Chicago Republicans

About a month before the February 22, 2011 Chicago election I received an e-mail from the Chicago GOP regarding training, from the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago (BEC), to work as an election judge.  I’d always wondered what an election judge did; I knew they weren’t actually “judging” anything and that made me even more curious.

 

Being a college teacher I’m lucky enough to not work Tuesdays and Thursdays this semester so submitted my application.  To my surprise, not long after I received a notice from the BEC notifying me of acceptance and the upcoming training dates.  Election judges receive an additional $50 compensation if they attend the training session.  I was surprised that training was not mandatory; if you can’t make it to a session you are directed to “read the manual.”  I’m not kidding – then I became doubtful about the entire process.

 

I wondered if I’d witness shenanigans of which, by reputation, Chicago has plenty – especially when you consider the storied past of some elections.  To my surprise, the training could not have been more thorough and professional.  The instructors delivered a lecture on setting up the polling place, took questions and engaged the audience.  They then directed us to a room where in groups we set up mock polling stations.  We returned for a lecture on casting ballots.  Again they asked the election judges to be questions to keep them interested and took many questions.  We returned to that same lab where each of us cast a mock ballot.  Each one had something wrong with it at which point we were asked, “OK, you’re the election judge, what do you do now?”  We finished with a lecture on tearing down the station which was followed by – you guessed it – tearing down the mock polling place we’d set up.

 

A letter from the BEC notified me that I would be one of two Republican election judges working with three Democrat counterparts.  I learned from the training that precincts are given either three Republicans and two Democrats or two Republicans and three Democrats based on the odd or even rule.

 

The day went off without any major issues.  The most valuable lesson I learned was that election judges are just citizens working that day for the BEC; the pay is nominal and they just want to do their part.  I admit I’d never thought about it before or just assumed they were city or county employees.  I could tell by the intonation of some voters, when things didn’t run perfectly, that they assumed we were full-time employees of some government organization.

 

To my dismay, the other Republican did not show up.  Which means, of course, had I not there would have been no GOP representative in my precinct.  As such, I encourage any conservative reading this blog to volunteer during the next election.  You could even be a roving poll watcher for a particular candidate if you’d rather do that.

 

Of the three Democratic election judges, two didn’t look old enough to vote – I believe they were part of some high school initiative to encourage young people to get involved.  The other Democratic election judge, however, could not have been more professional, thorough and downright fun to be with.  In fact, we’ve spoken on the phone since then and, I think, will even be good friends hanging out every now and then.  The Polling Place Administrator, basically the “tech guy” for the equipment, did a fine job as well.

 

I must say, from 5:00 AM to 8:30 PM when my new good friend and I delivered the ballots I never witnessed anything that could be construed as dishonest or an attempt to sway the election.  I’ve come to the conclusion that doing so would be extremely difficult – you would have to have every election judge “in on the fix” which just isn’t feasible.

 

It was a long day for which I’ll receive very little monetary compensation.  But, the rewards far exceeded the time I invested.  In the next election, please, consider working as an election judge for the GOP.  I think you’ll find the experience as rewarding as I did.

Democrat Lt. Governor Candidate Scott Lee Cohen Resigns Amid Scandal

Statement by William J. Kelly, Executive Director of Rebuild Illinois

Scotty, we hardly knew ye!

Scott Lee Cohen, the Democrat nominee for lieutenant governor never even got elected to a full term and Second City’s already working on the musical. The Democrats were so eager to get rid of him, they did everything but hold a knife to his throat.

Aside from the reports of Cohen’s abuse of his ex-wife and the accusations that he held a knife to his ex-girlfriend’s throat (prostitute or not), I don’t know why Governor Pat Quinn is complaining. He has proven this year that he doesn’t really want reform. Having Cohen on the Democratic ticket could have had some positive upsides. If Quinn was really desperate for a bridge loan, he could have just had Scotty taken him down to the pawn shop on Clark Street. How much are Abe Lincoln artifacts going for these days? I mean, at Cohen’s pawn shop, you wouldn’t get market value but still. With Illinois on the brink of insolvency, these times call for creativity.

In terms of creativity though, Scott Lee Cohen also falls short. Cohen’s a betting man. He used two million of his pawn shop proceeds to buy the lieutenant governor’s seat and won the primary with no media scrutiny. However, in terms of pioneering pay-to-play politics, Blagojevich beat him to it. It is a good thing Rod Blagojevich didn’t know Scott Lee Cohen in 2008. Blago wouldn’t have sold Obama’s seat, he probably could have pawned it instead.

Illinois needs campaign finance reform now. We need to enact laws that prevent pay-to-play politics and spending caps across the board. We need full transparency and an end to all legal loop holes that circumvent campaign finance laws. In Illinois, state Republicans have proposed HB5008 to limit campaign contributions from legislative leaders and their caucus committees and political parties. Quinn’s reform bill only made House Speaker Michael Madigan and other elites even more powerful. This law puts no monetary limit on leaders and political parties during the general election. Governor Quinn, what kind of reform is that?

Unless Pat Quinn is ready to pass a real reform bill, he may want to keep Scott Lee Cohen’s pawn shop number handy for future reference.

Kudos to Dennis Miller's radio show, last week a fan called in suggesting a season of "Survivor" where Republican and Democrat camps take on each other.  I've embossed it a bit but think this makes a great metaphor for society and the direction our country is going.  Check him out at:  http://560wind.townhall.com/pages/dennismiller

Imagine this for a season of "Survivor" - liberals in one camp, conservatives in the other.  Both are left to fend for themselves in some remote area of the world where the bare essentials are difficult to find.

Can you picture the outcome?

The Conservative camp uses the forest to build log cabins.  The Liberals camp is afraid of disturbing Mother Nature so they sleep in the rain.

The Conservative camp digs a well for fresh water.   The Liberal camp tries to collect rain water but soon realizes they need to take large leaves from plants to do that and there may be some endangered insects living on the plants so they go thirsty.

The Conservative camp fashions spears and bows and arrows to hunt wild game.  The Liberal camp eats nuts and berries.  Before dying of lack of protein, ACORN airlifts in tofu, then bills the US government.

The Conservative camp manufactures soap from animal fat (from the hunt).  The Liberal camp neglects all hygiene to better become one with the land.

Right before the end of the show, Barack Obama parachutes in, takes 50% of what the Conservative camp accomplished and gives it to the Liberal Camp in the name of social justice and declares them the winner!

The title liberal is not well meant.  Let’s get that straight from the beginning.  By liberal I mean someone lacking personal convictions, willing to flap with whatever breeze best suits their needs at any given moment.  Let’s also be clear that I wish him no harm – I wish him, as improbable as it may be, a complete recovery; this isn’t personal.

In May 2008 Senator Kennedy announced that he suffered from a malignant brain tumor.  Since then his medical care has included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.  I can’t help but wonder whether, as a 77 year old man, presumably near death, he would receive such treatments under ObamaCare or if he’d be given a pain pill instead because of his limited, remaining Quality of Life Years.

For those of you who may not know, ObamaCare, in its current form, includes QOLYs (pronounced qua-lees) as a determining factor for who gets healthcare and who doesn’t.  Basically, an elderly person would be less likely to receive life improvement or even life saving care because of the expense relative to the amount of time left in their life to enjoy the benefits of said care.  A panel of government employees would make the decision about funding treatment, for a specific patient – this is one item in ObamaCare that has lead to the term Death Panels.  I digress.

Since last year Senator Kennedy has spent most of his time resting at his Hyannis Port estate.  Last week the Senator wrote letters to Massachusetts state leaders urging them to pass a law allowing for the governor, Deval Patrick (D), to appoint a replacement should he be unable to serve.  Current Massachusetts law requires a special election which may take five months to carry out.

The Senator claims this would allow for a speedy replacement so Massachusetts citizens wouldn’t have to wait for representation.  Illinois’ Senator replacement issues aside, most states employ the model Ted Kennedy requests.

All of that is fine and dandy until you realize that Massachusetts did use that method until 2004.  Five years ago the Senator urged state officials to change the law to allow for a special election, changing the mode of replacement to that from direct gubernatorial appointment.  “Why?” you ask.  If Senator John Kerry had won the 2004 Presidential election, then Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) would have selected the replacement.  He almost certainly would have appointed a Republican.

To his credit (major credit, if you ask me), Governor Romney signed the bill into law under the belief that a special election would be more fair.  However, now that there’s a Democrat in the governor’s office, general anti-Democratic party feelings are seen all over and polls show Dems lagging behind Republicans everywhere, Senator Kennedy wants it switched back.

What a sleaze-ball – I mean, honestly.  Here we see another example of a liberal using whatever rationale best suits them to get what they want.  First it was “fairness” now it’s “speedy replacement for representation” all based on what suits the Democratic party, politically, at that moment in time.

On a final note, how many of you think Senator Kennedy will soon head to Canada, France, Great Britain or Cuba for his health care since our system is so bad?  Yeah, I don’t think so either.

Congressman Raymond Eugene Green, better known as Gene Green, represents the 29th district of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He's done so since the district was created after the 1990 census.  He lives in one of the rare liberal enclaves of the Lone Star State.  It's so liberal that our party didn't even present a candidate to oppose him in 1998, 2002 or 2004.

To his great credit, Representative Green voted in favor of the Iraq War and has steadfastly voted against any measures to provide insurgents with a timetable for our withdrawal.  In other words, he opposes telling our enemies when we plan to pack up and leave.  That's a good thing.

To his shame, however, Representative Green voted against requiring voters to present a valid ID before voting.  Clearly, ACORN members must love him.  Even in Chicago, with one of the most corrupt political systems in history, I must show my drivers license before voting.  One must ask what sense it makes to not require that you prove you're on the registered voter list before you vote.  That is not, however, the point of this blog.

