Sunday, July 30, 2006
Explanation of JimRod, the Two-Headed Chicken by Jeff Trigg
What's with the two-headed chicken The picture was originally picked just to have SOMETHING to stick up there in the corner. It's growing on me however. Here's the story behind it.
That is me in a two-headed chicken suit, in the pressroom at our State Capitol
building in Springfield, Illinois, during a press conference. This picture ran in the Chicago Tribune. I have to say it was an awesome feeling walking through our state capitol in a two-headed chicken suit. I can probably say I am the only person on this earth that has done that. So it's a good story for someone else's grandchildren. The guy on the left was our candidate for Governor in 2002, Cal Skinner. Cal was a Republican state representative for 16 years in Springfield and was a county treasurer before that. Cal was also not invited or allowed to participate in any of the candidate debates during the campaign for Governor. This despite Cal having more experience working for our state government than both the other candidates COMBINED.
The idea behind the chicken was Cal's. The debate sponsors had announced the debates, and the Illinois media reported the debates, but didn't mention that Cal had not been invited in any of their articles. So Cal thought up this gimmick, good or bad, to try to get the media to at least notice that there was another candidate running for Governor that would not be in the debates. That worked to a certain degree, and a few in media finally gave us some mentions. The reporters that had seen Cal in action on the assembly floor knew Cal would have been a very formidable debate opponent for the candidates, and we knew he would have mopped the floor with their double speak and avoidance of answering the questions and non-committal stances on the issues. A few reporters knew that too, and reported as such.
The name of the chicken was JimRod, from the two first names of the old party candidates, Jim Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. Both Jim and Rod were Golden Gloves boxers in their youth and both of them used that in their campaigns. So why not call them chickens for refusing to get into the debate ring with a measly Libertarian?
Rod Blagojevich turned out to be the bigger chicken. One of the debates was scheduled for our old capitol building. There are three entrances to this building. One on each side, and one from underground. Our supporters were the first ones there, and we stood outside with picket signs proclaiming the debates a sham without our candidate in them, and we had JimRod there. Jim Ryan's supporters came next, and they occupied the opposite side of the building's entrance. Then Rod's people came, and they could either stand with Ryan's supporters, or stand on our side, so they picked our side.
Jim Ryan showed up, and like a boxing match, walked through his supporters shaking hands and getting pats on the back. Rod Blagojevich showed up and sat in his minivan. The Blagojevich supporters were buzzing on when he was going to walk into the building. About ten minutes went past and they were still waiting for Blagojevich to come out of his minivan and walk through his crowd of supporters into the old capitol. The problem was, those "dangerous" Libertarians were also on that side of the building. Finally, a Blagojevich organizer came over and grabbed about half of his mob.
Blagojevich was going to enter the old state capitol from underground instead of walking in like a man, and wanted his supporters to form a shield for him to get out of his van and take the stairs underground so that he couldn't possibly have a picture of him taken with the two-headed chicken in the frame. Rod Blagojevich was chicken of JimRod the two-headed chicken and the Libertarians and went to amazing lengths to avoid us. Rod Blagojevich proved to be a sissy boy that night, and hasn't done much since to dispel that label.
The two-headed chicken has stuck with me now. It's become a symbol for all the Republicans and Democrats that go to Cuba-like extremes to avoid any real opposition to them. It's a symbol that the Republicans and Democrats DO NOT BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY. That they refuse to even acknowledge the issue of free and equal elections. That they refuse to look in the mirror to see their hypocrisy and their antidemocratic rules that oppresses opposition. That they are afraid to engage in any REAL debate on REAL issues and REAL policies. That they have NO principles and NO integrity and NO belief in the liberties our American revolutionaries fought and died for. Republicans and Democrats are chickens, plain and simple. Two heads on one giant body only looking out for themselves. Sure they bicker once and a while as you might expect when there are two small brains trying to control one body, but more times that not, they are doing all they can to protect the power they enjoy.
It doesn't matter if you think or they think Libertarians are right or wrong. What matters is that our voters have the opportunity to decide for themselves WITHOUT the two-headed chicken deciding for them. What matters is that our elections in America are not controlled by those in power just like they are in China, Cuba, Syria, Iran, and all the other oppressive countries. The two-headed chicken is the perfect symbol for the Republicans and Democrats with their lack of integrity and their tyrannical quest for power. There is no other explanation for the Republicans and Democrats excluding opposition from debates, writing election laws that massively discriminate again opposition, or illegally using state employees for their own campaigns than they are power hungry and CHICKEN of any opposing views. Forget the elephants and donkeys. Republicans and Democrats are nothing but CHICKENS.
