Who will Blago select to fill Obama's senate seat?
With Barack Obama moving on to a job with greater responsibilities, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich will now be charged with appointing a replacement.
The Governor could conceivably pick himself or any number of elected officials.
Usually mentioned are Lisa Madigan or Dan Hynes.
Who's going to be the pick?
Also of note was some election night humor courtesy of Sen. Mike Jacobs and his father, former Senator Denny Jacobs. What cut-ups!! It's obviously humor. No one could possibly be that arrogant and full of themselves with such a thin record.
Apparently, to the Jacobs, Obama's victory means comic gold.
No sooner had Mike Jacobs learned that he had won re-election to the state senate Tuesday night than he began talking about running for governor in 2010.
“I think it is going to be a crowded field of Democrats seeking the nomination for governor. There may be five or six candidates, and chances are good that I'll be the only downstater running. If I can capture the downstate vote, I can win the nomination,” Sen. Jacobs said.
...
Sen. Jacobs said he soon will create an exploratory committee to weigh the possibility of a gubernatorial bid.
“Could Mike have a viable bid for governor? Well, yes, I think he could,” said the senator's father, former state Sen. Denny Jacobs. “Two years ago, who would have guessed that a man named Barack Obama would have a viable chance of becoming president of the United States?”
Mike Jacobs said a bid for governor would be an opportunity to spread his political wings.
“Until now, when I have run for election, many people have been voting on whether or not they like my family. If I run for governor, I'll be running based on my record. I think I would have a chance of winning. Not only am I a downstater, but I'm always good for a good for a good quote. The press loves that.”
Oh those Jacobs, always cutting up! It's funny that Sen. Mike, our own equivalent of George W. Bush, now wants to become our own equivalent of Sarah Palin. Hilarious!
And the best punch line? Denny comparing his son to Barack Obama!
The polls had barely closed on Obama's history changing election when Denny decided to try to throw his son on his coat-tails.
Not since Mike himself compared himself to Rosa Parks on her birthday have we heard such a whopper. Is this a trend? Ridiculous attempts to compare the senator to historic figures at the most unseemly times?
Thanks for the comic relief.
The hilarity never ends.
This seems like an instance where the old saying applies; "Don't vote for the guy, it only encourages 'em."
posted by The Inside Dope @ 11/05/2008
14 comments
14 Comments:
By J.C. TAYLOR
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 06, 2008 @ 07:26 PM
Illinois may have its first candidate for governor in the 2010 election cycle. State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-Moline, has announced he is forming an exploratory committee to examine the state’s top post.
“It’s always flattering to have people mention your name for higher office,” Jacobs said. “I didn’t come to government just to stand still I came to government to help lead my community.”
Jacobs is just coming off re-election to his seat in the 36th State Senate District. He defeated Republican challenger and Mercer County Treasurer Mike Bertelsen on a 59 to 41 percent margin. But Jacobs is considering bigger things.
“If I can move into a higher office I think I can direct more money and resources back to my district,” Jacobs said. “I think downstate has been ignored a little bit by the Chicago machine.”
Jacobs plans to visit downstate Illinois over the next several months to gauge interest on a potential run for the governor’s spot. He estimates he’ll need at least $2 million to run a successful campaign statewide.
“I look forward to trying to put downstate on the map,” Jacobs said.
The United Township High School alumnus has been in office only three years. He was appointed to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of his father, Denny Jacobs, in 2005. But he’s been a marked man in the 36th District. In just three years, he’s had two primary opponents and now two general election challengers, but he’s turned all four aside.
“I’ve been on a pretty busy schedule,” Jacobs said. “I’ve had four elections in the last three years and now I get to catch my breath a little bit.”
Tuesday’s win over Bertelsen gives him some needed relief because the term is for four years.
“I can worry more about taking care of the community and we have some economic problems,” Jacobs said. “We need to address those and I look forward to working with my colleagues to find a solution to these problems.”
Jacobs easily defeated Paul Rumler of Moline in the 2006 and 2008 Democratic primaries and won the 2006 election over Republican challenger James Beals of Moline.
