Bwaaahaaahahaaaa! Rahm Emmanuel Disqualified in Chicago

[Edi]

Source

Rahm Emanuel, victim of Chicago-style politics, thrown off mayoral ballot
Monday, Jan 24, 2011 13:45 ET
By Alex Pareene

Rahm Emanuel has been kicked off the ballot for mayor of Chicago. Between that and the Bears' humiliating loss yesterday, this has probably been his worst 24-hour period in years. Even after the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and a Cook County judge said Emanuel met the residency requirements, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled 2-1 today that Emanuel gave up his residency when he took the White House chief of staff job and rented out his apartment to that guy who refused to give it back to him.

With the election on Feb. 22, Emanuel is now excluded from the ballot unless his appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court is successful. (Which actually seems unlikely.)

I'm no huge fan of Emanuel, who pioneered cashing in on years of "public service" in a Democratic administration with a shameless stopover to become a millionaire in the finance industry, and who then helped make a complete mess of the Obama administration's first two years, but this is still silly. The man has spent most of his life in Chicago, and taking a job in D.C. for a couple of years shouldn't disqualify him from running for mayor any more than being from Boston makes Mike Bloomberg unqualified to lead New York. If the good people of Chicago are dumb enough to want to make Emanuel their leader, they should have that right.

What is especially entertaining about this whole mess is that Rahm Emanuel himself is now the victim of genuine "Chicago-style politics," just as it exists in the fevered imaginations of conservative bloggers. Getting your opponents thrown off the ballot is a time-honored Chicago tradition, and if you can't out-fundraise Emanuel (and no one can), your best hope is to disqualify him. The attorney waging war on Emanuel, Burt Odelson, "represents" two voters, but no one is positive who actually set him loose on Emanuel. (Though there are theories.)

If the Supreme Court fails him, Emanuel's best hope is a write-in campaign. He's currently polling well above his rivals, and he's got both the money and the insane driving relentless will to crush all who stand in his way, so I wouldn't count him out yet.

And what a pity indeed if he doesn't get elected. Good riddance to worthless rubbish in that case. It would be VERY satisfying to see the asshat go down.

[Phantasee]

It's kinda bullshit, though. The polls are showing him well in the lead, so obviously Chicago wants him to be mayor. And he wasn't in Chicago because of national service, did he make that argument? I mean, Senators and Reps don't lose their residency when they go to Washington.

[Sea Skimmer]

It's kinda bullshit, though. The polls are showing him well in the lead, so obviously Chicago wants him to be mayor. And he wasn't in Chicago because of national service, did he make that argument? I mean, Senators and Reps don't lose their residency when they go to Washington.

Umm, I wouldn't be so sure that Senators and Reps don't have to continue to maintain a owned or rented residential properties in there own district. I don’t think federal law says anything on the matter but I’m pretty certain some state laws do. Emmanuel rented out his residency in Chicago to someone else.

[TC Pilot]

And what a pity indeed if he doesn't get elected. Good riddance to worthless rubbish in that case. It would be VERY satisfying to see the asshat go down.

Why exactly? He's currently polling at roughly 45% in a 4-way race. Chicago's pretty screwed up right now, and he strikes me, at least, as being the only candidate capable of overcoming the sheer inertia once Daley goes.

Anyway, if he does get shot down, Chico seems like the next-best candidate. Braun and del Valle basically come across as minority panderers, while Chico is much more acquainted with the Daley machine.

[Broomstick]

Disclaimer: I haven't been a Chicago resident for over 12 years now. However, I live close enough to the big city that it does impact my area, thus, I do have some interest in what goes on there.

It's kinda bullshit, though. The polls are showing him well in the lead, so obviously Chicago wants him to be mayor. And he wasn't in Chicago because of national service, did he make that argument? I mean, Senators and Reps don't lose their residency when they go to Washington.

Senators, Representatives, and even Presidents customarily maintain a residence back in their home district (Obama, for example has maintained his Hyde Park Chicago residence throughout his time in state office, Federal Senate, and during his time in the White House.) This residence is not normally rented out, and it has long been established that their duties in DC do not disqualify them from residency requirement for public office.

However, Emmanuel was not an elected official, and that precedent arguably does not apply to him. Also, if he had not rented his Chicago residence out his argument that he still have legal residency in the city might have carried more weight with the courts. If his family had remained in Chicago that would have also lent considerable weight to his claim of residency, but they moved to DC with him although they were not required to do so.

And what a pity indeed if he doesn't get elected. Good riddance to worthless rubbish in that case. It would be VERY satisfying to see the asshat go down.

Why exactly? He's currently polling at roughly 45% in a 4-way race. Chicago's pretty screwed up right now, and he strikes me, at least, as being the only candidate capable of overcoming the sheer inertia once Daley goes.

Rahm is intensely disliked by some as it is believed he is part of the old-style Chicago machine and thus tainted by its corruption. One of the reason he's leading right now is the power brokers are backing him to the tune of $12 million in campaign funds. The candidate with the next highest “war chest” has about $500,000. He can outspend his competition 24:1

Anyway, if he does get shot down, Chico seems like the next-best candidate. Braun and del Valle basically come across as minority panderers, while Chico is much more acquainted with the Daley machine.

Braun strikes me as incompetent. I don't think she has what it takes to run the city. That's personal opinion, but once upon a time she was my Federal senator and frankly I was disappointed.

I think Chico might be able to do the job, but he's so strongly linked to the Chicago Police that it might hurt him, given the long standing corruption in the CPD and the recent court cases sending cops to jail (Jon Burge is the worst and the highest profile case, but there have been about a half dozen other abuse of power court cases involving Chicago police in the past year)

Personally, I like Patricia Van Pelt Watkins who is smart, well spoken, and has a reputation of personal integrity but I doubt most people in Chicago have heard of her, much less outside of the city.

[Thanas]

I like Rahm Emmanuel, because as we see time after time, most of Obama's policies is not the fault of him, but Obama, who has shown time and time again that he does not think liberal values are worth defending. Heck, even his latest slew of appointments were all centrists and right-leaning democrats.

[TC Pilot]

Rahm is intensely disliked by some as it is believed he is part of the old-style Chicago machine and thus tainted by its corruption. One of the reason he's leading right now is the power brokers are backing him to the tune of $12 million in campaign funds. The candidate with the next highest “war chest” has about $500,000. He can outspend his competition 24:1

If there's a perception he's corrupt or tied to corrupt pepole, I haven't heard it yet. I also think you're overstating the importance of all that money, too. I mean, anyone who is paying even the slightest bit of attention to the election knows he's running. He's been the front runner by a wide margin since the very start, before most of that money could come into play.

But then, I'm just a suburbanite, so what the fuck do I know? He did, after all, buy airtime during the Super Bowl, last I heard.

Braun strikes me as incompetent. I don't think she has what it takes to run the city. That's personal opinion, but once upon a time she was my Federal senator and frankly I was disappointed.

I was surprised when Davis dropped out in favor of her. He was initially the chief black candidate, and I just don't see what Braun has going for her. I'm too young to remember anything about her as a senator, beyond just recognizing the name, so I really can only go off of how she's running her campaign, which, given that flub with the tax returns, doesn't bode too well for her.

Personally, I like Patricia Van Pelt Watkins who is smart, well spoken, and has a reputation of personal integrity but I doubt most people in Chicago have heard of her, much less outside of the city.

Last I remember, she's polling somewhere in the low single-digits, so there's just about no chance of her winning. Then again, if Rahm is out for good, nearly half the vote has just opened up, if recent polls are to be believed, so anything's possible now.

[Simon_Jester]

I like Rahm Emmanuel, because as we see time after time, most of Obama's policies is not the fault of him, but Obama, who has shown time and time again that he does not think liberal values are worth defending. Heck, even his latest slew of appointments were all centrists and right-leaning democrats.

Would Emmanuel would prefer better policies? Are there cases of him counseling Obama to do so, that we don't know about?

