Showing posts with label Elections 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elections 2011. Show all posts

Cliff Hangers In Wisconsin Recall Elections!

August 9, 2011 - Madison WI - The wind was taken out of the sails of Democrats in Wisconsin, who were confident earlier today that they would route Republicans in recall elections. Of the six elections held today, we now know (at 10:40 p.m.) that three Republicans have won their elections and one Democrat has won. That leaves two elections, and those are too close to call at this time.

The undecided races are those in State Senate 08 and 18.  In 08, as of this writing, Darling (R) has 49% to Pasch (D) 51%, with only 63% of the results reported. In 18, Hopper (R) and King (D) are tied at 50% each with 87% reporting.

The Democrats were hoping to take at least five of the six races. To lose at least three, and to have two so close this late in the evening, is a moral blow for them.
on
Tags ,

At Last, Wisconsin Recall Election Results (Updated)

August 9, 2011 - Madison WI - Results are now coming in from six special elections held today in Wisconsin. TPM's Election Scoreboard is showing at 9:36 p.m. that Cowles (R) is creaming Nusbaum (D), with 59% and 41% respectively in the (State Senate 02). They've declared Cowles the winner.

Another winner has already been declared, too: Harsdorf (R) is bumping challenger Moore (D) in State Senate 10 by 58% to 42% respectively.

Chicago News Bench will call Olsen (R) the winner in State Senate 14. Olsen is trouncing Clark (D) by 54% to 46% with 95% reporting as of 9:53 p.m.

So far, the dancing socialist union thug marxists on the Capitol Square are not having a good start to their festivities. Then again, there are four more races to go.

RELATED:
TPM Election Scoreboard - talkingpointsmemo.com
on
Tags , , ,

Margarita in Hand, I'm Waiting For Wisconsin Recall Elections Results

August 9, 2011 - Madison WI - It's 9:06 p.m. and I still have not heard any election results for the six recall elections that could, says the Washington Post, "put a check on Republican power in state government and render an early verdict on the GOP policy agenda across the country." This seems like very wishful thinking from the Democrat-favoring Post.

I just left the Square minutes ago. While hundreds of socialists, union thugs and anarchists chant on the Capitol Square, I am sitting at Frida Mexican Grill, an upscale Mexican eatery half a block away. I thought I'd kill some time with a margarita (on the rocks, salted rim) while I and the rest of the world breathlessly await the results of six special recall elections held today.

There are two groups of anti-Gov. Walker folks gathered on the Square. The big group is at Washington Avenue and North Pinckney Street on the Square, where a brightly lit stage supports local socialist cheerleaders speaking with their lips too close to the microphone. News media are all over the place. Many wear red shirts with "Recall Walker" emblazoned on them. Some carry handmade signs that say clever things like "Walker Hates Living Things," and similarly ingenious political insights. A good number carry pre-printed AFSCME signs.

The smaller group is having a sing-along at West Mifflin Street and North Carroll Street. There seems to be no national media there, and the group seems content to sing standards such as "This Land Is Your Land" with lyrics altered to express their contempt for Governor Walker and for the electoral process that put him in office in the first place. These folks are holding similar signs and wearing the same kinds of shirts.

I considered taking photos of the liberal drones on the Square. No, I thought, my photos would only show the same generic libtards that we've seen a million times at similar leftist rallies. My video would have let you hear the same old tired chants, too. You know, the ones that have some local socialist leader urging the crowd to answer his over-modulated questions that all end with, "... when do we want it?" or "...what do we do?" Eventually and predictably, the whole chanting thing devolves (as it did tonight) into a string of chants that begin with "Hey hey, ho ho..." It's boring and cliche. Besides, someone else will post their boring and cliche video and images later.

The evening here is beautiful, cool but not cold, with a nice breeze coming off of Lake Mendota. It's perfect weather for coached, pre-scheduled non-spontaneous chanting. There is a huge carbon footprint being laid down by the brightly lighted stage set up at East Washington Avenue and North Pinckney Street on the Square, not to mention by the brightly illuminated Capital Building.

