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IL-SEN Sat Sep 05 2009
Dart's Probably Out But There's Still Alexi...
Mick Dumke reported that Sheriff Tom Dart, the sheriff who made national headlines by refusing to evict people from their houses during the beginning of the financial crisis, won't run for senate. I had been hoping Dart would run and from Dumke's post it sounds like Dart was seriously considering. Hell, he even still may be, he hasn't officially bowed out yet, this all comes from an anonymous source of Dumke's.
Still, Dumke is probably reporting the truth and it's too bad, Dart is a far better candidate than Giannoulias. That's not to say that Alexi is a bad candidate because he's not, but as Dumke notes, Giannoulias has some negative baggage:
Giannoulias, currently the state treasurer, is telegenic, progressive, and organized in addition to having plenty of money. So the question is whether his known soft spots--such as the loans made to organized crime figures by the bank his family owns--are what's wigging them out, or whether there's another big problem out there that they fear Republican Mark Kirk is waiting to exploit.
I won't be surprised if there's a bigger scandal waiting to be uncovered and loans connected to organized crime is no small black mark, especially if you're the State Treasurer. It doesn't look good. Meanwhile Dumke highlights Dart's appeal:
Dart is clearly viewed as a rising star. He's made reforms that appeal to progressives but has strong ties to old-school Chicago political organizations as well as downstate legislators. And he's savvy about choosing hot-button issues to take a stand on before the TV cameras.
Even Dart's biggest legally questionable moment (not evicting people from their houses) has its noble appeal. Dart has that thing that Giannoulias doesn't really. Giannoulias is coming out as the de facto candidate, Dart not as much.
Randi / September 6, 2009 2:16 PM
People don't like young Senators. I mean Joe Biden and Edward M. Kennedy were elected as senators at age 30, but they were both married with children by then. I saw "Sexy Lexi" chewing gum during an interview.
Dan Seals tried the whole Mark Kirk=George W. Bush stuff already and it didn't work then and it won't work now. I could care less is Alexi Giannoulias, a pro-player, bought with his family money his way into basketball games with Barack Obama.