This time, the real
Dan Hynes showed
up, and he was great.
Dan Hynes. Photo courtesy of Richard Luchette,
Press Assistant to Dan Hynes for Governor.
Click on photo for larger image.
In my
previous story about Dan, I expressed concern that
Dan was a puppet of his handlers at his campaign
kick-off news conference, vague and evasive, and
was like a kid being dragged around by Mommy and Daddy.
I said that I hoped that this was a one-time fluke.
It was.
At the
Buffalo Grove Days
Parade, last Sunday, Dan was back to being his normal,
competent, progressive self. No handlers! It was just
Dan and me, talking about the urgent issues that are
facing the State of Illinois, with several dozens
campaign supporters, nearby, who marched with him once
the parade got going.
Dan's answers were direct, specific and
knowledgeable.
I told Dan that he should
be the odds-on favorite to win the Governor's race, and
not just the Democratic Primary, because
Pat Quinn
(whom I also like a lot) has committed political suicide
by promising to raise everybody's taxes by 50%. Since
this is a Democratic-leaning state, Dan should win this
thing.
Sure, with additional deductions or exemptions, the
impact of Pat's tax increase on lower income taxpayers
will be reduced, but what people are actually hearing
and remembering is that Pat will raise taxes on
everybody by 50%. Just about the only people who would
vote for that are people on the receiving end of
government payouts, and also poor people who don't pay
taxes.
I then said to Dan that he
needs to be specific about his Plan
for Tax Fairness & Fiscal Prosperity. For example,
Dan has promised cutting 50% of Blagojevich's
appointees, but doesn't say which ones (see page 9 of
his Plan). Dan also says that he has identified 7% of
grants that he would eliminate, but doesn't say which
ones (also on page 9 of his Plan).
Dan replied by giving me the name of a high-ranking
campaign manager that I can call at any time to get
those specifics, which is fine. I'll do that, soon, and
let you know, in an upcoming post, about those
specifics.
I let Dan know, once again,
about my concerns pertaining to those hundreds of items
in the
Capital Bill that I've
written about, which are unconstitutional donations
to houses of worship, parochial schools and religious
ministries. Dan promised to keep an eye out for any of
those grants that are presented to the Comptroller's
office and carefully scrutinize those requests for
payment.
I concluded by suggesting to Dan that he get rid of
those handlers from his kick-off news conference (no,
Richard Luchette, who provided the photo in this
article, was not there), because they were destroying
his candidacy by trying way too hard to control him and
obstruct the flow of information. I said that other
reporters had complained, to me, that Dan wouldn't give
a straight answer on issues, such as whether haircuts
would be included in his proposed tax on services.
If Dan is going to tax
haircuts, fine. Haircuts don't cost that much money and
we only get haircuts a handful of times each year, so
we're not talking about a lot of money, here. If he's
not going to tax haircuts, that's even better, of
course. What's not OK is for Dan to not figure out
where he stands on this issue or other issues, and to
not take a position on issues so that voters will know
where he stands on the issues. Dan needs to demonstrate
leadership, the
centerpiece
issue in his campaign, by being willing to make
tough decisions. Take a stand, any stand, on
controversial issues, and say what they are when you're
asked about them.
Dan also needs to eliminate the smear tactics against
his fellow Democrat, Pat Quinn. Pat already has a long
and distinguished career as an activist
and progressive government official, so Dan only makes
himself look bad when he does the Republican-style,
fear-and-smear, politics of personal destruction against
Pat. Dan is a good enough candidate that he should talk
about himself and his proposals. Leave Pat alone to
promote Pat's plan to raise everybody's taxes by 50%.
Since the parade, Dan has
posted to Daily
Kos, a progressive internet publication. Having a
governor who is progressive is a good thing. Having a
governor who associates with progressive media lets us
know that Dan would be the kind of governor that we can
count on to do the right thing.
I will be voting for
Richard Whitney,
of course, because I'm a member of the
Green Party of Illinois
and Rich is a really good, progressive candidate. I
hope Rich wins, but Dan has shown, this week, that he is
very worthy and would make a good governor, too.
Pat Quinn is also a good, progressive candidate, so
with Dan, Rich and Pat all running for Governor, we
should end with a great governor in after the next
election. Even the Republicans have some good
candidates for Governor, but who needs them when we can
have Dan, Rich or Pat?
