And
some people wonder just why Democrats didn’t get all sad and mushy about the
thought of Pat Quinn losing out as governor back in 2014 – even though what it
has wrought in its replacement has fulfilled some of their worst nightmares.
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| QUINN: Crusader won't wither away |
We
got to see why yet again this weekend, when Quinn reared his head to take on
what must be considered yet another of his causes – pet issues he will be
prepared to beat to death regardless of who gets offended.
FOR
QUINN IS now an activist-type who says his latest cause is term limits for the
Chicago mayoral post. He wants to set it at two terms of four years each.
Which,
if it were to become reality, would accomplish what voters weren’t able to do
during the most recent municipal election cycle. Rahm Emanuel would be through.
He’d
be able to finish out his current term. But he wouldn’t be able to try for term
three come 2019.
Of
course, there are those who believe that Emanuel has been bogged down with so
much baggage that there’s no way he could win a third-term anyway. He has to
settle for this being his final term in office.
EXCEPT,
…
The
reality is that Democrats might not be able to come up with a credible
challenger in 2019. They certainly weren’t able to do so the last time around.
So the efforts to “Dump Rahm” may wind up focusing on forcing Emanuel off the
ballot altogether.
Regardless,
such an effort is not something that is going to put Quinn’s name on anyone’s
guest list in coming months. Then again, Quinn is the guy who helped to create
the Citizens Utility Board and also slashed down the size of the General
Assembly by one-third.
If
anything, his term-and-a-half as Illinois governor is probably the least
significant part of his political career. His legacy will be as the guy who
constantly nagged political people and pointed out their flaws and tried to
shame them into doing the right thing.
WHICH
DOESN’T REALLY work because many political people just don’t have any sense of
shame to begin with.
Which
is why they were more than willing to dump all over the Quinn gubernatorial
request to extend the tax hikes he had imposed past a deadline so as to ensure
there would be enough funding to cover government expenses.
You
can say the Legislature, with its failure, created the current state financial
mess – with Gov. Bruce Rauner’s politically partisan hard-headedness
intensifying the degree to which damage has been done.
Yet
I don’t think anybody seriously is wishing for a return of Pat Quinn to the
governor’s mansion. The Republicans are glad to have someone bearing their own
political label in place.
AND
AS FOR the Democrats, many are probably glad to see that the self-styled
government reformer who often was willing to turn his wrath on themselves is
gone from the political scene.
Heck,
there is irony in the fact that Quinn felt compelled to use a Sunday afternoon
press conference to announce his effort to keep Emanuel from gaining any
additional power through the benefits of incumbency.
It
was his tactic from the days of old when he was the outsider banging on the
doors of government desperately trying to get a response. A Sunday stunt means
he gets on the Sunday television newscasts, largely because there’s little to
nothing else happening that can be covered. Although it should be noted that
last Sunday was the exception.
Which
may wind up hurting chances of Quinn gaining attention for his latest term
limits crusade – what with people potentially being more concerned with mass
shootings and slaughter. Although I wouldn’t put it past Quinn to find a way to
try to address that issue too on a future Sunday morning.
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