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| SIMON: Any regrets? |
Not
that anybody of any significance thinks that holding the second-in-command
position of Illinois state government is worth more than the proverbial “bucket
of warm spit.”
THE
GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES are getting no-names for running mates – people who
hope that holding this nothing position for four years could mean they somehow
get positioned to run for a real office with significant duties in the future.
Although
it is possible to screw up such a situation.
Take
the circumstances surrounding our current lieutenant governor – Sheila Simon
publicly split from Quinn many months ago, and has said she wants to run a bid
for Illinois comptroller.
Which
puts her up against incumbent Judy Baar Topinka – a long-time office-holder who’s
just different enough from the ideologue Republicans that she can win statewide
office even in a Democratic Party-leaning state.
CONSIDERING
THAT QUINN is a 99.9999999999 percent shoo-in to win the Democratic nomination
for governor (or am I being overly generous in saying that Tio Hardiman has a
0.0000000001 percent chance of winning?), he could have easily kept Simon at
his side.
Instead,
she’s a likely loser to Topinka – and may well have built up enough ill-will toward
her that she will soon be a political has-been!
 |
| SANGUINETTI: DuPage powerhouse? |
The
funny part is that nobody seems to want to be paired up with Quinn – even though
he’s a primary election lock for victory and has a very good chance of winning
the general election in November 2014 IF he can play himself positively off the
nasty negative partisanship that can all too easily tie up the Republican
campaigns.
The
only stories and tidbits we hear are from the people who don’t want to be
Number 2 on the Democratic ticket.
 |
| TRACY: Bolstering Dillard? |
NOBODY
HAS A clue who will be paired up with Quinn.
So
long as the Democratic ticket is “Quinn/_____________,” he can’t even start
circulating nominating petitions to get his campaign on the ballot.
It
also further enhances the notion that this election cycle is about the
Republican candidates, and that Quinn is an after-thought – a concept that
could undermine the advantages of incumbency that Quinn is counting on to get
himself a second full four-year term as governor.
 |
| RODRIGUEZ: A step up? |
Then
again, GOP chaos could be intense enough to overcome that factor. Who’s to say
how the voters will feel 13 months from now?
PERHAPS
IT IS because Quinn himself is a former lieutenant governor (one of the few who
actually got to ascend to the top post) that he’s not all worked up over
picking a running mate.
After
all, he’s the lieutenant governor who had it become public knowledge that his
governor openly ignored him – going more than a full year without speaking to
him about anything.
Part
of that was just the bizarre behavior of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Although it
also shows how the post can be relegated to irrelevance. For her part, Simon
has spent her time touring Illinois and visiting community colleges – but even
that has to get old.
 |
| KIM: The Lt. Gov. top dog? |
It
may be why Democrats aren’t eager to be a running mate – even if it means being
on a winning ticket.
WHICH
IS WHY I find it curious to see the field of candidates on the Republican side
of the equation; all of whom are eager enough to be a “nothing” politico in
hopes that it will mean something someday.
From
the newcomer to the group, Wheaton alderman Evelyn Sanguinetti, whom Bruce
Rauner picked to help him steal away DuPage County votes from opponent Kirk
Dillard, to state Rep. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy (paired with Dillard), former Long
Grove village President Maria Rodriguez (paired with William Brady) and Steve
Kim (paired with Dan Rutherford).
When
Kim comes across as the most experienced just because he ran a token campaign
for Illinois attorney general in 2010, you know this is a fringe collection of
characters who want to be Number 2.
A
post the Dems can’t seem to find anyone to fill.
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