* Yesterday’s Tribune editorial noted something about its statewide poll that the paper’s reporters had completely ignored…
Recent Tribune polling statewide finds 45 percent of respondents identify themselves as Democrats, and 28 percent as Independents. Republicans, dodging extinction, lurch in third, at 23 percent.
So, even after all the craziness that this state has gone through in the past two years, there are now fewer Republicans than independents? Well, that may be a surprise to the Trib, but we’ve talked about this very issue before.
And, of course, that horrific result doesn’t mean the Republicans are completely doomed. Plenty of “Blue” states have or have had Republican governors. And, as I pointed out in my newspaper column this week…
Illinois voters simply stopped listening to Republicans in this state several years ago. But after years of watching Rod Blagojevich and the perpetual Springfield circus, the GOP message of no tax hikes, budget cuts and ethics reform probably will get a fair hearing next fall.
Whether that fair hearing is enough to actually win an election is anyone’s guess.
* Right now, though, the best thing the Republicans have going for them is the Democratic Party. For instance…
A bomb that blew out the window of a Prospect Heights home may have been planted in the wrong location, authorities said.
An explosive that went off about 3 a.m. Aug. 25 in the 200 block of Gail Court South likely was intended instead for the home of an area political activist who lives on the same block, Prospect Heights Police Cmdr. Al Steffen said.
The intended target of the bomb “was a whistle-blower in a political campaign,” Steffen said. “We were aware that there was an investigation going on involving that person.”
If that police speculation is correct, then the cops apparently believe the bomb was intended for the woman who blew the whistle on Democratic state Rep. Paul Froehlich.
Yikes, man.
* And then there’s Mayor Daley’s tanking numbers…
For the first time since he became mayor two decades ago, Daley’s critics outnumber his fans, a Tribune/WGN poll found. The mayor’s approval rating is at an all-time low of 35 percent in Tribune polls, according to the new survey. […]
Nine out of 10 people disapprove of the parking meter deal, according to the Tribune/WGN poll, which surveyed 380 Chicago voters from Aug. 27 to Aug. 31. The poll has an error margin of 5 percentage points.
When Daley is in trouble, everybody with a “D” behind their name in the Chicago media market is in trouble. People may or may not like him, but they always thought he got the job done. That’s not the case these days.
* And of course there’s the outside chance that the Democrats might nominate Rod Blagojevich’s former spokesperson as their US Senate candidate. From Lynn Sweet…
Democratic Senate hopeful Cheryle Jackson and I talked Sunday about why she went to work for Gov. Rod Blagojevich as his spokeswoman — and why she left his administration during his first term when she realized Blagojevich was making decisions “based on personal benefit.”
* But at least the Cook County Democratic Central Committee, as a whole, isn’t as stupid as Todd Stroger’s allies…
Some Democratic leaders had hoped to prevent a direct vote on an endorsement of Stroger by first proposing a vote to hold an open primary. But Stroger’s supporters sought an endorsement vote, and those backing other candidates then asked for a roll call.
Oops.
* Back to that Tribune editorial…
What protects Illinois Democrats from the abyss? Their unwitting friends the Republicans, who have a disgraced former governor in prison. They have some excellent officeholders, some interesting candidates, but no cohesive message: Quick now, how does the Republican Party of Illinois propose to fix all that’s so wrong with this state? What does the GOP believe?
Well, let’s see. Hmmm. Hey, they’ve got a guy who walked out in a huff during a presidential address to Congress because the president wasn’t bipartisan enough. This was the same guy who told his fellow Republicans at the State Fair that the GOP mantra ought to be “Just say ‘No!’” to the Democrats on everything. So, there’s that.