Given how pathetic most of our pro sports teams have been of late (White Flag Sox, Flubs, da Bares, and the truly frustrating, madding, but exciting Bulls) many people turn to the political pages for entertainment and pleasure.
Think of it as a horse race between four individuals, except you remove everything, head, neck, legs, chest, back, tummy, in fact everything except the part just below the horse's tail.
Rutherford, probably in the best position to win before a media onslaught by one self-funded opponent, he has completely self-destructed. The allegations of "teh gay" actually would not bother most people too much, not these days, except for the allegations that he forced himself on staffers, and then made up truly lame excuses. The funny part is that he is doing a decent job in office, and would have been given the benefit of the doubt. But, his own statements, plus a concerted underhanded campaign by an over-funded competitor doomed his chances.
Having removed all tv and radio ads as of last week, on a scale of 1-10, his chances make negative numbers look positive.
Kirk Dillard received the endorsement of certain union groups, which has changed the balance slightly. He has been making a decent appeal around the state, and clearly is working as hard for this office as he possibly can. On a 1-10 scale, his chances rate around 4.
James Brady started nowhere, and has been spectacular with his non-stop efforts to stay in place. If life were a rut in a dirt road, Brady would be firmly embedded in its deepest part. From 1-10, #2 is fitting in so many ways, including the flushable kind.
Bruce Rauner reminds me of Justin Bieber. Too much money, little judgment or smarts, and a willfully ignorant idea that he is entitled to whatever he wants. Just because.
Just two weeks ago, he was bragging that he received over $5 MILLION in campaign donations. He forgot to mention that 4.9 MILLION of it was self-funded. When that news got out, he changed his story, much like he changed his initial position to cut the minimum wage for Illinois workers.
Justin Rauner has monopolized the airways. His ads have been so overwhelming, so numerous, so over the top, that people are openly laughing at him and his ads. Last week, because of truly poor internal polls, he dropped another $500,000 into his campaign coffers. (gotta love those outside donors, eh Justin?) Today, with even worse internal polling, he dropped another $1.3 MILLION, intended to convert every radio, TV and cable station in Illinois into a virtual Rauner adfest. Given how much he has spent already, they should probably rename it campaign coffins.
Only because of his unbelievable and unwavering commitment to control every single micro-second of available airtime, he has to be considered a favorite, if only by hair. 4.1 on a 1-10 scale. But it has been falling, and it will continue to fall.
We may yet be surprised. Rauner suffers from verbal and intellectual diarrhea, and frequently spews crap that shocks his few close friends. Worst of all, he has three weeks to return to his normal, clueless, obnoxious, entitled self. If he sticks his hoof in his mouth again, it can only help Dillard and Brady. After all, $7 MILLION of disclosed donations can only go so far.
My guess for March? Tinged with hope for our state? (and salted with a strong wish that we don't have so many more months of Rauner ads until the general election)
Dillard 22%
Rauner 21.9999%
Brady 10%
Rutherford 2% (mainly from jokers, illiterates, or drunkards)
No, I am not innumerate. I realize that this only adds up to 56%. But your local GOP voter is so uninvolved, unconcerned, or unsettled by his/her/its choices, that write ins, blank ballots, or jokes may actually garner the largest percentage.