[Peace-discuss] . What should we do about Quinn and Rauner?

Wed May 7 22:37:48 EDT 2014

THANKS for posting this, David, didn't know latest on either one. Yeah, another vote for lesser of two evils, w/ once again, one evil far, far FAR worse -- I've since heard statements from Rauner, and he would indeed be a disaster for IL.

________________________________
 From: David Johnson <davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net>
To: Undisclosed-Recipient@ 
Sent: Monday, May 5, 2014 8:16 AM
Subject: . What should we do about Quinn and Rauner?

WordPress.com  
Interesting exchange of opinions 
which sums up pretty well how the system has been rigged against Working people 
and in favor of the corporate special interests. I would like to hear your 
opinion.
This is from a  
Blog maintained by a retired IEA Teacher who lives in 
Chicago.

David Johnson

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Fred 
Klonsky 
To: davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net 
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 7:43 AM
Subject: [New post] John, Glen, Ken and I discuss. What should we do 
about Quinn and Rauner?

Fred Klonsky posted: " John  Dillon, Glen Brown, Ken Previti and I are all retired teachers, activists,  advocates for pension justice and bloggers. Today we discuss the issue of  what our union and the members of the Illinois Education Association,  should do in the Illinois e"  
Respond to this post by replying above this  line 

New post on Fred  Klonsky    
 John,  Glen, Ken and I discuss. What should we do about  Quinn and Rauner?by Fred  Klonsky  
John Dillon, Glen Brown, Ken Previti and I are all  retired teachers, activists, advocates for pension  justice and bloggers. Today we discuss the issue  of what our union and the members of the  Illinois Education Association, should do in the  Illinois election for governor. This will be  cross-posted on all four blogs.

Voting  for Quinn in November: Seeking HazMat Suit on  EBay
There  is the old cliché that voting in American politics  often requires a person to hold his or her nose  and pull the lever. Not so this year; at least,  not so on the Illinois gubernatorial level. In the  case of people like me – public sector workers  both current and retired – we have a couple of  real stinkers to choose from.
I  should remind myself that there are indeed other  candidates, like the Green Party candidate Scott  Summers or the Libertarian candidate Chad Grimm.  But voting for those unlikely characters is an act  of defiance akin to holding your breath when you  were five years old to prove that no one could  make you go to bed. Nice gesture, but even if you  won, you put yourself to sleep. Nothing changes in  politics without a plan that moves beyond the  moment.
Me?  I’m looking for a Haz Mat suit this year. Pulling  the lever for Quinn is the most unseemly and  antithetical action I can contemplate given his  various affronts these last few years, from the  ridiculous (Squeezy) to the delusional (“I was put  on this earth…”) to the unconstitutional (signing  SB1).
Whoa!  Almost talked myself out of it.
On  the other hand, it doesn’t take much time to read  over Bruce Rauner’s home website proposals for  correcting Illinois’ woes to see that (1) he has  no idea what he’s doing, (2) he’s only trying to  copy major ALEC ideas put into play by real  (Koch-purchased) politicians with experience in  right to work states like MI or IN, and (3) he  couldn’t begin to do much more in Illinois then as  he most accurately promised: “Really, I’m gonna  drive ‘em all nuts.”
In  short, he is an expert on nuts, guys. And we’d be  nuts not to vote against him by choosing the  danger we already know – Pat Quinn.
I  could decide not to vote at all, but like the  silly act of defiance such inaction might be a  mistake. Reason? Quinn won last time by only  32,000 votes. Those were likely public sector  workers and others. If we want Quinn to beat  Rauner, we’ll need to vote for him as public  sector workers.
And  Rauner will do anything using others to prove he  is not who or what he really is. Lula, the  commercialized African-American “educator” is an  attempt to blunt the outrage of most of us who are  quite aware of his positions on nixing the minimum  wage, pushing charter schools for the wealthy, or  destroying pensions for small savings accounts  called 401K’s.
And  I could decide that I won’t do what the unions  will ask me to do – yield and vote for Quinn  despite his SB1 and all his blustering on fixing  the pensions on the backs of retirees and now the  poor current workers. Did I mention the future  hirers? Yeah, I’m sorry they didn’t anticipate  this dilemma too, but they’ll need to make a  choice and ask us to do what’s ugly but  necessary.
It’s  a Hobson’s choice, guys, but that’s not to say  both candidates are equivalently dangerous to the  middle class. One is a bumbling populist while the  other has, as WS once pointed out, “a lean and  hungry look,” the kind who looks quite through the  deeds of “real workers.”
Hey! Got one!
Regards,
John

Dear  John, Glen and Ken,
Thanks  for kicking this off John. It’s a great exercise  in debate and collaboration. As four retired  teachers, we are modeling what we hope for our  union: open debate and inclusion.
What  is clear to me is that the election for Illinois  Governor is going to be close. Recent polls show  only a few points separate them.
Quinn’s  problem is that because he and his Democratic  Party comrades in Springfield led the assault on  public employee pensions, many of us will not vote  for him. At least, not at the moment. I talked to  many IEA members after their face-to-face at the  IEA RA. They hated Rauner, but told me that as of  now they would not vote for Quinn. I expect that  will change for many by November. But Quinn needs  all of his Democratic base. Not some of it. A few  thousand stay-at-homes or Green Party voters and  his goose is cooked.
As  for me, I have not decided yet if I will vote  for Quinn.
What  are the Democrats offering unions and public  employees in exchange for out vote?
Incredibly,  they are planning more pension thievery even as we  write this. This time they have voted to cut the  pensions of City workers. Chicago police, fire  fighters and teachers are next on the agenda.
If  Quinn wants my vote, he should veto the current  bill and swear off any further pension cuts.
He  should make a public pronouncement that he was put  on this earth to raise revenue. To tax the  rich. To end cuts to the programs that serve the  most needy.
The  more serious problem is that our union leadership  and the leadership of the other unions in the  coalition have done nothing over the years to  create a working families’ electoral  alternative.
They  spent over four million dollars on a campaign to  elect the Chairman of ALEC in the Republican  primary and came within three percentage points of  doing that.
Imagine  what could have been built with that money in  terms of a pro-working families electoral  alternative.
-  Fred

Dear  John, Fred and Ken
Two  equally objectionable choices could have been  avoided. To choose between the lesser of two evils  with the added hope that a repentant politician  emerges to “swear off any further pension cuts…”  is perhaps fanciful thinking.
However,  “the failure of the union leadership to create an  electoral alternative (that wasn’t based on  electing the Chairman of ALEC as the Republican  nominee) has led to this: an unholy alliance with  the worst of the Democrats” (Klonsky’s …Will  Rauner fear push our union leaders into the arms  of Michael Madigan? May 4th). This is our profane  reality now.
As  to voting for either duplicitous, constitutional  contract-breaker Quinn or negligent, ($53 million+  a year) venture capitalist Rauner:
For  anyone who is a current or retired public  employee, let your Conscience be your guide.
-  Glen

Dear  John, Fred and Glen,
The  problem of voting for governor in the next  election is not merely Quinn (D) versus Rauner (R)  in Illinois.
Teachers  in IL, CT, FL, PA, etc. face the identical "lesser  of two evils" ploy in future elections for  governor. They are told that each state faces  unique sets of issues, but that is a lie.
See HERE#1 and HERE#2 and HERE#3 and HERE#4 and HERE#5.
Teachers,  pro-public-education parents, CCSS dissenters,  high stakes testing opponents,  pro-education-for-all supporters, and all active  and retired public employees face the abuses  presented by the corporate controlled two  political party system that monetizes children for  private profit while starving seniors by  diminishing their pensions. Stop accepting the  lies and abuses we are all being subjected to.
Harsh  Fact of Life: There is no valid gubernatorial  candidate from either major political party to  choose between in many states.
Harsh  Conclusion: Our votes have already been wasted -  wasted as in killed, exterminated, made dead. The  politicos during the manipulated primary selection  processes saw to that. Past politicos have created  barriers for third-party candidates. Major  corporate media has also marginalized or ignored  candidates other than (D) or (R). The Supreme  Court has declared that money is free speech and  approved bribery and the purchase of candidates by  the wealthy. Unions have failed to create, select  or support pro-union candidates at an early enough  time when the money and support would have  mattered.
Who  do we vote for in November? For governor, leave it  blank.
Vote  for anyone of your choice for other elected  office, but leave the governor's choices blank.  Yes, this sends a message. No, it is not wasted;  it shows the numbers of people who see through the  "lesser of two evils" ploy being played by  Democrat and Republican Party leadership across  the nation.
These  party leaders need to count how many votes they  themselves have wasted. They need to see that the  old game is breaking apart as they lose in areas  that they believed were safe.
Yes,  this is a form of non-violent revolt. Vote, but  don't vote for any "lesser of two evils"  gubernatorial candidates. If any state, such as  Connecticut, has a chance for a third-party  candidate, vote for the person in order to give  the two-party game players a lesson in what  politics could and should be.
If  there are no valid candidates, revolt; leave  blanks.
I  will not wear a Haz-Mat suit. I will wear Gandhi  eyeglasses.
-  Ken
Fred  Klonsky | May 5, 2014 at 7:43 am |  Categories: Ken  and me | URL: http://wp.me/p4C3g-9dN 
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