Not so much with the blogging

Whereas blogging is not so much accepted in the world of political operatives, and I find myself working ridiculous hours that barely give me time to reflect on my own life, let alone come to coherent conclusions about it that are worth sharing with friends, I have decided to knock this off for awhile. If you are reading this then you cared enough to click the link at the bottom of my old email address and I appreciate that; give me a call and let's catch up.

I bought a house in Columbus, Ohio and ran a marathon in Florence, Italy.
If you're curious about any of the details or what happened in between, holler.

Jonas - jonas.heineman@gmail.com

Hello from Ohio

Well it's been awhile since I posted and a lot has happened. Joe Moore won re-election in Chicago's 49th Ward by a margin of 247 votes, which means that we really did win it "on the ground." Sweet Luis Klein, canvasser extraordinaire, was in charge of a precinct that Moore won by only six votes -- and he personally dragged six people to the polls in the last hour of voting! The Chicago Federation of Labor was very successful in its efforts to elect labor-friendly candidates to the City Council, due in large part to the hard work of my boss at the CFL, Beth Kanter.

I am now living in Columbus, Ohio and working for the Democratic Party as Central Ohio Field Director. Basically, that means that I am in charge of organizing the voter contact programs in 12 counties in the middle of the middle of the country, and there's no place I'd rather be. This cycle represents a "Perfect Storm of Opportunity" for Democrats to build on our 2006 success and win even more seats in local and state offices...and, of course, to win the state for our presidential nominee. With newly-elected officials like Ted Strickland and Lee Fisher (Gov & Lt Gov), Jennifer Brunner (Sec of State), Rich Cordray (Treasurer), and Marc Dann (Atty Gen), we are poised to raise significant funds and solidify the organization that will win State House seats and give Ohio's 20 Electoral Votes to Obama, or Edwards, or Clinton, or Richardson.

It's an exciting time to be here, and I'm glad I chose to be a part of this. Doug Kelly (Exec Dir) and Chris Redfern (Chair) are both good guys to have in our corner, and they are relentless in their efforts to strengthen the party and do battle in 2008.

"Underwhelming" crowd protests US occupation

Taken from "This Modern World"

By Tom Tomorrow
http://thismodernworld.com/3672

This was the scene on April 9th, 2007 in the downtown plaza where Saddam's statue was toppled four years ago. The mostly-Shiite crowds are protesting the US occupation of Iraq, and chanting their allegiance to Muqtada Al-Sadr.

And here's a shot of the same plaza taken while the statue was being torn down on April 9th, 2003.

Gordon's Tactics, Finances Make Headlines

April 2nd, Clout City; regarding Gordon's racially-insensitive campaign tactics
http://blogs.chicagoreader.com/politics/2007/04/02/bananas-gordon/

April 4th, Clout Street; regarding Gordon's donation from David Herro
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2007/04/meet_the_intern.html

April 6th, Chicago Tribune: regarding Gordon's big-money backers
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0704050779apr06,1,423050.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed
"Gordon says the mayor is not giving him help in the race. But Moore has been the most vocal spokesman for two council proposals that Daley opposed: the union-backed "big-box" living wage ordinance and the foie gras ban. However, a Moore loss would be a significant blow to organized labor and other Daley critics.
Labor unions, which supported Moore's push for higher pay and benefits for employees of stores like Wal-Mart, have poured money and manpower into the alderman's campaign." Clearly, Joe is a close friend of working men and women," said Jerry Morrison, executive director of the Service Employees International Union's State Council." He has been an independent voice in the City Council for years."
Gordon, who has vowed to stop accepting all political campaign contributions if he is elected, has found his own deep pocket. David Herro, a mutual fund manager for Chicago-based Harris Associates, has contributed $60,000, or about half of the money that Gordon has raised. Herro, who does not live in the ward, said he offered his help to Gordon because he disagreed with Moore's stands on the big-box ordinance and the foie gras ban.
"He never asked me for money," Herro said of Gordon. Herro said his firm's large holdings in Wal-Mart have nothing to do with his donations to Gordon and other aldermanic candidates opposed to the big-box ordinance. Gordon, who said he had never met Herro before the campaign, welcomed the donation.

Big Business Backs Gordon

Check out TheRealDonGordon.blogspot.com for this story and updates to follow. I'm not all fancy with the cross-posting and such, so I did the cut-n-paste thing.

Don Gordon stamps "Independent Democrat" on all his literature, but recent financial disclosures indiciate that he is neither independent nor a Democrat. Don Gordon received $60,000 from the the same GOP moneyman who has given almost $100,000 to Republican federal candidates in the last 8 years and directed millions of his investment firm's capital to Wal-Mart stock; according to their "Letter to Shareholders" dated 12/31/06, Wal-Mart (WMT) was the second-largest single holding of Oakmark Funds.
http://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/ContribSearch.aspx

Nat'l Republican Senatorial Committee - $15,000
Republican Nat'l Committee - $12,500
Republican Leadership Council - $5,500
George W. Bush - $6,000
http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/norindsea.shtml

Wal-Mart hearts Don Gordon

"As of 12/31/06...Wal-Mart represented 1.93% of The Oakmark Fund's total holdings..." which makes it their second-largest holding. That's right folks, the same person who invests tens of thousands in Don Gordon invested tens of millions in the company known best for busting unions, encouraging outsourcing of jobs and goods, and stifling local economies. If his investment in Don Gordon pays off, you can expect the same for the 49th Ward. www.Oakmark.com/2006_Letter_to_Shareholders

Remember now: he's an investment manager, and a very talented one at that. Investors expect returns on their investments, and their shareholders demand it. Past performance does not guarantee future results, but it's a safe bet that Mr. Herro and Chamber of Commerce are expecting a hefty return on their investment, which makes up over 70% of all Don Gordon's funding. And since Don Gordon is against a Living Wage, saying "it doesn't have anything to do with our community," he and Wal-Mart make perfect bedfellows.

Dems of a Feather Vote Together

There are four Senators vying for the Democratic Presidential nomination.
When all four vote, they agree between 91.3% and 98.7% of the time.
Check out some of the votes they're split on...

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/04/senate_democrats_seeking_white.html

Clinton and Obama have done the most campaigning but missed only three votes.
Obama has voted consistently against pork and for ethics rules.