It's Chicago Political Circus Time!

Artist's rendition of the 2nd Congressional District Congressional Seat

It's official.  Jesse Jackson Jr. has resigned from his seat as Congressman of the 2nd Congressional District.  This came as an absolute shock to no one with a pulse and a brain stem.  Yes, you hear people like Danny Davis and Bobby Rush and others display a sense of disappointment and maybe even faux outrage at how all of this went down.  But please believe that very little in politics comes as a surprise.  The handwriting was on the wall during all of the events leading up to Jackson's resignation, including his non-campaign campaign in which he won handily.  You know that his campaign staff was working hard to assure that he overcame any general election challenges.

Don't mind us.  We're mobilized and waiting for orders from Congressman Jackson.

Now that Jesse Jackson, Jr. was easily reelected to another term as Congressman for the 2nd Congressional District, he did what any self-respecting politician would do.

He stepped down.  In his resignation letter (click on the link, and there's another link to the actual letter), Jackson cites his illness as part of the reason why he's stepping down.  And in a rare moment of political candor, he acknowledges his mistakes and plans on dealing with the responsibly.  And we wish (former) Congressman Jackson all the best in his recovery, as well as his legal shenanigans (side note:  His wife Sandi is an alderman... does she even represent her ward?  Ah, that's a question for someone else, I suppose).

What does this mean for voters of the 2nd Congressional District?  It means that for the second time in a row, this seat was vacated because the Congressman resigned.  Meet Mel Reynolds, Jackson's predecessor.  And pay attention, because his name will come up again.

Remember me?  I kinda hope you don't.

What this also means is that a special election will have to be held to replace Congressman Jackson.  For what it's worth, the law requires that unlike a senator, a new Congressman can't be appointed to his seat.  Had this law applied to the Senate, who knows how things would have turned out? 

'Sup.  Still no word on my appeal?  No worries... as Rudyard Kipling once said... 

ANYWAY, I digress.

A special election will have to be held, and already, some potential candidates are starting to stake their claims.

Debbie Halvorson

This is Debbie Halvorson.  As of yesterday, during an interview on the radio, she stated that she is not running for Jackson's seat.  However, it's still early on.  She was Jackson's most serious primary challenger, and she entered the race when the 2nd Congressional District lines were redrawn.  One of the things that I remember about this campaign was the idiocy of the ads.  Both camps must have found actors from the Tyler Perry Theatrical Academy, because the ads were horrible.  A typical Jesse ad had what sounded like old people saying "She voted against President Obama 88 times?"  Now, to get the full effect of how bad it sounded, imagine that in a Florida Evans voice.

You're welcome.

Her ads were no better, with ads featuring women that called him "Junior" in a derisive tone.  And they focused on Jesse Jackson Jr.'s pet project, a third airport in Peotone, IL.  And again, they sounded like graduates from the Tyler Perry Theatrical Academy.

If she does run, she has a bit of name recognition in her favor, and she also has the honor of giving Jackson his stiffest challenge in a primary in a long time.

Marcus Lewis

This is Marcus Lewis.  Not much is known about Mr. Lewis, except for the fact that he ran against Jackson as an Independent during the general election.  I never heard an ad from Mr. Lewis, and I discovered his Facebook profile after the election.  However, the fact that he was running as an independent was enough to earn my vote this time.  I couldn't vote for Jackson, and I CERTAINLY couldn't vote for the Republican.  Yes, Mr. Lewis was a long-shot, but in a vote guided by conscience, Mr. Lewis was the clear choice.  Since he has declared his candidacy, he should be able to mount a campaign to gain name recognition and to list his  plans for this district.

I'm sure that there are others who will stake their claim, especially once the date for the special election is announced.

But we are not finished yet.  There are some more candidates who are considering this seat, and here is where hubris and Chicago Style Politics come in to play.

Todd Stroger

This is Todd Stroger.  AKA The Toddler.  He was an alderman who became President of Cook County in a game of political switcheroo that typifies Chicago-style politics.  Stroger is the son of former Cook County President, the revered and late titan of Cook County, John Stroger.  John Stroger was gravely ill during his last election, and still managed to win.  Sound familiar?  When John passed away, Todd was appointed to his father's seat.  It is apparent that Todd was appointed to maintain the power base in Cook County, with Todd being a figurehead for the power brokers behind the scenes.  Todd was in over his head, and in the next election, he was easily defeated.  I distinctly remember seeing Todd at the train station on 95th street on election day.  He wasn't glad-handing like most of the other politicians that were there.  He looked almost like a commuter, hoping that this race would end and he can get back to his normal life.

Let's be serious for a minute.  NO one is going to look at Stroger and say "Hey, you know who can best represent my needs in Congress?  THAT guy!"  He was an ineffective President of Cook County, and his legacy of ineffective leadership should be remembered come Election Day.  Stroger shouldn't even make it out of the primaries.

But not to be outdone, I bring to you the Grand Champion of Political Cajones, Mel Reynolds.  As mentioned before, Mel Reynolds is Jackson's Congressional predecessor.  Reynolds resigned because he was convicted of sexual abuse charges, child pornography charges, and 15 unrelated counts of bank fraud.

I was hoping that you wouldn't remember that.

Even though he was pardoned by President Clinton, and even though people deserve a second chance in a lot of ways, you don't get to earn a second chance in elected office if your first chance in elected office ended in disgrace.

"You're kidding, right?  Riiiiiiiiiiiiight."

Reynolds has also expressed interest in Jackson's seat.  But there is no way that someone with HIS political baggage makes it out of the primaries.

I know that even now, the power brokers behind the scenes are looking to see who they will support.  And there is no way that the same brokers that supported Jackson will support the likes of Reynolds and Stroger.  Even though their ascension to the Congressional Seat of the 2nd District seems very unlikely, it WILL be kind of fun to watch it all unfold... the campaign ads from the Stroger and Reynolds camps should be VERY interesting.

Dear Jesse Jr... An Open Letter To Jesse Jackson Jr...

Hey Jesse.  Can I call you Jesse?  No?  Junior?  No, that's WAY too familiar.  Congressman Jackson.  Yes, that's it.  I don't know you well enough to call you Jesse, Junior, 3J, or Son of Jesse.

'Sup.

At any rate, it's me.  One of your constituents.  One of the guys that voted for you ever since you first became a Congressman.  In fact, I almost didn't vote for you the first time out, because of spite.  What happened was that your dad, Al Sharpton, and others were at the 95th Street El stop, shaking hands and whatnot.  I asked one of the guys there why should I vote for Jesse Jr.  He said "Go over there and shake Jesse's hand."

Ummm... seriously?  That's how you respond?

I almost walked away, determined to vote for anyone BUT you, Congressman.  However, I stepped over to Rev. Al Sharpton.  I asked him the same question.  He actually gave a reasonable, responsible answer about giving you a chance.  So, I dismissed the Old Guard response that a handshake from Jesse Sr. should be enough for me to vote for Jesse Jr.

Since then, I have supported you in every election.  I'm even giving you the benefit of the doubt with regards to whatever role you played (or not) in the whole Obama Senator Seat thing.  That was an unmitigated disasterbacle of epic proportions.  Gov. Blagojevich is stewing in prison as a result of those shenanigans.

'Sup.  How's my appeal coming?

But then, something happened.  

More allegations started to pour in, more investigations started to pop up, news about an affair leaked.  But that wasn't my biggest concern.

My biggest concern was that you went AWOL.  No one knew where you were.  It was as if we were suddenly playing a game of "Where's Jesse?"  The Congressman that I voted for was missing in action, and we had no idea what was going on.

Then, news started to leak, drip by drip.  You had (have?) medical conditions, and you had (have?) to seek treatment at places like the Mayo Clinic.  Now, don't get me wrong.  If there is something wrong with you physically, mentally, or spiritually, you SHOULD get help immediately.  No one is doubting that.  In fact, I'd wager that a huge majority of your constituents are praying Christians, who pray for your recovery and your return to work.  My issue wasn't that you were, or are ill.  My issue is the way in which it was handled, and the way the news was delivered to the public.

