Monday, January 17, 2011

SQUID CELEBRATES MODERN HIGH WITH A DALEY IN THE WHITE HOUSE. “IF ANYBODY CAN REELECT OBAMA….”

 

         Clear Election of Emanuel and Returned City White  Majority High on List.
       Note: This is an extended and updated article written recently for The Wanderer, America’s oldest (167 year old) national Catholic Weekly.
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           Last week the white-run Squid…the peculiar living organism formed to elect Democrats (misnamed an inanimate “machine”) which has multi-quivering tentacles into business, labor, academe, media and the Roman Catholic chancery, a thousand eyes, sucks up nutrients, nurtures wastrels and discharges idealists as effluent…found three great reasons to celebrate the undeniable highest point of its 80-year existence.
        I’ll start the way  late-night comic David Letterman does—with the third reason and lead up to the first.
                   Three Big Reasons The Squid is Overjoyed.
        3rd Biggest Reason: A  Returned (Slightly) White Chicago Majority.
       Despite its exploitation of blacks and Hispanics for massive vote turnout since the 1930s and giving them little in return, the Caucasian-led Squid has been worrying for decades about the day when blacks take over city control in perpetuity.  What the media don’t report is: The Squid isn’t an equal opportunity outfit.  Never has been.
       The second lowest point for it was in 1983 when Harold Washington, the city’s first African American mayor, won election…although it was stalled from running things due to the Vrdolyak 29.  The absolute lowest was when Washington won reelection in 1987 picking up  enough council allies to turn back the Vrdolyak 29.   A sub-highpoint for it was shortly after reelection at the point where he was supreme, when Washington slumped over his desk, dead of a massive heart attack.  The white-dominated inter-regnum lasting two years paved the way for the coronation of Richard M. Daley aka Richard II.
       Richard M. Daley gave the city bread and circuses, higher taxes, a massive park in its front yard and flower pots lining the boulevards and privatized parking meters that hit hard at the middle class.  He spent the moon. With no interference from his Squid council he plunged the city into a financial abyss with its nearly $15 billion IOU to its pension fund dwarfing its $6 billion annual budget. From 2005-09 city expenses grew  at a clip more than double the rate of inflation—with the gap bridged by one-time revenue sources such as the privatization of the Chicago Skyway (17% of day-to-day operations will be paid that way in 2011).  
         Property taxes are sky-high; yet not a penny of its nearly $800 million revenue the city will reap this year is earmarked for police, fire and other cash-starved day-to-day operations.
         High taxes caused many blacks to flee the city.  Daley II also demolished much of public housing which his father, Richard I had created, causing the Old Man’s enemies to charge they were nothing less than filing cabinets for the black poor. Under Daley II, Chicago’s phenomenally high property taxes coupled with housing vouchers induced the poor to move to blue-collar suburbs where costs are much lower. Result: The black population fell 11% since 2000; number of whites tripled; whites  slightly edge blacks for the first time since 1980 (a smidgen over a third white, a smidgen under a third black and the balance Latinos most of whom either can’t or don’t vote…which The
Squid hopes will stay that dormant, Asians etc)..  
        Other middle class blacks moved back to their ancestral South which has a much more hospitable climate for diversity, an improved tax climate and job opportunities.  This produced census figures showing that for the first time since 1980 the city has a white majority—richer, yuppies, affluent singles, gays.   Hispanics mark  a 7% growth but not much to worry about, . Asians making up the total. Thus the outlook is good for The Squid to keep white leadership with the Irish dominant…while still relying, plantation-style, on the remaining black poor to do the political grunt work and get absolutely no power in reward.
      2nd Biggest Reason: No Serious Alternative to Rahm Emanuel. .
     This would have been a golden chance for the black community to loft up some extraordinary  qualified candidates, such as John Clark, president of ComEd and the brilliant Terry Peterson, senior veep of Rush Medical Center who was an outstanding boss of mass transit.   But these talented African American managers and others like them aren’t interested in running because the city’s financials are a can of worms.  Nor are they  close to the city’s oracular, media-celebrated real black messiah, the Rev. Jesse Jackson.  Jackson, whose own kids even call him “Reverend Jackson,” not Dad or Pop, sought to challenge The Squid with a creature of his own.
