The Ghosts of Campaigns(and Contributions)Past
Some pundits have speculated that the primary challenger's name may keep him at bay, but history seems to indicate otherwise. At any rate, much ink has already been spilled over his enigmatic existence, from his familial wealth to Eisendrath's recent tenure at Kendall College. Though he is facing a candidate with a campaign war chest of nearly fourteen million, Eisendrath has not only his own funds, but, perhaps, the sizeable assets of (step) father's Lew Manilow. Manilow has made over sixty thousand in reported contributions to Illinois state Democrats, most in the past five years.
One thing that may mar Eisendrath's gubernatorial chances is an eerily similar past undertaking of his: the 1990 primary run against then cong. Sidney Yates. Eisendrath made the inflammatory suggestion that Yates, who was by then 81, was incapacitated by his age. That was, of course, before Eisendrath lost the three way race with not even thirty percent.
Another cross to bear is Manilow's ties to John Schmidt, former primary opponent of (now AG) Lisa Madigan. Manilow made a single contribution of $10,000 to Schmidt's (unsuccessful) 1998 gubernatorial campaign. As the saying goes, if Speaker Madigan(or, shall I say, honorary Blagojevich campaign chairman Madigan) ain't happy...
It seems that Kendall College President Howard Tullman's personal and political ties to Eisendrath brought the other man to the position of Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Chicago school best known for its culinary program. Eisendrath won kudos during his years with online innovator Unext, which did the unthinkable: attracted faculty from (more than) "respectable" institutions(U Chicago, Cornell, some of the Ivies) to teach online courses. The bursting of the internet bubble sent Unext(now the "Cardean Group) belly-up-but not before it attracted Michael Milken's interest.
Eisendrath's unconventional backstory-teacher, corporate exec, federal appointee-and enigmatic qualities-an uphill run against a popular member of congress-are strikingly similar to those of another heretofore little known progressive Chicagoan. Seems to me his name was something like Rod...
Cross posted to: Obiter Dictum
6 comments:
Amy you might have noticed the Manilow dough was sprinkled on the Madigan's too.
61K over about 10+ years does not seem like a pattern of heavy spending.
Much more will be needed to convince voters of Edwin's quest.
The deadline for challenging Eisendrath's nominating petitions has come and gone without the Governor and his cronies being able to mount any challenge.
However, reports have come forth today, indicating that the so-called progressive reformer Governor and his lackeys wish to strike out against those who dare to support Eisendrath. The Governor's reported first target appears to be the Illinois Committee for Honest Government, which presented Eisendrath with its endorsement on the day he announced his candidacy (December 18).
As Secretrary/Treasurer of the ICHG, I find such a threat to be either meaningless or redundant. We had been a supporter of Blagojevich's political ambitions from 1991, when he first announced his long-shot candidacy against veteran State Rep. Myron Kulas, through his election as Governor in 2002. We provided Rod with his first appearance as a candidate on television back in the fall of 1991, when no one else would give him the time of day.
Unfortunately, the Blagojevich household apparently needs a new dictionary, since I can only assume that the pages that contain the words "gratitude" and "loyalty" are somehow missing from the copy he must have at home.
A note to the Governor, his out-of-state advisors and their band of sycophants: I assume you are reading these blog sites, since it is evident that you spend more time seeking which way you think the political wind is blowing than in actually governing this state. That said, unless you have become totally dense you must realize that if you turn your back on people who helped you on the way up (as you have with the ICHG and with most of your 2002 supporters) you should expect those people and groups to seek an alternative. That is why we hold elections.
RANDALL SHERMAN
Secretary/Treasurer, Illinois Committee for Honest Government
Chicago
shermanrandall@hotmail.com
I'm not sure michael Milken's interest (or a bankruptcy) is anything to brag about.
FYI, Amy, Cornell is a already a member of the Ivy League, along with with Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale.
The idea that someone is threatening the ICHG reminds me of TalkRadio 560's billboard slogan: "Liberals Hate It."
I laughed when first I read this, thinking; how can one hate something when one doesn't even know it exists.
Ditto your poor man's IVI-IPO.
Eisendrath's back story is nothing like Rod's. For better or worse - Rod was a kid of a blue collar immigrant family who married the boss' daughter and went from sometime ward heeler to state rep to congress to Gov.
Eisendrath is the scion of a wealthy liberal family who was a "young man in a hurry" alderman who put his chips on beating an old, popular congressman, lost, used influence/money to land a fed job, and is now engaged in a Quixotic effort that, if it achieves all it can, will serve to help GOP efforts.
How is that similar?
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