Posted by
Juliana Johnson on Thursday, August 21, 2008 12:46:08 PM
Joe Biden, Tim Kaine, or Evan Bayh?
Oh, you silly country rubes. There is not an audacious name in that bunch.
On
Saturday, Barack Obama will return to the initial scene of his crimes
against humanity with his vice presidential choice in tow.
That choice?
Does the phrase, "We're putting the band back together," mean anything to you, Chicago?
That's
right, Obama's choice will be a friend to lobbyists big and small, the
master of economic disaster, a man of few usually unintelligible words,
and the man at whose ample teet Obama suckled for his seven vanilla
years in the Illinois State Senate--I am of course talking about
retiring State Senate President Emil Jones.
The campaign commercials write themselves: Let the Chicago Democrats do for America what they have done to Illinois.
While some may view this as the ultimate patronage hire, that take misses Emil Jones' robust record as an agent of change.
Think of all of the change Illinois has realized during Jones' tenure as Senate President and Governor Rod Blagojevich's BFF.
For
example, Illinois has shed 60,000 manufacturing jobs, currently
enjoying an unemployment rate 28% higher than the national average.
Not convinced? What if I told you that Illinois is number one in the nation in its unfunded pension liability?
Still not sure Jones is the best choice?
Did I mention that Illinois is 44th in the nation in per capita income growth?
One
has to appreciate how difficult it is to rack up numbers like that in a
state with the logistical advantages, transportation infrastructure,
corporate bases, and post-secondary educational institutions that exist
in Illinois.
To achieve these changes, one must have the fortitude to stare down common sense policies and say, "Not on my watch."
Jones
has shown this willingness to discard conventional wisdom-and the laws
of supply and demand. While other politicians offer up loose talk in
support of higher taxes, onerous, job-killing regulations and
politically expedient subsidies, Jones has always been a man of action.
So
who better than Jones to ride point for Obama's carbon tax and his
capital gains tax increase and his income tax hike and…well, you get
the idea.
+++++
Proft v. Kurth on WBEZ's "848" talking Veepstakes
I
also had the opportunity to square off against a worthy adversary in
Democrat (she hates when I say "Democrat" instead of "Democratic")
strategist Kitty Kurth, a principal with Kurth Lampe, a strategic
communications firm in Chicago on WBEZ-Chicago Public Radio's
well-regarded "848" program for a lively discussion about the upcoming
vice presidential selections of both Sens. McCain and Obama.
Mild-mannered host Richard Steele deftly managed our spirited exchange.
Take a listen.
Click here to listen
--DP