Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Regrets, I have a few.

You ever wonder if Sen. Meeks looks in the mirror or sees Whitney's numbers and thinks. "I could have pulled it off". I think he could have created a true three-way race.

OneMan

9 comments:

Bill Baar 7:50 AM  

No kidding... this Neukirk guy may get a percent or two the way this election is going.

Meeks could have built something new but blew it.

Anonymous,  8:09 AM  

Sorry -- a guy who runs a "Hell House" and supports an income tax hike is just never going to make it statewide. I think Meeks in the race would have thrown the election to Topinka.

Levois 8:48 AM  

Meeks was bought off by a very dishonest man. Perhaps that was his mistake. Allowing Blagojevich to buy him off. Assuming Meeks would have gone forward with it in the first place.

Extreme Wisdom 8:50 AM  

Other,

The moment a "credible" 3rd party gets in the race, the bar drops from 50% + 1 to 35-37%+1.

The dynamics change.

Under such dymanics, some of the income tax hikers will ignore the "hell house" to get their tax. Further the Moralizers will ignore the tax to get their preaching.

Under the changed dynamics of 3rd candidacies, the supposed "extremes" are electable.

A Meeks, Oberweis or even an O'Malley, running on a core issue combined with a fair number of reasonable tertiary issues, would have a shot. (assuming money is available, as with the above.)

With the added advent of two party hacks that each party's base dislikes (Blago & Topinka), all bets would be off.

Too bad politics is ruled by timidity and lack of imagination. Decent conservatives and progressives might actually have something to vote for if the populace would get out of "Party Sheep" mode.

Bill Baar 9:56 AM  

Too bad politics is ruled by timidity and lack of imagination. Decent conservatives and progressives might actually have something to vote for if the populace would get out of "Party Sheep" mode.

Well said Bruno. I'm really convinced this kind of conservative-progressive alliance could happen too with some imagination.

I'm hopeful a guy like Peraica gets elected and trys to put it together Statewide.

Anonymous,  10:05 AM  

I agree with bill baar. Our best best to get some true reforms out of this election is the election of Tony Peraica as Cook County Board President.

steve schnorf 10:22 AM  

Wisdom, politics is ruled by you and me, not some ephemeral spirit. Political leaders arrive and survive because they deliver for their followers.

Anonymous,  10:31 PM  

Meeks blew all his credibility. He got nothing for dropping out.
The education plan is not passed, all theoretical, and no funding mechanism (none that is readily available).
Meeks said he would not drop out and he did. He said there should be real educational reform and there is not.
Blagojevich is a sociopath, a pathological liar, and could very well be indicted.

Extreme Wisdom 11:29 PM  

Steve,

It is clear that you and I have philosophical differences.

Your post reminds me of Bush1's 1988 "1000 points of light" speech which Noonan wrote and Bush1 was too stupid to understand.

It also reminds me of Dukakis' response. "I don't get this '1000 points of light' stuff - what does that mean?"

Indeed.

No matter how jaundiced or cynical one gets (I have my moments), the fact remains that the truly successful politicians and movements in America are moved more by 'ephemeral spirits' than they are by political hackery. (though I'll admit that both are needed in some degree, to truly work American Magic).

America was founded on "ephemeral spirits." Beyond the founding, these spirits were used by an inside-baseball corporate lawyer (Lincoln) to end slavery. They were used by TR to meld industriousness with progressivism, by leaders like FDR and Reagan to rekindle a nation steeped in a loss of confidence.

Ephemeral Spirits are the only thing that seperates America from the sclerotic Euro-style death spiral.

That's my view anyway. Call me Quixotic and overly idealistic if you will.

In closing, today's political leaders - in my reading of the headlines - aren't delivering anything but debt to their "followers." What they are also "delivering," is cash to their "funders."

This state of affairs is "unsustainable," to borrow a well-turned phrase from the so-called "progressives."

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