The polls closed at 8:00 p.m. I wonder if any of the polling places have electricity. Perhaps the ballots are being delivered on horseback.  Stand by for news.....

RELATED:
TPM Election Scoreboard - talkingpointsmemo.com
Live Recall Election Coverage - WisconsinVote.org
Wisconsin Recall Election Candidates Battle In August 9, August 16 Races - HuffPo
on
Tags , , ,

Chicago Mayoral Election (Yawn)

February 22, 2011 - Chicago - Will Carol Moseley Braun be Chicago's next mayor? Hell, no. The "consensus candidate" selected by the self-appointed "leaders" of Black people in Chicago has been enjoying the taste of her own foot too much to win this election. Odds are that Rahm Emanuel will win. Jeepers, the suspense is killing me (not). 

Perhaps that Chico guy or that Del Valle fellow can force a run-off, but that's unlikely. The voting turnout so far is reportedly light, and that will probably help the Rahm Machine with its busloads of well paid voters. 
The stark reality that she doesn't have a chance in this election hasn't stopped her from uglifying the landscape with campaign signs, however. This one, photographed today near the Loyola CTA Red Line Station in Rogers Park this morning, is in violation of election laws. You can see that it's just past the blue cone, which advises "No Electioneering Beyond This Point!" 

I suppose this one sign won't make a difference and, in any case, Moseley Braun won't be electioneering for much of anything ever again after today.
on
Tags , ,

Chat Live With Mick Dumke About Chicago's Mayoral Race

February 21, 2011 - At 4:00 p.m. today (CST), you'll have an opportunity to ask an expert about TIFs, corruption, privatization of city assests and more during a live chat session online this afternoon at Windy Citizen. The expert on hand is Mick Dumke, legendary reporter with the the Chicago News Cooperative. He recently left the Chicago Reader, where he became the local superstar that he is today. See Dumke's bio here. This is the last of Windy Citizen and Chicago News Cooperative's pre-election online forums. "It's likely that most Chicagoans would not even know what tax increment financing is," writes an editor at Windy Citizen, "were it not for Dumke's investigative work into City Hall's shadow budget. Since joining the Chicago News Cooperative last summer, Dumke has continued his reporting on TIF districts and their role in the 2011 election."
on
Tags , ,

Special City Election Coverage by Windy Citizen and Chicago News Cooperative

Wondering who to vote for in Chicago's upcoming mayoral election on February 22? It can be confusing, trying to decide which corrupt, politically entrenched, lying Democrat to vote for. We sympathize, Comrade, we really do, and to add to the confusion there are 50 aldermanic races to be decided on the same day. Well, to help you, we're happy to oblige a request from good friends at Windy Citizen to let you know about a very nice series of reports that they're doing with the pros at Chicago News Cooperative. To quote from Windy Citizen: This month, a series of experts from the Chicago News Cooperative (CNC) will come to Windy Citizen one night each week before the Feb. 22 municipal election to take your questions on a wide range of topics that are on the minds of voters as they head to the polls: Now then, who says journalism is dead? (Len, you owe me a beer.)
on
Tags ,

UPDATED: Rahm Emanuel Off The Ballot; Ray Hanania Calls Him Racist

UPDATE, January 25: Emanuel, kicked off the ballot yesterday, is back on the ballot. WTH? More over here... January 24, 2011 - Chicago - You've probably heard by now that Rahm Emanuel has been booted off of Chicago's mayoral primary ballot. Some of us aren't surprised, including a local law professor. 

Carol Felsenthal spoke with him today and wrote it up at chicagomag.com: Weeks ago, when most people thought that the challenge to Rahm Emanuel’s residency status was a lost cause, Northwestern Law Professor Sam Tenenbaum dissented. He reminded me of that today when I called him for his reaction to the Illinois Appeals Court ruling that Rahm is ineligible to run for mayor because he does not meet the residency requirement of having lived in Chicago for a year prior to the February 22nd primary. “I told you [the challenge] wasn’t frivolous,” said Tenenbaum, a clinical associate professor of law, whose specialty is civil litigation. Full Article at chicagomag.com... 

