Simon, of course, is the late senator from Illinois who used to complain about the expense involved in running legitimate campaigns for elective office and the amount of time he had to devote every day of his stint in Washington to trying to raise money to ensure he could remain there.
IN TELLING PEOPLE that she does not plan to try to move up to the Senate, Schakowsky, currently a member of Congress from Evanston, said the expense of such a race awed her – even though she thinks her connections could have helped her come up with sufficient cash.
As Schakowsky put it, “I would have had to become a telemarketer five or six hours a day.”
The Pioneer Press newspaper group that publishes weekly papers in and around Schakowsky’s North Shore hometown quoted her as saying the cost of running for U.S. Senate from Illinois in 2010 would be $10 million for the primary election, and another $16 million for the general election.
That’s a lot of money. For that much, the White Sox could get a shortstop and center fielder who aren’t as incredibly frustrating as the batch of ballplayers who have tried (and failed) to grab hold of those jobs on the South Side.
SCHAKOWSKY’S DECISION TO back away from the Senate and remain in the House of Representatives intrigues me because I always thought she was one of the legitimate contenders to replace Barack Obama (legitimate as in qualified for the job, which is most likely why Rod Blagojevich never gave her serious consideration).
It also helped her political prospects that she gave up a seat on the Springfield scene to move to the District of Columbia. Without having to change her style much, she went from being a shrill voice to being one of reason.
Could it be that the Capitol Hill types are a little more deep thinkers than those who populate our Statehouse Scene?
Why do I say she hasn’t changed much? I got my kicks out of learning how she made her decision public not to be a Senate candidate any longer.
SHE MADE A video of herself and put it on YouTube, then also made an appearance before a fifth grade class at Devonshire School in Skokie, where she happened to bring the subject up.
Which is why the Pioneer Press types got themselves something resembling an “exclusive.” Who else would think to cover such an appearance?
It’s too bad that some smart aleck fifth grader couldn’t toss out a good quip. Because it was the smart alecks who were going to try their best to trash a Schakowsky candidacy.
Just about anyone who was a reporter-type in the early 1990s in Chicago remembers Bob Creamer, an activist for many liberal causes whose group wound up getting caught up in enough irregularities that Creamer himself now has a criminal conviction for the way he tried to handle the group’s financial problems.
I REMEMBER ENOUGH people who chuckled at Creamer’s plight, thinking him a bit too self-righteous. But I can’t believe that anyone else would have cared much – even though we would have heard enough “she has a corrupt husband!” allegations to last a lifetime.
There is one aspect of her decision that catches my attention. It could very well turn out that this year was Schakowsky’s one shot to move up on Capitol Hill.
She may have to settle for an elective office career in the U.S. House – having to get herself re-elected every other year (instead of having the luxury of a senator who only runs every six years).
Not that that is such a bad goal in and of itself. The bottom line is that the field of candidates remains cluttered.
EVERYBODY IS TROTTING out the list of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (maybe), Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (most likely) and Chris Kennedy as the biggest beneficiaries of Schakowsky’s decision not to run.
The only thing I will say is that it is most likely that there will be a serious contender whose name does not get talked about much these days – and that person will bear a grudge for the fact that no one is paying attention to them.
The truth is that nobody who’s being honest has the slightest idea who will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for Senate next year. There are just too many unknown factors and so much time.
And with a likely total tab of $26 million – how does incumbent Sen. Roland “The $845 Man” Burris, D-Ill., expect to be competitive?
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EDITOR’S NOTE: She’s staying in the House (http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/) for now, rather than trying to win herself an electoral promotion.
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