Stop the Presses! WBEZ Steps up Campaign Against Republican Lt. Governor
This Just In: Unimpressive WBEZ Guy Finds Plummer’s Experience Unimpressive.
The Internet editor of WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, whose funding is partially paid by taxpayers, has found that GOP Lt. Governor candidate Jason Plummer’s experience for the job is insufficient: he was only an intern for Peter Fitzgerald and The Heritage Foundation before helping his family’s company build shopping centers.
Pardon me but we are referring to Justin Kaufman are we not? The guy who voted for Scott Lee Cohen because Cohen was so intimidating on his TV commercials that Kaufman didn’t want to be made to feel uncomfortable? So he voted for Cohen? And who explained: “I’m like that”? Yeah, that’s the guy. Just what I thought.
Jack Franks on the Lieutennancy
State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), probably the smartest, most astute, most character-endowed Democratic House member, this morning formally suggested that his party notname anybody to the post of Lieutenant Governor nominee. Smart idea. If Quinn is elected and dies his successor would be Lisa Madigan. Of course Quinn won’t follow it.
This walking, talking cliché who thinks he seized on a catchy slogan by referring to “the land of Lincoln” and whose eyes take on a sanctimonious glaze when lying won’t pass up the chance to align himself with Tammy Duckworth, the severely wounded ex-helicopter pilot from the Iraq War…who would undeniably help Old Watery Eyes get elected.
If she gives up Secretary of Veterans Affairs to run with this loser whose days are numbered, she isn’t the resourceful lady I think she is.
And if she were to get elected with Quinn, her name would be imperishably linked with other Lieutenant Governors: Quinn, Corinne Wood, Bob Kustra, George Ryan, Dave O’Neal, Neil Hartigan…going all the way back to Pierre Menard, Adolphus Hubbard, Zadok Casey, Stinson Anderson, William McMurty, Gustavus Koerner, John Early, Lyman Ray, and William Northcott among others. She’d be number 46 if she were to get elected.
If. The only ones in the list to rise to governor were Quinn, George Ryan, Sam Shapiro, John Stelle. Stellar list. Quinn got upped after Blago was canned; Ryan moved from secretary of state to governor while the Feds were probing his uncountable excesses which later sent him to jail. Shapiro also of Kankakee succeeded Otto Kerner who later went to jail and Stelle became governor on the death of Henry Horner.
Basso-profundo-voiced Paul Simon, who viciously attacked Dick Ogilvie during his single term as governor in hopes of getting the Dem nod to run against him, fittingly lost to Dan Walker who later went to jail (not for anything he did as governor however), Simon going to the Senate where as a non-lawyer member of Judiciary he distinguished himself by recommending that nominees for Supreme Court visit an Indian reservation.
Report Cohen Won’t Quit Until He Gets His $2 Million Back.
Speaking of Scott Lee Cohen (which I guess we weren’t exactly) a news report is circulating that he won’t quit as Dem Lieutenant Governor nominee until he gets his $2 million back. And he has a point. He shelled out the money in good faith and used it to win the primary. Now he has been asked…politely…then rather curtly..,.to step down from the post for which he expended the $2 million. Only fair, I think, that his request is honored by the state Democratic party.
However I don’t think that request will be received at all felicitously. In fact I would predict that if he doesn’t cease making this request and resign post haste he may soon be visited by two slab-faced, well-dressed gentlemen wearing fragrant pomade hair-dressing making their black hair glisten…and sporting expensive pointy-toed shoes…who will impress him with their unique powers of persuasion.
**
Tom Roeser is the Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Chicago Daily Observer
And now Madigan just wants to do away with the Lieutenant Gov. office all together. How convenient; the Dems blow it with their candidate and now they will try to just dissolve the office, leaving princess Lisa next in line for Gov.
We the people hire these guys, it is time for us to act like one hell of tough boss.
It is not as if any Lieutenant Governors have ever had to assume the office of Governor recently with the exception of Pat Quinn, or within the last eighty years with the possible exception of Quinn, Sam Shapiro and John Stelle.
Tom, what are you talking about? What campaign? Stepping up what? That’s pretty shoddy headline writing. I love it though, I hope you get traffic.
And enough on the Scott Lee Cohen vote bit. I will say what I said to Rich and everyone else who is making a story out of it. It was a joke. A poorly worded joke, sure. But a joke. I didn’t vote for Cohen, nor would I tell you if I did.
And Roeser, don’t call my job title Internet Editor. It’s Wed Editor. When you make general mistakes like that, you show your ignorance to the world you now call home.
And really? Taxpayers pay my salary? That old saw…
Justin
I agree with Tom Roeser’s evaluatioon of Jack Franks, though Jack has made at least one major error (backing Quinn). However Jack’s father in law is the son of my late father’s best friend who lived in Elgin, Iowa where I campaigned and carried for Obama in the Iowa 2008 caucus (I have a live witness, Joe English, who was there with me). So I am biased in his favor. For a Democrat to win one on one in McHenry County as Jack has done repeatedly is a major miracle. He might accidentally lose if Quinn is at the top of the ticket. Fortunately there is no straight ticket voting. If he does win this year he should be strongly considered to run as Attorney General four years from now.
I’ve also suggested for many years, the elimination of the office of Lt. Governor and very recently in a column submitted to the Chicago Daily Observer which even if moot should be published at some point for the benefit of political groupies.
Truthfully, it would not be illogical for Quinn to join Scott Cohen in resigning off the ticket. Quinn won by only 8,200 votes in a two person race, losing more than 90 of Illinois’ 102 counties. For even an accidental governor to win by so little in his own party’s primary given the clout of his office, even short term, is a disgrace and humiliation. In contrast Cohen came in first with a plurailty of more than 30,000 votes in a six person race.
