The Chicago Tribune: Rauner = Pres. Obama?

According to the Tribune: Rauner = Obama?

Having given John McCormick the leadership of his past position as editorial leader, even Tribune Publisher Bruce Dold has to cringe at the reach of the lead opine under his new protege's direction on December 11, 2016.

In today’s unthinking piece, “Expect Nothing from Springfield,” McCormick’s collection of opinionates create the usual right-wing false equivalency between Senator Mitch McConnell’s 2010 declaration preventing Obama from achieving any legislative traction in order to assure his single term presidency to Governor Rauner’s ersatz symbolic similarity with President Barack Obama.

“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term President.” (U.S. Senator Mitch O’Connell, October 2010)

According to the Chicago Tribune, the national victories in the 2010 mid-term election for both the House and the Senate were hopeful precursors to the incumbent President’s future loss – wrong – but they also outlined a permanent plan of standstill instead of governing for the good of the people of the country.  The Party of NO.  

Now, the Tribune likens our current situation in Illinois with the first-term Governor’s self-made situation in Springfield; that is, if you are willing to equate Rauner’s 44 non-budget demands with Obama’s attempts to pass Immigration Reform, prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,  increase penalties against North Korea for any nuclear development,  oppose privatization of Social Security, increase building energy efficiency, renew an assault weapons ban, train and equip the Afghan army, reduce oil consumption by 35% by 2030, overhaul the corporate tax code for those moving jobs overseas, extend child tax credits, implement women-owned business contracts, establish a credit card bill of rights…

Well, I could go on.  And, by the way these are only mostly Obama’s successful accomplishments, despite McConnell’s promise to block every one of them.

And they are hardly comparable to Rauner's single-minded anti-union wish list.

But only in the Republican leaning and backward world of the Tribune Editorial Board would there be sufficient cheek and intellectual absenteeism to call McConnell Speaker Madigan; and to call Rauner a President Obama.

To paraphrase one famous statement made during a Vice Presidential debate:  “We knew (KNOW) President Obama, Mr. McCormick, and Bruce Rauner is NO President Obama.”

In fact, Rauner’s 44 and dwindling non-budgetary items have made him one of the least approved governors in the country.  A 56% negative count- just behind Rick Snyder, who poisoned a considerable group of his constituency shouldn’t make you feel too good. 

And, if the Tribune wants to throw their number (1,823,627 voters for Rauner) as some kind of mandate, they’re talking about the multi-millions he and his friend Ken Griffin expended to win advertising time – not what thoughtful citizens can see happening around them.

A state budget in stalemate for two years and counting.

And enormous and growing debt of unpaid bills for the state once it finally reaches a decision about a budget – one that will eat up serious amounts of tax increases while we wait.

An educational system – including university level schooling – that will suffer for decades from the current Governor’s drawing his philosophical line (not monetary) in the Winnetka sand.

The lives of thousands of marginalized, homeless, impoverished, single parents, parentless children and mentally ill who will never recover from two or more years of neglect and being ignored.

By the way, the Governor of Illinois is required under Article XIII and Section 2 to produce his “State Budget for the ensuing fiscal year,” not his non-fiscal demands before he produces the aforesaid document.

We're coming to year #3.  Will he finally deliver this year?  Don't count on it.

Inversely, President Obama – who represents EVERYTHING opposite Bruce Rauner – enjoys the same percentage support in the positive: 55%.  This despite the last deplorable election.

The Tribune warns us not to expect anything substantive from Madigan’s and Cullerton’s Democrats.  McCormick and Co. want this “blue” state to somehow twist our thinking into believing that Madigan and Cullerton are the problem, and Rauner is indeed the “business” messiah, come to make Illinois the Land of economic Milk and Honey.  Just like his duplicate-elect.    

Blue will become red?  So they hope.

Hold on, Tribune.  Take your time, Mr. McCormick.  Maybe a few more years – even decades – with the loss of the public education system, the gutting of our universities, the elimination of the minimum wage, the work-for-what-we-pay-you, the “lose an arm at work and we’ll help you find it” law, the Prittzker Illinois Park system, etc.

Perhaps less than a million votes against the Republican Party this time around has buoyed your hopes of some imminent change, but the more-than-likely fiasco in Washington/New York is more likely to undermine your momentary euphoria.

Let's get serious.   

There’s plenty to fix in Illinois.  In fact, you may want to find a more thoughtful clarification – one based on authenticity and needed cooperation.