New Rep. Robin Kelly: Sucking and blowing on guns

By Richard K. Barry

One thing that you have to do in politics is win the races you're supposed to win. I'm sure there's a Vince Lombardi quote to this effect, I just can't think of it at the moment.

It may not get a lot of attention when things go as everyone expects they will, but it sure provides a lot of unwanted attention in politics when, as they say, man bites dog. 

So, with nary a headline outside of Chicago, Robin Kelly kept ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s House seat for the Democrats in the IL-02 on the South Side of Chicago and its southern suburbs. She defeated Paul McKinley on April 11 by a margin of 71 to 22 percent in a race that was expected to be won by precisely this sort of big margin. 

As Daily Kos reports:

Her bigger victory came in February's primary, where, despite starting off the race in third place, she made gun violence a central issue and rode a wave of anti-NRA sentiment to the Democratic nomination. Kelly has remained an outspoken advocate of gun safety regulations, a message she's pledged to carry with her to Washington.

She was sworn in yesterday and immediately got to work:

Saying children should be protected from gun-wielding criminals but 2nd Amendment rights should be preserved, newly installed U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly made her first remarks today on the floor of her new workplace, the House of Representatives.

"We can do both," she said of the twin aims in the gun debate.

Yes, well, I don't actually think Americans can do both, but that's the power of the mythology of gun ownership in the USA. Even Democrats have to say stupid shit like that. 

Getting the small things wrong

By Richard K. Barry

Well, this is interesting. 

Disgraced ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. embarrasses the Democratic party with his "ethical lapses," giving the GOP an opportunity to claim the moral high ground in the race to replace him in IL-2. But, no! They nominate someone who has been convicted of six felony counts and served nearly 20 years behind bars. Yes, that's some guy by the name of Paul McKinley, who was able to win the Republican nomination for the vacant House seat by a total of 23 votes.

All parties run into this problem in districts in which they are not competitive. Sometimes "marginal candidates" jump in and surprise everyone. It's the job of the party apparatus to make sure these embarrassments don't happen, but sometimes they just do.

No one will seriously consider this guy a spokesperson for the Republican Party, but Democrats will have some fun running against him. 

Or, as Fox News in Chicago reports:

There are dozens of districts where very few voters bother to participate in Republican primaries, setting the stage for ugly surprises. Remember entertainer "Spanky the Clown?" He won the GOP nomination to face Mayor Daley in 1995. That may have been good for a laugh. But those who dream of rebuilding the Republican Party in Chicago aren't laughing at the apparent nomination of convicted armed robber Paul McKinley.

No, but some of us are. Heh, heh.