Rahm Emanuel Needs Republican Help

National Journal ^ | March 17, 2015 | Josh Kraushaar

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The difficult task for Emanuel is to win their support while not alienating the more-progressive elements of the electorate. So the mayor is raising big money from wealthy conservative donors while sending a subtle message in his campaign ads that is designed to scare the more-affluent constituencies in the city—without trumpeting support from the Right. He has welcomed Rauner's quiet outreach for his campaign while also blasting the governor for his proposed budget cuts.

March 17, 2015 Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is about as partisan a Democrat as there is in this country. But to win a second term and avoid a humiliating defeat, he'll need to win over and turn out the small number of Republicans in the city.

Emanuel isn't openly telegraphing his runoff strategy, but signs of his reliance on the party he has worked to oppose his whole career are everywhere. Gov. Bruce Rauner, a longtime acquaintance of the mayor's, has been working behind the scenes to help his friend, while GOP Sen. Mark Kirk warned this month that Chicago could become like Detroit if Emanuel isn't reelected. Rahm's most recent ad comes straight out of the Mitt Romney playbook, accusing his outspokenly liberal opponent, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, of wanting to hike Chicagoans' taxes by supporting $1.9 billion in spending programs. Several of the top donors to Emanuel's Chicago Forward super PAC are conservative Republicans, including hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin, a top Romney supporter and a Crossroads contributor, and investor Muneer Satter, who spent more than $1 million over the past few years on behalf of top Republican candidates and is backing Jeb Bush's campaign for president.

"The circles that Rahm travels in have always been pretty diverse because he has a strong connection to the financial industry," said Tom Bowen, Emanuel's former political director. "Rahm gets a diverse mix of donors—he does get money from Ken Griffin, a big Rauner supporter, but he also gets money from Michael Sacks, a big supporter of President Obama's."

The race is shaping up to be one of the Democrats' first internal battles between the party's moderate Wall Street wing and its populist liberal grassroots. Emanuel's support for educational reform, efforts to overhaul the city's pension system, and ties to wealthy donors in the financial-services sector make him an easy target for the Left. While progressives failed to recruit a top challenger, Garcia has emerged as a stronger-than-expected opponent in the runoff, while also attempting to make history as the first Hispanic mayor of Chicago.

The fact that Garcia has a realistic shot of becoming the city's next mayor would have been unthinkable months ago. He wasn't considered a particularly credible candidate by progressives, who wanted the outspoken Emanuel rival, Chicago Teachers' Union President Karen Lewis, to run. Before making a decision, she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Alderman Bob Fioretti then looked like the most serious opponent, but he had little appeal in the minority communities where anti-Emanuel sentiment is strongest. Garcia, a little-known Cook County commissioner, emerged as the default challenger. After Emanuel underwhelmed in the first round of balloting with just 46 percent of the vote, the liberal opposition rallied behind Garcia, sending a golden opportunity to oust the mayor from office.

Now that the race is in a runoff, Chicago's unique electoral system empowers Republicans. Unlike in other big cities, Chicago's mayoral election is officially nonpartisan, even as its two combatants are proud Democrats. It's akin to the recently changed electoral system in California, which works to mobilize the middle by eliminating partisan primaries. In several of the state's House elections, two Democrats running against each other in heavily Democratic districts have found themselves wooing conservative supporters to win a majority. Likewise in Chicago, Emanuel's opponent is so liberal that the mayor has the opportunity to secure overwhelming margins among Republicans—enough to make the difference in a close race.

To be sure, Emanuel needs to improve his standing on multiple fronts, most significantly among African-American voters, who were irritated by the mayor's closing of underperforming public schools and have criticized him for his handling of the persistent violence on the South Side. Despite receiving a high-profile visit from President Obama before the primary, Emanuel won only 43 percent of the vote in majority-black wards while Garcia tallied 26 percent. Since then, prominent black leaders, including third-place finisher Willie Wilson and Rev. Jesse Jackson, have rallied behind Garcia. (Emanuel is betting on Obama's support to win over the undecideds, and hoping that black and Hispanic voters have enough disparate motivations that they won't ally to form an anti-Emanuel voting bloc.)

But in such a heavily Democratic city, Republicans are often a forgotten constituency, even though they can play a make-or-break role in a close race. While black voters make up about one-third of the city electorate, Republicans are about one-fifth. Rauner won 21 percent of the Chicago vote in 2014, and that largely affluent constituency loathes Garcia's background as a community organizer, an ally of the teacher's unions, and a supporter of higher public spending. Turnout in the wealthier, more-Republican wards was relatively low in the first round of the primary, but those voters are more likely to rally to Emanuel's side, given that the stakes are clearer in the runoff.

The difficult task for Emanuel is to win their support while not alienating the more-progressive elements of the electorate. So the mayor is raising big money from wealthy conservative donors while sending a subtle message in his campaign ads that is designed to scare the more-affluent constituencies in the city—without trumpeting support from the Right. He has welcomed Rauner's quiet outreach for his campaign while also blasting the governor for his proposed budget cuts.

Several new public polls show the mayor pulling ahead—51 percent to 37 percent in last week's Chicago Tribune poll; Ogden and Fry's latest weekly survey showed Emanuel up 47 percent to 37 percent—but his actions belie the numbers. For such a well-known figure to be polling at or under 50 percent weeks before the April 7 election is not an encouraging sign. In Tuesday's debate, Emanuel aggressively cast Garcia as a novice for not having a plan to deal with the city's economic challenges. The mayor's main path to victory is to outspend Garcia with millions in attack ads that raise enough questions about his challenger's qualifications.

"They're trying to play up the broader message that Chuy Garcia is not really up to the job," said one Illinois-based Democratic strategist unaffiliated in the mayoral race. "The people on Rahm's campaign are really worried. I don't feel like they think they have a good handle on how they take him down and win this thing. Rahm's mystique was the inevitability of success, and once you strip that away, more voters think this thing isn't a lock."

[Din Maker]

...the mayor is raising big money from wealthy conservative donors...
______________________________________________________________________________________

You have got to be kidding me. Well, I’ll tell you; there are only a few “true” Conservatives left is this nation.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Nothing like hitting rock bottom.

[a fool in paradise]

Maybe he’s getting money from “wealthy conservatives” like Nanny Bloomberg.

[jsanders2001]

Hell no. His brother was the architect of Obamacare which is a scourge against taxpayers and part of The Mark of the Beast citizen datal collection system,

[BlueStateRightist]

FURM! Join your friends. Chicago deserves full Marxism.

[Obadiah]

I have no doubt these “Conservatives” will gladly send him money. While it’s sickening to see, my guess here is that the alternative to Rahm is much worse, hard as that is to imagine.

[Haiku Guy]

How many nanoseconds after the last ballot is cast will it take for Rahm Emanuel to knife his Republican supporters in the back?

The look of shock and surprise on their faces as they feel the knife slip between their ribs might make it almost worth it.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

It’s the Chicago Way.

[Soul of the South]

“I have no doubt these “Conservatives” will gladly send him money. While it’s sickening to see, my guess here is that the alternative to Rahm is much worse, hard as that is to imagine.”

Wealthy moderate Republican elitists being played in the same way they play conservatives. The message is the same - support me because I’m not as bad as the other guy.

The reality is most of these wealthy conservatives would prefer to hang out with Rahm than with the average GOP voter. Which demonstrates once again the USA is no longer a classless society. The elites protect the elites first. The rest of us are an afterthought.

[Obadiah]

Spot on.

[SpaceBar]

If you were taking photographs by a river and saw Rahm Emanuel drowning, what f-stop would you use?

[Liz]

HERE'S RAHM ON OBAMA'S INAUGURATION DAY greeting Republicans.

Now Rahm is in a humiliating position----in obeisance to Republicans---sucking-up for support...
(cough) "raising money" from wealthy Republicans. Wonder what fund-raising pitches Rahm is using?

(more below)

[Liz]

Rhambo was forced into a humiliating election runoff.
But Obama was an even bigger loser---he campaigned for his ex-COS.