Emanuel is also being called some very nasty things. Local liberal columnist and defender of Arab dictatorships Ray Hanania wrote last Friday that Rahm is a racist and religious bigot. Yes, he really did. Apparently, Hanania has no problem with racist bigots if they are autocratic royal rulers of Middle Eastern nations, but Rahm is just too extreme for his tastes. Hanania started his column with a truly idiotic paragraph: "Everyone knows that the reason why Rahm Emanuel is in the race for mayor is that he has more money than any other candidate." 

Ray Hanania
Photo: WNYC
Hanania's logic is so twisted that the mind reels. So, one day Rahm was sitting around and thought, 'Golly, I've got all this money that I'm dying to piss away on a mayoral race that I care nothing about. In fact, the only reason I want to run is because I have more money than any other candidate!' 

I'm no fan of Emanuel, but it's quite a stretch to believe Hanania's crazy hypothesis. What's even crazier, however, is that the often-crazy Hanania blunt called Rahm Emanuel a prejudiced bigot.

Hanania's first paragraph was merely stupid, but he get downright vitriolic: "Emanuel is proving to be a vicious political animal who harbors hatreds and biases. He won’t talk to some people because of their race and religion. He won’t talk to some people because of their political views.... Chicago is a diverse city. The last thing it needs is a mayor who discriminates on the basis of race, ethnicity and religion as Rahm Emanuel does." 

Hanania offers no substantiation of those serious charges, no examples or Emanuel discriminating against anybody based on race, ethnicity or relgiion. Has Ray Hanania learned nothing about making public discourse more civil? Apparently not, and the last thing Chicago needs is a columnist like Ray Hanania who makes such vile accusations without offering any proof. Rahm is off the mayoral ballot, for now anyway. That means somebody else is the new leader in terms of having "more money than any other candidate." Will Hanania's declare that candidate to be in it just for that reason? Abracadabra, Hanania Banania. 

RELATED: 
Ray Hanania Cancels His Daily Radio Show chicagoradioandmedia.com 
on
Tags , , ,

