Monday, July 21, 2008

Fear Of Ordinary Citizens Behind "No" Vote Push

Rich Miller's column about those forces who oppose a con-con (constitutional convention) for the state of Illinois:

So, the fox says to the farmer, “Hey, don’t fix the hen-house door, just buy more chickens.”

That’s pretty much the same advice that you, as Illinois voters, are about to be spoon fed.

Big business, big labor and some “good government” groups have teamed up to urge a “No” vote this November on the Constitutional Convention ballot question. They’re planning to spend $3 million on TV and other advertising.

Illinois voters are given a choice every twenty years about whether to call a “con-con,” and in 1988 the ballot question was defeated.

The entire Illinois establishment was opposed to a constitutional convention back then, including most newspapers. But 2008 is a whole lot different than 1988, when the political world was pretty stable here and most things were on track.

“A mess” hardly begins to describe our current state political situation. Some have suggested that voters might be so fed up with our political disaster that they will vote for a constitutional convention with the hope that something - anything - might change.

It was obvious during a conference call with reporters last week that “fear and loathing” will be the message of the “No” campaign.

Please go read the whole thing. I've talked a lot about this potential con-con over time on this blog. While I'm sure there are more than a few arguments I've posted in favor, I certainly can't wait to provide those arguments against a con-con in Illinois.

Oh and check out the ensuing discussion in the link I provided for this column.

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