Man overboard!
Friday, Sep 10, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Speaker has said this before, but he’s seen the polling and he knows what Gov. Pat Quinn is doing to his targeted incumbents, so it was apparently time to say it again…
Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan today said he’s opposed to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to increase the income tax and isn’t sure if lawmakers will go along with the idea when they return to Springfield following the November election.
“I am not a proponent of the tax increase, so I have no idea if the tax increase will pass or not,” Madigan said following a ribbon cutting for a union training center on the city’s West Side.
Madigan is working toward maintaining control of the House this fall. If he advocated a tax hike, that could be used against Democratic House candidates across Illinois. […]
“The governor stands firm that a 1 percent education surcharge is something that we need to help the state address it’s budget challenges,” said Quinn budget spokeswoman Kelly Kraft. “He is optimistic that lawmakers will do what’s right for Illinois.”
Remember towards the end of the movie “Titanic” when Kate Winslet finally let go of the frozen solid Leonardo DiCaprio and he floated to the bottom of the sea with their sunken ship? That’s kinda like this.
- Piling on - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 3:59 pm:
Was that after the speaker had scribbled drawings of a nude Quinn following their steamy indiscretions in the back of a car in the cargo hold?
- gsb - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:00 pm:
“I am not a proponent of the tax increase, so I have no idea if the tax increase will pass or not,”
Will anyone believe his attempt of being a bystander?
- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:04 pm:
gsb, if Quinn wins, MJM will probably take that as a sign that the voters are cool with a tax hike. If Brady wins, he’ll probably give the new governor what he wants. Rope.
- Sad Democrat - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:07 pm:
There is no coordinated Democratic campaign this year — it is everyone for themselves and Quinn is being abandoned by his “running” mates down the ticket.
The undecided are just undecided about who they want for Governor but they have decided that they don’t want the accidental and monumentally incompetent Quinn.
- Piling on - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:09 pm:
The Speaker telling reporters he’s not in favor of “the tax increase” reminds me of Obi Wan Jedi-mindtricking the Storm Troopers. “These are not the droids you are looking for.”
- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:10 pm:
===There is no coordinated Democratic campaign this year ===
There is a coordinated campaign, it’s just that Quinn is kinda left out when you look at how it’s organized.
- ZC - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:11 pm:
Anything-to-keep-his-majority-Madigan.
He fiddles, the Dems mostly dance to his tune, and the state continues to burn. Grrr.
Here’s a good QOTD sometime, Rich: we were debating what Daley’s legacy or record would be, in terms of concrete accomplishments. Besides his amazing longevity, and his impressive ability to keep his members in the majority: what is Madigan’s?
Not saying he doesn’t have any. But I’d be curious what long-timers on this blog think.
- Sox Fan - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:16 pm:
Didn’t I just see a poll from a major newspaper in Chicago that had Quinn down just 5 points, with the election season(labor day) just starting? I guess that the next time that the White Sox are down 2-0 in the first inning, I should just shut the TV off.
- Secret Square - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:19 pm:
At least MJM knows that his heart will go on… (cue schmaltzy Celine Dion tune)
- A.B. - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:20 pm:
@Sox Fan
You need more than one rogue poll to build support.
- Feech - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:21 pm:
I’m cynical enough to think MJM might actually want a Republican Governor to share blame in fixing the State’s financial mess, but the redistricting map next summer needs to be signed by a friendly Governor. Rich, correct me if I’m wrong.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:24 pm:
Sox Fan, that was a statewide poll. Madigan’s targeted members are running in the suburbs and Downstate.
- Vote Quimby! - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:28 pm:
Quinn’s “education surcharge” = Ryan’s “highway user fees”
- 47th Ward - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:34 pm:
===That’s kinda like this.===
Lol Rich. Except it really isn’t like Titanic at all. There was never a romance between Madigan and Quinn. It’s more like one of the Die Hard movies with Bruce Willis watching his arch nemesis go down in flames at the end. Yippie-kay-ay mother——.
Talk about throwing a drowning man an anchor, that’s pretty cold on Madigan’s part. I sure he hope he can find enough votes to get his map passed over Brady’s veto.
Still and all, it’s just political talk from Madigan, and the smart move for him and his candidates. Whether he likes it or not, Quinn’s campaign is a referendum on an income tax hike. Madigan doesn’t want any part of that and I don’t blame him. But it’s just talk until November 3rd.
If Quinn wins, I think we might see a softening of Madigan’s stance. If Brady wins, Madigan will wait and make him beg for a tax increase and he’ll demand that Cross sponsor it.
- Anon - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:37 pm:
can you say 1994 all over???
- gsb - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:37 pm:
“gsb, if Quinn wins, MJM will probably take that as a sign that the voters are cool with a tax hike. If Brady wins, he’ll probably give the new governor what he wants. Rope.”
No argument there Rich. It just makes me chuckle when he acts like he has no control of the situation.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 4:41 pm:
===It’s more like one of the Die Hard movies with Bruce Willis watching his arch nemesis go down in flames at the end===
Nah. That was impeachment.
- Will County Woman - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 5:02 pm:
Would it even be worth it for Brady to use this Madigan stuff? It’s kinda like the Harold Washington stuff in that is a vote of no confidence.
Madigan,Daley,Obama and practically every economist are on the same page…no tax increases, people are hurting…due to the recession.
- fedup dem - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 9:10 pm:
Madigan getting the votes for veto override on a regislative remap proposal? Given the fact that a Gov. Brady (Heaven Forbid!) could pull Jim Edgar’s stunt of 1991, and submit a veto message a minute before the deadline in the state constituion (midnight on the night of June 30), Madigan and the Democrats in the legislature would have to send a passed bill to the governor’s desk before April 30. I doubt if that is physically possible, even if Madigan and Cullerton add to their majorities on November 2.
- Fed up - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 11:39 pm:
So MJM is already moving on to Lisa for gov in 2014
- eastsider - Saturday, Sep 11, 10 @ 11:29 am:
LOL…love the analogy Rich. You even made my wife laugh!