Quinn should also resign as Governor as soon as possible. That would make Lisa Madigan Governor immediately. She could then appoint Dan Hynes as Attorney General to fill her vacancy.
That would be a very good ticket for November. Quinn should demonstrate the same concern for the party that Cohen has (though I’m not sure he’s actually completed the paper work). Frankly, Quinn had hardly any more right to run for a full term that Burris did. You will hear the phrase used often by the Republicans the next 8 1/2 months: “the accidental, temporary in-elected Governor.” I just hope they have the honesty to give me credit for it, as I’ve been using it for more than six months.
I would also suggest that Madigan appoint Quinn Director of Veterans Affairs, a limited job he would do well at as long as hed a compeetent deputy director who could pay attention to the necessary details.
Justin,
I wrote the headline, and was specifically referring to your moronic poll about Plummer’s qualifications.
If you want to run a partisan website, as a “Wed Editor” as you have so aptly put it, then go ahead. But just put it out front that you are actively campaigning against Plummer and the Republicans rather than pantomiming as objective media.
JBP
My, but Justin went from cordial to downright pissy. For a public salaried employee, that was sure off-putting. Hmmmmmm?
Must be all them Government eyes on those thin little necks.
John, I just assume you are joking. You must be, I mean this is a joke site, right?
What is partisan about our blog? Nothing. We call it like we see it. As a matter of fact, we’ve probably been taking on democrats much more than republicans. But see, this is what you do – you call out those who write about you and you pummel them so they will think twice about writing again.
And Pat, I am cordial and pissy, all rolled into one.
Horsemanure Mr. Wed Editor,
You are being called out for a mindless partisan attack on a candidate.
If it is such discomfort for you to be accountable for your twerpish attack piece, I suggest you do “think twice” about your editorial in the future.
JBP
Hey Justin, we call it as we see it too. 1st ammendment I think it is called.
There was no attack. Give me a break. That’s dangerous rhetoric, Mr. Powers. What attack was there in examining how he lists work experience?
These are ridiculous accusations. I might even say twerpish…
Dear Editor,
Is this a joke blog? I’m hearing talk that this is a comedy blog. Please advise, I think it’s hilarious and would love to retweet on sites such as College Humor.com and The Onion!
LOL!
Look, you are the Wed Editor of a Public Radio Site. If you want to go around attacking people, can you do it without calling us a “joke”?
Compared to the lame job the media, including Public Radio, did on vetting Scott Lee Cohen, getting your wrench in wringer over some verbage on Plummer’s resume seems trivial.
Plummer was duly elected in a fairly covered election, and by no means comparable to Cohen. The newspaper you are calling a “joke” interviewed both Matt Murphy and Jason Plummer, as well as having lunch (twice) with Don Tracy before making editorial decisions on covering the Lt. Governor’s race. Anyone else even close?
The false equivalency between Cohen and Plummer is a weak narrative. We took Zorn to task for doing the same thing (making him pouty, I might add), and will continue to take the media to task for refusing to cover issues while insisting on partisan puffery.
JBP
weird, i found a ton of stories critical of democrats on WBEZ’s website just now. where’s the smear campaign you’re talking about?
Now that you all have each others attention about job titles and b.s. commentary – my question is simple:
Why is a publicly funded organization making endorsements anyway?
I think WBEZ should stick to its’ play list and remain silent politically, unless of course they want to be privately funded.
Chicago Tonight is bad enough with its’ bias and support of the Machine Politik – I think they need to have their funding pulled too.
Besides, what’s another pledge drive from those claiming poverty!
The innuendo regarding “mobsters” with sinister intentions visiting Mr. Cohen is in bad taste. Bear in mind, i do not support Scott Lee Cohen but it is his choice to demand reimbursement before officially withdrawing.
The people have been disenfranchised and now the Machine Politik is in motion devising yet another way to ensure that a party hack is put into place.
We should have a referendum / special election to rectify this – I am getting tired of having the Machine / Combine stuff something down my throat yet again by these self-serving bastards.
Maybe the innuendo should be directed at those who usurp our rights?
“And Pat, I am cordial and pissy, all rolled into one.”
Dear Justin,
Me too! Well said and well met!
Pat
Endorsements? I can’t find any reference to WBEZ’s endorsements anywhere. Do you have a link?
Just to clarify, WBEZ is not “publicly” or “taxpayer” funded, nor is it a government enterprise. Most of the station’s funding comes from private individuals and organizations who choose to make donations. Less than 10 percent comes from government grants–grants which to my understanding we compete for with other nonprofit organizations and public broadcasters. You can see the most recent available details on page 3 here [PDF]:
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/files/annualreport0708-1.pdf
[...] is a conservative!) rather simply lame smears about age and experience. Sniffy media types like WBEZ’s Vocalo present a false equivalency between Scott Lee Cohen and Jason Plummer unmatched by any research [...]
Kristin,
Who owns the license again? Is WBEZ charged some fee for use of this license to run a PR campaign?
JBP
Tom/John, this kind of whining is exactly what appeals to me in weighing my vote for lieutenant governor. Maybe if you cry some more about “teh librul media” and “we pay their salaries,” you can really lock it up!
Jason Plummer does have a vision for bringing jobs to Illinois, though–have your dad hire you! Too bad it won’t work for most of us.
Looking more carefully at the source, it appears this is media whinging instead of political whinging. Please forgive me, as I’d obviously never been to your site before, for obvious reasons.
Good luck drumming up page views with this “controversy.”
I am confused,
Why wouldn’t it bring jobs if Mr. Plummer’s father hired you? RP Lumber pays competitive wages, put in your application and have at it.
There are hundreds of companies around Illinois in the same situation as RP Lumber. We need hundreds more and someone who understands how to get out the way of these companies so they can succeed.
JBP
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