IL-5: Good News for Geoghegan - Career Pols Splitting Chicago Machine Apart

by: David Sirota

Tue Jan 13, 2009 at 23:16


Note: Tom Geoghegan (D) is a BlogPac-endorsed candidate and Better Democrat running in the hotly contested March 3rd special election to replace Rep. Rahm Emanuel. Give him a contribution here.

Progress Illinois has the scoop on how the career politicians vying for Rahm Emanuel's open congressional seat in Illinois' upcoming March 3rd special election are splitting apart the local Chicago machine - which is fantastic news for populist challenger Tom Geoghegan, the major outsider candidate in the race.

Progress Illinois quotes this Chicago Tribune story:

None of the five candidates seeking to succeed former Congressman Rahm Emanuel could muster a majority of support at a Democratic slating meeting today. That meas the March 3 primary will be an open one with no party endorsed candidate...

"I just think the [party's ward and township] organizations don't have as much influence on high-profile races," Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley said.

Geoghegan is one of the progressive movement's biggest champions (for background on him see this earlier post or his campaign website), and the more wide-open this race is, the better it will be for a candidate like him. The key will be (as always) resources - which is why you should throw Tom some money through ActBlue right here. Tom would be the model Better Democrat in Congress, should he win.
David Sirota :: IL-5: Good News for Geoghegan - Career Pols Splitting Chicago Machine Apart

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IL-5: Good News for Geoghegan - Career Pols Splitting Chicago Machine Apart | 5 comments
This really is unprecidented. (0.00 / 0)
This district was created to be a machine-controlled district so that Mayor Daley could have "his man in Washington."  Early on in this race a political consultant friend of mine told me that he thought Daley might sit this one out because he now has Obama (and Rahm) as "his man in Washington." The other reality is that the man who "got out the vote" when Rahm won, Don Tomczak, is now in jail for corruption.  This, and many other prosecutions since then, have put a damper on the machine's main sources of "volunteers" -- i.e. city workers who support whoever they are told in exchange for jobs, etc.

Another element that I think could play a positive role is the fact that Illinois is under a spotlight right now, and there could be some real media interest in this race.  Not as much as in the Blago saga, but anything that lets voters know that there is going to be an election and that there will be people on the ballot other than whoever their machine committeeman says to vote for is a good thing.

link (4.00 / 1)
I meant to post this link to a Kass column about Don Tomczak and his role in Emanuel's ascendancy to congress and forgot.  Here it is:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/...

[ Parent ]
Also (0.00 / 0)
if you click through to the Progress Illinois story you will see their positive commentary on 43rd Ward Democratic Committeeman Michele Smith, who I am proud to say, was a Northside DFA endorsed candidate. She was successfully able to oust the machine committeeman, who was a Daley loyalist.  At the meeting Michele stood up to the party leaders and defended the the idea of an open primary, which is a great development. At what has often been a closed process, progressives had our own "man on the inside."  This is just another example of why these "little" races (like Democratic Committeeman) are so important, though that was NOT an easy win for Michele.    
How about the unions? (0.00 / 0)
Will they support Geoghegan or at least commit to remain neutral?

It would seem they owe him at least the latter, though of course they'll most likely go with the machine candidate-whoever this is understood to be.

What happens on this front will probably make or break G's campaign, it seems to me.

$40 for Geoghegan (0.00 / 0)
My first kick-in since the 08 election, and I have promoted OpenLeft to be my new contribution scold, replacing Daily Kos.
IL-5: Good News for Geoghegan - Career Pols Splitting Chicago Machine Apart | 5 comments
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