Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Rod Blagojevich State of State Speech Follows Telly Tubbies - The Ron Gitwitz Press Release
Nostradamus Has Nothing on Gidwitz/Rauschenberger
SPRINGFIELD, IL... Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz and his running mate for Lt. Governor Steve Rauschenberger correctly predicted yesterday that Governor Blagojevich would dodge five critical issues in his State of the State Address today.
As expected, the Governor failed to own up to: the mountain of debt he has piled up; the economic malaise that has Illinois lagging its Midwest neighbors in job creation and which was brought by his taxing-and-spending-and-borrowing-and-spending; Illinois' underperforming public school system that is failing to provide children with equal opportunities; and Illinois' massively and increasingly underfunded state pension systems (approaching $39 billion).
Instead, the Governor engaged in blame shifting, attempting to pin responsibility for Illinois' woes on policymakers in Washington, D.C.
"When Blagojevich was in Washington and running for Governor he blamed the politicians here," observed Gidwitz. "Now he blames the politicians in Washington."
"We need a Governor who will stand up and be accountable for what occurs on his watch," Gidwitz said. "There are 49 other states that live under the federal rules too but they don't seem to be plagued with the same problems we face in Illinois under this Governor."
Most conspicuous by its absence in the speech was any mention by the Governor of the culture of corruption that is ruining Illinois. Stories of Illinois pay-to-play political system have dominated the headlines and the political landscape for the past seven years.
Yet, Governor Blagojevich had nothing to say on the subject.
"At least he didn't insult our intelligence and tell us he was going to 'end business-as-usual' again," said Rauschenberger. "After mortgaging our state's future to line the pockets of the connected insiders in Springfield, I suppose there really isn't much this Governor can legitimately say about reforming the culture of corruption."
Gidwitz and Rauschenberger responded to the Governor's address by renewing their challenge to the other gubernatorial candidates, including Governor Blagojevich, to sign on to the sweeping ethics and campaign finance reform package the two introduced earlier this month.
Gidwitz added that he believed the Governor's speech would only increase the intensity of citizen's calls for change in Springfield.
"Middle class families are hurting in Illinois and this Governor spent an hour today trying to convince them that they are not," said Gidwitz. "The Governor and the political insiders in Springfield are out of touch. They can't fix the problems when they won't even own up to the extent of the problems. We need fundamental change in state government and that is what my candidacy for Governor is all about."
To return to McHenry County Blog, click here.
SPRINGFIELD, IL... Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz and his running mate for Lt. Governor Steve Rauschenberger correctly predicted yesterday that Governor Blagojevich would dodge five critical issues in his State of the State Address today.
As expected, the Governor failed to own up to: the mountain of debt he has piled up; the economic malaise that has Illinois lagging its Midwest neighbors in job creation and which was brought by his taxing-and-spending-and-borrowing-and-spending; Illinois' underperforming public school system that is failing to provide children with equal opportunities; and Illinois' massively and increasingly underfunded state pension systems (approaching $39 billion).
Instead, the Governor engaged in blame shifting, attempting to pin responsibility for Illinois' woes on policymakers in Washington, D.C.
"When Blagojevich was in Washington and running for Governor he blamed the politicians here," observed Gidwitz. "Now he blames the politicians in Washington."
"We need a Governor who will stand up and be accountable for what occurs on his watch," Gidwitz said. "There are 49 other states that live under the federal rules too but they don't seem to be plagued with the same problems we face in Illinois under this Governor."
Most conspicuous by its absence in the speech was any mention by the Governor of the culture of corruption that is ruining Illinois. Stories of Illinois pay-to-play political system have dominated the headlines and the political landscape for the past seven years.
Yet, Governor Blagojevich had nothing to say on the subject.
"At least he didn't insult our intelligence and tell us he was going to 'end business-as-usual' again," said Rauschenberger. "After mortgaging our state's future to line the pockets of the connected insiders in Springfield, I suppose there really isn't much this Governor can legitimately say about reforming the culture of corruption."
Gidwitz and Rauschenberger responded to the Governor's address by renewing their challenge to the other gubernatorial candidates, including Governor Blagojevich, to sign on to the sweeping ethics and campaign finance reform package the two introduced earlier this month.
Gidwitz added that he believed the Governor's speech would only increase the intensity of citizen's calls for change in Springfield.
"Middle class families are hurting in Illinois and this Governor spent an hour today trying to convince them that they are not," said Gidwitz. "The Governor and the political insiders in Springfield are out of touch. They can't fix the problems when they won't even own up to the extent of the problems. We need fundamental change in state government and that is what my candidacy for Governor is all about."
To return to McHenry County Blog, click here.
# posted by Cal Skinner : 7:06 PM
