WHY IS WEALTHY INSIDER BRUCE RAUNER TRYING TO TELL US HE IS A SIMPLE, MIDDLE CLASS OUTSIDER?

12/22/13

Speaking of the Republican primary for governor in Illinois  (See today’s other post, HOW DARE BILL BRADY TAKE RISKS, PUT PEOPLE TO WORK, AND ACTUALLY PUT SOMETHING ON THE PILE?), people have asked me what I think of Bruce Rauner.   Would like him to become our next governor? I don’t know, but probably not.  Why?

First, Mr. Rauner is a very rich man who, in ads that insult people’s intelligence, if such a thing is possible in modern America, pretends not to be rich.   Such chicanery is especially obnoxious to yours truly.   There is nothing wrong with being rich…if one has come about his riches in an honest and forthright manner and remains mindful of the needs of those who have not attained one’s level of riches.   Why should one be ashamed of one’s achievements…unless one is a fraud?

Second, Mr. Rauner is an insider who pretends to be an outsider.   He knows everyone in city government.  He is very close to Rahm Emanuel; Mr. Rauner made Mr. Emanuel rich and, if the press reports are to be believed, the Rauners and the Emanuels vacation together.  (The idea of vacationing with even my best friends is appalling to yours truly, but I digress.)   Before Mr. Emanuel somehow decided that being mayor of Chicago would be a good stepping stone to the job he really wants, Mr. Rauner was close to Mayor Richard M. Daley.  Mr. Rauner has a habit of getting very cozy with people in “public life” who can make him money.   One can see why, especially in this state, one who is an insider would pretend to be an outsider, but does Mr. Rauner expect us to believe such protestations?   Maybe he does, and perhaps with some justification.

Still, I suppose I could support Mr. Rauner if I could be convinced he is a legitimate venture capitalist or private equity maven, or whatever he purports to be.  However, one gets the nagging feeling that Mr. Rauner is just another guy who has made money from his political connections in this most corrupt of states.  For example, his investment business seems to have easy access to public pension money, pools of funds that unconnected people have virtually no shot at.  And one wonders in how many other ways his connections have benefited not only his getting money to invest but also his performance in investing the money.

Maybe everything Mr. Rauner does is due to his diligence, his intelligence, and his wise insights into the markets and the way the economy works.  And maybe I and my libertarian leaning friends will be contributing heavily to Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for president in 2016.  Certainly Mr. Rauner’s connections have a lot to do with his success, and that is to be expected…but how much?  One suspects a great deal; as I said a few paragraphs ago… Why should one be ashamed of one’s achievements…unless one is a fraud?

It matters little, however, what I think of Mr. Rauner.   While I don’t like to make political prediction, it’s hard to see how he won’t get the GOP nomination, if only because of the weak competition he faces.

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics.