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* Weird times we live in when the outgoing governor’s favorite campaign attack dog is now talking about working together…
As a new Governor and lawmaking body take office in Illinois, former GOP chairman Pat Brady is advising both political sides to work together.
Brady says Republicans and Democrats have bashed each other for over a decade creating a political civil war in the state.
“It started with the Democrats, Rod Blagojevich and Mike Madigan, then Gov. Bruce Rauner against House Speaker Madigan,” said Brady. “I think most people are just kind of fed up with the blame game and are asking what can we do to move this forward.” […]
“This state is not too far right or left, it’s a pretty centrist state. I think there is an opportunity for Speaker Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton to work with Republican leaders Jim Durkin and Bill Brady to get something done.”
* Even the Chicago Tribune editorial board is seeing some green shoots…
One change agent could disrupt the cozy status quo: Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker, whose inauguration is scheduled for Monday. Pritzker mingled with House members on stage at their swearing-in ceremony. He was the buzz. The circle of politicians waiting to shake his hand and snap a selfie marked him as more popular than any other figure in Springfield, even Secretary of State Jesse White.
Pritzker was, and is, the man of the hour. Every hour, as long as the honeymoon lasts. The clock starts now.
* Dennis Byrne is not buying it…
Over the next five days, J.B. Pritzker becomes the 43rd governor of Illinois, succeeding Bruce Rauner. Michael Madigan gets re-elected by his flock to yet another term as Speaker of the House. And Illinois will circle the drain. Heading toward the darkness below, even faster than before.
Put aside the absurd speculation that with the new dawn, Pritzker and Madigan will bring a bright, new day of cooperation that’ll cleanse the state in their brilliance and uprightness. That’s for child-like innocents, hopeless Democratic partisans, the gullible and simple-minded.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:15 am
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What’s a Combine without some bipartisanship?
Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:19 am
Dennis is 100% correct
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:27 am
Dennis Byrne = Buzz Killington
Comment by Moby Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:29 am
===What’s a Combine without some bipartisanship?===
So let’s not have bipartisanship
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good… being overtly partisan is… better?
Are you sure you’re not John Kass?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:30 am
Here’s what I feel from the bottom of my heart.
Democracy needs Republicans, Conservatives as much as the variations of the left.
Only through the dialectic process can we
derive democratically
through process
A temporary better.
Raunerism, socially-liberal-free-market- libertarianism-like
Perfidy
was never meant to
would never
and never did
engage in democratic dialectic process
It was corpora-fascism all along
Perfidy hid this from us.
Now we know
Now we applaud at the Dark Lords frog march out of the hall.
We start as Illinoisans
We must
must
must
Maintain this dialectic, fair, process.
Comment by Honeybear Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:30 am
===That’s for child-like innocents, hopeless Democratic partisans, the gullible and simple-minded===
The Henny Penny’s on the GOP side are hopelessly negative and just cannot believe there will ever be a positive future in this state.
Comment by Been There Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:30 am
“GOPs just cannot believe there will ever be a positive
future in this state.”
Unless there is a 0% tax rate and no government oversight of anything. So, basically, anarchy.
Comment by Steve Rogers Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:39 am
Pat Brady has to figure out how to be relevant when he repeatedly called JB a crook and put toilets on his lawn. Yea, good luck with that Pat.
As for Byrne, I guess he’ll find out eventually. You don’t have to like all of his policies to recognize, as Rich and many GOPers have done, that this is a different kind of governor. He didn’t run to sit in a chair and have people tell him how awesome he is. He’s here to get big things done for our state. Hopefully he can find some partners on the other side of the aisle. I’ll bet he will.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:42 am
Hey Byrne…if there is even the slightest bit of bipartisanship, it will seem like a bright new day, by comparison.
And FYI, our problems are so bad that neither party can afford the GOP to be bystanders for the next 4 years.
