John Schmidt’s too liberal. Roland Burris is washed up. Jim Burns blew his chance.
And that’s why one of Illinois’ most powerful Democrats, House Speaker Michael Madigan, has aligned himself with U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard in the wide-open Democratic primary for governor.
Madigan has made a calculation that the Democrats’ best chance to keep control of the Illinois House–and to end the Republicans’ 22-year hold on the governor’s office–is to go with a conservative candidate, particularly since moderate Gov. Jim Edgar won’t be on the ballot. Since 1976, Republicans Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar have knocked off one liberal Democrat after another.
In his first interview since word came out in the Tribune earlier this week of the Madigan-Poshard alliance, the speaker Thursday explained his thinking on the race and gave a frank assessment of the rest of the field.
Poshard “will be viewed as a conservative, on the conservative side of the spectrum as a Democrat,” Madigan said. “It’s better for Illinois House Democratic candidates to have a conservative-type gubernatorial candidate. To retain a Democratic majority in the House, we have to elect Democrats in conservative areas.”
Madigan is talking about the southwest suburbs and far southern Illinois, where the outcome in a handful of swing districts will decide who runs the House after 1998. Poshard’s opposition to abortion rights and support of legislative term limits will win some voters in those areas.
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The abortion issue weighed on Madigan’s mind as a political drawback for Poshard until Edgar, who is pro-choice, stepped aside for Secretary of State George Ryan, who opposes abortion. That takes the issue out of a Ryan-Poshard campaign, and presumably pro-choice Democrats will reluctantly stay with the party’s candidate. Although Madigan is “concerned” about some of Poshard’s votes against gun control, he is pleased that Poshard seemed to be shifting on that issue.
Now, Mr. Speaker, what about the rest of the field for governor?
There’s Roland Burris, the former attorney general who lost a 1994 primary bid for governor and a 1995 race for mayor of Chicago.
“He’s run several times and in politics you reach a certain point where people no longer take you seriously.”
There’s John Schmidt, the former Justice Department honcho. “He would be a fine candidate, but when it comes down to Schmidt and Poshard, and (whether) it is better to have a liberal or a conservative, that’s where I tilt toward Poshard.”
There’s Jim Burns, the former U.S. attorney who once had the inside track on Madigan’s endorsement.
“If you’re working with a profile, I think that Burns with his resume would be the best. The Republicans have controlled the Capitol Building for over 20 years and you can look back over a list of problems and scandals in the Edgar administration, such as the MSI (Management Services of Illinois) scandal.
“Fashioning a Democratic complaint, you say, this is what you’ve gotten over 20 years. If you want change, vote for a Democrat. If you want more of the same, vote for George Ryan. If that’s the approach, as a profile Burns is great, a crime-fighting district attorney. However, he’s got to win a primary, and the reports have not been good in terms of his campaign, fundraising, development of a message, taking advantage of news opportunities, public presentation, personal mingling.”
The recent acquittal of Ald. Ray Frias and partial acquittal of former Chicago Water Commissioner John Bolden on federal charges also haven’t helped Burns’ cause, Madigan said.
Back in August, when Burns resigned as U.S. attorney and it appeared that he might be the Democrats’ version of Jim Thompson, Madigan let it be known that he wanted to clear the field for Burns. Democrats would love to have their own crime-fighting Big Jim.
Burns, though, has the physical height and resume of Thompson, but none of the flair for curbside campaigning. Even the tacit backing of the speaker failed to raise cash and the profile of Burns, and the other Democrats refused to yield.
It also hasn’t been lost on Madigan that Poshard has been outhustling the other Democratic candidates all along. Poshard personally recruited Democratic candidates in two downstate House districts that Madigan wants dearly to win, and Poshard helped Madigan to avoid a tough Democratic primary fight in a third district. Come the fall campaign, it would also help that Poshard once represented all of those areas.
Madigan has been working the phones for the past week in a bid to win an endorsement for Poshard from the state AFL-CIO, which is meeting Friday in Rosemont. It appears, though, that none of the Democrats will gain the AFL-CIO backing. Some union leaders are arguing to delay any endorsement vote for several weeks.
Madigan said some labor leaders are put off by Poshard’s support for term limits and concerned about whether Poshard, who refuses to accept political action committee contributions, will be able to compete financially in a race against Ryan.
Other sources say Poshard, despite Madigan’s efforts, isn’t likely to win the AFL-CIO endorsement because some labor leaders dislike what Madigan admires in Poshard: his social conservatism.
For their part, some in George Ryan’s camp have said privately that Poshard is the Democrat they most fear. They can’t paint him as a liberal. They might complain about his pro-labor voting record but it will be tough to argue that Poshard is indebted to labor, because he refuses to accept PAC money.
And Ryan strategists fear that the folksy Poshard will make the often-gruff Ryan look like an old grump. As one Ryan ally told me, if Poshard is the Democratic nominee the Ryan camp will gladly accepted one television debate–as long as it’s held at midnight in Dayton, Ohio.
For now, Madigan is withholding a formal endorsement of Poshard until he gets more answers about the campaign’s financial and political support. But even if he fails to win the AFL-CIO nod, the tacit support of the influential Madigan all but guarantees that Glenn Poshard will at least be the Democrats’ January flavor-of-the-month.