Waving the Bloody Blagojevich

Blagojevich

In the afterglow of the American Civil War, numerous Republican officeholders bashed their Democratic counterparts by ‘waiving the bloody shirt.’ The term alludes to using a notable, violent event — in this case the Civil War — to stir up antipathy against a political faction.

Republicans at the Boone County GOP Chili Supper waved a far more benign entity in making a case against the election of a Democratic governor in Missouri: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The two-term chief executive’s political stock plummeted in recent months since easily winning re-election last year. His plan to expand health care coverage paid for with a gross receipts tax increase was pummeled into legislative defeat. The legislature has engaged in a number of special sessions that have been unprecedented in length. There’s even open talk about Blagojevich getting indicted for a number of alleged dalliances.

Things have gotten so bad in the Land of Lincoln between Democratic officeholders that Blagojevich reportedly bused in supporters to the Illinois State Fair to heckle Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. The two have engaged in a nasty political brawl over the state’s budget.

It would be safe to say that Blagojevich has little to no name recognition in much of the state. But his name does pop up often near St. Louis — which is situated minutes from the Illinois state line. That could be a reason why Missouri Republicans are using Illinois’ political woes as a comparison to the situation in the Show Me State.

U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Columbia, alluded to political turmoil in Illinois on Friday. He told the crowd about a meeting he had on an airplane with the owner of a medium-sized business based in St. Louis.

“And he said, ‘Have you been watching the news about the Illinois legislature?’ Because obviously when you’re in St. Louis, what happens on the other side of the river and what happens on this side of the river is of vital importance… especially when you are a company that works in both states,” Hulshof said.

Blagojevich and Hulshof were both in the U.S. House for about six years. The six-term lawmaker said the businessman complained about how the Illinois governor and Democratic legislature enacted new taxes, user fees, parking fees and a “government solution to everything.”

“And this businessman told me, ‘Thank goodness when we decided where are headquarters are going to be, we decided to stay in the state of Missouri.’ And he started to tell me all of the things. He said, ‘Tort reform helped us in this regard. Worker’s compensation, we saved X number of millions of dollars.’ And he said, ‘This is a great story to tell and the governor is responsible for all of those good things.’ Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a great story to tell and this is the guy we’ve got to make sure we re-elect for governor next year.”

Rep. Ed Robb, R-Columbia — who grew up in the Chicagoland area — made a similar point during his speech, which can be found here. He compared Missouri’s budgetary situation in Missouri to skirmishes in Illinois and Michigan.

Given the proximity and interconnectivity between Illinois and Missouri, it is pretty easy to compare the two states. It is fair to note that Illinois is larger in both size and population than Missouri. Also notable is the fact that political woes — in recent years — have been bipartisan. Former Republican Gov. George Ryan, a Republican, was found guilty of federal corruption charges and could be sent to prison at any time..

Interestingly, Missouri Democrats tacitly summoned Blagojevich’s problems to bash Gov. Matt Blunt. Attorney General Jay Nixon’s campaign chided Blunt for traveling back to Springfield and called on the governor to reimburse the state for expenses. Blagojevich got into substantial political trouble when it was revealed he maintained an expensive daily commute that involved him flying from his home in Chicago to the capitol in Springfield, Illinois.

Blunt said the two scenarios are not comparable because he said he does not maintain a daily commute between his home and Jefferson City.