Comment by Jibba Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:47 am
Well I guess the Madigan Bad campaign’s not working out to well for the GOP might have something to do with the gestures of cooperation being made lately. But they’re still just gestures. We’ll see whether there is cooperation on something substantive in JBs stated goals.
Comment by PublicServant Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:48 am
Maybe the GOP doesn’t like big government, extremely high real estate taxes, incredibly high sales taxes and pension obligations exceeding $200 billion.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:48 am
I tried to pick the purplest of Bryne’s prose, but couldn’t choose amongst the tortured phrases.
You guys, what if we have a functioning government and spend four years working to fix our problems? I feel like it could happen. And I’m really excited.
Comment by lakeside Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:49 am
Dennis Byrne was a child prodigy. He was yelling at clouds and kids to get off his lawn while he was still in diapers.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:51 am
Let’s all remember DB was never a deep thinker and way of his league when he quit writing about trains and buses
Comment by Annonin' Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 10:54 am
Utopia is right around the corner. So are higher taxes. The upper middle class and wealthy will moan a bit, but accept them. The working poor and middle class of Illinois will again be penalized the most. Life will go on. The Dems and Repubs will both champion that they are the ones who represents ‘the working man’. But i know better.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:03 am
Not to kick Rauner when he’s down, but I’m definitely picking up a vibe of “Ding dong the witch is dead” from folks.
Comment by Perrid Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:04 am
==That’s for child-like innocents, hopeless Democratic partisans, the gullible and simple-minded.==
I think Byrne is projecting his Raunerite cohort where “Reform” equals running-up huge tabs for fun while calling paying-down debt “out-of control spending”. - sheesh
Comment by Deadbeat Conservative Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:06 am
Yes, Virginia we have positive signs of bipartisanship. The feeling is good and it result in good things for the people of Illinois. We need to be cautious and not to have too high an expectation of how this bipartisan cooperation will play. Such high expectations could lead to false expectations that poison the benefits of what can be achieved. In other words, there will be disagreements.
Legislation will be taken up that the GOP will oppose. The progressive income tax amendment is a prime example. JB campaigned for that policy so the GOP should expect it to be a priority. (I would have included remap in this category, but the environment may be changing and JB has made some noise that may change this proverbial partisan battle.) What we can hope for in an environment of bipartisanship is that the GOP can communicate with JB and the Dems on elements of the amendment and enabling legislation - essentially tweaks around the edges to try and make the policy more palatable to their constituency groups. Bipartisanship can help us avoid the past habits of vilifying your opponents when debating why your side doesn’t agree with the proposed legislation. You can benefit from continued communication on the issue that bipartisan good will can bring.
Furthermore, there are issues that will not fall into the strictly partisan category. Infrastructure is one that could reap great fruits for Dem and GOP alike and most importantly the people of Illinois.
Virginia, we can hope that the dark times we’ve lived through has readied us for a more positive time of cooperation. We must not let expectations of bipartisan perfection destroy our ability to have the benefits of the bipartisan good.
Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:08 am
BDD - Pritzker wants a progressive tax. How does this hurt the poor and middle class?
Comment by Illinois Resident Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:08 am
IR. The debt to population numbers in Illinois are eerily close to those of California.i predict our progressive tax will mirror theirs. Check it out.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:13 am
@ (Q) Anon =incredibly high sales taxes= , what the sales tax on services in IL?
Comment by Permanent Moderation Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:13 am
We must move past the tried trope that Democrats are the enemy of the Republicans and vice versa. There is no dishonor in being in the minority party, nor does being in the majority give you moral superiority. The opposing party is not your enemy, they should make you do your job better. Full stop.
Working together to solve a common problem isn’t a betrayal, it’s essential to the future of our state.
I want our legislators to run to a crisis, not away, certainly not to the safety of their Twitter account where they lob criticism and not real ideas for resolution.
