ETHNICITY, Peraica tries to play race card against Obama
I'm a fan of Commissioners Tony Peraica and have written favorably about him. See Carl Nyberg (Forest Park Review).
In Madison County Record Tony Peraica wrote a piece intended to slam Sen. Barack Obama. Peraica would probably claim that he's trying to tarnish Obama's reputation as a reformer by linking him to politicians in Chicago who Peraica identifies as corrupt.
Who does Peraica start with? Ald. Dororthy Tillman. Why Tillman? Why not start by linking Obama to President of the County Board Todd Stroger? There's more ammunition to indict Stroger of cronyism and he's a bigger fish than Tillman.
I want to give Peraica the benefit of the doubt, but by making Tillman the first example of his story, it's hard not to read Peraica's words as pushing divisiveness along racial/ethnic lines.
Peraica also includes this old chestnut:
In the 1960 presidential election Kennedy/Johnson received 303 electoral votes and Nixon/Lodge received 219. (Fifteen electoral votes from Alabma and Mississippi were unpledged.) Illinois was worth 27 electoral votes. Even without Illinois' 27 electoral votes Kennedy/Johnson since had over 270 electoral votes. So the idea that Mayor Richard J. Daley threw the 1960 election is just a myth. Kennedy didn't need Illinois' electoral votes to win. See Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections for election results.
I don't know the purpose of Peraica's op-ed. Since it's published downstate, maybe he's contemplating a run for U.S. Senate against Sen. Dick Durbin in 2008.
I like Peraica, but I think he should avoid running for Congress in 2008. The GOP is going to get shellacked at the national level and the party is going to write-off Illinois early. If they have an extra million dollars it is going to be used to defend vulnerable incumbents, not for high-risk candidates in expensive states.
In Madison County Record Tony Peraica wrote a piece intended to slam Sen. Barack Obama. Peraica would probably claim that he's trying to tarnish Obama's reputation as a reformer by linking him to politicians in Chicago who Peraica identifies as corrupt.
Who does Peraica start with? Ald. Dororthy Tillman. Why Tillman? Why not start by linking Obama to President of the County Board Todd Stroger? There's more ammunition to indict Stroger of cronyism and he's a bigger fish than Tillman.
Tillman is perhaps most famous for her staunch advocacy of slavery reparations, but also is renowned for....
I want to give Peraica the benefit of the doubt, but by making Tillman the first example of his story, it's hard not to read Peraica's words as pushing divisiveness along racial/ethnic lines.
Peraica also includes this old chestnut:
Perhaps Obama is hoping for the same Chicago Election Day magic that the mayor's father provided for another presidential candidate, John F. Kennedy, back in 1960.
In the 1960 presidential election Kennedy/Johnson received 303 electoral votes and Nixon/Lodge received 219. (Fifteen electoral votes from Alabma and Mississippi were unpledged.) Illinois was worth 27 electoral votes. Even without Illinois' 27 electoral votes Kennedy/Johnson since had over 270 electoral votes. So the idea that Mayor Richard J. Daley threw the 1960 election is just a myth. Kennedy didn't need Illinois' electoral votes to win. See Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections for election results.
I don't know the purpose of Peraica's op-ed. Since it's published downstate, maybe he's contemplating a run for U.S. Senate against Sen. Dick Durbin in 2008.
I like Peraica, but I think he should avoid running for Congress in 2008. The GOP is going to get shellacked at the national level and the party is going to write-off Illinois early. If they have an extra million dollars it is going to be used to defend vulnerable incumbents, not for high-risk candidates in expensive states.
Labels: 1960 election, Anthony Peraica, Barack Obama, Carl Nyberg, Dave Leip's Atlas, Dick Durbin, Dorothy Tillman, racial politics, Richard J. Daley
posted by Carl Nyberg at
11:39 AM
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