Snow isn’t only thing making the week rough
Chicagoland was slammed by a few days of compressed heavy snowfall. But clearing the nearly 18 inches of snow wasn’t the only problem we had. Politics in Illinois has made the experience even worse. Maybe we should have a GroundHog that predicts whether we will have good or bad politics in the March 20 Primary elections. The elections have been so annoying, but so have the politicians
By Ray Hanania
We had a lot of snow this past week. So what? This is the Midwest, Chicagoland. We can handle snow.
What’s worse than the snow, lately, is politics.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has been slamming J.B. Pritzker with Campaign Ads featuring FBI wire-tapped conversations he had with now jailed Gov. Rod Blagojevich in which Pritzker said many unflattering things about African Americans. Pritzker’s words are undermining his campaign for Governor in the March 20 Democratic primary.
I figured Rauner believes Pritzker is the stronger of the two leading Democratic candidates he will face November 8, over Christopher Kennedy. So, the thinking goes, Rauner is trying to hurt Pritzker now rather than saving the Ads for the November 8 General Election.
But that only adds to the mounting evidence that Rauner is not very bright when it comes to politics. The real threat is Kennedy, who I think is going to beat Pritzker. Some pundits assert the “Kennedy” name means nothing, but to seniors and baby boomers – the largest voting bloc in primary elections — the Kennedy name means everything.
Rauner should have left Pritzker alone, slamming only if he beats Kennedy on March 20. If Rauner faces-off with Kennedy, Kennedy is going to win, despite some of the far leftwing extremists who are dragging his candidacy down.
There is nothing to think about in the race for Cook County Board President. Toni Preckwinkle’s sweetened soda tax was so repulsive to county residents that her strongest backers flipped on her faster than hamburger patties on a Smashburger grill.
Preckwinkle had to break a tie to get the repulsive one cent tax per ounce on soft drinks and anything sweetened with only 8 commissioners on her side, Seven of those commissioners got so much backlash from constituents, their support of Preckwinkle’s tax didn’t last a month after it started.
Constituents in the districts of her supporters began pounding their elected officials, not just on the Cook County Board but in almost every office. It made it easy for Preckwinkle’s arch-foe Republican County Commissioner Sean Morrison (17th District) to put together 16 votes to repeal it.
Preckwinkle is being challenged by former Chicago Alderman Bob Fioretti, who ran against Mayor Rahm Emanuel four years ago. Had Fioretti won the backing of the anti-Emanuel groups then, rather than Jesus Garcia — who seems to be a candidate never satisfied with the elected office he holds — Fioretti would have beaten Emanuel.
Fioretti has a strong chance of unseating Preckwinkle on March 20 because the pain of the oppressive one cent sales tax on sweetened drinks and soda pop is still so fresh and raw.
Finally, back to the nauseating drum beat of the anti-Trump haters. Everything that President Donald Trump is attacked for, his predecessors did too. But the media doesn’t say anything about that.
Who led the fight against illegal immigration before Trump? President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Yet they look like they were saviors to the illegal immigration movement.
It’s the same with sexual harassment accusations. Hollywood Actress Barbra Streisand this week attacked Trump claiming he doesn’t defend women who have been sexually harassed by men. Trump argued accusations should not decide anyone’s fate. Everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty. Proven guilty in court, not by the biased mainstream news media, or, the “Fake news” as Trump accurately calls it.
I didn’t hear Streisand or any of the Democratic women who lashed out at Trump this week mention the name of Juanita Broaddrick, who has accused former President Bill Clinton of raping her. Clinton faced no consequences for it. In fact, Broaddrick, a rape victim, is chastised by the same women who are attacking Trump and condemning sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Wow! How tragic that sexual assault and sexual harassment have become political pawns in a hypocritical political debate.
Broaddrick has published a new book this week, “You’d Better Put Some Ice on That,” the last words Clinton said after allegedly raping Broaddrick, who was bleeding from her lip.
And you think snow is the problem?
(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist, author and former Chicago City Hall reporter. Email him through his website at www.TheDailyHookah.com.)
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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