[eion]

When my father was deployed to Germany and we went along with him, he maintained his previous voting registration without having to keep a house vacant at his prior address. How is that different from this case? Rahm answered a call to service (he didn't choose to be Obama's chief os staff, he was asked to do so) and since he wasn't going to a combat zone he was given the option to take his family with him. This just smells too much of sour grapes to me.

[Blankman]

His post in the White House wasn't military.

He knew that he and his family was moving from the residence, at least for a significant time.

And most importantly, he knew that he was taking a new job, in a new location and was renting his residence during that time frame to another occupant.

Nearly two years of not living in one place where you wish to be elected does not a resident make.

Edit:

(he didn't choose to be Obama's chief os staff, he was asked to do so)

How can you possibly read what you wrote and claim to be in any way serious? He didn't make the choice to accept a position? Really? Think about that the next time you are offered a job...

[Broomstick]

Rahm is intensely disliked by some as it is believed he is part of the old-style Chicago machine and thus tainted by its corruption. One of the reason he's leading right now is the power brokers are backing him to the tune of $12 million in campaign funds. The candidate with the next highest “war chest” has about $500,000. He can outspend his competition 24:1

If there's a perception he's corrupt or tied to corrupt pepole, I haven't heard it yet.

I've gotten an earful over the past month, but none of it substantiated.

One thing in Emanuel's favor is that he unquestionably does have political connections to high places the other people don't. Whether that's good or bad I suppose depends on how you see the "establishment" already in place. If you've liked mayor Daley, or were indifferent to him, that seems good. If you really hated Daley then will be seen as a negative.

I do believe Emmanuel would be an effective mayor - that is, the garbage would be picked up, the streets cleaned, the potholes filled in the pavement, etc. At base, that is a vital part of city government and a mayor who can make sure it happens is to that extent a good mayor. I also think Chico and Del Valle could do that as well (probably more confident of Chico, and he, too, has some political connections that may be useful in running the city). Van Pelt Watkins, although I like her in some respects, has never been tested with anything as large as Chicago and Walls I just don't know enough about to say either way.

Braun is the candidate I feel least confident about as mayor, because she just doesn't seem to be able to get her shit together. I don't mean just in this election, I mean in general, for the past decade or so. While I agree with her on many political points, in action she has... problems. Like $249,000 in unaccounted for campaign funds in 1993. Failing to properly notify the State Department of a visit to a country the US had sanctions against in 1996. A finance serving on her campaign staff in violation of US immigration law. THEN she played the race card towards those who criticized her for these violations, accusing them of being members of the Ku Klux Klan. She retreated from politics somewhat after that, which is fine, to go into business... which is apparently failing and she is apparently bankrupt or nearly so (she made even less than I did last year, and she may be facing foreclosure on her Hyde Park home... I can see where the steady income the mayor's office receives would be attractive). She's been tested in public office and as I say I wasn't impressed, even if she did accomplish a few things I approved of she also prompted some things I feel were ultimately harmful. Really, in some ways I wish she had just stayed a US State's Attorney.;

I also think you're overstating the importance of all that money, too. I mean, anyone who is paying even the slightest bit of attention to the election knows he's running. He's been the front runner by a wide margin since the very start, before most of that money could come into play.

Well, yes, being white house chief of staff helps a great deal, and the initial dispute about his residency was basically free publicity for him. However, he's clearly able to buy FAR more TV and radio time than anyone else and frankly I'm getting sick of seeing his face and hearing his voice. Chico's gotten a smidgeon of TV time in ads, but the others have no TV ads and the only TV time they've gotten has been on PBS. They are not getting their faces out there and aside from Chico they aren't communicating effectively, if at all.

But then, I'm just a suburbanite, so what the fuck do I know? He did, after all, buy airtime during the Super Bowl, last I heard.

He's the only one capable of a buying a Superbowl ad.

Braun strikes me as incompetent. I don't think she has what it takes to run the city. That's personal opinion, but once upon a time she was my Federal senator and frankly I was disappointed.

I was surprised when Davis dropped out in favor of her. He was initially the chief black candidate, and I just don't see what Braun has going for her.

She can simultaneously capture both the black AND the women's vote. That, and she's a historical footnote.