Illinois convention delegates jockey in Denver
From today's print edition:
Behind scenes, Illinoisans jockey for position
Senate vacancies, 2010 governor's race on delegates' minds
By Rick Pearson
Chicago Tribune correspondent
August 29, 2008
DENVER — Illinois delegates will tell you without exception that their appearance at the Democratic National Convention was all about celebrating favorite son Sen. Barack Obama's nomination for president.
However, a closer look at the state's delegation revealed much low-profile but highly intense lobbying—among senators vying to replace retiring Obama mentor Emil Jones as state Senate president, others trying to jump-start the 2010 governor's race and yet others trying to maintain visibility to replace Obama in the U.S. Senate if he is elected president.
Nearly two-thirds of the state Senate's 37-member Democratic majority traveled to Denver, providing one-stop shopping for those trying to round up the 30 votes needed to succeed Jones in January.
"I don't think anybody's locked in on a choice," said Sen. James Clayborne (D-Belleville). "At this stage, with so many in the running, everybody's a consolation candidate."
Clayborne is among a list of competing Jones replacements that also includes Chicago Sens. John Cullerton, Donne Trotter and Rickey Hendon as well as Don Harmon of Oak Park, Jeff Schoenberg of Evanston and Terry Link of Waukegan.
Jones was Gov. Rod Blagojevich's most dependable ally, a source of tension among Senate Democrats. "We want to ensure whoever gets the position is going to make it caucus first, and in some instances it hasn't been about the caucus," Trotter said.
More subtle was the work on the contest for governor two years hence. Blagojevich indicated he is mulling a third term despite a controversial tenure. Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, Comptroller Dan Hynes, Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, all potential candidates, were among the convention regulars. Sen. Mike Jacobs of East Moline, who has sparred with Blagojevich, said he would launch a money-raising exploratory committee within a month.
"If you get four or five [Chicago] folks in a race for governor, there's an opening for a Downstater," Jacobs said.
Thanks for sharing your clippings file Mike.
Very ballsy to think a rookie senator can just take a leave of absense to play around trying to run for an office they have no chance at whatsoever is ... well, I guess the nice term is ballsy.
No sooner does Jacobs get in office as state senator than he's chomping at the bit to get the hell out.
What a committed representitive. He clearly ran in order to serve the area rather than his near absurd ambition.
Or did I get that backwards?
Mr. Jacobs made it perfectly clear before his primary and general election bids that he was going to run. It was no secret and he was elected by the people.
How do you feel Dope about Obama being very ballsy to think a rookie senator can just take a leave of absense to play around trying to run for an office they have no chance at whatsoever is?
How about Obama taking a Run for Senate when he had no chance of winning?
Is your esteem of yourself and this area so low as to think that nobody from here would have a chance of moving up the ladder without you trying to pull them back down.
I think j=Jacobs would be a fine Governor and would vote for him. It would be great for our community.
People said the same thing about Obama. Thin resume. To young.
Funny you sound like John McCain.
Anon 10:59
First of all, you're clearly in the tank for Jacobs and probably being paid by him, if not the senator himself.
Jacobs did NOT make it "perfectly clear" he intended to shirk his duties to this area in order to run for governor.
If he did, you show me where and I'll stand corrected.
How do I feel about Obama being "ballsy" enough to run for state senator when he supposedly had no chance of winning?
First of all, he had an EXCELLENT chance of winning, even before his opponent blew himself up with revelations of sex nonsense.
How do I feel about "a rookie senator" "taking a leave of absense to play around trying to run for an office they have no chance at whatsoever."?
Well, you're a very very stupid person if you feel that a guy who dazzled the country with his address to the Dem National Committee, who was widely and nearly universally regarded as a brilliant and charismatic man with vision and capability and who had people across the country urging him to run was nothing but "a rookie senator".
Don't you think you're selling Obama short, not to mention being sickening when you try to compare Barack Obama with MIKE JACOBS, of all people? Have you recently taken a fall where you hit your head?
