I didn't vote for Scott Lee Cohen for lieutenant governor when I cast my ballot in the recent Democratic primary election. I backed one of his opponents. It's also highly unlikely that I'll vote for Cohen in the November general election -- on the off-chance he's still in the race. That said, the last thing I want to see is the People's Pawnbroker getting pushed off the Democratic ticket by Mike Madigan, Pat Quinn, and Alexi Giannoulias. Unfortunately, I fully expect that sort of anti-democratic behavior from the party that (for some unknown reason) I've continued to support since I turned 18 back in 1982.
The people of Illinois spoke on February 2. To be sure, most of them spoke by staying home, but the few who actually voted gave Cohen a victory. Absent some showing of voter fraud -- which I'm not sure is even considered a crime in this state -- Cohen's victory should stand. I know, I know -- Cohen would be a "heartbeat or an indictment away" from being the governor of Illinois. And should Patrick Fitzgerald's office or Pat Quinn's cholesterol intake thrust Cohen into the governor's mansion, Illinois would survive. Truth be told, a Cohen administration might not even rank among the top ten low points in our state's political history.
Let's recap. Cohen won the popular vote on February 2. To date, the guy has been convicted of no crime. Back in March 2009, he discussed some of his troubled past with Mark Brown of the Chicago Sun-Times. Despite those revelations, no journalists or Democratic insiders ever bothered to follow up on Cohen's story until it was too late. My own alderman, Berny Stone (50th Ward), endorsed him. Sure, Cohen may be handy with a needle and a knife (provided he's first had a good massage to loosen him up), but that shouldn't disqualify him from remaining on the ticket. Tennessee's Bill Frist was also handy with knife and needle, and he went on become our nation's Senate Majority Leader.
Elections have consequences, folks. I say that to the registered voters who stayed home on February 2 and to the local media outlets that spend their ever-dwindling resources covering Tiger Woods and the cast of MTV's Jersey Shore, instead of covering issues that matter. Let's treat the "Cohen incident" as a learning experience and try to do better in the future.
The sad truth is that a Cohen candidacy would do little to increase the stench and toxicity of the Illinois Democratic party that I continue to call home. Nevertheless, I fully expect to see a Springfield insider as the party's candidate for lieutenant governor in November. The people spoke on February 2, but I doubt our leaders care.
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Looks like it's deja vu all over again.
In principle, I agree with you 100%. In fact, I argued the same "elections have consequences" theory in favor of Jack Ryan in 2004.
Remember Ryan? Jeri Ryan's wife-abusing ex-husband. Duly-elected the Republican nominee for U.S.Senate and then pressured to quit... under circumstances not unlike those in the case of Scott Lee Cohen. (Whatever happened to that tall, thin, African-American fella' who finally won the general election?)
Anyway... you are absolutely right. The people have spoken. Even in Illinois, there is no law abridging the right of the people to elect the candidates of their choice. But politics ain't bean bag. If you can't stand the heat, get off the ballot. Cohen quit of his own free will. Legally and constitutionally, he had every right to do so... or not.
I read your blog... now, won't you read mine? Please visit: http://www.examiner.com/x-34720-Cook-County-Elections-2010-Examiner~y2010m2d7-Goodbye-Scott-Cohen-hello-Tom-Castillo
Many thanx / lhw
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LLOYD H WESTON
eXaminer.com
Read my recent columns & subscribe at:
www.examiner.com/x-34720-Cook-County-Elections-2010-Examiner
and www.examiner.com/x-2292-Chicago-Obama-Administration-Examiner
www.examiner.com/x-2292-Chicago-Obama-Administration-Examiner
Yet another disasterous Illinois election.
He won and let it be. Cohen is all about jobs and this is what gave him the victory.
Don't let them push you out Cohen.
In fairness, both the Republican and Democratic parties in Illinois share significant, historic levels of corruption.
Go Saints!!!
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004065258
Rest assured, JFaye, that I won't shed a tear if Cohen decides he's in over his head and wants to get out. Until then, he's my party's candidate by virtue of having won the election.
I certainly agree with you that Dems have no monopoly on slime and corruption in this state.