current Democratic majority with a different leader.
Comment by Angel's Sword Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:36 pm
Kennedy seems to be a very angry person. He reminds me of the old man that use to yell at us if we stepped on his lawn.
Comment by Turn Around For What? Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:39 pm
Ugh
Comment by DuPage Bard Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:44 pm
“When have the right family name and 40 percent of (likely primary voters) are undecided, it’s because they don’t want you.”
Comment by Timmeh Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:49 pm
Taking shots at Biss now too? Sounds like he knows he lost the not-JB primary and somehow is still too spiteful and bitter to drop out and endorse Biss even as he thinks Pritzker is such a risk.
Such vanity and entitlement.
Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:49 pm
When you have*. Sorry.
Comment by Timmeh Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:50 pm
Mr.JM you nailed it. These Kennedy’s are Entitlement Brats. I’m sure they were all brought up with the whole Camelot fiction, and their duty to carry it on. Jack and Bobby did good things, but also had a load of wretched baggage. Joseph Kennedy the XXIII, or whatever, gives the response to the SOTU speech. The fawning press, the nostalgic Dems, they all carry on the fiction of “The Kennedy’s”, the entitlement, and many good Dem’s are sick of it as well. Enough.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 3:57 pm
==Kennedy might want to get mad at the guy who authorized $680K to Adelstein for “media consulting” last quarter when he didn’t even run a spot.==
He should ground him for a week at least and disallow any dessert for a month; after all, it was probably his son/campaign manager.
Comment by TKMH Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 4:11 pm
I’ve known with Brendan O’Sullivan, Kennedy’s CM, for years. He’s one of the best and smartest political operatives in the state and I thought he would be Kennedy’s saving grace. My guess is that he’s getting good advice but just not doing anything with it. When Kennedy gets in front of that podium.. everything his campaign staff and consultants tell him goes right out the window.
Comment by Anon Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 4:15 pm
Its time for Kennedy to pack it in and throw his support to Biss.mThat will shake JB&co to the core and set him up for future opportunities. Do the right thing, dont be the Jim Ryan in the GOP primary guy.
Comment by NorthsideNoMore Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 4:22 pm
-I can much more understand why a Biss or Daiber would be bitter, but not Kennedy.-
It’s because he feels entitled to win. That is not how it works Chris. Sour grapes.
Comment by Illinois Resident Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 4:56 pm
–Chris, stop behaving like Bernie Sanders.–
Slam on Bernie Sanders that I think is way off base. Bernie believes in principles and fights for them consistently. If you don’t like his policies fine, but he is as genuine and decent as it gets.
Comment by Illinois Resident Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 5:03 pm
March 21st Chris Kennedy is going to go on vacation refuse to thank his staff for their hard work, and come back with the same self entitlement and attitude or as he calls it his weakness of being so “honest”. His lack of work on the campaign trail and horrible fundraising were strong signals he didn’t have what it takes eight months ago. Nothing has changed and you have to assume it never will. I feel bad for the campaign staffers not named Kennedy who have invested in this campaign.
Comment by Almost the Weekend Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 5:34 pm
When your last name is Kennedy, you have fallen from 44 to 11 in the polls, and you can’t raise a dime, what does that tell ya Chris?
I am just wondering if Kennedy’s staff have him actually believing this “we can still win” bit so they can keep the gravy train running through March 20, or whether they are just grasping at straws to keep hope alive for the 11percent who are backing him.
As for the pandering and plundering comments, it shows there is very little dignity left in the Kennedy campaign I am afraid.
He will be lucky to hold onto third at this point. Daiber might pass him.
Comment by Thomas Paine Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 6:06 pm
–I am just wondering if Kennedy’s staff have him actually believing this “we can still win” bit so they can keep the gravy train running through March 20, –
There have been some sweet consulting scores, achieving that 11%.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 6:12 pm
If Chris Kennedy is Ken Dunkin, who is Maze Jackson?
Kennedy did not write his talking points attacking Democrats himself.
Comment by Juvenal Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 7:08 pm
It was unethical and immoral to not fund pensions for decades and pass budgets you knew were not balanced knowing you used accounting principles from Fantasy Land. Both parties are too blame for this fiasco, but one party wants to continue this charade, the one with Madigan as its leader.
This, this is it. Nothing else left to say. Well stated.
Comment by allknowingmasterofracoondom Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 7:50 pm
R-A-C-C-O-O-N… lol
===but one party wants to continue this charade, the one with Madigan as its leader.===
No. Rauner has yet to submit a balanced budget or sign any type of full year budget since taking the oath…
===This, this is it. Nothing else left to say. Well stated.===
Thanks. Appreciate it
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 8:05 pm
Applaud immoral, endorse unethical; honest Chris
Comment by Rabid Thursday, Feb 1, 18 @ 10:10 pm
Kennedy needs to go away. He is awkward and has not even the slightest chance of winning
Not to mention he is wrong here as it isn’t even a comparison between “unethical” and the “immoral”…100 percent Rauner is both and for him to lump JB in the mix he clearly is saying he doesn’t think Rauner is that bad.
Kennedy not only has lost my vote but now I will do everything in my power to get people not to support him
Comment by Anon Friday, Feb 2, 18 @ 6:29 am
Some people rise to meet the stress of a high-level campaign and some break under the stress. Chris Kennedy has broken. He is not the right person to become Governor, but he is not as bad a person as he is looking right now. We are seeing him at his worst.
Comment by jake Friday, Feb 2, 18 @ 7:12 am
Chris would’ve hopped on one foot all the way to Cairo, IL for half of the labor and machinery support that went all in for JB. He asked and sought all of it - he was just rebuffed.
I like JB but I really have concerns about him vs. Rauner. I think the tapes and ties are really going to be difficult.
I think there were far stronger democratic candidates that decided to sit it out for whatever reason (Bustos, for one).
Comment by JP Altgeld Friday, Feb 2, 18 @ 8:07 am
Biss needs to send out the back room negotiators and see what Kennedy and crew want , JBs numbers aint good particulary with his spend. He is now lobbing grenades at BR, that new spot isnt going to help him with Biss who is closing fast and is looking like a real human being that people relate to.
Comment by NorthsideNoMore Friday, Feb 2, 18 @ 9:03 am