Rauner and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Governor Bruce Rauner's inaugural re-election bid ad sure is a Duesey. No, it's not the usual reference to a Deusenberg Motor Car but to the Harley Davidson Motorcycle bearing our bizarre governor. For Rauner it's all image, no substance. When you don't a record to run on you hop on your Harley and pretend to be Gary Cooper's Will Kane riding alone against villain Mike Madigan's Frank Miller. From Rauner's wind screen its simply an endless battle against corrupt, career politicians destroying Illinois to be smited by our leather clad gladiator on two wheels. Missing from the ad is any semblance of truth, which if told, would have Rauner riding into the sunset to one of his fabulous ranches in Wyoming or Montana. If there were substance Rauner would have to compare the 146,000 jobs added in the last two years of the Quinn administration to just 120,000 in Rauner's two and a half years. Worse: just 42,000 of those jobs were added in the last year and a half, when the effects of his unprecedented and unconscionable budget stalemate kicked in. Rauner claims to be saving Illinois education but fails to mention his budget shenanigans caused 1,500 higher education layoffs, sending many of Illinois' best students out of state. And not a word on the uncountable thousands of the poor deprived of critical social services because Rauner caused their life saving agencies to cut back...or simply cut out.

If you happen to encounter Biker Bruce riding thru your town offering bonhomie and seeking votes, just pipe up over that peace shattering rumble engineered to annoy anyone not riding, "Nothing of interest here Governor, ride on."