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I’m running for Lt. Governor!

March 5, 2010 by Dave!

Well, since the Democrats in Illinois are taking on-line applications for the open spot on the ballot, I’m not really running for Lt. Governor. But I did submit my on-line application for the ballot spot. Here’s what I said in my application:

I hereby pledge that if chosen to run and if elected by the People of Illinois to the office of Lieutenant Governor:

I will resign on my first day of office, which means under the Constitution of Illinois that the office will remain vacant until the next election.

This will provide time for the legislature to organize a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the office.

I will not take a salary for the office of Lt. Governor.

I will not staff the office of the Lt. Governor.

I will not spend a single dollar of the taxpayer’s of Illinois hard earned money on an unnecessary elected office.

* The FY2008 cost of the office of Lt. Governor was approximately $2.4Million.

* The FY2009 cost (enacted) was $2.1 Million.

* The recommended FY2010 cost is $1.35 Million.

* Over a term of four years, I will save the citizens of Illinois over $5 Million dollars.

Although the Lt. Governor’s duties include chairing several committees, I am quite confident that those committees may be served well by other members who may step up to fill the vacant chairmanship. As for succession, upon my resignation, the Attorney General would succeed the Governor should the Governor be unable/unwilling to serve.

——————————–

Yes, I’m doing this to make a point. I think it’s a bit odd that the Democratic Party is taking applications for the nomination on-line. I also think the office of Lt. Governor is pretty unnecessary, given the extremely limited duties of the office and what it costs to run a governmental office that does so little.

But I’m also 100% serious.

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: Illinois, Lt. Governor, politics

Bailout? Shmailout.

October 7, 2008 by Dave!

Wait a minute. So you mean to tell me that, even though jackasses in the media insisted that the bailout was necessary to save us all from doom and that our puny middle class brains couldn’t understand the gravity of the situation. Or that even though jackasses in the administration insisted that without the splurge our economy was in the crapper. And even though the fools in Congress bought into it all, and against the will of their constituents, passed a fundamentally flawed piece of garbage “bailout” bill, that -we weren’t greeted as liberators!?- the market is still tanking?!?!

God, what is the world coming to, when I’m starting to think _Lou Dobbs_ makes a lot of sense.

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: bailout, politics, splurge

Fools Rush In…

October 2, 2008 by Dave!

So, the Senate approved the “Splurge” last night… 74 to 25. Now it’s the House’s turn… what will they do? I suspect they’ll turn tail and pass it. Sad.
Look, I am a middle class guy, living in a middle class suburb, working a middle class job. I *understand* the nature of the “crisis”. I understand the importance of credit markets. I understand something must be done. But I also understand this is an ill-conceived, rushed solution and that there are other alternatives that should be considered and offer a better solution to the American people.
I can hardly believe it, but Sen. Shelby said it best:
“Many around here are finding comfort in the notion that ‘something is better than nothing.’ I believe that is a false choice. The choice we faced was between pursuing an informed response or panic. … Unfortunately, we chose panic.”
All of our elected officials seem to be running around like Chicken Little, crying about the falling sky. We don’t need “bailout” plans with little to know accountability which need $150 Billion of additional pork in order to “entice” Representatives to vote for it. We need our elected representatives to sit down, gather expert opinions and formulate a rational response. I know, I’m a dreamer. Instead, we get a bad piece of legislation, so bad that one house of our Congress essentially has to bribe the other into supporting it.
Disgusting.

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: bailout, politics

Clinton: A Fundamental Misunderstanding of Voters

April 8, 2008 by Dave!

I don’t think it’s a secret I’m an Obama supporter. However, recently, I’ve crossed over to being a Hillary opponent. If Hillary is the nominee without winning the popular vote and pledged delegates, I will not support her run for president. And here’s why…

I can forget her desire to stay in the race for the nomination, even though it’s looking mathematically less and less like she has a chance.

I can forgive her “misstatements” which keep piling up at an alarming rate, to the point where we she’s almost going to have rally chants that contain the words “pants on fire”.

But her contempt for the democratic process I cannot forgive or forget. Today on All Things Considered (NPR), she was asked about suggestions from her campaign that pledged delegates should change sides–even though those delegates are chosen by the voters based on their promise to support a particular candidate. Here’s what she said:
“There is some fundamental misunderstanding of the way this whole nominating process works,” Clinton says. “Every delegate has the right to choose whom they will vote for. … At the end of the day, there is no requirement that anybody do anything other than make their own best judgment.”