Or do you truly think Mike Jacobs is even in the same general area of the universe as Obama? Because that's what you seem to be arguing.
And that's patently ridiculous. Not to mention a gross insult to Barack Obama.
You also write:
"Is your esteem of yourself and this area so low as to think that nobody from here would have a chance of moving up the ladder without you trying to pull them back down."
I think that was a question, though you seem punctuation challenged.
Though you're straining to find some way to attack the messenger and dishonestly distrort the argument beyond recognition (in order to avoid it), as always, the fact is that this has nothing to do with whether anyone from this area could be a good governor or pulling anyone down.
Sarah Palin "moved up the ladder" too. It was a farce.
Jacobs was a patronage hire with the Drivers Bureau a few years ago, now you think he'd be a great governor?
Hey, you're welcome to feel that way, of course.
I don't think the guy is in any way, shape, or form ready to fill the office of governor. Hell, he's only now finally beginning to settle down and learn how to be a senator. He's still wearing the paper hat, metaphorically.
This isn't about the people of this area, and if you believe that tripe, good luck.
Jacobs has done nothing to distinguish himself in his short tenure in office, save for getting some press for popping off at the incredibly unpopular Governor, a rather safe position I'd say.
I'm not saying he's done nothing, even though a lobbying web site rates his effectiveness as way below average.
I'm just saying he's done nothing to make him stand out from the pack. Nothing to suggest that he's a good candidate for higher office.
Rather, it's about the money. It's about the dozens of PACs that make Mike Jacobs possible, including primarily gambling, insurance, and health care giants who both fund and therefore dictate his positions.
They'll no doubt kick in all sorts of millions to try to get "their" guy in the Gov's mansion. But that sure the hell doesn't mean it would be a wise choice for the people of this area, or the citizens of this state.
And I shudder to think what it would be like were Jacobs get to the point where he would get REAL press scrutiny, rather than the docile stenographic type he enjoys today for the most part.
Jacobs isn't some horrible person. He's just convinced that politics is about the money game, all about what's good for his career, with very little vision or even thought or guiding principles about how best to serve the people he represents.
Does this make him unique? Unfortunately, not at all. For the most part, that's how politics is practiced here in the Land of Lincoln.
But if you're going to have the sheer balls to compare Obama with Jacobs, just recognize that Obama DOES have guiding principles, he DOES have vision, and he DOES care about the direction of the country and the betterment of its people, not just doing what the highest donor wants him to do in order to amass more campaign loot in the future.
As a matter of fact, it would be interesting to see if Obama would endorse Sen. Jacobs for Governor of the State of Illinois.
Anon 6:08
If your child-like thinking is any indication of the level of political thought among the Jacobs camp, we don't need to worry about him getting too far.
Sheesh.
Yep, I'm just like McCain alright. HA!
I think that instead of Denny comparing Jr. to Obama, saying that if Obama could make it big, Mikey could, it would have been more honest and appropriate to argue that if Sarah Palin could become a governor, why not Mike?
The funny thing is that none of you idiots even know Obama. Denny Jacobs is a personal friend to Obama and he would know better than you, that only know of Obama, about the position that Obama was in when he first ran as a huge underdog for US Senate and the similarities to Mike's position in a race for Governor. Remember Denny was one of three state politicians that stood by Obama when Obama first ran for Senate. Nobody else was willing to believe in Obama. It sounds very familiar to Mike's quest for Governor to me.
When and where Obama wrote about you in his book might be an indicator of your knowledge of Obama.
I found your talk of money about Obam to be curious being Obama was such a prolific fund raiser. Also Obama weitting books that many feel to be unethical for a sitting politician.
I find it interesting that you know the mindset if both Obama and Jacobs.
I do remember you being a Edwards man and applauding his integrity and honesty.
Anon 10:32
You sound like some jr. High school kid. Your argument is absolutely ridiculous and self-serving.
First off, it doesn't matter AT ALL whether Denny let Obama sit on his lap when he was 4 or how close they were or if they're on each other's Christmas card list or whatever.
Doesn't have anything to do with this at all!!!!
