Thursday night, the Illinois Supreme Court reinstated Oswald Cobblepot’s name on the ballot to be Mayor of Chicago in time for the February 22nd election. You may be familiar with him by his other name: Rahm Emanuel.
You may remember Oswald Cobblepot, A.K.A. “The Penguin,” from the “Batman” films of Tim Burton. He was a wretched little man who was beloved by the City of Gotham and well on his way to being elected Mayor – that is until the heroic Batman played a looped recording of Oswald saying “You gotta admit, I’ve played this stinking city like a harp from Hell.” That is what I’ve envisioned Emanuel saying in my head over and over again since he began his campaign for Mayor of Chicago.
Except that Rahm Emanuel isn’t the only one who has played Chicago. The MSM have too.
Since the legal petition challenge against Rahm Emanuel on the basis of residency began, the MSM have been systematically building a case for him as a sympathetic character.
Crude, vindictive Rahm Emanuel, a sympathetic character? You’ve gotta be f***ing kidding, right?
When the Illinois Appellate Court issued its verdict Monday booting Rahm off the ballot, the MSM held hands and joined together in helping Rahm launch his “Let Rahm Run” campaign. Oswald – I mean Emanuel – even cited the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times in his internet ad campaign.
The truest words issued by an Illinois Appellate Court Justice on Monday were these: Striking Rahm Emanuel’s name from the ballot for mayor of Chicago unfairly “disenfranchises … every voter in Chicago who would consider voting for him.”
The Chicago Tribune called out the Illinois Appellate Court decision for its “twisted reasoning.”
The Los Angeles Times’ editorial, “Let Rahm Run” even picked up Rahm’s campaign slogan for its headline.
So did the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Let Rahm Run.”
The MSM media can be so helpful as long as you are their candidate.
After decades of the Chicago Board of Elections throwing candidates off the ballot for every silly reason, now, finally, the media questioned whether the process was fair. In Rahm Emanuel’s case, the media cried out for justice, calling out the potential abuse of Emanuel’s First Amendment rights and the disenfranchisement of Chicago voters.
But how about the other candidates that have been thrown off the ballot? What about their First Amendment rights? What about that voter disenfranchisement?
The Chicago Sun-Times‘ Mary Mitchell cites the case of Victor Rowans, who filed nominating petitions to run for alderman of the 27th ward I Chicago. Rowans co-signed a car loan for a friend and the car incurred a $60 parking ticket. Because the parking ticket wasn’t paid at the time Rowans filed his petitions, he was booted off the ballot.
Yet, there were no MSM cries of voter disenfranchisement or the First Amendment for Mr. Rowan.
GOP mayoral candidate Tom Hanson filed 14,000 signatures with the Chicago Board of Elections. He filed his Statement of Economic Interest and was issued a receipt. His petitions were not challenged within the legal period required. Yet, the Chicago Board of Elections booted him off the ballot. Why? Because they lost HIS Statement of Economic Interest. The Chicago Board of Elections employee who issued the receipt admits she lost the filings.
Again, no cries of voter disenfranchisement for the MSM. Why?
In 2002, when Rahm Emanuel attempted to knock his congressional opponent, Mark A. Fredrickson, off the ballot because he started circulating is petitions too early, did the Chicago media cry “foul?” Emanuel lost this challenge to Fredrickson. Where were the MSM voices wailing for justice?
Or is the MSM’s First Amendment only triggered by the desire to increase a favored candidate’s poll numbers to 50% so that he can avoid a run-off and be elected mayor outright?
So now poor sympathetic Oswald – I mean Rahm – has got the Chicago Mayor’s race locked up. The only hope is that Emanuel will lose his artificially boosted majority in the polls buying the #2 candidate, probably Gery Chico, more time to advance his candidacy.
Nationally, many people say that a Mayor Rahm Emanuel is just what the cesspool that is Chicago deserves. But there are many more political conservatives here than you’d think. We’re just outnumbered. However, Emanuel’s ambitions are much bigger than Chicago. No one in America should think they are safe from Rahm Emanuel yet.
Where is the Batman when you need him?