Rahm's Illinois ally, Jan Schakowsky, has gone so far as to coin the phrase, "the Century of the Woman". (And their mutual friend Hillary Clinton is surely encouraging this kind of talk to build momentum for her 2008 presidential aspirations):"In an environment where people are disgusted with politics in general, who represents and clean and change?" asks Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "Women."
But Emanuel must be a recent convert to this way of thinking, as he won his seat in Congress with the backing of longtime Chicago mayor Daley, by muscling out a woman, Nancy Kascak, who actually lived in the district and was endorsed at the time by Citizen Action Illinois, along with Jan Schakowsky, one of her good friends. And speaking of "clean" women, it is doubtful any honest observer would grant that title to Congressperson Schakowsky, whose husband, Robert Creamer was convicted of tax violations and bank fraud in running the political group that propelled her into her congressional seat.
In backing Tammy Duckworth, who recently narrowly defeated another woman in the Democrat primary for Illinois' 6th congressional district, Emanuel continues the pattern. Duckworth didn't live in the district, and prominent Democrats from outside the district (Sens. Dick Durbin, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton) threw their weight around in endorsing her over locally-supported candidates. We'll see if the strategy pays off in the fall when Duckworth faces Republican Peter Roskam in the traditionally Republican district. Will disaffected local Dems just stay home?
As far as the rallying cries for "clean" government and "change" they ring a little hollow in the heartland around Chicago, Illinois.
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