Last year, Pat Quinn narrowly won the Illinois gubernatorial race after a rather nasty campaign season. Though his approval ratings were grim and the campaign was full of negativity, many said his opponent's very conservative record helped Quinn eke out a victory.
While Democrats have maintained their majorities in both the state House and Senate, Quinn has found himself fighting battles with Republicans in other states. When he decided to push for a tax increase, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie launched attacks on Quinn--and urged Illinois businesses to move to their states.
Rather than ignore the criticisms, Quinn has repeatedly fired back. He said publicly that Gov. Walker should be "ashamed of himself" for taking away union rights, and ripped the way Gov. Christie has handled New Jersey's budget woes. Last week, at a function for U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Quinn continued to hammer those to the right of him politically.
"If I wasn’t here we’d have Scott Walker on steroids as our governor," Quinn said, thanking Schakowsky for her support during the midterms.
The Capitol Fax blog asked readers if Quinn should tone down his rhetoric against Gov. Walker and others or "continue full speed ahead." About 53 percent of readers would like Quinn to tone it down, and 46 percent are okay with it. What do you think?
WATCH Quinn's comments here: