I think for the first time since he ran for the state’s highest office, Gov. Rod Blagojevich did not attend Chicago’s Gay Pride parade last Sunday.
Blagojevich was, however, apparently represented by some flier-toting folks who tried to undercut some of his fellow Democrats. Rep. John Fritchey fills us in…
So in the latest effort to attempt to work with Democratic House members, the Governor’s office was behind an anonymous flier that was distributed to attendees at yesterday’s Pride Parade. […]
[The flier] essentially calls out Sara Feigenholtz, Greg Harris and me by name for voting for the House budget and tells people to call us about it. But it does so in such a clumsy way that it is almost laughable. Almost. […]
The frosting on the cake is that the Governor’s office, directly and through another legislator, denied having any knowledge of the flier. Without wanting to put anybody in a bind, let me just say this. They’re lying.
More than one group that receives state funding has indicated that they were contacted by the Administration and asked to assist in the effort. I’m believing them.
Memo to the Administration: If you’re going to go after legislators (especially ones from your own party) on issues, have the decency to stand behind it. Otherwise you’re just making a bad move worse.
Strong-arming not-for-profits that receive state money to hand out politically motivated fliers at a public event might not be totally on the up-and-up. This is just bad all around.
* It won’t help solve the budget impasse because goofy stuff like this just hardens positions.
* It demonstrates, yet again, that the governor judges political right and wrong by how people feel about his ideas. He’s supposedly a history buff, so the guv ought to look into how that very same supremely arrogant attitude led directly to Woodrow Wilson’s failure to get his League of Nations idea approved by the US Senate. There were other factors involved, of course, but the Senate was tired of being pushed around.
* As I told subscribers this morning, the divisive move offers up a stark contrast to the supposedly un-Democratic House Speaker, who just recruited a Republican to walk across the aisle.
* And, finally, why not just give the US Attorney a handwritten invitation? Stupid, stupid, stupid.