"Never
let a good crisis go to waste!" — Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel.
Someone
ought to whisper to Chicago mayor Rahn Emmanuel:
Shalom!
That's
"peace" to you and me, of course.
The
guy has this unutterable penchant to get in fights with everybody. He must have
been picked on as a kid, although one person came forward and shared that he
and his brother Ari had
beat him up
once. Maybe his life has been one crisis after another.
He
was tapped to serve as President Obama's Chief of Staff. He liked to curse at
people. He liked to pull people not just by the horns, but apparently by the
nostrils or other unmentionable parts of the male anatomy. Who can forget the
Washington shower fight with former New York Congressman Eric Massa, a
legislator who had plenty of his own issues.
When
one of the Daley clan opted not to run again for mayor of Chicago (eventually
the most venal of political families gets tired of cops beating students or
managing unmanageable corruption waste, I suppose), Rahm jumped at the
opportunity to run the Windy City, and won.
To
his merit, he has discussed legalizing pot, but he might want to consider
smoking a joint or two to calm himself. He does have a city which sits in a
state with one of the worst business climates and some of the highest taxes in
the country. The entire state has the worst bond-rating now, worse than even
California. It's hard to believe, but there you have it.
Whatever
happened to taking things easy? Maybe the Blues
Brothers can launch their own concert to bring back some money to
the City by the Great Lake. They could claim that they are on a mission from
God, and God knows, Mayor Rahm needs some divine intervention. At any rate, a
growing number of Illinois residents are numb with frustration because of
Chicago's too heavy influence in the statehouse.
Now
he gets to pick fights with every interests, expect for the fights which serve
the public interest. First, the teachers unions rolled out their strike, a
crippling blow for the liberal mayor, since his President is one of the most
sympathetic, and thus compromised, Presidents in modern history. The
Taft-Hartley Acts passed under Democratic President Harry Truman, who more
likely would be a Republican today for his respect for family and the rule of
law. President Obama needed union votes to get elected, and the 2009
auto bailouts served as a heart-felt (and heartless) payout.
Then
the CEO of Chik-fil-A announced his views about gay marriage. The uproar that
followed led to gay activists painting "Tastes Like Hate" on the side
of one fast-food chain. Of course, the conservative back-lash improved the
company's stock and sales. Yet even then, liberal Rahm just could not resist
threatening the company by refusing to grant the Chik-fil-A restaurant any
future business licenses.
One
cannot help but wonder: does Mayor have a heart of a lion or that of a chicken?
Does he have the sense of statesmen, or the subtlety of a snake? Apparently,
he does not have a commanding respect for the United States Constitution, a
document which protects freedom of speech, and by extension prevents
progressives from picking and choosing the views that corporate leaders may
have, hold, and share with others.
Now,
following the gun control debate which has exploded into the national discourse
because of the Sandy Hook Massacre, Mayor Emmanuel has threatened to unleash
the wrath of God against major banking firms if they do not disabuse themselves
of their stock with major arms manufacturers. Those two firms, Bank of America
and TD Bank Group, are based in Chicago, so the mayor thinks that he has a
right to create a crisis (which he will also ensure does not go to waste).
There
comes a point where people watching from the outside get tired of people on the
inside using their power and bully pulpit to intimidate others, including
members of corporate America. Enter US
Senator from Texas Ted Cruz:
In light of the reception you have received in the Windy City,
please know that Texas would certainly welcome more of your business and the
jobs you create. Texans value jobs and value freedom and over 1000 people a day
are moving to Texas (often from cities like Chicago), because Texas is where
the jobs are.
If I can be of assistance in that regard, please do not hesitate
to call.
Bullies
never win, chants one character in a kids' book. If Emmanuel cannot get off his
"Messiah complex", he may find himself with a city not only
hemorrhaging debt, but also scaring national and international investment as
well as jobs, from working class to white color.
Senator
Cruz' smooth move reminds me of a more crude yet quiet successful move by
little Laura Ingalls and her friends in an episode of "Little House on the
Prairie." When the largest kid was proving to be a large problem for the
school teacher, Ms. Wilder, all the kids ganged up on him after school and beat
him up so that he would leave the teacher alone.
Instead
of a group of kids, the other forty plus states with better credit and a better
business climate will work in reverse, drawing away all power from the bully of
Big Government, whose figurehead is Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.
Bully Mayor Rahm
Emmanuel has issues. God help him!