Personal Aside: Mike Madigan, that Shrewd Old Fox, Caught Helping His Daughter Again (What’s New?).

The idealistic news media, covering the closure of the legislative session, are weeping bitter tears. I have been studying these sensitive, hope-filled people since 1953 as a journalist, while covering the Minnesota legislature, as a congressional aide and press secretary to a governor, then assistant commerce secretary, foreign service officer, corporate executive, adjunct university teacher and now, as an octogenarian, as a part-time talk show host and blogger. Believe me, they are all of the same stripe: they are fated to fall in love with Democratic politicians and each time their hearts are broken, they turn to another Dem substitute. That’s because frankly of lack of religion in their makeup. They are in love with Obama, of course: but he’s in Washington. Who’s here? In Chicago?

Long ago they embraced relativism in philosophy, negated much of a belief in the Hereafter, and substituted reliance on the Divinity of Democratic Liberalism. Always to be forsaken, jilted. Why? Because politicians of both parties are almost all of the same stripe. They proclaim a new day dawning for idealism but think eternally and everlastingly of themselves and their own well-being.

The latest example of wounded journalistic hearts has occurred when House Speaker Mike Madigan decided, cold-heartedly but sagely…savagely in his on interest…to advance his step-daughter’s likely election by doing a minimum of heavy lifting to spare the state from running out of money, thus depriving a good many needy souls who cannot exist without assistance, of the possibility of state funding. And the flood of tears comes from the media who…against their better judgment…always felt (feel is the operative word here) that to be a Democrat—even Mike Madigan, if truth be known-- is to put the interest of…the poor, the huddled masses (as “up to our asses in huddled masses”)…minorities…the downtrodden…the exploited union workers…, the terribly underpaid teachers…the forgotten…the overlooked…the abjectly, discriminated-against…the sexually betwixt and between…the exploited females…the enfeebled and retarded… (anyone but the unborn)…foremost before personal, partisan interest.

They were eager to write the story. How a tough Irish machine politician from the southwest side rose to the challenge and passed a tax hike just because…just because it was the right thing to do! How those words would soar!

But then Madigan, a terse Irishman with a smug laconic tendency, who behaves always like a Cheshire Cat (“if you only knew what I know”) when faced with the opportunity to be a vaunted liberal hero…steering the state to adopt a hefty income tax increase…this self-same Mike Madigan has resolved to give the governor only the bare necessities for a half-year—forcing the governor (rival of Madigan’s little purring kitty carried around on a velvet pillow, his step-daughter), forcing that governor to make the drastic budget cuts that will likely ruin that governor with all those liberal special interest groups (rather than re-enumerate them, see paragraph above) which will ruin him in the Democratic primary. But why-why do the idealistic media not learn? Answer: they cannot because their hope is in regnant liberalism rather than anything ethereal. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of the here and now,

First the idealistic media was overjoyed at the ascension of Pat Quinn to the governorship—but he has proved a weak man and has dashed their hopes, he by not letting go thousands of people named by his predecessor at a snap of his imperial fingers. But also because he is not Lisa Madigan. She-she-she is their hope. Still while waiting for Lisa to sweep the primary, the idealistic media wanted to see good done: with an income tax hike which would make them feel so good that the inequity held by the rich shall be forfeited, to “spread the wealth around” in the words of their Messiah.

If only Mike Madigan had satisfied them, given them their tax hike and had deprived his step-daughter of an issue for the good of the state. Ah once again they don’t know liberal politicians who are not all that different from conservative politicians…but the idealistic media believe they are.

So Madigan produces only 42 Democratic votes for the tax hike. Forty-two paltry votes! Now even the media, with Mike Flannery and Carol Marin excepted as true believers… understand now that it’s all a game…to screw Quinn in 2010. And Madigan has put into the bill the proposal that the secretary of state, not the governor, would have the power to hand out the Democratic pork goodies.

Never, never will the liberal idealistic media ever learn. Because they are agnostic on everything else…doubting God, doubting absolutes, questioning virtue…knowing just one Certainty: the beneficence of big government. So once more, after they dry their eyes following this last betrayal, they will summon up their idealism once more and believe…believe whom? Not Quinn. Not Mike. Not Cullerton. Not Meeks. Not anyone but--.

Lisa! You know, she may well be a person far different from her step-father! She has those shining eyes of idealism…she seems to rise above pettiness…yes, yes, she is the repository of our newly reborn idealism!