As Louis XIV once said, “L’etat c’est moi” -- I am the state.
Pat Quinn seems to be copping a similar attitude.
The thin-skinned governor can’t tell the difference between criticism of his leadership and criticism of Illinois.
After both Quinn and Brady spoke to the Illinois Retail Manufacturer’s Association in Springfield, Quinn called himself “the number one cheerleader for Illinois."
“I think there’s a lot of hand-wringing on the part of Sen. Brady and others," Quinn said. "I think it’s important to have a governor who is a positive person about the Illinois economy.”
In reality Pat Quinn is the No. 1 cheerleader for Pat Quinn.
His opponent is campaigning in a Democratic electorate, which, by its nature,involves criticism of the incumbent.
Politics
“Gov. Quinn wants to mask the fact that his first 12 months in Illinois we lost 250,000 jobs,” Brady said. “I am a cheerleader, by the way. Illinois has more opportunities than any other state, but when we keep beating down business, to the point where they move to other states, and that outmigration is 700,000.”
Brady also had harsh words for what the governor’s fiscal policies have meant for Illinois’ nationwide reputation -- especially his plan to borrow $3.8 billion to meet pension obligations.
“Our bond rating -- I was having a conversation with some people who talk to Wall Street, and they’re comparing what Gov. Quinn wants to do with putting Illinois in line with Greece, Spain, California and now Illinois -- financial collapse,” Brady said.
But Brady also wants to borrow money. He’s promised to balance the state’s budget his first year in office, and admits that borrowing is the only way to make that happen.
“I could pay the vendors back in three years, or I could go into the marketplace, show ’em we’ve got the revenue, short-term borrow the money immediately and pay the vendors,” Brady said.
So, instead of whining that Brady is kicking Illinois because its governor wants to “kick the can down the road” by borrowing money, Quinn needs to point out that Brady wants to do the same thing.
Quinn is not the state. He runs the state. And the better he runs it, the less he’ll have to listen to critics like Brady.
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