Posted on 02/10/2010 7:55:49 AM PST by re_tail20
Terrence O’Brien got his start in Chicago Democratic politics like so many of his peers and the generations that came before him, dutifully ringing doorbells to solicit votes for his state senator on the far North Side. He rose to coordinating other precinct captains for such candidates as a young Cook County state’s attorney and mayoral hopeful named Richard M. Daley.
After serving some 20 years as an elected leader of the obscure-but-jobs-rich Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Mr. O’Brien decided last year that the time was ripe to seek higher office, to run for county board president. So he lined up the longest list of endorsements from Democratic Party leaders of any of the four candidates in Tuesday’s primary election.
Not so long ago, Mr. O’Brien would have had armies of precinct workers ringing doorbells — for him this time — and the backing of the party brass would have ensured a strong showing. Instead, Mr. O’Brien placed a distant second, 26 percentage points behind Alderman Toni Preckwinkle.
In doing so, Mr. O’Brien was one striking example of a major shift toward something new in Illinois Democratic politics: The end of the political machine has led to the primacy of the outsider candidate.
On Wednesday morning, Thomas Manion, Mr. O’Brien’s senior campaign strategist and a former mayoral political operative, said he lacked the stomach to look at the breakdown of votes: Mr. O’Brien had lost in most Chicago wards and suburban townships where local party leaders had endorsed him.
“The areas where we needed to do well, they gutted us,” Mr. Manion said of the opposition.
The party organizations “have been struggling with the decline of patronage,” he added. “That’s what made organizations strong. It’s a new world.”
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagonewscoop.org ...
“We’re witnessing the slow evolution of politics in this state,” Mr. Moore said at the end of his long night in hotel ballrooms.
SLOW is the key word.
Maybe that wasn’t a 4.3 earthquake that shook Chicago this morning...
The precincts were almost deserted of poll workers on the date of the primary election — the bare minimum effort was put into this election.
Apparently he hadn’t “donated” quite enough to Shortshanks!
Whoops, replied to wrong thread. Delete? Sorry.
“It’s a new world.”
Yes, it is truly a new world. The TEA Parties have made an impact on EVERYONE. The “little voices” of conscience in the heads of Democrats everywhere have awakened to this new world where one vote which hasn’t been bought by taxpayer money can make an enormous difference.
This is the story of an old Machine. They stopped serving the people and were mainly serving themselves. They are dying out.
*IL ping*
The Combine is starting to rust.
It also seems that downstate Illinois had a greater than usual voice this year.
The republican part of the machine is still running strong.
I agree about the republican machine. I tried to run for state rep. (Beth Coulson’s seat). I asked Coulson to endorsed me, and she said that she wouldn’t endorse anyone. About 10 days later, she, State Rep. Cross, and IL GOP Chairman Brady endorsed the most liberal Republican, in that race.
And Chang did win the nomination right?
Blago came in third in Chicago in the 2002 rat primary for Governor. He won because he won downstate.
I think that Chang won. Since I was a write-in candidate, I have to wait unti Feb. 23, to get my results.
O’Brien was the only rat in the race who ‘promised’ to immediately repeal the tax hike.
I’m surprised Toni Preckwinkle won almost 50% of the vote. She was backed by the papers. I hope voters don’t still listen to them!
Hopefully the Republican Roger Keats has half a chance. Preckwinkle is Stroger in a pantsuit.
FWI her husband’s name is Zeus Preckwinkle.
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