(Updated) Moseley Braun, Davis - Slaves To Racial Politics

January 1, 2011 - Chicago - How very disappointing, but how sadly predictable: Danny Davis has dropped out of the Chicago mayoral race and thrown his support behind Carol Moseley Braun. Why? It's all about racial politics. Yesterday afternoon, I expressed faint hope that maybe - just maybe - Davis and Moseley Braun had put that nonsense behind them (see text of my original post below). Hours after posting that, word came that Davis had caved in to demands by Jesse Jackson, Sr. to drop out in order to form a unified Black front. The Chicago Sun-Times reports today: It was a push from black businessmen who’d wanted a single candidate to back, that had helped convince Davis late Friday to withdraw and back Braun. Braun ribbed Davis about giving her little notice Friday night, of his decision to endorse her, saying, “He gave me all of 25 minutes to get to his office to talk about how we could come come together to make the case for the people.” Full story here... Shame on them all. Can you imagine a scenario in which white businessmen got together to form a united white front? People would be rightly accusing them of racism, and perhaps even crying out for boycotts of their businesses. Alas, Chicago is still a racist city. The irony of it all is that the most racist of them all are Black "leaders" who practice their racism openly and get slapped on the back for their bravado. Shame. Posted December 31, 2010: Are Danny Davis and Carol Moseley Braun new voices of racial rationality and reason for Chicago? Was I was wrong in my post on December 30? In that post, I said this: Perhaps Chicago's Black mayoral candidates .... is willing to "look beyond race," certainly not on an issue as important as who is going to lead the city. Today we still have self-proclaimed "Black leaders" (such as the Reviled Jesse Jackson) constantly whining that race is a dividing issue. Perhaps that's due in no small part to the fact that they just won't shut up about it and because they insist - in a knee jerk, involuntary manner - on basing everything they do, say and think upon racial issues. As to my first question above, the answer is "not by a long shot." The answer to the second question is, "Partially." Both Danny Davis and Carol Moseley Braun deserve reserved kudos for refusing to go along with race baiter Jesse Jackson's latest ploy to play the race card and to perpetuate the artificially maintained, psychological racial divide in Chicago. John Chase wrote a piece for Clout Street, which summed up the deal (my emphasis added): Rev. Jesse Jackson brokered a meeting last night to try to settle on a single major African-American candidate for the Chicago mayor's contest, but neither former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun nor U.S. Rep. Danny Davis have budged. The idea is to unify behind a single black candidate akin to 1983, when Harold Washington became the city's only elected African-American mayor.‬‪"They know it's going to be difficult to get two candidates through the race. There will be two losers and no winner," Jackson said today. "It's difficult to get one camel through the eye of the needle. It's impossible to get two." Imagine a White reverend, priest or minister getting a group of White mayoral hopefuls together for the purpose of trying to "settle on a single major White-American candidate for the Chicago mayor's contest." Imagine the outcries of outrage, the indignant condemnations of such a boldly racist action. Imagine that, and ask yourself how that hypothetical would be any different in principle or offensiveness than what Jackson actually did. I could suggest where Jackson should put that camel, but I won't. Instead, I'll just say that it's somewhat refreshing to see folks such as Carol Moseley Braun and Danny Davis refusing to play Jackson's insidious game of Divide and Conquer. John Chase wrote this for The Chicago Tribune: U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun both insisted Thursday that they would keep running for Chicago mayor, despite renewed calls by black leaders to unite behind a single candidate who could improve the odds of an African-American winning the February election. Good for them. Their decisions required a modicum of courage. They will take heat from some Black voters who will accuse them of putting self-interest ahead of a united racial political front. I stand, then, by my December 30 statements about "Black leaders" such as Jesse Jackson. However, recent statements by Davis and Moseley Braun have forced me to rethink their status as mindless mongers of race-based voter sentiment. Of course, I am still inclined to think of them as mindless adherents to the same old tired Liberal and Progressive policies that have gotten the City of Chicago into the dire financial mess that they both promise to get it out of, albeit without the cracking veneer of racial identity. This is not to say that most Black voters in Chicago will not cast their votes in February's election based on race. We know that Blacks, as a group, tend to vote Democrat about 90 percent of the time. Undoubtedly, most of Chicago's Black voters will vote for one of the Black candidates, such as Davis or Moseley Braun, rather than for that Jewish White guy or that Latino guy. Even so, having two prominent Black politicians tell Jesse Jackson to stuff it because they're running to be mayor of all citizens of Chicago, not just Blacks, is something of a start. Gery Chico, a Latino candidate for mayor, "is steering clear of the notion their has to be a Hispanic candidate," WLS AM reported. WLS quoted Chico as saying, "My priority is to have the concensus [sic], most qualified candidate to be the mayor of our city." Chico, of course, was not part of Jesse Jackson's meeting with Davis and Moseley Braun, but his statement sends the same between-the-lines message to Jackson: Shut up. RELATED: Braun vows to dump Weis Chicago Tribune Braun, Davis reject calls for consensus candidate ABC7Chicago Jackson: Clinton should stay away WGNTV Rev. Jesse Jackson arm-twisting or persuading in the Mayor's race? WLS 890 AM
on
Tags , , ,

