Rich Miller: No escaping the goofiness

I missed this yesterday. Rich Miller of the CapFax published his latest syndicated column yesterday talking about the Governor's race. He compares Gov. Pat Quinn and state Sen. Bill Brady to the Harlem Globetrotter's inept longtime foes the Washington Generals:

A Washington Generals split squad game would surely be a sight to behold. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to imagine such a spectacle. We’ve got one right here in Illinois.

Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn spoke to throngs of angry union members at the site of a factory which is being retooled in part by out-of-state workers. Unions have been quite unhappy about the use of nonunion employees from other states and have been protesting for weeks.

“When there’s a job to be done,” Quinn told the union members, “look to Illinois workers because they are second to none.”

The very next day, Quinn finally announced the hiring of his new campaign manager - a young out-of-stater who has never run an Illinois campaign. His main claim to fame is that he works for the Wisconsin lieutenant governor. Before pursuing that guy, Quinn tried to hire someone from Kentucky, but was politely turned down.

If this “Factories should hire Illinois workers but I don’t have to” gaffe was an isolated case, then it would be no big deal. But Quinn has stumbled time and time again, to the point where he nearly lost his Democratic primary race after leading by more than 30 points. Like the Generals’ rare victories, Quinn lucked into his win.

And then there’s Bill Brady, who earlier this month challenged reporters to “find the tape” of him even once supporting a 10 percent across the board budget cut. Brady insisted he’d never said it. My intern Dan Weber found the tape quickly because Brady has made the across the board cut proposal literally dozens of times. Only a Washington General wannabe could make a goofy mistake like that. It almost looked like he did it on purpose, kinda like how the Generals stood around listlessly while the Globetrotters performed their awesome comedy routines.

Again, this is no isolated case. Brady, like Quinn, has a history of giving his opponent sweet little gifts, like introducing a puppy and kitty mass killing legalization bill right after he won his primary by 200-odd votes. A few months ago, Brady spoke in favor of a massive pension borrowing scheme. This month, he lobbied hard against a much smaller version supported by Gov. Quinn, claiming it was the wrong thing to do.

Kind of depressing don't you think?

I've followed Bill Brady somewhat in 2006. Who knows if the outcome would've been different had he run against Blagojevich. Of course we know Blagojevich had the ability to do what it took to win back then anyway.

I can't get with the idea of Pat Quinn as Governor and Bill Brady well he needs work! In Bill Brady's favor is that Quinn in the incumbent and he barely put to rest a primary challenge in the form of outgoing state Comptroller Dan Hynes. On top of that Gov. Quinn still has to contend with the continuing brewing controversy with regards to the state's Department of Corrections.

From what I can gather Quinn has been making all the bad moves since he replaced Blagojevich last year. In his favor, however, is the fact that I generally consider Quinn an honest man unlike his immediate predessor. It could've only been hoped that he would manage the state in a much different manner than Ousted governor.

Tough election in a year where we just know there might be some sure victories for Republicans. Might the possible wave of Republican victories skip Illinois?