It may not be the actual case, but every time there was news released about your condition, it coincided greatly with political deadlines.  It gave the impression that you wanted to hold off on releasing anything, so that your seat can be kept warm until after the election.  And speaking of which, no one was asking you to hurry up and return to work.  And when your surrogates say that you're the Derrick Rose of Congress, it was insulting.  They also tried to compare your condition to that of Sen. Mark Kirk and Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.  One of them even tried to compare your return to work to a radio host who had some sort of brain injury/stroke or something.

These are completely different issues.  The Don Wade (the aforementioned radio host) is completely off the wall, because he's a radio host and not an elected official.  The other two are elected officials.  But here is the deal.  They kept everyone abreast of their issues.  Sen. Kirk even posted a video of him going through his remarkable recovery.  As for Congresswoman Giffords?

She resigned.

She didn't hold up her Congressional seat while her recovery continued.  She stepped down and allowed someone else to be appointed to that seat.  Even if you argue that those moves are politically motivated, the fact of the matter is that she DID step down.

Congressman Jackson, if your condition is so severe that doctors are telling you not to return to work until they give the say so, then you owe it to us as your constituents to make sure that we have representation in Congress.

Even if that representative is NOT named Jesse Jackson, Jr.  And we need to make sure that we're not getting a John Stroger/Todd Stroger bait-and-switch game getting run on us.

It bothers me that you did not campaign for your seat, because it gives credence to the thought that the Democratic Party takes the Black vote for granted.  In an election where President Obama needs all of the support that he can from the Legislative Branch, you didn't feel that it was worth your time (or recovery) to tell us why YOU should continue to be the voice of my legislative district?  Did you feel that your seat is so secure that you would be able to coast through Election Day and then make a decision about your status afterwards?

Sadly, this may be the case.  You may well coast into another victory, without campaigning for your right to do so.  

But at least I can say that if and when you do win, it won't be because of me.  I voted because I need representation in Congress, and not a place-holder and a Congressman to be named later.

Get well soon and be blessed.

And when you're ready to get back into the fight, let us know.  We'll be waiting.

Of Bayonets And Business... Why Romney's Navy Assertion Makes Even Less Sense

In last night's debate, Gov. Mitt Romney stated this about the readiness of the U.S. Navy:

"Our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917... The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We're now at under 285. ... We're headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That's unacceptable to me."
Romney also said the U.S. Air Force is "older and smaller" than at any time since it first flew in 1947. 

President Obama responded with a level of snarkiness and sarcasm that is rarely seen from this President.  

"You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.
"And so the question is not a game of Battleship," Obama continued, "where we're counting ships. It's what are our capabilities."

In other words, the President completely roasted Mitt in this regard.

Artist's rendition

But here is why Governor Romney's assertion, and his desire to increase the military budget by giving the military $2 trillion that it does not need.  As President Obama succinctly pointed out, our military needs have changed over the past several decades.  Our warfare tactics have changed considerably.  When I was in the Army, I was a "Combat Signaler."  What this meant is that I helped to run communication wire from one point to another, so that units can talk to each other.  Shortly after I left, this job was merged with another one, because technologies changed.  We live in a world where we can communicate effortlessly across the globe withOUT wires, so there is no longer a need to string wires across the wilderness (or desert).

The point is that Mitt equates throwing extra money at the military and building extra ships equates to military readiness.  Mitt also champions himself as a savvy businessman.  Has anyone ever seen a businessman run an operation by continuing to throw money at the problem?  Say what you will about Romney's business dealings (and there IS lots to be said about venture capitalism and how it can treat the most vulnerable in the workforce), but no venture capitalist has ever -- at least to my knowledge -- decided that what a company needs to do to become more profitable is to give it more equipment than it needs or demands.  Looking at the auto industry, Romney's business instincts led him to pronounce that Detroit should go bankrupt.  He did not analyze the auto industry and decide "What Detroit needs to stay alive is for the government to build more plants and give GM even more money than it's asking for."

Yet, here is Mitt, saying that the best way for the U.S. to maintain its military might is for the President to give the Pentagon more money, above and beyond what it's asking for.  He's also doing this without regards as to how it will be paid for.  As President Obama stated, our military might is not determined by how many ships we have.  It's determined by how we use the resources, the technology, and the personnel that we have.  Streamlining and being efficient with equipment seems like a good way to manage a business.  Isn't it odd that Mitt isn't applying these same principles to this country's defense budget?

