On Friday, The Chicago Tribune came out with an editorial backing Rahm Emanuel in the upcoming election for Chicago mayor on February 22nd. In the opinion piece, The Tribune endorsed Emanuel because of his “ethos of dogged effectiveness.” Although I don’t live in Chicago, I can’t help but agree.
Rahm is the best choice for mayor for many reasons including his dedication to improving the education system in “The Windy City” and his plans to reduce the sales tax by 20 percent. However, the most important reason behind why Emanuel would make a good mayor is mainly due to his badassery.
Though Emanuel stands around 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, he has the ego of a man twice his size. He is ruthless, fiercely ambitious, intimidating, a fan of profanity, arrogant, fearless and not above using scare tactics to “persuade” his colleagues to see things his way.
For example, “Rahmbo” is rumored to have sent a pollster a dead fish after taking too long to report election results when he was an advisor to President Bill Clinton. When Clinton was amidst the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Emanuel offered then-Prime Minister Tony Blair with some sound advice before he appeared with the president on TV. He said – and I’m paraphrasing – “This is important. Don’t f-ck this up.”
Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) spoke last year on a radio show about how Emanuel approached him in the Congressional gym shower room stark naked and rebuked Massa for not supporting President Obama’s budget. Most recently, when he was asked what he would have done if former mayor of Chicago Richard Daley decided to run again, Emanuel answered, “Probably take the gears off his bike,” and he wasn’t joking.
Clearly, Emanuel has his own swagger and he likes to achieve goals using old school strategies. You could say that Rahm Emanuel is the Ari Gold of the political sphere. He isn’t the nicest of characters, but he’s an important man to have on your side and he’ll fight until the end. For Chicagoans, this analogy translates into a leader who will literally do anything to fix some of the city’s biggest problems. Plus, Rahmbo has allegedly mellowed out quite a bit since his days in the White House. Allegedly.
If you need proof of how strongly he feels about helping out Chicago, look at how hard he fought just to get on the ballot. After leaving the White House as Chief of Staff, Emanuel found himself in the middle of a nasty court battle after an appellate court decided on January 24th that he hadn’t resided in Chicago over the last year. This charge ruled Emanuel ineligible to run for mayor and the presses stopped printing his name on the official ballot.
After what I’m sure was an explosive moment filled with some choice expletives, Emanuel appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court and a week later, his campaign was back on track.
Because Emanuel spent a week in political limbo, the hiccup might have left him feeling defeated if he was any other man. But not Rahmbo! It seems the stint only added fuel to the already blazing fire.
Emanuel took to the streets this week to talk with the commuters riding the subway and doubled his speaking engagements to make up for lost time. His steadfast work ethic mixed with a scrupulously planned campaign and a dream team of political endorsements – including fellow friends of controversy President Clinton and, of course, the current president – Emanuel is making serious headway.
Even after his only real opponent Gery Chico came out with an ad criticizing his plans to reduce the sales tax, Emanuel is still up by 20 points in the most recent election polls and within reach of the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff election in April.
To me, these statistics are a testament to the character of Rahm Emanuel. In today’s political atmosphere, filled with parties who can’t agree and a frustrated president hell bent on bipartisanship, Rahmbo is a breath of fresh air and he’s what any city could want. He loves Chicago – a fact proven by his willingness to abandon a position in the White House to achieve his dream of governing his hometown. He’s learned from the best; Emanuel was a senior advisor to long-time mayor of Chicago Richard Daly in addition to advising not one, but two, presidents. Most important of all, he has his own fake Twitter account – an honor only bestowed to those whom the internet finds most worthy. (Check out @MayorEmanuel for a good laugh).
In the end, I encourage all Chicago residents at BU to vote for Rahm Emanuel. If you’re still not convinced, consider the fact that Rahmbo thinks he’d be the best bleeping mayor the city has ever seen.
