tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post5111557827256837300..comments2024-03-06T04:35:38.806-06:00Comments on Disaffected and it Feels So Good: Bruce Rauner's crimes make him a Quintessential Republican, as the Illinois Governor's Race heats upGrung_e_Genehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894879088472559055noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-67859606551398361292014-03-03T11:26:12.539-06:002014-03-03T11:26:12.539-06:00Vulture Capitalist Bruce Rauner is the quintessent...Vulture Capitalist Bruce Rauner is the quintessential hypocrite. He condemns taxes that pay the bills and for the services of government (ie, pensions), but he's more than willing to own stake in companies that bill MILLIONS of dollars to Medicare and/or Medicaid. And, as some charge, even willing to take part in a cheat to get those dollars. Court records show one of his companies knowingly let elderly people suffer in the interest of maximizing profit.<br /><br />His flip-flop position on a minimum wage hike is equally self-serving and almost as appalling. Depending on who he's talking to, he is either for it or against it. No one can live a self-sufficient existence on $8 and change an hour, it's preposterous. Yet here's Bruce Rauner, who in 2012 made ONE MILLION DOLLARS A WEEK ($53 million dollars in 2012), on record willing to deny a sliver of dignity to fringe-dwellers who get up in the morning, take a bus they can't afford to ride to a dead-end job they can't afford to lose, perfectly willing to throw these people on the street.<br /><br />He personifies the maladies of economic inequality that plague our nation today. While other countries are working toward more equitable economic policies, greed-mongers like Rauner are looking for new ways to disadvantage others. Why? See, here's a "secret" that rich people pay a LOT of attention to: every dollar in someone else's pocket means a dollar less in their pocket. Simple ecomonics, which most of us give little thought. But to black-souled monsters like Rauner, this torments them, haunts them. That dollar should be theirs, the obsess.<br /><br />In fairness, it may not be his fault. I believe in the theory that insatiable greed is a real disorder. It is an addictive, compulsive psychological dysfunction or defect from which Rauner suffers, possibly incurably. Rapacious avarice. He can no more dismiss his greed than can one will their eye color to change.<br /><br />So what do the helplessly rapacious, avaricious do? They attack the weakest. They don't go after other rich people. They can defend themselves. They go after the poor first, and work their way up the economic food chain in a distributed assault designed to reap huge gains by taking a small amount (laughingly insignificant relative to his wealth) from the greatest number of people possible. How better to do this than to control the government. We see it everywhere already. It's at the core of the exploding wealth gap in the US. You can't have the foxes guarding the hen house.<br /><br />So, it only makes sense that Rauner would attack the unions. This is because he knows that unions (not without their issues, to be sure) stand as a last remaining defensive force resisting the devolution of America to a third-world plutocracy/corpocracy. Something that would further profit Rauner immensely. Removing the unions from the equation would lower the economic bar for most everyone who works for a living. By that argument, unions (like them or not) serve to raise the labor standard.<br /><br />For the record, I'm not a socialist, or Marxist, nor do I subscribe to any philosophy that approaches communism. It's human nature to strive to do better, to improve your economic position. I think capitalism, in the correct balance, is very healthy for an society. But what Rauner wants perverts the virtues of opportunity which 99% (or so) of us hold dear.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-57312576021685745012014-02-05T19:53:05.481-06:002014-02-05T19:53:05.481-06:00Hey Andrew, you forgot the two other ones accused ...Hey Andrew, you forgot the two other ones accused of a crime. Both Republicans. I especially love the Len Small case where he was acquitted of corruption by a jury of his peers. Eight of whom received state jobs. Please don't make it sound as if Democrats are the only corrupt ones,J.O.B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12180244268084796661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-83649600555405455022014-02-05T11:36:46.940-06:002014-02-05T11:36:46.940-06:00No Chickenhammer, just no. Bruce Rauner is not the...No Chickenhammer, just no. Bruce Rauner is not the Governor nor has he ever been. What I pointed out are the attributes which make him a Quintessential Republican (i.e. a criminal). Rauner made money by stealing from Public Pensions and accounting gimmicks (see: Mitt Romney) and Rauner made money by mistreating Old People and metaphorically pushing them off a cliff (see: Paul Ryan).<br /><br />So, what makes Rauner a Republican are his mistreatment of the elderly and poor and thievery. Grung_e_Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01894879088472559055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-59235436079518934022014-02-05T11:18:53.082-06:002014-02-05T11:18:53.082-06:00You were talking Governors and you say you live in...You were talking Governors and you say you live in Illinois. I brought Illinois Governors to the comments. That is all.ChickenHammerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10228053200668293249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-48664674683188561372014-02-05T11:16:30.292-06:002014-02-05T11:16:30.292-06:00Let's see: In the entire History of the Democr...Let's see: In the <i>entire</i> History of the Democratic Republic <b>100%</b> of Presidents and <b>100%</b> of Vice Presidents who have resigned in utter disgrace with potential criminal charges pending over their heads have been:<br /><br /><i>Republicans!</i> Grung_e_Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01894879088472559055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-32354473509385438522014-02-05T01:03:09.125-06:002014-02-05T01:03:09.125-06:0031 2546443Yeah, going back 36 years is just a smal...31 2546443Yeah, going back 36 years is just a small sample size...<br /><br />Rod Blagojevich, Democrat (2009)<br />George Ryan, Republican (2003)<br />Dan Walker, Democrat (1977)<br />Otto Kerner, Democrat (1968)<br /><br />Both sides are dirty. Democrats are 3-to-1 dirtier than Republicans over the past 36 years.<br /><br />If 36 years is a small sample size what constitutes a rational sample size?Andrew Acistahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18033321821557878384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-48977820649440721492014-02-05T00:28:07.042-06:002014-02-05T00:28:07.042-06:00Hey let's take a small sample size to prove Ch...Hey let's take a small sample size to prove Chicken Hammer's point! <br /><br />Looks like I'll have to post about Dan Rutherford now. For it seems Dan got caught breaking 1 of the 2 Political Sexy Time No-Nos; don't get caught with a dead girl or a live boy...Grung_e_Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01894879088472559055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-63004405245784348962014-02-04T22:12:22.241-06:002014-02-04T22:12:22.241-06:00Conservatives and Republicans love criminals; espe...<i>Conservatives and Republicans love criminals; especially as their Governors.</i><br /><br />That is quite a statement coming from an Illinois resident Gene.<br /><br />Q: What do Rod Blagojevich, George Ryan, Dan Walker, & Otto Kerner have in common?<br />A: They are all former Illinois Governors who have served time in prison.<br /><br />Q: What do Rod Blagojevich, Dan Walker, & Otto Kerner have in common?<br />A: They are all Democrats.ChickenHammerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10228053200668293249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-85460452307615496042014-02-04T11:30:28.308-06:002014-02-04T11:30:28.308-06:00Hey JC! We also had John Peter Altgled who was a P...Hey JC! We also had John Peter Altgled who was a Progressive Hero and pardoned the living incarcerated Haymarket Square Scapegoats!Grung_e_Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01894879088472559055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-293433952655399056.post-81995125425964455912014-02-04T11:22:29.285-06:002014-02-04T11:22:29.285-06:00Illinois has a long history of crooks in governmen...Illinois has a long history of crooks in government. I lived there for a few years in the late 60's and early 70's. We had good ol' Paul Powell, the man with shoe boxes full of money.Jerry Critterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870618647449723147noreply@blogger.com