That is me in a two-headed chicken suit, in the pressroom at our State Capitol
building in Springfield, Illinois, during a press conference. This picture ran in the Chicago Tribune. I have to say it was an awesome feeling walking through our state capitol in a two-headed chicken suit. I can probably say I am the only person on this earth that has done that. So it's a good story for someone else's grandchildren. The guy on the left was our candidate for Governor in 2002, Cal Skinner. Cal was a Republican state representative for 16 years in Springfield and was a county treasurer before that. Cal was also not invited or allowed to participate in any of the candidate debates during the campaign for Governor. This despite Cal having more experience working for our state government than both the other candidates COMBINED.The idea behind the chicken was Cal's. The debate sponsors had announced the debates, and the Illinois media reported the debates, but didn't mention that Cal had not been invited in any of their articles. So Cal thought up this gimmick, good or bad, to try to get the media to at least notice that there was another candidate running for Governor that would not be in the debates. That worked to a certain degree, and a few in media finally gave us some mentions. The reporters that had seen Cal in action on the assembly floor knew Cal would have been a very formidable debate opponent for the candidates, and we knew he would have mopped the floor with their double speak and avoidance of answering the questions and non-committal stances on the issues. A few reporters knew that too, and reported as such.
The name of the chicken was JimRod, from the two first names of the old party candidates, Jim Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. Both Jim and Rod were Golden Gloves boxers in their youth and both of them used that in their campaigns. So why not call them chickens for refusing to get into the debate ring with a measly Libertarian?
Rod Blagojevich turned out to be the bigger chicken. One of the debates was scheduled for our old capitol building. There are three entrances to this building. One on each side, and one from underground. Our supporters were the first ones there, and we stood outside with picket signs proclaiming the debates a sham without our candidate in them, and we had JimRod there. Jim Ryan's supporters came next, and they occupied the opposite side of the building's entrance. Then Rod's people came, and they could either stand with Ryan's supporters, or stand on our side, so they picked our side.
Jim Ryan showed up, and like a boxing match, walked through his supporters shaking hands and getting pats on the back. Rod Blagojevich showed up and sat in his minivan. The Blagojevich supporters were buzzing on when he was going to walk into the building. About ten minutes went past and they were still waiting for Blagojevich to come out of his minivan and walk through his crowd of supporters into the old capitol. The problem was, those "dangerous" Libertarians were also on that side of the building. Finally, a Blagojevich organizer came over and grabbed about half of his mob.
Blagojevich was going to enter the old state capitol from underground instead of walking in like a man, and wanted his supporters to form a shield for him to get out of his van and take the stairs underground so that he couldn't possibly have a picture of him taken with the two-headed chicken in the frame. Rod Blagojevich was chicken of JimRod the two-headed chicken and the Libertarians and went to amazing lengths to avoid us. Rod Blagojevich proved to be a sissy boy that night, and hasn't done much since to dispel that label.
The two-headed chicken has stuck with me now. It's become a symbol for all the Republicans and Democrats that go to Cuba-like extremes to avoid any real opposition to them. It's a symbol that the Republicans and Democrats DO NOT BELIEVE IN DEMOCRACY. That they refuse to even acknowledge the issue of free and equal elections. That they refuse to look in the mirror to see their hypocrisy and their antidemocratic rules that oppresses opposition. That they are afraid to engage in any REAL debate on REAL issues and REAL policies. That they have NO principles and NO integrity and NO belief in the liberties our American revolutionaries fought and died for. Republicans and Democrats are chickens, plain and simple. Two heads on one giant body only looking out for themselves. Sure they bicker once and a while as you might expect when there are two small brains trying to control one body, but more times that not, they are doing all they can to protect the power they enjoy.
It doesn't matter if you think or they think Libertarians are right or wrong. What matters is that our voters have the opportunity to decide for themselves WITHOUT the two-headed chicken deciding for them. What matters is that our elections in America are not controlled by those in power just like they are in China, Cuba, Syria, Iran, and all the other oppressive countries. The two-headed chicken is the perfect symbol for the Republicans and Democrats with their lack of integrity and their tyrannical quest for power. There is no other explanation for the Republicans and Democrats excluding opposition from debates, writing election laws that massively discriminate again opposition, or illegally using state employees for their own campaigns than they are power hungry and CHICKEN of any opposing views. Forget the elephants and donkeys. Republicans and Democrats are nothing but CHICKENS.
# posted by Cal Skinner : 8:54 AM
