Take also this situation with J.B. Pritzker. He’s the Illinois billionaire who’s running as a Democrat against Bruce Rauner down there. Someone dug up old audio on him, talking to Rod Blagojevich ten years ago about who the best guy to fill Obama’s Senate seat would be.
He made some very unpleasant, stupid, racist, ugly remarks about black folks. There is no doubt his comments were repugnant. It always sucks when people sound off like morons and get themselves into trouble.
Bernie Sanders, of course, is the name constantly invoked by finger-waggling naysayers, who are now all crowing like roosters at the dirt that has been dug up. Pritzker’s primary opponents are standing right alongside the governor, Bruce Rauner, who is a truly despicable human being. They are adding their attacks as fuel to the fire, even though they know
they are doing no good to anyone except Bruce Rauner. This sort of blind attachment to unrealistic purity standards has left to a rift in the Democratic Party.
Accusations of an “inevitable” candidate. Accusations of a rigged primary. Opponents who lack any hope of defeating the absolute villain who’ll be stinking up the seat of power adding their fuel to his fire, attacking the one person who can, the Democratic candidate.
The Illinois Democratic primary for governor sounds a lot like Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential primary campaign, which didn’t end up well for us, or for the country, or for the entire human race.
Evoking Sen. Bernie Sanders, Pritzker’s top competitors whine that they’ve been elbowed out at every turn by party insiders.
“The establishment that’s supporting Pritzker wants us to not worry about Pritzker’s electability” in a general election, said Sen. Daniel Biss.
A great rebuttal was offered at a meeting of Sangamon County Democrats last week, Bill Houlihan, who is an elected member of the Democratic State Central Committee, said he wanted Biss to quit giving fodder to Republicans as he criticizes a rival.
“Dan Biss has been sending out some emails that I think are hurtful to the Democratic Party and J.B.Pritzker, and I think we need to shut that down as soon as possible,” Houlihan said.
J.B. Pritzker is funding his own campaign. He’s been on an apology tour for the last week. He’s been going all over the place, taking accountability for the awful words of his mouth, and showing people his plans to make up for it with concrete plans and actions. Why is it up to anyone else, to relentlessly savage him for that?
The Black Women of Illinois Forum accepted his request to allow him to come there and speak. If it’s good enough for them, it ought to be good enough for everybody.
But this is typical. It’s been going on all over the country with increasing frequency. And the pattern is always the same. Unknown candidates from the far left joining forces with Republicans to slander our candidates and when possible, gathering and attacking like hyenas to eliminate and replace them.
One noteworthy example is Howard Katz, a former Riverside County Democratic Party chairman who was sneakily voted out of the top leadership spot by Bernie Sanders supporters this last October. He moved across town, and they lied and said the rules said they could not call for another election.
Many who cast votes against Katz did so to deliver up a victory for the Sanders wing of the party.
His replacement, one Steve Ruth, made the following statement after his election.
“I think there’s room for everyone — for the people who’ve been around a long time and the Democratic structure,” he said. “But we also need to open our arms to the new people, many of whom are ‘Berniecrats.’”
Berniecrats have been gathering secretly in packs, then making sneaky moves to co-opt us at the local levels. It’s enough to make you sick, especially considering how often Bernie’s chosen candidates have lost since that terrible November.
In order for progressive ideas to be realized, we’ve got to be in power. Nobody’s talking about Medicare for All these days. They’re holding onto Obamacare for dear life.
Millennial Democrats have no use whatsoever for radicals who get in the way of their own causes through stubbornness and irascibility. We also have no use for those who turn their backs when the going gets tough. We see right through the hijacking attempt that’s going on and we’re speaking up about it. And we are asking for your help to raise awareness.
This is not the first time that the far right has used the far left to manipulate the national dialectic. But if Trump and Putin get their way, it may very well be the last. We’re going to have to stand for a lot worse, before it’s all been said and done.
We realize that our leaders are not perfect. We expect Mr. Pritzker to do better in the future, and we will not speak on his behalf in this matter again. In the name of coalition, however, and for the good of the country, we think it best to forgive him and move forward. Should we refuse, it will only be the enemy who benefits.
Just the same, J.B., you’d better hustle on that apology tour. Not cool, man.