        After a well-publicized caucus he and his surrogates came out with endorsement for Carol Moseley Braun, the first black woman U. S. Senator. Most serious observers—not in the major media here, however said “you can’t be serious!”   On the surface okay but when she grudgingly complied with the rule to reveal past income tax forms, it was clear she is in dreadful personal financial shape, owing $250,000 to a backer and the possessor of a Hyde Park house that is barely afloat with four mortgages. When the Teamsters union ran a poll last week,  Rahm Emanuel, was far ahead of Moseley Braun—so far ahead that it looks like he’ll win going away on Feb. 22 with no need of a runoff.
         The Gray Wolves, the resurrected 1920s-style venal white Squid aldermen who don’t mind seeing the city go to rack-and-ruin if they can make money out of it—and who have subtly opposed Emanuel….largely funding the residency suits against him… now are cautiously coming to his.  Because Emanuel has no  moral core he is ideal for the mayoralty and co-leadership of The Squid (with Speaker Michael Madigan) and neither can he be rolled by the Gray Wolves  for the pure and simple reason his reputation for the future (he wants to ride a tough-bitten mayoralty ala Andrew Cuomo as NY governor to become the first Jewish president)… would be irreparably damaged—so he is the best in a lousy selection.
      1st Reason:  At Last—A Daley in the White House!
         The Squid doesn’t really doesn’t give a rat’s eyelash about Barack Obama believing (rightly) he’s an amateur who couldn’t even beat the  lazy mumbling, inept Bobby Rush for Congress, an inexperienced, Harvard-University of Chicago radical dreamer, flaky and undependable without the street-sense of a ward committeeman (his ability to wreak harm on the country being of no consequence to it since The Squid regards patriotism as irrelevant to its existence).  But it’s ecstatic about the ascension of Richie Daley’s kid brother to become chief of staff.   Why?
       Remember The Squid has no ideology. And Bill Daley has none either…but he has the swashbuckling buccaneer qualities on money-raising and strategy it loves.  He was (1) born in Bridgeport, ancestral home of the Daleys; (2) has been a bank president; (3) at the highest point earned $5 million a year; (4) came to the White House fresh from supervising the Washington lobbying efforts of the nation’s second largest bank, JPMorgan/Chase.  The Squid adores lobbyists except the goo-goo kind and Bill Daley’s certainly not one of those.
       He’s been (5) a director of Chicago-based Boeing the giant military contractor which can only do well if we’re either waging war or preparing to wage one…(6) a director of Abbott Laboratories, the huge global drug outfit that has a massive stake in cutting a deal with ObamaCare which has used Billy Daley up until the minute of his White House appointment to kill the tax on medical devices that would save it $20 billion.
            Up until last week Daley (7) tried to weaken the structure of the newly-passed  Consumer Financial Protection program and jiggle around with suggestions of a more malleable agency head…which earns The Squid’s admiration.  He’s been (8) a lobbyist for foreign corporations (Nestle and a Canadian oil company)…the one who (9) until last week was seeking to influence the payback terms of TARP, making it easier for his bank to pay back the money, a prodigious political fund-raiser.   And last if not least, (10) his appointment has been lavishly praised by Obama’s most skilled enemies—the  U. S.  Chamber of Commerce and the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal!
         But the icing on the cake is (11) he’s a bona fide Squid operator conscience-exempt from queasiness which by itself…without any birthright at all…puts him at the table with Eddie Burke, Dick Mell In his spare time he had the idea some years ago in creating the HDO, the Hispanic Democratic Organization as a brilliant vehicle to enlist Latinos.  Chicago Streets and San commissioner, Al Sanchez, its leader just got 20 years for rigging personnel records to reward loyal Hispanics while Billy’s big brother the mayor said “everybody who knows me knows I had nothin’ to do with it.” Of  course he didn’t.  It was Billy. 
      That’s all that’s needed: The Squid is in love. 