Keeping Race in Chicago's Mayoral Race

With the election of Comrade President Barack Hussein Obama, we were promised, the nation would move beyond race. In January, 2008, Obama was finishing his Iowa caucus campaign. He was quoted by the Chicago Tribune as saying, "People are willing to look beyond race, particularly on issues as important as who is going to lead the country." It was a fantastical statement, given the fact that we still have racist institutions like the Black Congressional Caucus. Oh? Perhaps Chicago's Black mayoral candidates missed that pronouncement from The Messiah. None of them is willing to "look beyond race," certainly not on an issue as important as who is going to lead the city. Today we still have self-proclaimed "Black leaders" (such as the Reviled Jesse Jackson) constantly whining that race is a dividing issue. Perhaps that's due in no small part to the fact that they just won't shut up about it and because they insist - in a knee jerk, involuntary manner - on basing everything they do, say and think upon racial issues. To wit, the current mayoral race in Chicago, where Black "leaders" and candidates are conspiring about the best way to defeat Rahm Emanuel. Of course, it's all about beating the White Man, not about finding the best person to be our next mayor. Carol Felsenthal writes about this in two good articles at ChicagoMag.com: Rev. Jesse Jackson: The Davis/Moseley Braun meeting-and on the media covering the mayor’s race - December 30, 2010: As previously reported, Jesse Jackson, Sr., met Wednesday night at his Rainbow PUSH headquarters with Danny Davis and Carol Moseley Braun, the two leading African American candidates for mayor. The purpose, Jackson told me in a telephone conversation Thursday morning, was to get them talking-to jump start the dialogue about one of them dropping out to give the survivor a chance to turn the momentum that has been building for Rahm Emanuel. Jackson predicted that the two “old friends” will reach an agreement: “There’s nothing hostile or petty about their relationship….They left the meeting on good terms.” Here’s the rest of what Jackson told me.... Danny Davis: Ministers want a single black candidate; Rev. Jesse Jackson brokering? - December 29, 2010: Congressman Danny Davis says that, at the behest of various black ministers, he and Carol Moseley Braun will meet again later today to discuss whether one of them should drop out of the race for Chicago mayor. The two longtime friends—the leading African American candidates in the contest—met on Christmas Eve to talk shop about the campaign ... The unspoken (so far) implication, of course, is that anybody who supports Rahm Emanuel must be anti-Black and, therefore, racist. We heard that spoken often enough during Obama's campaign and still here accusations of racism thrown at anybody who opposes His policies. Willing to look beyond race? I think most of us are, but we also wish the self-proclaimed Black "leaders" would just shut the hell up and keep their paranoid delusions out of politics. RELATED: Clinton and race in Chicago Politico - Rahm Emanuel's African-American opponents continue to use race as a wedge in a city with a history of fraught racial politics Racial Politics in Chicago, of All Places National Review Online Obama's Race Baiting Washington Times Black Racism and “The Jena Six” FrontPage Magazine
on
Tags , , , ,

Interview Series With Michael Carroll, 46th Ward Aldermanic Candidate

Here is Part 1 of 5 of an interview series with Michael Carroll, candidate for alderman in Chicago's troubled 46th Ward (Uptown) and former Chicago police officer. Interviewed by Tom Mannis for Chicago News Bench (www.chicagonewsbench.com) on July 28, 2010. Michael Carroll's campaign website is www.carroll46.com.
on
Tags , , , ,

Big Week For Michael Carroll Aldermanic Campaign

There are now less than two months until Chicago's next Election Day on February 22, 2011. That's when Chicago will elect a new mayor and more than 20 new aldermen. This is a big week for Michael Carroll's aldermanic campaign. They could use your help in a number of ways, as Michael writes below. Also, please watch Part 1 (of 5) of my video interview with Michael. Our first critical campaign fundraising deadline is Friday, December 31st and we are trying to raise another $2,500 in support of the campaign before the midnight deadline. Your contribution will allow us to reach voters through direct mail, advertising, and neighborhood meet-and-greets. Please make your contribution today to help support our campaign before December 31st. The deadline will be an early indicator of which candidate has broad support across the community and the most resources to win on Election Day. Volunteers Wanted... With only eight weeks left until Election Day, we need volunteers to help power our grassroots campaign. During this time, we will need people to work in the office, canvass door-to-door in key neighborhoods, and make calls to voters in the 46th Ward. If you’d like to join our campaign team, sign up to volunteer for 2 to 3 hours over the next few weeks. Northwestern Bowl Game Watch Party on New Year's Day As an alumnus of Northwestern, I was excited to see our Wildcats make their third consecutive bowl game appearance, sending Coach Fitzgerald and the team to Dallas to take on the Red Raiders of Texas Tech in the inaugural Ticket City Bowl. Because of the excitement surrounding this game, I wanted to invite you to join me for a watch party at one of my favorite places in the 46th Ward, The Spot. They're located at 4437 N. Broadway, just north of Montrose and about a block and a half south of the Wilson stop on the Red Line. Join us New Year’s Day at the Spot All of Wildcat Nation is welcome to join us - kick-off is at 11 a.m. so get there early. If you are interested, there is an optional $20 ticket for the event for purchase at the door. The ticket includes a select open bar and food specials as well as giveaways of Northwestern gear during halftime. The food at the Spot is incredible and the bar is creating a phenomenal spread for the watch party, not to be missed. I would love to see you all there on New Year's Day, please feel free to invite friends and family. You can RSVP on Facebook for the event. Come help me cheer on Coach Fitzgerald and our Northwestern Wildcats this Saturday - and as always, Go Cats! Thanks, Michael
on
Tags , , ,

