Deb Mell needs OUR support!

As the candidates rev up for the February primary, Mell finds herself with a challenger this time around.  Her opponent, Joe Laiacona, is running not only a competing campaign, but a smear campaign.  Already a strike against for running a negative campaign, but before we completely dismiss him, I'd like to address the validity of his claims.

He argues that Mell did not honor her constituents by voting NOT to impeach Rod Blagojevich (her brother-in-law).  Noted and true.  As America's favorite matriarch, Real Housewife of New Jersey Caroline Manzo, has said, "our family is thick as thieves" and "blood is thicker than water" among other hardcore mafioso lines.  Essentially, anyone who watches reality TV understands the sanctity of family and how the wolves come out anytime anyone disparages the family.  Family is one of those bizarre institutions that anyone outside the family will never fully understand.   

Saying that Mell was the first person who voted along personal lines rather than in the interest of her constituents, or saying that Blago was the first person to sell an appointment for his personal gain, would be about as naive as saying that Bill Clinton was the first person to ever get a blow job in the Oval Office by not the First Lady.  Come on now!?  Granted, Blago acted and has continued to act like an ass clown, thereby making himself an easy target. 

I don't think Mell is blind to the fact that he has become the laughing stock of Chicago, and also the United States at large (my friend's mom who lives in Missoula, MT made a Rod joke last year).  That said, I think we could question her motives for supporting him until we're blue in the face and she has respectfully declined to comment on it. 

Mell's entire stint in office is being colored by opponents who choose only to focus on her support for Blago.  Any human with a soul could understand that she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Her vote in Blago's favor was symbolic at best.  So what if Mell chose to stand by her (sister's) man?  I don't think anyone was deluding themselves into believing that her lone vote in his favor would save him from impeachment.

Everyone has made a decision that at the time seemed like the right thing to do.  In hindsight, perhaps it's a different story.  Maybe for Mell, it's having voted not to impeach Blago.  Maybe she still feels it was the right decision, despite the repercussions it's had on her political career and her campaign.  For Laiacona, maybe it was entering the Catholic seminary or becoming an ordained Pentecostal minister.  I would imagine there has to be some sort of retroactive meltdown or psychological demon slaying, questioning, and reflecting when you realize you are gay and have taken vows under two of the most conservative congregations in Christianity.

Laiacona's mailings focus only on her "special favors for friends and family," her dad's role in Chicago politics, and her vote not to impeach Blago.  Newsflash: politics is a family affair.  Daley, Kennedy, Bush.  All operate political dynasties-- some for better, some for worse.  Politics and, um...the world, is a giant network.  We shouldn't focus on how someone got to where they are so much as what they've done once they've gotten there.

In Mell's case, her political contribution has been considerable.    She has focused her inaugural year in office on tackling issues of transparency, education, crime and safety, seniors, the environment, human rights, public health, economy and budget, community organizing, and housing.  For 12 months in office, it certainly doesn't look like she's been pussyfooting around, or clamming up from the backlash she received for her vote in the impeachment trial.

Call me corrupt or undemocratic, but I'm happy that Mell is politically connected.  It takes a looong time to build such connections, and to be successful in politics without pork barrelling and being strategic would be quite difficult/impossible.  I want to vote for someone who has the relationships to pass the legislation that benefits me as a constituent.  Being a one-(wo)man show will get you nowhere really fast since politics is largely about factions and exchanges.

According to her website, Mell's top legislative priorities are to:

•     provide relief to working families hardest hit by the current economic crisis
•     provide affordable access to healthcare to all Illinois families
•     strengthen our state's commitment to funding education
•     protect and expand rights for women, LGBTs, and minorities
•     support initiatives that expand public safety across the state

To me, these agenda items seem focused, realistically attainable, and important.  As long as Mell is working to push these issues, she'd have my vote (sadly I don't live in her district).  I think there's really no competition.  Mell has a year of coalition building under her belt, as well as a year's experience with congressional workings.  This is a crucial time for issues like healthcare and LGBT rights.  Why write off a year of potential legislative progress for the ramping of a new representative when the incumbent is automatically seasoned and experienced?

Joe Laiacona, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you had no choice but to resort to a negative campaign because you had no experience as an elected official, beyond various positions in an education union, to highlight.  I'd like to believe you're a nice person, and maybe even a decent candidate.  That said, if you really want to help forward the movement, don't cut down a perfectly solid candidate; go move somewhere else and unseat a Republican instead.

If you can make it to the 6pm event tonight at Mary's Attic and can make a contribution, please do!  Otherwise, make a contribution online.  Furthermore, if you or someone you know lives in the 40th District, be sure to hit the polls on February 2nd and vote for Deb Mell!