Now, don't get me wrong.  I firmly believe that you can't run a government in the same way that you run a business, because a business' goal is to be profitable.  And in lots of cases, those profits may come at the expense of people.  I just find it unusual that Mitt (while almost totally agreeing with Obama on every point) would run the rest of the government like a business... except for the military, which he wants to give plenty of hand-outs.

It doesn't make for an effective Commander-in-Chief.

Surprise Keynote Speaker To Appear At The Republican Convention

Dateline - Tampa

With former President George W. Bush opting out of the Republican National Convention this August, Republican leaders have been scrambling for a keynote speaker that will ignite the conservative base behind Willard "Mitt" Romney's troubled campaign.

Dark Lord of the Right, Emperor Dick Cheney also opted out, citing reasons that included "avoiding sunlight" and "vacationing in (his) personal sarcophagus, listening to his favorite album, 'The Wails And Screams Of The Eternally Damned.'"

"I especially like track 6:  'They're All Gonna Laugh At You!'"

Party insiders have found a solution that will be the boost that the Romney campaign needs, and the momentum will reportedly carry Romney all the way through the November general election.  In a move that surprised many outsiders, Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus reached out to former Vice-Presidential candidate and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for assistance.

"You betcha by golly heck.  My gosh-darned moose-killin', wolf-shootin' pit-bull soccer mom speech is already prepared, and once I finish writing the notes on my hands, I'll...", Sarah Palin stated.

"Now, how many o's are in 'Muslim'?"

Preibus interrupted Palin by assuring her (and the rest of the GOP) that he didn't want Sarah to speak at the Convention.  

"Remember that witch hunter/exorcist that prayed over you when you became governor?  Well, we need you to get in touch with him, so that HE can... well, get in touch with the witches he cast out.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, and we need to call in a few dark favors.  We figured out that there is only one personality that can galvanize the Right behind Mitt.  And for that, we need to do the unthinkable."

By mid-August, the GOP faithful hope to have all of the tools necessary for their task, which include acquiring some blood from one of the many folds in Rush Limbaugh's back fat and strands of Michele Bachmann's hair.  With all of these pieces in place, the GOP plan on conducting a prime-time seance to have the ghost of Ronald Reagan provide stirring remarks to the GOP faithful.

"Well, I do not recall having my spirit be invited to speak..."

If this is unsuccessful, Preibus has a Plan B in store, which is to have Herman Cain and former GOP Chairman Michael Steel perform a heart-warming rendition of some famous "Amos & Andy" routines.

Mittens, Barack, And The NAACP... Some Takeaways

"For the life of me, I don't know why these lazy freeloading cursed people don't like me.  Maybe it's my hair."

As we all know, Republican Presidential candidate Sir Willardham Mittenschweiger Von Romneyton XIII (known as Mitt to his friends and his former employees) visited the NAACP during their national conference.  And in typical patronizing Republican fashion, Mitt talked down to his audience.  One of his "highlights" was when he expressed his desire to repeal "Obamacare."  The response was swift and terrible.  Unfettered by the chorus of boos that were longer than the worst act at Showtime At The Apollo, Romney continued with his speech.  He expressed his desire to "strengthen traditional families" and things like that. Throughout the speech, though, Romney got a mild amount of applause.  He didn't get booed again until he unilaterally decided that he was the best candidate for Black America.  He never elaborated on why or how.  The response for that was equally vicious.

 "Mittens is on some ol' bullshucks..."

"I know, right?  He must have us twisted if he thinks we're falling for his okee-doke..."

Suffice it to say, Mittens' appearance at the NAACP did not go as planned.

Or did it?

I believe that his speech went exactly as planned, and that his entire appearance was a sort of win/win for the Romney campaign.

For starters, Romney is the only Republican Presidential candidate in modern history to speak at the NAACP convention.  So, by virtue of him showing up, he already gets showered with accolades of being "brave" and open-minded, and doing something that even G-Dub hasn't done.

Never speaking at an NAACP meeting?  Mission Accomplished, suckers!

So, he gets a little credit for going into "hostile territory" and delivering a keynote speech.  In an era of low expectations, Romney gets awarded a certificate of achievement for just showing up.

Romney stated that the purpose of his speech was to reach out to the independents, and Black voters who have not made up their minds about who to vote for.  But when you look at the content, the real purpose of his speech was a little more insidious in nature.

Romney's speech wasn't directed towards any independents.  It was a dog-and-pony show to shore up his conservative bona fides.  The GOP has not exactly been circling the wagons around Mitt, and the GOP endorsements have been less than stellar.  The endorsements, along with the Super Pac vows to flood the market with anti-Obama campaigns, focus more on "ANYONE BUT OBAMA" than Romney being the best man to lead this nation.  By going into the "belly of the beast", Mitt was looking to assure his base that he's just as conservative and just as narrow-minded as them.  The fact that the NAACP audience booed him gives Mitt sympathy points.  The reaction was "Those ungrateful Negroes don't know what's good for them. A decent White man comes up and talks to them about what they need, and they BOO him!"

The de facto leader of the GOP, and resident slovenly blowhard degenerate hillbilly-heroin consumer, Rush Limbaugh, even sided with Mitt and said that Mitt was talking over the heads of his audience, and that's why they booed him.  Not-so-suddenly, the NAACP is seen as a divisive, racist organization bent on taking free stuff from good white folk.  I won't even entertain the other, more ridiculous comments that the degenerate bigoted bully made regarding this issue.

And how did Mitt respond to the boos?  He immediately responded by saying that the people who booed were just booing because they wanted free stuff.  Of course they were, Mittens.  In an audience that contained Black professionals in probably every arena, the boo-ers were just freeloading bums who want someone to hand out gubmint freebies.  Because that's what the NAACP has been about since its existence, demanding free stuff from hard-working white folks.

Now, does that sound like the reaction of someone trying to reach out to the independents?  Of course not.  It sounds like the same patronizing garbage that we can expect from the Republican Party.  Remember when Newt Gingrich addressed the NAACP?  He basically told all of the attendees that they need to get off the welfare.  We all know that statistically speaking, Black people do NOT make up the majority of people receiving public assistance.  Gingrich made comments that he would never make to a conservative group, telling them to get off public aid and get a job.  But facts have never gotten in the way of a good racist, hateful screed.  And Romney's speech was no different.  And in the eyes of conservatives, Mittens scored.

But What About The President?

Conversely, President Obama is facing criticism in some circles for not attending, by appearing via video screen, and by sending in a surrogate, as in the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden.  While Romney's case was a win/win, Obama's decisions could be viewed as a lose/lose.

Had Obama attended, and had he delivered a passionate, fiery speech about what's at stake both in November and beyond, it would not have been interpreted as Obama speaking to the independents.  It would have been viewed as the Black President speaking to a Black organization about the Black takeover of the United States.

I'm only exaggerating slightly.

Instead, President Obama seemed to play it extremely safe, and delivered a tepid speech via video.  The reaction to that speech wasn't exactly robust.

"A video?  That's it?"

"I coulda caught this whole thing on YouTube."

Needless to say, you won't hear the Tea Potty, the GOP, and everyone else talk about this tepid response, but they are trying to create tension by insinuating that Obama is taking the Black vote for granted.  VP Biden DID give a fiery speech, and the only time that he was booed was when he announced that his time was up.  

I don't believe that Obama is taking the Black vote for granted, but I think that he's being far TOO careful about not being seen as "The Black Candidate" or "The President of Black America."  As strategies go, this one was a misstep, because EVERY vote counts.  And the President should know by now that critics are going to condemn him no matter which way he goes.  He could say "gesundheit" when someone sneezes, and a Tea Potty idiot will accuse him of being an atheist Muslim socialist commie terrorist for not explicitly saying "God bless you."


