Spare the Pol, Shoot the Voter

One thing that’s clear about the Illinois governor’s race is voters don’t believe Pat Quinn deserves a full term, but they don’t want to elect Bill Brady, either.

Under Quinn’s, uh, leadership, Illinois has descended into a fiscal hell of unpaid bills and enormous deficits that make one nostalgic for the stewardship of Rod Blagojevich. But Brady would be the state’s most conservative leader since Count Frontenac, Louis XIV’s viceroy in the New World, ruled the Illinois Country.

It’s like the old joke: a man points a gun at a voter and asks, “Democrat or Republican?”

"Shoot me!” the man replied. 

Now, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey taken earlier this week, Quinn is closing the gap with Brady in their race to be the least objectionable choice for governor. Brady now leads Quinn 43 percent to 40 percent -- the smallest gap in any survey taken this year.

The survey, taken Wednesday night, followed Quinn’s announcement late last week that he was cutting state spending by $1 billion as he wrestles with one of the worst state budget deficits in the country. State legislators wrapped up their session earlier this year, leaving Quinn with a $13 billion deficit to resolve.

Forty-four percent (44%) approve of Quinn’s performance as governor, while 54% disapprove. This marks little change from recent surveys.

Given Illinois’ economic problems and the national political environment, Quinn is in a surprisingly tough race despite the powers of incumbency and the state’s strong Democratic tendencies.

Rasmussen Reports asked a few other questions, and the results show that Illinois voters hate everything and everybody these days – the economy, immigrants, the new health care law, the governor:

--     71 percent say the country is in a recession, and 46 percent say the economy is getting worse.
 
--      55 percent want to repeal President Obama’s health care plan.
 
--      51 percent disagree with the Justice Department’s decision to challenge Arizona’s new immigration law.
 
--      27 percent view Gov. Quinn “very unfavorably.” (Is that all?)
 
Rasmussen didn’t ask “Which would you rather do? Vote this fall, or be shot in the foot?” I want to see the answer to that.
           
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