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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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