Shady Dem drops out of Illinois lieutenant guv bid
DLTDHYOTWO!*
Scott Lee Cohen, the pawnbroker whose surprise victory in last week’s Democratic lieutenant governor primary was followed by scandalous revelations about him, quit the race tonight during the half time of the Super Bowl, saying he didn’t want to “put the people of Illinois in jeopardy in any way.”
Cohen made the tearful announcement at the Hop Haus tavern on the Far North Side. He spoke just hours after a spokesman for powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, the state Democratic chairman, said Madigan had urged Cohen to quit in a private meeting Friday.
“For the good of the people of the state of Illinois and for the Democratic party, I will resign,” an emotional Cohen told a crowd of supporters and reporters.
Cohen’s candidacy was widely perceived as a potential disaster for Gov. Pat Quinn and the rest of the Democratic ticket in the November general election.
When Cohen became a candidate, he disclosed that a 2005 domestic battery charge against him had been dismissed. It was only after his victory Tuesday that the details became known: His girlfriend at the time, a prostitute, had accused him of holding a knife to her throat but had failed to appear in court, leading to charges being dropped.
More revelations followed last week: Cohen admitted injecting anabolic steroids, was accused of failing to pay child support even while he put at least $2 million into his campaign, and was identified as the target of dozens of lawsuits over back taxes.
Next step: Defeating SEIU water boy/Illinois Democrat gubernatorial candidate Pat Quinn.
One thug down, many to go…
***
What’s next for the Democratic lieutenant governor’s slot?
Rich Miller at The Capitol Fax Blog explains:
* The state Democratic Party will make the appointment to fill the Scott Lee Cohen lt. governor vacancy. So, I asked Steve Brown, Speaker/Chairman Michael Madigan’s spokesman, about what was next.
Brown said that Madigan intends to work with the state central committee, Gov. Quinn, Senate President Cullerton and others to find a replacement for Cohen on the ticket. Brown claimed that Madigan would not act “heavy-handed,” as the media has constantly portrayed him.
***
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley initially defended Cohen.
Now, he blames the media.
***
Flashback: Illinois Lt. Gov.: My State Is A ‘Laughing Stock’
***
*Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out.
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Trackbacks
- The Snooper Report
- Progressives’ Political Tactics, Ego, and Superbowl Ads « VotingFemale
- » Links to Visit – 02/08/10 NoisyRoom.net: Where liberty dwells, there is my country…
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Categories: Corruption,Democrats
Conservatives4Palin
» Even Liberal Ben Smith from Politico Continues to Call the Vanity Fair Hit Piece a Lie
Ed Driscoll
» ‘October Surprises, Maybe Every Day and All Day’Legal Insurrection
» Democrats Approach The Tipping PointPundit & Pundette
» Let them eat cake locavoresConservatives4Palin
» Real Source Debunks Vanity Fair's Ghost SourcesLegal Insurrection
» What Does The "Israel Lobby" Have To Do With The Discovery Channel Hostage Taking?
But don’t his attributes make for an IDEAL Chicagoan candidate?
http://www.AntiObamaSticker.com
Can the IL Dems legally replace Cohen on the ballot or is the Republican running unopposed?
If only he were running for mayor of Providence. There, battery charges are considered a “resume builder”.
Now the question becomes, who replaces him. Does anyone know the process? Will it be the second place finisher, or will the party chairs select the replacement, like what happened in the NY23rd?
Are there any non-shady Dems in Illinois?
LOL!
See update above.
Gut feeling, they will hand pick someone. Having said that, this is a position where a previous Lt. governor quit because he had nothing to do. Quinn, who is a populist, wants to raise state income tax 50% and was quite bloodied up in the primary. This may be possible pickup for the GOP
*Will P-BO say the prostitute acted stupidly?
*Shady and Dem, isn’t that how they came up with the word synonym(a word having the same meaning as another word)?.
I’ll put this the same way I did to one of my FB friends when he had brought up Chicago pols and how crooked they are (to quote Sean Connery’s character from The Untouchables):
“This town stinks like a whore house at low tide.”
She must have been part of the White House press pool.
Scott Lee Cohen: Nope, not hiding at all. Yep,been here the whole time.
(opens overcoat) Can I interest you in some fine jewelry?
Well, the good news for him is that in an era where candidates are charged with being “extreme,” no one can say he is not a mainstream Illinois Democrat.
He has that going for him.
Thank God for Illinois.
It makes New Jersey seem like the home of honest politicians.
This guy would fit right into the Obama administration.
Scandal must be a prerequisite when running for office nowadays.
Prostitution? Check.
Tax problems? Check.
Drugs? Check.
Inability to keep your indiscretions out of the public eye? Aww, you’re disqualified. That’s too bad. Thanks for playing Who Wants to Be A Politician?
If I had a nickel for every person I knew who was this corrupt, I’d have to break a quarter. Some people in politics could probably open a burger franchise with the kind of money they’d make.
Yes, Obama was not part of the corrupt Chicago machine. He instigated a cleanup in Chicago corruption when he asked Rezko to take a bath.
***
Is he articulate? Does he organize communities well? Does Bernadine Dorhn give him bomb building tips? He is already a DemocRAT–sounds like prime CZAR MATERIAL to me–in the ethics department.
***
John Bibb
***
Another one bites the dust…
No. You have to belong to “the machine” in order to get anywhere. It’s much like Tammandy Hall and Boss Tweed. You decide that you want to run. The “party” visits you and tells you exactly what to do, and how. If you refuse, they block your campaign funds and throw their support on their own candidate, with lots of money. You fade into obscurity.
I’m a bit sad to see him go. Would have made for an interesting 9 months round here….
Thank you for the answer.
A corrupt Dem from Illinois – who woulda thunk?
Quitter.
On the Dem side-the Lt. Gov. candidate drops out…and on the Republican side the gubernatorial race still hasn’t been decided.
There’s already a push to vote libertarian in the gov. race
The Dem senate candidate has possible mob connections and his GOP counterpart is so fiscally and socially liberal he even voted against the partial birth abortion ban and voted for tatp. He’s also a big-time gun grabber.
That race I may vote libertarian in.
Aint Illinois grand.
//sarc.
Well at least he didn’t do anything really bad like, say, write some crib notes on his hand. Then he would have a real problem within his party.
Not sure, but even if there is no legal way to replace… THEY WILL REPLACE HIM ANYWAY.
The example is the Dem Senate election in NJ about 7 years ago when Torricelli bailed out amid corruption issues. With not way to legally replace him… the NJ Dem replaced him with Lautenberg… who is still illegally a Senator to this day.
The law matters not to the left if it applies to them.
But, he cried….whaaah.
Yup
See post above….
I don’t understand — He didn’t pay a bunch of income tax, that should have made him a shoe-in!
Let me guess, the Dem’s used the same vetting team that Obama uses for his picks….
mmmm a fairly typical Democrat. What’s the big deal? And what did he resign from exactly? He was never elected to anything.
Cohen’s history repulses me. Makes me proud I pulled a Republican ballot.
Have to say though, it’s a mighty slippery slope IL just slid down.
IL citizens vote. Guy wins. IL Dem leaders don’t like the guy so they apply a full court press. Guy is gone.
So now, the IL Dem leaders with our Speaker Madigan in the front of the pack, get to handpick pat quinn’s running mate.
Why bother to vote in IL?
Too bad