                                 Daley the Brilliant Campaign Manager.
            The reason Obama listened to his advisors who insisted he pick Bill Daley whom he hardly knows is because he hopes Daley is the conduit to his reelection after two years of flailing and falling—whereupon Obama can pick up where he left off and return to his old socialist 3rd World Visionary Self to the detriment and possible dissolution of the country.  Being The Squid, it gives the future not a thought—for the present rules. 
       It’s exactly for that reason…giving Obama two years time to turn this country into a neo-socialist European one…that the Left has abandoned its supposedly high-minded, idealistic, media-oriented, concern for ethics and transparency…giving not a rat’s eyelash for a lobbyist in charge.  The future potential—the socialization and further secularization of America—is too dear.
       The predictions were that the Left would erupt in open revolt.  Not so.   Aside from a few gasps, have you heard any complaint from The  Sun-Times’ editorial page or its stable of lip-synch lefties: Carol Marin, Mary Mitchell, Mark Brown, Lynn Sweet, Richard Roeper, Rick Telander, Roger Ebert?  The Tribune editorial page, The New York Times, the New Cooperative’s Jimmy Warren, the broadcast media, even The Daily Kos or The Huffington Post?   Not at all.  The reason?
         They believe Bill Daley is indispensable to give the steering wheel a twist to the right—sufficient to cause Big Business to gain a restored faith in Obama and reelect him.  Then Obama will return to his old ultra-liberal ways. Then Bill Daley will go back to his lobbying and Obama to 3rd World policies.  They are confident Bill Daley has the magic.
         Indeed, the Bill Daley track record reassures this. Remember in 2000 when a floundering Al Gore drafted Daley as his presidential campaign manager?  No?  How soon we forget!  When Daley came aboard Gore was 20 points under the favorite for the nomination, New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley.  Bradley was running to the right of Gore. By the time the Dem convention came `round, Gore had pictured Bradley as a vague idealist  and had defeated Bradley in all 20 primaries and caucuses. Bradley dropped out and endorsed Gore.  Gore went on to beat George W. Bush in the popular vote 48.38% to 47.87%.
           All largely due to Daley. No kidding—it was!
             The national Dem party—and the compliant media--believe a sabbatical from lefty policies is needed for Obama to come back strong, get reelected and proceed with left-wing populism until 2016, if there’s a country left by then.   The Squid doesn’t care. It has no ideology and if any strong feeling is due Obama, it dislikes him. It just wants a cut of the swag.  Not being a national organism, it’s mainly interested in its local surroundings. 
      Repeating: it’s overjoyed that a Daley will be in place to reelect Obama.  It doesn’t care a fig about Obama but it does the national goodies that accrues with an ally in power.
           That’s why with a Daley in the front office, the White House figuratively has a new address:  1600  Chicago Way, Washington, D.C.
                     High Taxes: Juicy Contracts but a Threat to The Squid.
          While Illinois—like Chicago--is in terrible economic shape The Squid’s deliriously happy that its co-head….for the time being the only head, House Speaker Mike Madigan… delivered the 67%  hike in the state income tax as well as a hike in the corporate income tax to 5.25% from 4% which marks Illinois as possessor of the highest corporate tax in the industrialized world—involving more than $1,600 plus in taxes per year per family.  In addition, Gov. Quinn is planning to borrow $15 billion to pay the bills for this year. 
          The Squid doesn’t kid itself. The record of heavy taxes could be a drain on the national Dems’ campaign in 2012. Besides,  Bill Daley or no Bill Daley, it thinks Obama will be a lousy candidate in 2012.   So it has to devise an Undertow Effect.
        What’s that?   In 1960 with Richard I in power, The Squid used extensive polling and many of its minions concluded the charismatic Boston Brahmin JFK  running for president was a terrible candidate for Chicago, another Adlai Stevenson (astounding to think of now, but true then).  Daley however strung along with JFK strictly because his father, Old Joe, had salved up The Squid with huge globs of “inside” money. 
