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| LIPINSKI: Facing first serious challenge? |
In some ways, he is the exact opposite of Todd Stroger, whose father, John, famously retired as Cook County Board president, orchestrated his son as a successor – and the voters rebelled so harshly that they dumped “the Todd-ler” when they got the chance in 2010.
BUT
LIPINSKI, THE younger, has continued to be sent back to Washington to represent
the city’s Southwest Side and surrounding suburbs – although the shifting of
populations has resulted in the son representing a district that is largely
suburban.
Unlike
his father, who pretty much concerned himself with white ethnic issues and
concerns in Chicago and didn’t pay much attention to anything else. He kept
himself locally focused.
But
the Chicago Tribune reported Monday that the 2018 election cycle could be
different. Unlike the last couple of bids where Lipinski ran unopposed, he’s
going to have a challenger.
Unless
political operatives figure out a way to kick her off the ballot, LaGrange
marketing consultant Marie Newman says she wants to challenge Lipinski for the
Democratic nomination for the congressional seat.
“ON
ISSUE AFTER issue, Dan Lipinski hasn’t been there for us. He is out of touch
with our district,” she said in an e-mail message to her would-be constituents.
 |
| LIPINSKI, BILL: Still a part of political scene |
Not that it’s any surprise to people who look at the local political scene. Lipinski is a politico using the Democratic Party label even though there are those who wonder why he isn’t a Republican.
With
regards to abortion, he’s vehemently opposed to the concept. During health care
reform debates, he was never an enthusiastic supporter of the Affordable Care
Act or of former President Barack Obama’s efforts.
Although
anyone who remembers his father, Bill, who served in Congress from 1983 to 2004
after having previously served a stint as an alderman (and where he still
serves as a Democratic committeeman, even at age 79) knows he was a pol who
identified with Dems because of his support for organized labor.
HE
WASN’T ONE to get all worked up over the social issues and causes that are the
reason many people identify with the modern-day Democratic Party.
 |
| CLAAR: Lipinski (as in Dan) helped him |
His son, who was a political science professor at the University of Tennessee prior to becoming an actual government official, has similar views. He likely is among those Democrats who, these days, think the party ought to think more about working white people and less about those “others” if they want to go back to being competitive in presidential elections.
The
point being Dan Lipinski isn’t the typical Democrat, He may, or may not,
represent the wishes of his suburban district – which quite frankly isn’t
exactly an area filled with people desiring the social liberal agenda.
Heck,
many of the southwest suburban types chose to live there to escape such
attitudes.
SO
IT WILL be interesting to see just how well Newman – who has never held
elective office herself – can compete. Particularly since she’s likely to let
us all know that back when Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar was being challenged
seriously for his post because of his verbal support for Donald Trump’s
presidential campaign in 2016, Lipinski sent over his own operatives to help
out Claar.
 |
| TRUMP: Will enough of us still care in '18? |
But in the end, Claar won! A Trump tie didn’t turn out to be politically fatal.
Illinois
may have been a state that swung over readily to Hillary Clinton’s presidential
aspirations because of her domination of Chicago and its suburbs, But this
could become an election post where we learn just how stubborn and resistant we
are to the concept of “President Donald J. Trump.” Could we take it out on
Lipinski?
Or
is it more likely that a majority of the district’s voters will decide they
have more immediate problems to address and will wind up returning the “Blue
Dog Dem” to his seat on Capitol Hill??
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