The Cigar Filled Room
It is the American historical cliche, men sitting in a dimly lit room smoking cigars making all the real decisions, who will hold office, who will get contracts, who is a rising star and how the money will all eventually find its way back to all the right places.
Smoking is so socially taboo that it probably doesn't happen anymore and I just can not see people deciding to sit in a dimly lit room just to add to the melodrama, but the cynic in me feels the rest of that nonsense is pretty much alive and well.
The cynic in me must have taken a holiday though because I never expected the kind of stunts being pulled around the democratic nomination to the cook county board presidency.
When Stroger had his stroke I figured that was it. He and his campaign was done. I was wrong about his campaign. They went on without em. They called in some heavy political muscle. We got automated calls from almost every democrat in the state and even a message from former President Bill Clinton telling us to reelect John Stroger to the Presidency of the cook county board. They people responded. Kind of. Apparently a 53 to 47 percent win is a landslide these days.
I voiced the opinion that perhaps the challenger would be picked to replace Stroger on the ballot. He did manage to get 47 percent of the vote against a fairly strong incumbent. Whoever I said this to laughed at me. Apparently running a man who lost to a stroke victim would be like handing the election to the republicans.
Then the son announced that he would like the job. I thought this bid would never be taken seriously by the party. We don't hand down jobs like titles here. So when people question the legitimacy of this candidacy the answer was that white people do it all the time, we just don't like it because now black people are doing it.
This is what galls me. People stopped questioning. Everyone said,"Hey you cant us of being racists! See who we scurry in fear when you even mention the word!" Now Chicago Alderman are telling us who does and who doesn't have the votes to be the next democratic nominee to the cook county board presidency. And they are going to get away with it. They haven't even bothered to educate the public as to the qualifications of the son. They haven't bothered to seek public approval. They just went into the cigar filled rooms and came out when everyone was satisfied to the outcome. It makes me wonder what promises were made to insure these votes.
I'm certainly not voting republican in the next election, but I tell you what, I'll write in my own name first (not really just haven't done enough research yet as to who I would write in).
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Smoking is so socially taboo that it probably doesn't happen anymore and I just can not see people deciding to sit in a dimly lit room just to add to the melodrama, but the cynic in me feels the rest of that nonsense is pretty much alive and well.
The cynic in me must have taken a holiday though because I never expected the kind of stunts being pulled around the democratic nomination to the cook county board presidency.
When Stroger had his stroke I figured that was it. He and his campaign was done. I was wrong about his campaign. They went on without em. They called in some heavy political muscle. We got automated calls from almost every democrat in the state and even a message from former President Bill Clinton telling us to reelect John Stroger to the Presidency of the cook county board. They people responded. Kind of. Apparently a 53 to 47 percent win is a landslide these days.
I voiced the opinion that perhaps the challenger would be picked to replace Stroger on the ballot. He did manage to get 47 percent of the vote against a fairly strong incumbent. Whoever I said this to laughed at me. Apparently running a man who lost to a stroke victim would be like handing the election to the republicans.
Then the son announced that he would like the job. I thought this bid would never be taken seriously by the party. We don't hand down jobs like titles here. So when people question the legitimacy of this candidacy the answer was that white people do it all the time, we just don't like it because now black people are doing it.
This is what galls me. People stopped questioning. Everyone said,"Hey you cant us of being racists! See who we scurry in fear when you even mention the word!" Now Chicago Alderman are telling us who does and who doesn't have the votes to be the next democratic nominee to the cook county board presidency. And they are going to get away with it. They haven't even bothered to educate the public as to the qualifications of the son. They haven't bothered to seek public approval. They just went into the cigar filled rooms and came out when everyone was satisfied to the outcome. It makes me wonder what promises were made to insure these votes.
I'm certainly not voting republican in the next election, but I tell you what, I'll write in my own name first (not really just haven't done enough research yet as to who I would write in).
More Laters
posted by Rich Rosenthal II at 3:15 AM
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