I'm too young to remember anything about her as a senator, beyond just recognizing the name, so I really can only go off of how she's running her campaign, which, given that flub with the tax returns, doesn't bode too well for her.

As noted - 1993 campaign fund problem, failing to notify state department of her meeting with a dictator in a country under sanction, violation of immigration law for her finance... I like that she was against the 1996 welfare reform (not a popular position at the time) but she was also in favor of NAFTA, which I felt would be bad for US workers and now feel it was bad for US workers and a significant factor in sending manufacturing jobs to other countries. I liked that she was anti-death penalty but I also recall I did NOT like her gun control measures though for the life of me I can no longer remember the specific points and what precisely I objected to (hey, it was fifteen years ago, my memory isn't perfect). I think she voted against the Defense of Marriage Act but I'm not 100% sure - I'm against it too. Like I said, I like her on some issues but hey, I would have liked are a hell of a lot more if she wasn't careless about money and followed the damn law! Bad with money and bending the law are not qualities I want in a public official, and we've seen more than enough law-bending under Daley, we want that to STOP.

Personally, I like Patricia Van Pelt Watkins who is smart, well spoken, and has a reputation of personal integrity but I doubt most people in Chicago have heard of her, much less outside of the city.

Last I remember, she's polling somewhere in the low single-digits, so there's just about no chance of her winning. Then again, if Rahm is out for good, nearly half the vote has just opened up, if recent polls are to be believed, so anything's possible now.

Nope, not a snowball's chance in hell Van Pelt Watkins can win. It's not that a community activist can't go on to achieve high political office - it was Obama's entry into politics, after all - but having seen her speak on the local public TV stations she lacks charisma (OK, so does Daley, he's horrible on TV, even worse than Nixon) and she also lacks a certain drive I associate with successful politicians. You can survive being so-so on TV, especially in Chicago (apparently - Daley sucks on TV and he's been elected seven times) She has raised a half million dollars but I'm not sure she's used it effectively - then again, she may be targeting it much more locally than I'm aware of, which arguably would be the best use of the money. Despite raising funds and being officially on the ballot, however, she has been systematically excluded from the live debates. I'd like to see her continue to be involved in local politics but she's not going to win this time. Maybe in a future election. She comes out of the projects (Cabrini-Green) and worked her way up in life, has been a steelworker, a union steward, earned a PhD, and seems to be able to handle a budget for her various organizations without having the sort of "bookkeeping errors" that Braun has had. It's hard to find out much about her as she is so very low profile but she seems will to put practicality ahead of party ideology, which I see as a positive.

[eion]

His post in the White House wasn't military.

It was an analogy. If I wanted to quibble I'd point out that as WHCOS he carried the diplomatic rank of a full general, and was/is accorded certain ceremonial honors and privileges.

He knew that he and his family was moving from the residence, at least for a significant time.

My father knew that he and my family would be in Germany for a significant time.

And most importantly, he knew that he was taking a new job, in a new location and was renting his residence during that time frame to another occupant.

But he kept ownership of the residence, indicating an intention to return or at least maintain ties to the area.

Nearly two years of not living in one place where you wish to be elected does not a resident make.

(he didn't choose to be Obama's chief os staff, he was asked to do so)

How can you possibly read what you wrote and claim to be in any way serious? He didn't make the choice to accept a position? Really? Think about that the next time you are offered a job...

I forgot that you've been offered jobs by The President of The United States. It isn't really an offer one refuses. Rahm didn’t answer an ad in the Washington Post “Seeking Chief of Staff to help run the United States, non-smoker preferred.” Besides, my father could have retired rather than accept the orders, so why should he have been able to kept his residency?

The real point is whether or not Rahm voted in the mid-terms and any local elections since his appointment as a resident. If he did, then it should be fairly obvious that the state of Illinois determined him to be a resident of the state and the Chicago area. This is being appealed to the State Supreme Court anyway, and the lower court knew it would be no matter what they rule, so there was little obligation behind their decision.

[MKSheppard]

Here's the thing that I think doomed Rahm. He RENTED HIS APARTMENT OUT to someone else.

How can you maintain residency via a residence if you RENT IT OUT TO SOMEONE?

