From the Ward Room:
So toxic is the fallout from the pension reform bill, Quinn’s problems with unions may well extend to state legislators who sided with the governor:
Yet nearly all of the public employee unions have grown unalterably opposed to endorsing or donating to Quinn—and possibly all Democrats who voted for the pension bill.
…
“I can’t imagine any of those legislators who voted for the bill who are up for election getting support of major unions,” said AFSCME Council 31 director of political and community relations John Cameron.
All in all, the pension reform bill has created something of an existentialist crisis, at least politically, for many union supporters and natural Quinn allies.
Writing on the blog of Fred Klonsky, a retired public school teacher, special education advocate Bev Johns summed up the dilemma facing many as the 2014 governor’s race draws near:
We need a new Governor. This election is too important to all of us.
We should consider taking a Republican ballot in the March primary (even if some of us would be doing that for the very first time), unless there is a crucial Democratic race in the primary (such as a Democrat running against a Democrat who voted for SB 1).
Fred Klonsky 
The ONLY reason to pull a Republican primary ballot in 2014 will be to vote against Rauner, who will be AWFUL for this state for all but large business owners looking for tax breaks (paid for by our pensions).
Quinn presents a real problems for us but he knows it and was triangulating even as he pushed for and signed SB 1.
What are our choices? Vote for a Republican who probably voted against SB 1 precisely because he/she knew it might draw union support? On how many other issues do these “R’s” support us? Any?
After this debacle I will really HATE HATE HATE voting for Quinn and won’t support him financially, but we must also remember:
1) Rauner will very likely be his 2014 opponent (maybe not, but Capitol Fax today demonstrated his view of “big” vs. :”small” dollar amounts (can’t quote–copyright protected). There is not a circumstance where I can vote for him.
2) Quinn BARELY won in 2010, taking only four counties in the state. A strong challenger might beat him–probably can. Any Republican will, I can’t help but believe, be worse than Quinn on a wide variety of our issues.
3) In any event the legislature is going to remain Democratic and a Republican governor will have limited opportunity to act. That body, though, will possibly/likely lose its super-majority.
4) A vote for anybody BESIDES Quinn is a vote for his opponent.
5) Most of my votes (1st for president in 1972) were “lesser evil” votes anyway. Why stop now?
GAAAAKKKKKKK!
I have enjoyed the comments so far today –
Randy Fritz Retired teacher/part-time in my old school district
Quinn it is!
I’m a state employeee who will be voting in the Republican primary for the first time. This pension vote has made me an independent, with no party having a lock on my vote. That said, Rutherford has my vote for Governor, and I will be encouring many of my colleagues to vote similarly.
Thanks Fred,
Good TV interview.
Both of my representatives voted yes. St. Charles Teachers are livid.
I’d phrase it this way: Pat Quinn has a unions problem. From the time he picked Paul Vallas as his running mate, he had signed his political suicide note. His signing the Pension Theft legislation was just the inking of the note. But let’s not forget that the birth of corporate “school reform” — long before Arne Duncan and Race to the Top — was brought to Illinois courtesy of Paul G. Vallas in Chicago. Closing of “failing” schools? Vallas began it in 1997 by “reconstituting” Englewood and other high schools. Crazy testing? Ask me about Chicago’s CASE tests. Quinn just doubled down when he signed on to pension theft. Remember, too. Quinn won slimly in 2010 — three counties out of 101. And that victory was because of the teacher votes we helped bring him from the Chicago Teachers Union. No Chicago teacher will vote for Pat Quinn this year. And that was before the Pension Theft vote. This just, to use the cliche, ices that shitcake Quinn will be trying to serve us…
If we take a republican ballot in March, it must be to assure Bruce “All Mighty” Rauner loses the primary!! He is nothing but a rich, greedy arrogant S.O.B. Then big write in campaign for Ralph Martire in November!! A three way race between Martire, a worthless Republican and Governor “Idiot”, who knows?! MILLIONS of registered public service workers voting?!?!
Neal, your strategy is the best I’ve heard and something I have advocated. In other races, I would encourage public workers who live in areas where their reps. & sens. voted yes to find a viable candidate to run for the General Assembly. We cannot forget our greatest strength–that of numbers. We have the 99%, & math tells me that 99% is more than 1% (which is the percentage of IL citizens that those “yes” voters represent–not us)–so, with 99% and lots of hard work, we COULD pull this off. People have been able to win homegrown elections in other states. (And DON’T anyway say, “Yes, but this is Illinois.”
A defeatist attitude gets you…defeated.
BTW–did you all see the FULL PAGE ads (in both the Sun-Times & the Trib.) that the Civic Committee posted today, “thanking” Squeezy & the Yes men & women?
Yes, WE can…and we WILL!
Jeez, I dislike Ayn Rand, but she does have a point here:
“In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.”