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Election 2008 Thu Nov 20 2008
More to Jesse Jr. Than Some Think
By all accounts, Cong. Jesse Jackson, Jr. is on the "short list" of possibilities to fill Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat for the next two years. Some newspapers and activists have been actively lobbying for Gov. Blagojevich, who has sole discretion in the decision, to appoint Jackson.
With Valerie Jarrett having withdrawn her name from consideration, Jackson is said to be the leading African-American contender for the spot, a not inconsiderable factor given that Obama was the only African-American in the Senate. While there isn't, and shouldn't be, any such thing as a "black seat," and Obama's election itself is sign that some racial barriers are not as high as they once were, a return of the upper house to a body devoid of African-Americans is unsettling to some, with reason.
However, as much as he is an African-American congressman, Jesse Jackson, Jr. is also a smart congressman, and a progressive congressman. He would certainly satisfy Obama's stated criterion that the next senator be someone who has a passion to stand up for working men and women. Jackson was one of those Democrats who initially voted against the financial "bailout" bill, and changed his vote only after lobbying by Obama, who personally assured him that the incoming administration would make further changes to help homeowners and taxpayers.
Ask 50 politicians, activists, and pundits about who the governor will appoint and you can get 50 different theories. Speculation about factors negatively affecting Jackson's chances that I've heard are that "Rahm doesn't like him," or that "the governor doesn't like him," or that national Democratic leaders doubt his ability to carry the state in 2010, when the Obama seat is up for re-election. Suburban and downstate voters, goes this line of reasoning, have a visceral negative reaction to the name "Jesse Jackson" and would not even distinguish Jr. from Sr.
I don't buy it. First let's be real: Despite Illinois' current "blueness," the state is not a lock for any Democrat. Obama did not do as well in Illinois against McCain as he did in his own Senate race. Arguments about weakness in a statewide race, depending on the GOP nominee, could be conjured up with equal force against liberal Cong. Jan Schakowsky; Tammy Duckworth, apparently well-regarded by party leaders but who's never held office and is not associated strongly with issues or constituencies besides veterans; Cong. Danny Davis; and most of the others mentioned, plus many who aren't on the radar but might be very capable. The guilt-by-association-with-your-father argument would be made against Lisa Madigan, who by all accounts has little interest in jetting off to D.C. and has her sights on other state constitutional office, or against comptroller Dan Hynes (gee, we seem to have a lot of family relationships in Illinois politics, don't we?). Probably only Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who did once run for senator from Illinois, has strong statewide brand strength without identifiable negative reaction from Republican voters; if anything, the strongest dislike of Quinn comes from some Democrats he's rankled.
Yet, I see any of the above, and for that matter most any capable Democrat, as also being able to win the now strongly Democratic state -- not certain, but able -- and that applies to Jackson as well. He has undeniably high name recognition, and any well-funded race would offer him plenty of opportunity to differentiate himself.
The "who likes whom" theories don't wash. Emanuel and Blagojevich are successful Democratic politicians, and I doubt this decision will turn on personalities as much as on pragmatism. And the governor praised Jackson in his long press conference on an Obama replacement. Moreover, as strong an argument can be made that even some local politicians who are not in Jackson's fan club would dearly like to see him in the Senate, rather than possibly running for mayor in 2011.
Given the opportunity, Jackson can and would show himself to be more thoughtful and nuanced than some might assume, and capable of some surprises.
I had one such surprise while checking out the congressman's website. Prominent there is a section on the Civil War, and among the "Useful Links" is another section on the Civil War; it appears that Cong. Jackson is a student or at least fan of history (as am I, and, as is, by the way, our governor). Curious to see what Jesse Jackson, Jr. might find interesting about "Robert E. Lee," I clicked that subheading and was surprised to be directed not to any polemics, but to a speech of Lee's, and an essay on losing gracefully and reconciliation -- complete with a background web wallpaper of the confederate Stars and Bars.
Students of more recent history may recall how Carol Moseley-Braun famously challenged Jesse Helms and sought to have the federal patent for the insignia of the United Daughters of the Confederacy removed. By contrast, when Howard Dean was attacked for his reference to the Confederate flag as a symbol of poor Southern whites, who was it who defended Dean? Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Illinois not only fought on the side of the Union in the Civil War, it sacrificed an enormous number of lives in that effort, as a visit to the memorial square of almost any Illinois town will reveal. Certainly Jackson, by framing within his own website the Confederate flag, is not seeking to pander to any Southern audience, or to the hate groups who will hate him no matter what he puts on the Internet. What it does say is that this is a far more complex politician than stereotype would suggest, and one who might prove conventional wisdom wrong from time to time.
cletus warhol / November 20, 2008 1:53 PM
Jesse Jr. is probably the most viable pick among those who keep being mentioned (aside from Jan Shakowski). The only problem I have with him being appointed is that the whole "Third Airport in Peotone" chestnut would probably be revived. Nonetheless, I could definitely live with him as the choice.
I'm more concerned about who's going to run for Rahm's empty seat, as my favorite candidate amongst the mostly frightening field of possibilities being bandied about, John Cullerton, is going to be the new State Senate President.