The President should have thrown caution to the wind and addressed the NAACP in person, giving the same kind of passion and fire that made him such a transformative figure that took the Democratic Party by storm in the 2008 campaign.  The opposition is playing for keeps, and Obama should, too.  While his ads are a lot more aggressive, hitting Mitt hard with the outsourcing issue, Obama should leave nothing to chance.  And if it takes a Black President to give a passionate speech to a Black Civil Rights organization to rally up the troops, then so be it.  After all, by playing it safe, what's the worst that can happen?

"I, Sir Willardhampton Mittropublican St. Romneysworth XII, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States..."

And God help us ALL if that happens.

Trayvon Martin, Barack Obama, and the Birther Movement

We are all familiar with the Trayvon Martin story.  The story has gained national attention.  President Barack Obama said something that was very interesting to me.  He said:

"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."  Of course, the Right-Wingers had a grand-mal hissy fit about it.  But this isn't about them.  This is to delve deeper into just how pervasive racism is these days.

I am going to take the President's statement one step further.  At the risk of hyperbole, I would say that the President COULD BE Trayvon Martin.  Ever since President Obama was inaugurated, the racists have been working themselves up into a frenzy about Obama's "right" to become the leader of the free world.  Right on cue, they began to rabidly fume about the fate of this country, uniting in a Tea-Potty-inspired chorus of "This is not the America I grew up in!"  From that time until now, the President has faced challenge after ridiculous challenge about his legitimacy as President.

Birther Queen Orly Taitz continues in her Don Quixote-meets-Bride of Frankenstein quest to take the President down.

If the gates of Hell had a greeter, it would look like this.

Thankfully, just about every common-sense judge has laughed her and her ridiculousness out of their courtroom.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is also in on these shenanigans.  The crime rate in Maricopa County must be in single digits, because the sheriff must have nothing else to do but waste Maricopa County taxpayers' money on something that's been settled a long time ago.

The pinnacle of this birther nonsense was media buffoon Donald Trump.  Here is an alleged billionaire who took pride in getting the President to show his (Obama's) birth certificate.  What Trump basically did was brag about getting a sitting President of the United States to show his papers.  Trump bragged about getting to do to a Black man what hasn't been done in decades... show documentation that shows that you are who you say you are.

Let's not forget about the outright disrespect shown to President Obama during the State of the Union address by Joe Wilson.  Even in the hyper-partisan world of politics, a Congressman yelling "You lie!" during the State of the Union address was just flat-out disrespectful.

No, sir.  YOU lie when you claim to respect the office of the President.

Even though she may not be a birther, Arizona Governer Jan Brewer couldn't hide her utter disdain at the President when she disrespected him by putting her finger in his face.

  Nothing says "I respect the office of the President" quite like a gnarled twig of a finger in the face of the office-holder.

Brewer actually said that she felt "threatened" by the President.

Threatened.  By a sitting President of the United States.  By a man who Brewer's political allies dismissed as a mere "community organizer."  By a law professor.  By an Ivy-League graduate.  By a former United States  Senator.

It goes to show that no matter who you are, and no matter how far you go, as a Black man, there will always be some racist who will feel "intimidated" by your presence, and claim that you "don't belong" where you are.

Which brings me full circle back to Trayvon Martin.  Despite the George Zimmerman Defense Blitz that has been launched (the kit comes complete with scary images of a black guy with gold teeth, Facebook posts, and news leaks speculating about Travyon Martin's school suspension), it is crystal clear to anyone -- even Jeb Bush, for goodness' sakes -- that Trayvon was doing absolutely nothing wrong when Zimmerman encountered him.  Despite what the racists would have you believe, Trayvon didn't have to "report" to Zimmerman about his whereabouts, or why he was there.  As mentioned on another website, even if Zimmerman actually WAS a cop, Trayvon was well within his rights to not tell Zimmerman anything but where to put that gun.

No matter who you are, whether you are a high-school teenager or the President of the United States, someone will always feel threatened by your presence as a Black man, especially when they feel that you "look suspicious", or that you "don't belong."  We live in a time where people went from an absolute defense of the President to carrying guns to a protest rally for people who disagree with the President.  And we live in a time where a man with an arrest record and a gun gets the "squeaky clean" benefit of the doubt over the young man he just murdered.

You know, just in case anyone believed for a second that we're living in a post-racial America.