Comment by Colin O'Scopey Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:18 am
If you’re a Republican who spent 4 years whinging that the business climate in IL sucks so bad, you should be cautiously optimistic about the plans to create an entire new industry and to generate a lot of work for construction companies. If you’re not, you should just admit that the entire Rauner Experiment was about punishing IL workers.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:23 am
Geez, all these Republican naysayers have certainly taken Bruce’s philosophy to heart…they can’t accept any sort of win.
Comment by Skeptic Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:26 am
Dennis Byrne is skeptical. And in other news, water is still wet, and Trump is still trashing everyone who doesn’t love him…
Comment by Mr. Smith Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:26 am
Interpreting “If A then B” to mean “If not A, then not B” is a logical fallacy. Aside from that, bipartisanship is neither inherently good or bad, it depends of course on what it’s employed for. When I think back to, say, the Ryan administration, I’m not hopeful, but if they want to prove the cynics wrong more power to them. Pretty sure I’m not Kaas - I did vote for Pat Quinn after all, plus he’s a better writer and speller.
Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:38 am
Bipartisanship means the minority gets input in crafting major legislation so long as they put some votes on them. It also means an end to demonizing the opposition and ascribing “corruption” to them. It would be a welcome change, if it actually comes to pass.
Comment by anon2 Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:39 am
Anonymous@ 10:48
Alright- so you and many others don’t like them. Just what is the answer? Anarchy?
Comment by OldDutch Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:47 am
–Alright- so you and many others don’t like them. Just what is the answer? Anarchy?–
Constant whining without even offering a whiff of a constructive idea is the objective in and of itself.
A sad vocation or avocation for grownups, but it’s quite popular in some circles.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 11:58 am
=Maybe the GOP doesn’t like big government, extremely high real estate taxes, incredibly high sales taxes and pension obligations exceeding $200 billion.=
Are you saying that someone besides bond holders enjoys any of what you described? Just goofy.
Time to get that CT scan your doctor has been bugging you about.
Rich banned the appropriate term for you.
Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:10 pm
BDD - You are making an assumption that the progressive tax rate will be like California. It wont. If it is, I will be with you criticizing it as not good for our state. It will be interesting to see what they come up.
Comment by Illinois Resident Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:20 pm
don’t get all the talk about bipartisanship — GOP is irrelevant, can’t pass anything, can’t stop anything.
Of course, Pritzker and Madigan wants Rs to fall in line and vote for their programs — if only to allow some of Madigan’s Ds to vote no.
other than that, who cares what GOP does or why?
Dems are in complete charge.
Comment by jim Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:30 pm
===Of course, Pritzker and Madigan wants Rs to fall in line and vote for their programs — if only to allow some of Madigan’s Ds to vote no.
other than that, who cares what GOP does or why?===
(Sigh)
No.
Bipartisanship begats gives on things GOPers would like to see done, and further, you can’t be the party of “No” and not be involved and then say “we can get things done.
Why do you think Dem legislators took pictures with Edgar when he was governor and then used that bipartisanship to keep their seats?
You must be seen as being effective, a Dem Governor with GOPers working with them (and visa-versa) gives wins when being shut out doesn’t help… in getting out… of minority status.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:35 pm
Rauner acted like he had a mandate and could do what he wanted, even he had a legislature that was sure to oppose his ideas. That wasn’t a good start.
Trump thought he had a mandate and he actually had 2 houses controlled by his party, and most of his ideas have not flown. That wasn’t a good start.
This is a better start–you’re party has the majority in both houses, but you can’t take anything for granted so don’t act like you have a mandate. Show some respect, reach out and find common ground.
Comment by James Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:39 pm
Who doesn’t love when Pat Brady, divisive constant attacker of our President, preaches unity. What a hypocrite. What a joke.
Comment by GOPgal Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:43 pm
IR. It will probably be between a California and Minnesota. Check it out. Hang on to your hats working poor and middle classes the Dems and Republicans have your back.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:45 pm
OS
Comment by jim Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:50 pm
OW, you’re talking about perception needed to get re-elected and I’m talking about policy. Why should the Ds give anything of real substance to Rs on crucial issues when they have the votes to do as they please.