We've all heard about the tactics suggested by the White House to Dems for running healthcare town hall meetings:  select smaller venues, restrict access to one doorway, have a larger than normal police presence, employ a "raffle" to decide who asks questions, limit it to a certain number of questions, etc.  While probably not in the playbook, I give kudos to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, another Dem from Texas for handling the situation in a unique way - take calls on your cell phone!  That's right, during a time-limited healthcare town hall meeting Representative Lee twice stepped aside to take a phone call on her cell.  She did NOT extend the duration of the town hall meeting to make up for the lost time.

I digress.  Representative Green has found another, unique method for dealing with town hall meetings.  His office announced that all those attending must present a valid photo ID or they will not be allowed in.  On the surface, this seems fine - if you're in his district you should have access over those who don't.  However, how does this jive with the notion that those showing up to vote for him don't have to prove they live in his district before voting?  His office has yet to explain this discrepancy.  I wouldn't hold my breath for an answer.

It's just one more example of getting away with being unfair because you have a D after your name.

Sources:

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=335056550700351&src=ADARTCL

www.newsbusters.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Green

This article is in many ways like several of my previous articles concerning a government that cannot govern or city managers that cannot manage.  The latest outrage in a City and State full of outrages is the construction of the Centennial Pavilion in Millennium Park.  It was supposed to open on June 19 and stand for four months.  It just opened on Tuesday, but with a drastically changed design.  The city paid for one design, couldn’t manage to get that design done, changed it several times and then settled for whatever could be done 6 week past due. 

 

Actually, the real questions should not revolve around the time and difficulties in opening. Voters should be asking their elected officials and the appointed overseers why we have wasted city money that could have gone to school or infrastructure, or even the troubled Olympics instead of some giant art thing that is not going to be on display.  The idea that we continue to re-elect the same people to run the city is obscene.  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.  Why is the city even concerned that there is corruption, clout at the universities or mismanaged public works when the voters keep supporting the same people. 

 

The construction of this monstrosity of art is in tribute to Daniel Burnham of Burnham Harbor fame.  He is actually the man who created the World’s Columbian Exposition; better known as the Chicago World’s Fair.  It is rather unfair to the memory of a man who created great buildings and a World’s Fair for his monuments to be so far behind schedule that they will not be on display.  He was not a man who asked for the World’s Fair to be postponed; he completed his charge on time.  Unfortunately, that belief on following through with the commission does not exist in modern Chicago.  Burnham is supposed to have said, “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood...Make big plans, aim high in hope and work.”  We should write an addendum to that; finish your work on time.  The city of big shoulders relies on past glories to overshadow the current problems.  While accomplishments of the past are important to remember, the current city should draw inspiration from the past glories, not relegate them to a museum.  In this case an important lesson can be learned.  The lesson is that the Chicago of the past and Burnham followed through on time and that should be a new mantra. 

 

Late is all the rage at Millennium Park.  The Park itself opened 4 years after the Millennium.  

Every now and then I refer to urbandictionary.com to define some word or phrase that has entered our lexicon because, as a 42 year old, I have no idea what it means.  Similar to Wikipedia, this site allows users to add and edit content.  It is, more or less, self regulating.  It allows visitors to vote on a definition with thumbs up or down to indicate whether or not the masses agree with the noted meaning.  Last week I used this resource again and found their word-of-the-day to be Pullin a Palin.

Per this site, it means, "Try to get as much media coverage as you can as a Public Official...Then critisize those who factually check out your conduct, deeds and lack of intellectual capacity and hypocricy."  By the way, the misspellings of ‘criticize' and ‘hypocrisy' are not he fault of this blog's author.

This was followed by the word Palin which may mean, "An applicant lacking even basic job skills" or "adjective used to describe a person underqualified for a given task. Also used to denote an idiot, or small-town redneck."

Liberals, ever afraid of a true conservative at the ballot box, continue to attack at every corner.

I decided to check out if there were any negative posts about Obama and someone had posted Pullin an Obama.  It contained the following as a definition,

"Using your charisma to deceive others. AKA Player. Pullin an Obama - Telling people on one coast one thing and another coast something else. Telling people that you wont raise taxes on incomes, but then raising taxes on everything else so you still have to pay more. Telling everyone you are going to run things from the middle, but still putting in the most liberal and socialistic agenda ever. Saying you have no relations to people, but actually they are the ones that got you started. Making 4 million and only donating $4,000.00 to charity. Complaining about the previous president's spending and multiplying his debt by 4 in the first 100days of office. Forgetting that you are half white and focusing on the black side, because that is what will get you the power you hunger for. Saying you are a loyal and faithful American, but going overseas and telling them how sorry you are and awful America is."

I say, truer words never spoken!  Only a few people have voted on this definition, if everyone reading this blog visited www.urbandictionary.com and searched for Pullin an Obama and voted thumbs up, what a statement that would be!  Remember, thumbs up means you agree with the definition.  If the spirit moves you, look up Palin or Pullin a Palin and feel free to vote thumbs down.