Updated: Election Board Keeps Rahm Emanuel On Ballot; Odelson Mounts New Challenge

December 23, 2010 - Chicago - 11:55 AM - Rahm Emanuel got his way this morning: The Chicago election commissioners voted before noon to allow him to stay on the Feb. 22 mayoral ballot. Kristen Mack reports: "The vote came just hours after a hearing officer recommended that the high-profile candidate be allowed to remain on the ballot. Joseph Morris' 69-page recommendation was issued at nearly 2 a.m., and the board began meeting at 9 a.m. (Read report here." Full story at Chicago Breaking News... However, attorney Burt Odelson, who represented multiple objectors to Emanuel's residency status, is already prepared for a followup challenge with a new lawsuit. RELATED: Odelson Preps New Anti-Rahm Suit‎ NBC Chicago (blog) Election board: Emanuel can run for Chicago mayor‎ Houston Chronicle Election board: Emanuel should remain on ballot‎ Chicago Sun-Times Election board: Emanuel can run for Chicago mayor‎ Forbes Elections Board Rules Rahm Emanuel Can Run For Mayor Of Chicago NPR
on
Tags , ,

Rahm Emanuel Residency Hearings Close, Final Opinion Promised Before Christmas

December 16, 2010 - Chicago - The Rahm Emanuel residency hearing wrapped up its final day of weirdness today just in time for the dinner hour. Today's bizarre session was one of several this week in the process to determine Emanuel's residency and eligibility to run for mayor of Chicago. People who object to Emanuel's candidacy for stated legal reasons have been allowed to make statements and even cross examine witnesses, which has led to many delays but also to many strange and often amusing moments. 

Hearing Officer Joe Morris announced at 4:15 p.m. that final oral arguments by objectors would be heard, just after a short recess. He added that objectors who want to submit written briefs to him may do so, with a deadline of 12:00 Noon next Monday. The only rule for the briefs, he told the objectors, was that their briefs be legible. 

"Neatness counts," he said, and then broke the hearing for ten minutes. 

During the recess, Mr. Morris told Chicago News Bench that he would consider all that he's heard this week in the hearings, and then carefully consider the written briefs next week. 

He said that the purpose of the briefs is to give objectors the opportunity to state in writing whatever they might not have gotten in orally this week, and also to clarify or support statements made by citing legal cases. Mr. Morris said he will base his recommendation on both what he's heard and the written briefs. He will then forward his recommendation to the Board of Elections, which will make the final decision. Mr. Morris told CNB that he expects a decision before Christmas.

Photos of items left in storage by Rahm Emanuel were shown and discussed. The photos showed boxes and other items, including a bed frame, in a crawl space and the basement of the house owned by the Emanuels but rented out while they lived in Washington, D.C. 

The Sun-Times gave a strange report that said, in part, "Attorneys for Emanuel visited the house he owns in Ravenswood at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, located the much-discussed 'crawl space,' looked inside and found the valuable items Emanuel had maintained he had stored there. They have argued the fact they left the items there while Emanuel went to Washington D.C. to work as President Obama’s chief of staff shows he always planned to return to Chicago — and therefore should be eligible to run for mayor." 