I realize elected officials are always trying to convince voters of their worth and some Rs may just go along with Pritzker’s proposals to promote that image. But the Ds ran on ambitious tax and spending proposals, and I don’t know why they would modify them in any way to please minority Republicans. Other than throwing the GOP a few scraps now and then in exchange for their votes, it’s of no benefit to Ds to do anything other than what they want to do.
Comment by jim Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 12:58 pm
===you’re talking about perception needed to get re-elected and I’m talking about policy===
No. Bipartisan policy is best for both parties, when good policy is also good politics.
===Why should the Ds give anything of real substance to Rs on crucial issues when they have the votes to do as they please.===
If you don’t think GOP lawmakers don’t want a Capital Bill.., and to get that, horse trading on votes, and votes where everyone wins… that’s governing.
You’re advocating “The Dems don’t need the Repubs, why do the Repubs even have to show up” kind of mentality.
===But the Ds ran on ambitious tax and spending proposals, and I don’t know why they would modify them in any way to please minority Republicans. Other than throwing the GOP a few scraps now and then in exchange for their votes…===
One pols scraps is another pols policy win.
You also seem to think *all* GOP members do, and should agree on *all* policy, and be against *all* Dem policies. That’s not governing or human nature either.
===…it’s of no benefit to Ds to do anything other than what they want to do.===
A bridge, road surface, school being built… if those things happen in a Republican district so a bipartisan win occurs, who loses?
Trench warfarin and completely shutting out options ain’t governing.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 1:05 pm
OW,
Once again, you’re missing my point.
Your reference to trench warfare is undoubtedly true, but there’s no trench warfare possible when only one side has the resources to fight. Ds would just run the Rs over.
We’ve seen this picture before — from 2003 to 2015 when the Ds were in charge. they did what they wanted, for the most part. why should this next four years be any different,particulaly given Pritzker’s platform..
with respect to your capitol bill, I think that’s a poor example — all legislators want pork, bridges, roads, that’s not a philosophical issue. of course, they’ll get together on that — it’s the equivalent of everyone voting for a pay raise or bigger per diems or more perks for themselves.
I’m talking about the real issues where the two parties — at least theoretically — have differences.
at any rate, we shall see. it’s all speculation for now.
Comment by jim Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 1:27 pm
===you’re missing my point.===
Nope. I’m not.
===Your reference to trench warfare is undoubtedly true, but there’s no trench warfare possible when only one side has the resources to fight. Ds would just run the Rs over.===
Trench warfare… just being the party of “No”
That won’t get abtome to take the Republicans seriously, just being against everything.
===We’ve seen this picture before — from 2003 to 2015 when the Ds were in charge. they did what they wanted, for the most part. why should this next four years be any different,particulaly given Pritzker’s platform..===
Pritzker isn’t (so far, or compared to) Blago or Quinn in governing. That’s the difference. You think all this optimism by both parties doesn’t recognize that?
===with respect to your capitol bill, I think that’s a poor example — all legislators want pork, bridges, roads, that’s not a philosophical issue. of course, they’ll get together on that ===
… and that’s the trade off to make the tougher bills… bipartisan. Same as it ever was. Governing is like that.
===I’m talking about the real issues where the two parties — at least theoretically — have differences.===
Big issues also have small details others might support.
Big picture “No” voting won’t help if the Dems decide to tie the Capital Bill in to sweeten the whole package of bills.
===it’s all speculation for now===
This is most true.
The Republicans in the GA should try to be bipartisan when they can as the best way to get more of them is to be seen governing too.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 1:36 pm
Jim. You want to look bipartisan(both parties do) so that when you stick it to the working poor and middle classes you can point the finger at the other guy.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 2:02 pm
Dennis Byrne, do you always look at the dark side of everything? Try thinking positive for a change - it is good for the soul.
Comment by Mama Thursday, Jan 10, 19 @ 8:25 pm