SOURCE: cnn.com

==================================================

Mayor Rahm "raised" and spent zillions to get re3elected. Since leaving the White House as Obama’s chief of staff in 2010 to run for mayor the first time around, Emanuel (cough) raised about $30 million..... $15 million alone for this election-----an eye-popping four times as much as the total of his four challengers combined.

Emanuel spendt freely, nearly $7 million to monopolize the airwaves with ads. Rahm ran 4,600 TV ads since Nov.......while his opponents are nearly invisible.

==============================================

THIS MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD shortly after quitting his powerful WH job as Obama's COS, Rahm held a presser declaring he "just remembered" he really, Really wanted to be Mayor of Chicago. Then Rahm announced he had magically "raised" $30 million for his campaign in "just a matter of weeks." (waiting for hysterical laughter to die down).

Ya gotta wonder how much the cunning onetime Wall Streeter wired offshore when Obama put Rahm--in a dual role---as his COS....... AND in charge of the entire US Treasury.

================================================

BACKSTORY---THE KINGPINS OF CHICAGO CRIMINAL POLITICS IN OUR WH wasted no time.....they had a stranglehold on the Census, AND the US Treasury, from day one.

The minute Obama/Valerie/Rahm/Axelrod/Geithner, and that Practiced bunch of Chicago criminals, landed in the WH they did two things that were apparently crucial to their evil plans

(a) they took control of the US Census;

(b) Obama placed his COS Rahm Emanuel in control of the US Dept of the Treasury (cabinet-level agency oversees IRS).

THE SMOKING GUN---WSJ REPORT--On Jan 20, 2009 Timothy Geithner was appointed Obama's Secy of the Treasury. But within three weeks, the Obama White House tightened its grip on Treasury. Obama put his COS, Rahm Emanuel, in charge of Treasury---Rahm Emanuel's dual role was an unusual move.

When he got to Treasury, WH COS Rahm Emanuel was so involved in the inner workings of the Treasury that the phrase "Rahm wants it" had become an unofficial mantra among subservient govt staffers, prostrate in obeisance, scurrying to accede to Rahm's wishes, according to Treasury government officials. Reported by WSJ / 05/31/09

More here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124113406528875137.html

[drpix]

And the fact that he gets the help from the Carl Rove, Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney crowd tells you all you have to know.

"Several of the top donors to Emanuel's Chicago Forward super PAC are conservative [sic] Republicans, including hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin, a top Romney supporter and a Crossroads {co-founder Rove} contributor, and investor Muneer Satter, who spent more than $1 million over the past few years on behalf of top Republican candidates and is backing Jeb Bush's campaign for president."

[Puppage]

FURE!

[tflabo]

Chitcago elections— “any way you look at it you lose”

[Bubba_Leroy]

If I had to live in Chicgo (and couldn’t escape) then I would be seriously torn.

On the one hand, Emanuel is clearly the lesser of two evils and is probably the least flaming liberal nutbag that Chicago is ever going to elect as Mayor. On the other hand, he is a rabidly partisan Democrat and I hate him.

It is easy to wish for the most left-wing nutbag to get elected to hasten Chicago’s descent into anarchy when we are on the outside looking in.

[norwaypinesavage]

"While it’s sickening to see, my guess here is that the alternative to Rahm is much worse, hard as that is to imagine."

All too often, a number of conservatives say: "Let the liberal win, then liberalism will be shown to be so bad that conservatives will win in the future". They then either join the circular firing squad, or don't vote at all.

Well, here's their chance to be proven right. No one deserves to loose more than Rahm. Let him loose, and then watch Chicago spiral into the Detroit toilet. Let's only hope the spiral is prolonged until Obama is gone.

[norwaypinesavage]

"While it’s sickening to see, my guess here is that the alternative to Rahm is much worse, hard as that is to imagine."

All too often, a number of conservatives say: "Let the liberal win, then liberalism will be shown to be so bad that conservatives will win in the future". They then either join the circular firing squad, or don't vote at all.

Well, here's their chance to be proven right. No one deserves to loose more than Rahm. Let him loose, and then watch Chicago spiral into the Detroit toilet. Let's only hope the spiral is prolonged until Obama is gone.