By: Mark Glennon*
Such a strange and scary feeling in Illinois tonight. I’ve certainly never felt something like this before an election. It’s a sense of foreboding. As if a final assault from an enemy will come tomorrow over the walls protecting the village. A warm breeze is blowing from the southwest now, but they say it will get harsh and cold again tomorrow.
Maybe it’s my perspective and who I’ve been talking to. I’m not much of a Republican. I just despise Cook County Democrats and I’m a financial realist. Lots of people I know have, like me, actively supported Bruce Rauner and others challenging incumbent Illinois Democrats. This evening, I have been watching the emails and tweets about the campaigns they are helping, and talked to some of them by phone. They are scurrying to do every last thing they can think of. Still dropping off yard signs. Still asking who can call whom. Still worrying, “What haven’t we thought of that we could do?”
It’s different from the atmosphere Obama created initially. I saw that and understood it. It was based of optimism and hope, however misguided that may have been. Tonight, it’s fear. The election is a toss-up, everybody knows, and the fate of their homeland is on the line.
There’s a sense of living in an alternate reality, knowing that the other half of voters see fit to re-elect the same leadership.
People seem anxious to reassure each other as they ask what will happen tomorrow. “You’ve done your part,” I have heard twice, and “We can be proud about all we’ve done,” said another email.
“God help us if they win again” is another. I’m not religious in any conventional sense, but Amen to that.
UPDATE: Perhaps a huge meteor over Chicago had something to do with it. I didn’t see it, but plenty of press reports like this one linked here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WYm6NO2jIgQ#t=0
*Mark Glennon is founder of WirePoints
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
This past weekend George Will shared a Mae West quote that is especially applicable in Illinois’ gubernatorial race. She said “Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.”