Ald. Ricardo Munoz won’t be my friend on Facebook.
Munoz has been sitting on my Friend Request for over two weeks, which is unusual for a politician (BTW, this Ricardo Munoz is not Chicago's Ricardo Munoz. Sorry ladies).
Most politicians are total Facebook sluts who’ll be friends with anyone. I friended Bill Brady last night, and he responded within hours. Politics is a popularity contest, so the more friends you have, like, the more elections you win. Maybe.
Anyway, here’s a rundown on the social networking skills of Ward Room’s favorite politicians.
Pat Quinn: Quinn has 4,640 Facebook friends, compared to Brady’s 3,731, which means Quinn’s going to win the election. His best friend is Rep. Bobby Rush, who is always posting to Pat’s wall about boring stuff he did at work, like voting to bring health care to 32 million uninsured Americans. If you want to read Quinn’s tweets, follow @QuinnForIL. @pat_quinn is some lady who found out about Twitter before the governor. Bonus: the first Google result for Pat Quinn is this guy, who also looks like a nice man.
Richard M. Daley: Mayor Daley has never even sent an e-mail. Do you think he goes on Facebook? And do you think a mayor-for-life needs your friendship? You can join a fan page where sycophants leave messages like “The City of Chicago has the most environmentally conscious mayor, thanks Mayor Daley!” Mayor Daley does have a Twitter feed, @MayorDaley, but we know he doesn’t write it.
Politics
Lisa Madigan: Like Mayor Daley, Lisa Madigan won’t be your Facebook friend. What is it with political brats? Do they think they’re too good for us because their dads were more powerful than our dads? You can be Lisa’s fan, though, and watch a video of her speech to the Democratic National Committee. (It’s safe for work.) @LisaMadigan2010 was last updated in July, with Gay Pride Parade photos. (Also safe for work, which is lame.)
Toni Preckwinkle: Preckwinkle has a Facebook page with 4,998 friends -- two short of the limit, so hurry up and friend her! -- who send her smiles, happy hearts, drinks, cake and flowers. The most recent update is a week-old tweet: “is about to speak to the Chicago Area Public Affairs Group at the Union League.” Tell us how it went, Toni!
Bill Brady: Quick with “Accept” button, but doesn’t update his status. Is friends with Tea Partier Joe Terrell, who is running for Winnebago County Clerk and declares “We will REMEMBER FREEDOM ON NOVEMBER 2nd!” The @Bill_Brady Twitter feed hasn’t been updated since March 8. Get a BlackBerry!
Rod Blagojevich: Where do we begin? You can join “Rod Blagojevich is a filthy disgusting animal and should be in jail,” “Rod Blagojevich’s Hair,” “Rod Blagojevich claiming he's ‘Blacker than Barack Obama’” or “I am so sick of Rod Blagojevich! Why don’t they shoot him?” If you voted for Blagojevich (come on, admit it, you did) join his fan page and watch him doing the Top Ten on Letterman. There are a half-dozen Blagojevich Twitter accounts, but all appear to be impostors.
Just to find out how desperate politicians are, I started a Facebook account under the name “Rollin Adubi” and have been friending the entire Illinois political class. I’ll let you know who responds.
