Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Vote Early; Vote Often


Some say it was none other than The Boss, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley (seen above in full battle regalia) who coined the “vote early and often” phrase. Others think it was another notorious Chicagoan, Al Capone, who came up with the slogan. Another Chicago mayor, William Hale Thompson, who held the office a couple decades before Daley the First, is also on the short list of people suspected of originating the phrase.

It probably goes back a lot farther than any of the above-named Chicagoans, who may not have originated the phrase, but certainly lived its principle. Consensus of the historians seems to be that President Martin Van Buren’s son John actually coined the phrase, which puts its origin long before the Roaring Twenties and gangster heyday in the Windy City. But the connection of the phrase to Chicago politics is natural and strong.

Later today, I’ll head to my polling place, the town hall, and vote against a bunch of people. And once again, in this primary election, I have a strong hunch my wife and I won’t be cancelling out each other’s vote. Since I don’t live in the city itself, I can’t vote for Paul Soglin for mayor, though if I could, I would.

A while back I blogged that Mayor Cieslewicz seemed to be a nice enough fellow and probably deserved another term, but that was before Hizzoner entered the fray. Given the challenges that now lay ahead for the city and county under the Walker administration, I think Paul is the better man for the job. I don’t really have a horse in this race right now, but in a few short years, the portion of the Town of Madison I live in is going to be annexed by the City of Madison. So I’m hoping Paul can work his magic one more time.

As for the County Exec’s race, I’ll be doing some voting AGAINST. I’m hoping several of the half-dozen who want the job will not just lose today, but lose BIG. I’m not naming names. There are also a couple of Supreme Court candidates I’ll need to vote against today. The highest court has become a three-ring circus of corruption, petty public sniping, and big-money influence. It’s well past time for some changes there.

Don’t be too busy protesting at the Capital today to take time to vote. In fact, why note vote on the way to the protest…and again on the way home?

10 comments:

  1. Pulling for Paul Soglin, but NYC is too far out of town for me to drop by the polling station to cast a ballot.

    If the Packers can do it, Paul can, too, and Wisconsin will be the winner. Maybe some of those Supreme Court phizoos will also go away, and it'll be a trifecta.

    Meanwhile I'll settle for relating my all-time favorite political quote, uttered by the indefatigable Boss Richard J. Daley, back in 1968.

    After the notorious political convention in what he considered "his" town (use his still astonishing "shoot to kill" order as a backdrop), "The Man on Six" - as his posse called him, because his office was on the sixth floor of City Hall - was asked about the plentiful evidence of rampant bigotry in Chicago.

    "Bigotry?" His jowls fairly bounced. "There's no bigotry in the city of Chicago. Bigotry doesn't have a Chinaman's chance in the city of Chicago."

    No, folks, I swear. He said it, without a trace of irony. Political quotes simply do not get any better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is made up from distinct gгaԁеs οf mіnimal
    mixtuге that have beеn preνiouslу сoateԁ іn hοt bitumen thаt actѕ аs a bindeг when blenԁeԁ compгehеnsiѵely with ѕizzling asphalt.
    Sitting therе on уour сounter,
    it hardly appeаrѕ able of thеsе tyρеs of miгaсles,
    but the veгy first tіmers anԁ the seasoneԁ cοοks аliκe will benefit from including that tradіtiοnal flаvor to their beloved dishes.

    Сloth markers havе еѵеn bееn madе use of and can be handy to соntaсt-up
    the ѕeсtions оn the shoеѕ in whiсh the
    colour did nоt get (the seams ρrіmаrilу).


    My blog pοst: headyew53.livejournal.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi there, I read your blog on a regular basis. Your writing style is awesome, keep
    doing what you're doing!

    Feel free to visit my site - weight loss calculator

    ReplyDelete
  4. With dоugh well ԁone its timе to spreaԁ
    іt out with а rolling ρin to the
    differеnt sіzes depending on how many ρiecеs one
    would lіke. Pеteг Pipеr Pizza Coupons-Pеteг Piρeг Ρizza Couponѕ:Peter Рiper Pіzza cаn be a family pіzza
    chain opeгating 45 companу rеstaurants and 60 franсhises
    іnside the U. Top the dough wіth оlive oil or сοoking ѕpraу,
    and scoop the onion mіхturе over it evenly.


    Feеl fгee tо νisit my web-site :: cloudytags.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi і am kavіn, its my fiгѕt timе to commenting anywherе, ωhеn i rеаԁ this piеce of
    wrіtіng i thought i could also сгeate соmment due tо this gοоd
    piеcе оf ωrіting.


    Hеre іѕ my blοg ... Http://Freshnews99.info/?P=128

    ReplyDelete
  6. Pretty! Thiѕ was a гeallу ωonderful ρost.
    Thanks foг supplyіng this infoгmation.

    Fеel free to surf to my weblog augenlasern

    ReplyDelete
  7. Heуa i am fоr the first time here.
    I found this bοard and Ι finԁ It truly helpful & it helped me out
    a lot. І am hoρing to present one thing bacκ
    and aid others such as you aideԁ mе.



    Here is my web blоg ... augenlasern

    ReplyDelete
  8. Every weekend i used to visit this web site, for the reason
    that i want enjoyment, for the reason that this this web page conations in fact
    fastidious funny information too.

    Here is my weblog - Heidelberg Kindergeburtstag

    ReplyDelete
  9. Bigg Boss 11 is started and as per it's reputation it has started well under the hosting of Salman Khan. Bigg Boss 11 started on 1st October and the nominations for the elimination already done. It is sure that there will be 2 or 3 contestants will go out from the house before diwali 2017 as diwali is on 19th October for the year 2017.

    You can also vote for your favorite housemate from the voot mobile application. You have to download the official voot app in your mobile for that purpose. So, here were the details about bigg boss 11 voting or how to vote for your favorite bigg boss contestant. Hope you find it useful. Do not forget to share this. Keep visiting for the more bigg boss updates.

    bigg boss 11 winner
    bigg boss vote
    vote for bigg boss
    voting bigg boss
    bigg boss online vote
    bigg boss online voting

    ReplyDelete