A more precise title for this essay might have been, "Fuck Rahm Emanuel's Snake-Oil Arguments for Being Able to Stay on the Ballot for Mayor of Chicago, and Fuck the Board of Election's Willingness to Swallow Those Snake-Oil Arguments Down Without Gagging." More precise, but too wordy. Effective titles benefit from economy of language.
I am not going to belabor the reasons Rahm Emanuel will make a lousy mayor. But I could. I could detail how, as a Congressional representative, Emanuel helped push through NAFTA and other trade policies that sucked thousands of jobs out of cities like Chicago. I could outline how, as an investment banker, he worked to inflate the housing bubble that subsequently burst and wrecked the US economy. I could highlight his aggressive support for privatization, a form of legalized thievery where public assets are sold off to private interests at fire-sale prices. I could note his contempt for public education, for organized labor, or point to his recent dismissal of the Democratic party's entire liberal base as "fucking retards."
And by the way, when I say Emanuel will make a lousy mayor, I am not playing prophet. Anyone with common sense can already see the fix is in. Rahm Emanuel will be the next mayor of Chicago. Not because he is the brightest or most qualified. Not because he has the grandest vision or the best ideas. Rahm Emanuel will become the next mayor of Chicago because he because he possesses, in abundance, the only political currency that really matters: clout. Rahm Emanuel is the Democratic party's Most Effective Fundraiser, a title he's earned over the years by consistently giving corporate America what it wants. In this country, elections may be won, but candidacies are bought. All it takes is a glance at the size of Emanuel's war chest to know his opponents don't stand a chance.
But, as I said, that's not what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about is how the hell Rahm Emanuel managed to convince the board of elections he is even eligible to run. Let me start by referencing the statute that has kicked up all the fuss:
(65 ILCS 5/3.1-10-5)
Sec. 3.1-10-5. Qualifications; elective office
(a) A person is not eligible for an elective municipal office unless that person is a qualified elector and has resided in the municipality at least one year next preceding the election or appointment, except as provided in subsection (c) of Section 3.1 -25-75, Section 5-2-2, or Section 5-2-11.
The emphasis, of course, is mine. The double emphasis--the bold atop the italics--is to draw attention to the word "resided." This is important, because the arguments Emanuel's legal team advanced in his defense turned on the meaning of that single word.
The linchpin of Emanuel's case is that while he may have physically relocated to Washington D.C. when he became Obama's chief of staff, he never ceased being a legal resident of Illinois. While living in D.C., Emanuel continued to pay Illinois taxes. He remained a registered Illinois voter. He never sold his Ravenswood home, but instead rented it out in anticipation of his eventual return. All of which is perfectly true.
And all of which is perfectly irrelevant.
The emphasis, of course, is mine. The double emphasis--the bold atop the italics--is to draw attention to the word "resided." This is important, because the arguments Emanuel's legal team advanced in his defense turned on the meaning of that single word.
The linchpin of Emanuel's case is that while he may have physically relocated to Washington D.C. when he became Obama's chief of staff, he never ceased being a legal resident of Illinois. While living in D.C., Emanuel continued to pay Illinois taxes. He remained a registered Illinois voter. He never sold his Ravenswood home, but instead rented it out in anticipation of his eventual return. All of which is perfectly true.
And all of which is perfectly irrelevant.
The statute does not say a prospective candidate must maintain legal residency in the state for at least one year prior to running for office. The statute says a prospective candidate must have resided in the state for at least one year prior to running for office. Residency is a legal status. It may be satisfied in the ways Emanuel's legal team outlined. But resided is a verb. It denotes an action taken, or omitted. It is perfectly possible--and in fact, common--for legal residents of a state not to reside there. The requirement set forth by the statute couldn't be clearer, couldn't be any less ambiguous.
As if to underline the distinction between having legal residency and having actually resided, the statute lays out one specific circumstance--just one!-- in which one's physical absence from the state in the year prior to running for office may be excused: military service. That is the only exception the statute permits. Serving as the president's chief of staff doesn't cut it. Maybe it should, but it doesn't. If someone wants to change the rule, let them try and change it. That is perfectly reasonable. What is not reasonable is to allow Rahm Emanuel to simply break the rule because--well, because he's Rahm Emanuel.
Make no mistake. Were Rahm Emanuel a Republican or a third-party candidate, or even a Democrat without so much clout, he would have been knocked off the ballot immediately. No question about it. By trying to obscure the difference between legal residency and actually residing, Emanuel has revealed himself to be a snake oil salesman. By having swallowed that crap instead of puking it back in his face, the board of election has revealed itself to be utterly corrupt.
As if to underline the distinction between having legal residency and having actually resided, the statute lays out one specific circumstance--just one!-- in which one's physical absence from the state in the year prior to running for office may be excused: military service. That is the only exception the statute permits. Serving as the president's chief of staff doesn't cut it. Maybe it should, but it doesn't. If someone wants to change the rule, let them try and change it. That is perfectly reasonable. What is not reasonable is to allow Rahm Emanuel to simply break the rule because--well, because he's Rahm Emanuel.
Make no mistake. Were Rahm Emanuel a Republican or a third-party candidate, or even a Democrat without so much clout, he would have been knocked off the ballot immediately. No question about it. By trying to obscure the difference between legal residency and actually residing, Emanuel has revealed himself to be a snake oil salesman. By having swallowed that crap instead of puking it back in his face, the board of election has revealed itself to be utterly corrupt.
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