The thing that is almost nauseating about Denny's statement isn't that he might be correct in comparing Obama and Mikey's comparative lowly status before a run for higher office. Hell, that can be argued, though I think you'd lose. I don't think the party's nominee would choose Mikey to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.
The pitiful part of it is that it dares to compare the two at all.
Obama was a rising star who stood out to everyone who met him as an extremely intelligent, attractive, and thoughtful leader with a stellar backgrond not only academically, but biographically, he'd experienced and lived around the world, but had proven his committment to public service with his work in Chicago, and was obviously thoughtful and brimming with new and progressive ideas about how best to lead public policy. Obama was dazling people with his articulate speech and attracting thousands of admirers with his ideas and obvious charm and ability.
Mike... not so much.
That's my point.
I don't fault Denny for what he said. He's Mike's dad for goodness sakes. And I'm sure he wasn't trying to compare Mike to Obama across the board.
He probably wasn't aware of just how his statement would sound to most people as though he was equating his son with Barack Obama, a laughable suggestion. and one that even Mike himself, if he had any decent sense of humility and honesty, would instantly agree with.
No, instead you argue that Denny is close with Obama. So what??
Obama mentioned Denny in a book?
Again, that's to Denny's credit, but what the HELL does that have to do with whether Mike is qualified to run for governor?
Nothing.
Are you saying that Obama would grease the skids for Mikey? Is that what you're driving at? Who knows? Somehow I think Obama is a little more honorable than that.
Anon 12:19
With attackers like you, it's almost too easy.
First of all, writing a book while you hold office has been done dozens of times and isn't the least bit unethical as you suggest.
(I somehow don't imagine Jacobs even reading many books, much less writing one.)
Then you, as all people who can't come up with an argument to save their lives do, just start making shit up.
PLEASE....
-Show me where I said (or even implied) I knew "the mindset of Jacobs and Obama". You can't.
-Show me one time where I "praised the honesty and intregrity" of John Edwards. You can't.
I did support Edwards primarily on the basis that he was the ONLY candidate who was talking about the rampant growth of poverty in this country and the destructive effects of the widening gulf between rich and poor, which I believe is an incredibly serious problem that lies at the base of nearly every other problem this country is suffering from, including it's broken political system and ineffective government.
I still admire him for that. So what?
Really, aren't there any grown-ups out there who could actually scrape together an argument that makes sense and doesn't resort to making shit up out of thin air or trying to say that I'm wrong about Jacobs .... because a guy I once supported had an affair? WTF?
I mean, it's like grade school!
Pull your head out of Jacobs ass and spend a little time thinking about it. Then try again.
You can rewrite words, but you can't alter facts.
In 2000, when Barack Obama lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one do you think people couldn't see Obama's SPECIAL POWERS, or do you think Barack hid them under his cap?
Fact is, in his first term IL Sen. Mike Jacobs passed more bills than did Barack Obama in the entire four years he (Obama) spent in the Illinois Legislature. Nor did Jacobs spend his days voting present!
Anon 12:08.
You really make a person work to try to figure out just what the hell you're talking about.
For instance, where did I "rewrite words"? What the hell do you mean?
Then you try to argue that when NO BODY knew who the hell Obama was or knew anything about his background, that the fact he got trounced by one of the most powerful and long-serving Chicago heavyweights in the legislature somehow proves my views wrong.
You're very stupid. You know?
Obama had about as much chance of winning that race as Alan Keyes had of beating Obama for Senate and you know it.
Yes, I'd say that people weren't able to see Obama's obvious talents and "gifts" then, because no one paid much attention. He didn't have the connections or the money either. But I'll guarantee you that that race got him noticed.
As to the rest of your .. er.. unique argument... I give up.
You got me. I'll swallow your stuff about Jacobs outperforming Obama, even though it really proves nothing whatsoever. Yep, Mike Jacobs is superior to President-elect Barack Obama.
Jacobs doesn't appear too effective according to this outfit.
That graph looks a little bumpy.
Yeeesh. Where do these people come from?
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