Hendon on Brady: Nothing new here

Anybody who wonders why I so harshly criticized earlier this month the very concept of state Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-Chicago, running for mayor of Chicago can now see why I give the man no credible shot of winning.



Oh, be quiet, Rickey

When I learned of his ungracious introduction of Gov. Pat Quinn at a campaign event that took potshots at Quinn opponent (and Hendon Senate colleague) William Brady, about all I could honestly think was, "That’s Rickey."

HE’LL SHOOT HIS mouth off, without much thought to whether the resulting rhetoric makes any sense.

“Idiotic.” “Racist.” “Sexist.” Homophobic.” Those were the words used by Hendon to describe Brady, with his point being that people who attended the rally on Chicago’s West Side (a predominantly African-American neighborhood of the type that Republicans have suggested is likely to be the place where some sort of fraud depriving them of votes will occur) should vote for Brady’s opponent – meaning, Quinn.

Quinn immediately backpedaled from the rhetoric, which has Hendon backers thinking the governor is some sort of wimp. It also is giving the Brady people a playing field for trite trash. I fully expect they will find a way to demand an “apology” from Quinn during each of the eight days remaining in this campaign cycle.

Personally, I don’t think Quinn has to apologize. If anybody should, it is Hendon. He owes his fellow state senator some sort of public statement that shows regret for being publicly rude.

NOT THAT I expect Hendon to ever make such a statement. I’m sure on some level, he meant it. He probably thinks that for once, he spoke the truth about his Statehouse colleague – unlike the usual rhetoric by which legislators try to claim that they are all friends behind the scenes.

Even though the reality is that many of  them are self-centered enough that they’re constantly trying to undercut each other, if it benefits their own standing on the political scene.

The simple fact is that this is the kind of rhetoric that will be Hendon’s contribution to the mayoral race. He will be the guy that stirs up the scene with trash talk. Which also means that Brady now has something in common with Barack Obama – Hendon used to be among the then-presidential candidate’s most outspoken critics.

The same sensibility that will prevent him from ever making a statement resembling an apology to Brady is the same one that will make him stay in the mayoral race all the way to the bitter end – when on Election Night next February he will try to downplay that only about 1 percent of the electorate actually will be deluded enough to think he is capable of doing the job at City Hall.

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