          Be that as it may….with Daley warming to Kennedy and the remainder of The Squid dubious…along came a local issue that created an Undertow pushing one major Squid candidate in, and as a byproduct, Kennedy.
           A Republican states attorney, Ben Adamowski, a Squid defector, was running for reelection saying if returned to office he’d start prosecuting City Hall and would not stop until he reached the top meaning Daley.
        That electrified Daley and The Squid. The big job turned to the cause that demanded Adamowski be defeated.  It picked the DePaul law dean to run against him—Dan Ward…with no prior involvement in politics and a willingness to allow The Squid to exert itself until its eyes bugged out from exertion to elect him over Adamowski.
      So to its regular patronage army delivering the vote on the taxpayers’ dime, it added many more than the usual  drunks, the ill, mentally disabled in nursing homes, the insane, vagrants, a new twist: Buses of importees from Gary.   And for the first time, Bill Dawson’s Numbers Racket proceeds  on the South Side helped pay for votes. 
        Fear of a prosecutor sending Old Man Daley to jail produced a tidal wave of straight ticket votes defeated the GOP states attorney  by 25,000 20% ahead of recent years.  It produced an Undertow as powerful as the surge created on the New York City dock when the Staten Island Ferry pulls up to the dock…this first used by  Jim Farley to inform a minor Democratic candidate in 1932 how he would win although the party couldn’t afford to give him any campaign funds.
       Applying Farley’s vivid metaphor to 1960 in Cook county:
        When the Staten Island Ferry churns up to the pier, the helmsman puts on the brakes and the ensuing backflow sucks the refuse from the deepest part of the waters…beer bottles, garbage, used condoms, an occasional dead cat…and regurgitates the grey fragrant  disgusting mess upward.  It isn’t pretty but in a Chicago context among this refuse was the pale, $1000-suit clad body of liberalism’s Young Brahmin Prince, John F. Kennedy who carried Illinois with just enough Undertow propulsion from Cook.
     Adamowski himself recalled…when I visited with him years later at the City Club…that “for hours—long hours—there were no returns coming in to the City News Bureau…then the official reporting place for vote totals… from the River Wards and elsewhere in the city for States Attorney.  You’d have thought there was no election for that post.  Then just at the right time when other returns were coming in showing me rising came the returns from those areas—in huge quantities.”
     Adamowski demanded a recount; Nixon decided against one for him. When the Nixon forces abdicated the Adamowski people were left high and dry….but a test-market of recounting in 900 precincts showed hardly a change in votes for Nixon but a substantial one for Adamowski—gaining a phenomenal 10,000 votes for him, narrowing the margin of loss from 25,000 to 15,000.  Continuing the recount would cost Adamowski more than $600 a day: he didn’t have the money and with the Nixon forces surrendering,  had to give up.  But the test showed, as Mike Royko said in Boss, that the Squid “was more concerned with beating Adamowski than in electing Kennedy.”
      The inventors of Camelot…Ted Sorensen and Teddy White the little bald goggle-eyed novelist-turned campaign biographer…cogitated and saw the Illinois victory had been possibly stolen in Cook but then what the hell there was finagling elsewhere as well…still how touching it was, novelist White wrote, being the soulful wish of an old Irish chieftain Daley who went to Mass every morning to go the utmost to elect the first Irish Catholic to the presidency…a myth that has become sewn into the legends in American history.
        That myth has continued to be perpetuated by the misty-eyed liberal media that celebrates a legacy invented out of whole cloth by their predecessors.
         In 2012 Obama will be far from the Messiah he appeared in `08. The blacks will vote heavily for him again since despite being freed from slavery they have willingly become an indentured class yet again.
         To pull Obama through Illinois by 2012 with The Squid’s legacy of huge tax increases much more than black predictability will be required. Meaning: another Undertow for Cook county to swell the regurgitative force needed in the  presidential reelection to propel Obama from the dark river bottom to flip-flop on the pier.    What shall it be?
        Well, my guess is there won’t be any.
         You’ve heard the one about the Devil winning all battles until the last, climactic one, haven’t you?  
       That’s what I believe.
      
       
      

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