As Chicago heads into its first mayoral runoff election, set for April 7, the heat has been turned up and is boiling over into the neighborhoods, where Chuy Garcia signs are elbowing out Rahm Emanuel 's $14-million-backed advertising initiative. Still, Emanuel's lavish ad campaign has apparently done its job, as the conservative Chicago Tribune announced a new poll showing Emanuel with a 28-point lead. The Tribune, of course, has a long history of underestimating progressive candidates' potential in their polling, but the psychological effect is clear. People want to vote for the winner, and the media narrative has been set: Rahm is the winner.
Rahm screams at mental health activists, “YOU’RE GONNA RESPECT ME!”
This article offers a glimpse at the man's character. Closing down 49 public schools and half of the city's mental health clinics suggests a certain callousness, but it's private moments like this one that offer a purer glimpse into the heart of the man tasked with running this operation we call Chicago.
Washington Post: How Rahm Emanuel flipped the script on liberal rebels in the Chicago runoff
Articles like this one, from the Washington Post, highlight the national impact of the race, which has been interpreted by Beltway politicos as a stand in for a larger feud between the progressive/populist wing of the Democratic Party, versus the centrist, pro-business wing heralded by Bill and Hillary Clinton, which has dominated the Democrats since their string of humiliating defeats in the 1980s presidential contests.
I would love to see a theatre piece where someone acting like Rahm goes through daily life acting with the imperial manner and wild mood swings that otherwise characterize a sociopath. Why do such loathsome character qualities take on such an appealing luster in our politicians? Does being in power mold people into acting out their most narcissistic and base qualities, or do we simply insist on electing egomaniacal blowhards into authority roles?
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