[erik_t]

Plausibly, given the 172k salary afforded Emanuel, he could not afford to keep a residence sitting empty. I don't know how much he's paying on the Chicago mortgage, or what he's paying in DC, but neither are low-cost-of-living areas. Not that I'd mind making $170k and giving it a shot.

In point of fact, Emanuel apparently voted absentee in the Feb 2010 Illinois primary. For whatever that's worth.

[White Haven]

As much as people seem to love saying HA HAH RAHM, this seems pretty clear-cut to me. Guy gets called into a position that requires him to move away from home for a period not to exceed eight years, or possibly less. He'll be there for long enough that his family moves with him (and wtf is up with that complaint? How dare his family move to stay with him when he'll be away for years! ). He's planning to come back, so he keeps his old home, but since he knows he won't be using it, he rents it out. He comes back home again after leaving the position that required he move, and all of a sudden this becomes drama.

Ignore whether you like the guy or not, this is grasping at straws to find reason to hate the guy. What was he supposed to do, commute from Chicago?

[TC Pilot]

One thing in Emanuel's favor is that he unquestionably does have political connections to high places the other people don't. Whether that's good or bad I suppose depends on how you see the "establishment" already in place. If you've liked mayor Daley, or were indifferent to him, that seems good. If you really hated Daley then will be seen as a negative.

See, I'm one of those people that consider his connections a good thing. There are times when being a clean break from the past is good, like Preckwinkle after the Stroger train wreck, but Daley hasn't exactly run the city into the ground, and I believe Chicago needs someone who can pick things up right away and not have to fight the system and the city's problems at the same time.

I'm convinced he's going to win the appeal and get put back on the ballot. The timing of this is significant, meaning he won't be on absentee ballots, might be enough to prevent him from clinching an outright majority and pushing this to a run-off, but I still think he's going to get elected mayor in the end.

Well, yes, being white house chief of staff helps a great deal, and the initial dispute about his residency was basically free publicity for him. However, he's clearly able to buy FAR more TV and radio time than anyone else and frankly I'm getting sick of seeing his face and hearing his voice. Chico's gotten a smidgeon of TV time in ads, but the others have no TV ads and the only TV time they've gotten has been on PBS. They are not getting their faces out there and aside from Chico they aren't communicating effectively, if at all.

Heh, true. Until yesterday, I'd actually been fortunte enough not to have seen any political ads. Since then, I've seen 1 Chico ad and the same Emanuel ad six times.

[Broomstick]

He's planning to come back, so he keeps his old home, but since he knows he won't be using it, he rents it out. He comes back home again after leaving the position that required he move, and all of a sudden this becomes drama.

Yes, because it's politics. Disputing his residency is a way for the competition to eliminate him from the race.

[Andras]

The requirement he didn't meet was to 'reside' in the city for a year. Despite having a house or not, you can't argue he has resided in the city for a full year.

[Civil War Man]

The requirement he didn't meet was to 'reside' in the city for a year. Despite having a house or not, you can't argue he has resided in the city for a full year.

By that logic, members of the military are not allowed to vote when deployed overseas, since they do not "reside" in their home state. Same with people who work at US embassies.

By that logic, most congressmen would not be allowed to run for reelection, because they do not "reside" in their home district for months, even years, at a time.

Protip: Absentee ballots were made so people could vote in their home state without being in their home state.

[Broomstick]

My limited understanding of the legal situation is that in Illinois the law is written to distinguish between the residence requirements for voting and the residency requirements for running for office.

This isn't really unusual - most places I've moved to I could legally vote in 30 days, but I wouldn't be able to run for office for a year.

The dispute here isn't whether or not Emmanuel can vote in Chicago, it's whether or not he can run for public office.

[TC Pilot]

It's on the news here, Illinois Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Emmanuel.

[Broomstick]

Then it's settled and we can move onto something else. Good.

[Andrew J.]

The requirement he didn't meet was to 'reside' in the city for a year. Despite having a house or not, you can't argue he has resided in the city for a full year.

Protip: statutory language doesn't always use the ordinary meanings of words.