No, Hillary. When I, and millions of other voters across America went into the voting booth to vote in this primary season, we voted for delegates who had pledged to support you, Obama, Edwards, etc. You can be damn sure we, the American voters, expect thoe delegates to keep their word, and not “make their own best judgment.” Clinton grouses excessively about the voters of Michigan and Florida being disenfranchised, yet, when it suits her own political goals, she’s willing to disenfranchise every voter in the Democratic Party in every state.

Each and every day, Hillary is demonstrating to me that she merely wants to win at all costs, no matter if the Democratic Party is decimated in the process. I expect a certain amount of double talk and politics in any campaign. I understand rhetoric and campaign promises. But Hillary is becoming a routine liar, showing nothing but contempt for the process, the party, and the American people.

I think Hillary Clinton has a fundamental misunderstanding of the way this whole nominating process should work, and the way the American voters expect it to work. We expect that the candidate who wins the popular vote and the most pledged delegates (even should that turn out to be her) should be the party’s nominee for President of the United States.

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: politics, Presidential Race

Presidential Experience

March 18, 2008 by Dave!

I like McCain–I do give him credit for being an independent thinker (for the most part) and I don’t think *all* of his campaign platforms are unreasonable.

But in my mind, the choice for president is quite clear. On one hand, we have an eloquent speaker who is intelligent and experienced enough to understand and articulate the subtleties of racial relations in America–and who isn’t afraid to talk about the issue. While on the other hand, we have a career politician who–while on a trip designed to showcase his foreign policy experience–fails to grasp even the most rudimentary facts in a region that will dominate foreign policy issues for at least the next several presidential terms.

One is a politician–and maybe a decent one–but the other one is clearly a leader.

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: McCain, Obama, politics, Presidential

Vote!

February 5, 2008 by Dave!

I already have…

Kristyna for Judge!
Have you?! If not, get out and do it!!

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Filed Under: Chicago, Personal, Politics Tagged With: "2008 Primary", Election, politics

Florida: The Nation’s Wang

February 25, 2006 by Dave!

Some disturbing video on how not to manage a relationship with the citizens police “serve and protect.”
So what do you think should happen to the officer who touches his gun and says, “One more step forward, and you’ll see what happens. Take one more step forward,” or the officer that threatens to give the citizen a ticket? Personally, I think they should lose their jobs. Period. There’s a follow-up in Part II which results in a whole lotta, “no comment.”
[Via Boing Boing]

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: politics

John Kerry: Still Irrelevant After All These Years…

January 26, 2006 by Dave!

So, John Kerry is calling for a filibuster of Alito. I don’t speak for the whole Democratic party, but I have a feeling there are a lot of liberal Democrats (sometimes) out there like me. So I’d just like to say for the record:

John, we barely supported you then, and we sure wish you would just go away. We need new, fresh leadership with genuine ideas to turn around a party in crisis, not rabble rousing suicide missions that won’t accomplish anything of value. You’re wasting political capital. Challenge Bush on breaking Federal Law, find an issue that will stick and that won’t be at best a waste of time and energy and at worst a galvanizing event for the Republicans. Seriously: please, shut up.

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: politics

Mouths Wide Open

November 8, 2005 by Dave!

This morning on NPR, I heard about the “Army Men Project” and I just had to know more. You need to know more, too. Visit mouthswideopen.com and Bring Them Home.

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Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: politics

Harriet Miers

October 4, 2005 by Dave!

Blah blah blah Harriet Miers blah blah blah.
Let’s do the numbers:

SCOTUS Judicial Experience1
Experience Number of Justices Percentage
None2 26 23.85%
Political3 24 22.02%
Solicitor General 3 2.75%
Attorney General 9 8.26%
Governor 4 3.67%
Senator 7 6.42%
President 1 0.92%
State Court Judges 42 38.53%
Federal District Judges 7 6.42%
Federal Appeals Court Judges 27 24.77%
Judical Experience Total 76 69.72%

1All data from the Oyez Project
2No significant political experience as defined by the category breakout following
3Total based on the category breakout
I have a complete breakdown by Justice in this spreadsheet for the geeky amoung you.

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Filed Under: Law, Politics Tagged With: politics
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