In the hearing, however, Attorney Dana S. Douglas testified under oath that she took the photos late last night, around midnight, and not "at 1:30 p.m." today as the Sun-Times mysteriously reported. Under questioning, Ms. Douglas admitted that there were a number of boxes that she and others with her did not open. Some objectors voiced the opinion that no matter what was shown in the photos, or found in the house, none of it proves Rahm Emanuel's intentions to have moved back to Chicago or to maintain his legal residence here. 

You could make a rational argument that many people leave valuable items in storage, in other cities or states, while they are looking for a house to buy elsewhere and that the items stored by Emanuel prove nothing about his intentions about residency when he left Chicago years ago. 

Related:  
on
Tags , , ,

Conservative Presides Over Rahm Emanuel Residency Hearings

Attorney Joe Morris
December 14, 2010 - Chicago - Rahm Emanuel continued to be questioned about his Chicago residency today. Running for mayor here, some say that he forfeited his residency status when he moved to Washington, D.C. to be Obama's White House Chief of Staff. Not so, says, Rahm. 

I've been a big fan of attorney Joe Morris for a few years now, ever since I saw him speak at a conservative gathering at the Lincoln Restaurant. 

Morris is one of the best-read and most engaging public speakers I have ever had the pleasure to witness. He has a mind like a steel trap and sense of humor as sharp as a titanium blade. The last time I saw him speak, he gave an entertaining lecture about Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals" in June, 2010. 

Morris is a staunch conservative, and he is currently presiding over the petition objections to the mayoral candidacy of Rahm Emanuel in Chicago. 

Tom Swiss, a local Republican insider, wrote that he is sure "this is not an accident." Swiss wrote that on December 6 on the website of the Chicago Republican Party. I would add that I am sure that Morris is relishing ever delicious second of the hearings, and that I can't wait to hear him describe it all at a future Lincoln Restaurant gathering. 

Will Rahm Emanuel Be Treated Fairly? 

Does that fact that Morris, widely known in Illinois as "Mr. Conservative," is presiding over a bunch of squabbling Democrat contenders for mayor of Chicago mean that Rahm Emanuel will not get a fair hearing? Probably not. Morris is also known for his expertise in law, but he's also revered for his decency and honesty. Swiss addressed this, and made a prediction, in his Dec. 6 article: "[Emanuel's] 'luck' and Republican's problem is Joe Morris is an honest man." wrote Swiss. "Morris will give Emanuel a fair hearing denied to so many GOP candidates in the past. Morris will correctly rule Emanuel did not forfeit his residency by serving the President of the US." 

I'm not sure how Tom Swiss could know in advance how Morris will rule on Emanuel's residency issue. Suppose compelling evidence is presented that "proves" that Emanuel actually did lose his residency status? I would contend that Morris, being an honest man, would have to take that into consideration. I have no doubt that Joe Morris would agree with my contention. 

ChicagoMag.com took a look at Morris today and published her profile of him at ChicagoMag.com. Friend Carol Felsenthal's article, "A Look at Joseph Morris, the Hearing Officer in the Rahm Emanuel Residency Challenge," gives a nice synopsis of Morris's life and then delves into his involvement with the Rahm Emanuel hearings. 

"His plan," wrote Felsenthal, "is to wrap up the hearing on Thursday [Dec. 16], and then he will consider the testimony and write his recommendation on whether Rahm’s name should stay on the ballot. He will submit it to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, which will decide whether or not to accept it. The board’s decision will likely be appealed—first stop the Circuit Court of Cook County—perhaps up to the Illinois Supreme Court." Felsenthal also notes that Morris has been appointed to be a hearing officer for the Board of Elections a number of times over the past 20 years. 

Joe Morris is also President, pro bono publico, of the Lincoln Legal Foundation, a member of the national Board of Directors of the American Conservative Union (of which I am a former Assistant Media Director), former Assistant Attorney General of the United States under President Reagan. 

on
Tags , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)