Listen to the Debate
I went to the Northwest Suburban Republican
Gubernatorial Debate tonight. I have been following Dan Rutherford since I first
met him at Pancakes Eggcetera in Rosemont Illinois when he was the Chairman of the Romney
Campaign in Illinois. Mitt Romney won the primary here in Illinois but
lost the presidency to Obama. Now Dan Rutherford is running for Governor of
Illinois. This was my chance to see my first live debate and I didn’t want to
miss it.
When I got to the debate I had to wait an hour
and a half before it started. I got there a little early because I wanted to
get a seat up front so I could take some picture as the night went on. I was
never into politics growing up although my Grandfather was an Republican
alderman in the 41st Ward in Chicago from 1931 to 1935, Republican ward
Committeeman from 1932 to 1953, and appointed by the president as director of
the Federal Housing Administration from July 1953 to October 1958. He was a
Cool Grandfather. Maybe it’s in my gens.
I got aisle seat up front and started taking
pictures. The room was empty and there were so many seats, maybe 6 or 700 of
them. I didn’t see how they would fill all of them but by the time the debate was
about to start it was standing room only.
I took some pictures as the candidates
came up on stage. I thought this was so cool. There were four podiums but only
3 candidates. Dan Rutherford was there, so was Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard.
Where was Bruce Rauner, the rich guy that has all those ads running day and night?
It was 6:06 when the debate started. The moderator told the audience that Rauner had declined to come to the debate. The debate was moderated by 89 WLS morning
show co-host Dan Proft. The questions were generated by members of the
Republican township organizations hosting the debate including: Addison,
Barrington, Bloomingdale, Dundee, Elgin, Elk Grove, Hanover, Northfield,
Palatine, Schaumburg, Wayne, and Wheeling.
The 1st hour went by so fast. There
were many funny moments and the audience laughed. Every half hour WLS had to
take a break for the news. During the 7:00pm brake Dan Rutherford came down
into the audience. He noticed me and came over and shook my hand. He was all
smiles. I said, “This debate is fun.” He agreed with me and it was.
It was time for the last half hour. Time sure
goes by when you’re having fun. During the whole hour and a half debate, that
one empty podium stuck out like a sore thumb. The candidates mentioned it along
with the moderator.
After the
debate was over, each candidate had their own little reception room with some
treats to snack on. I hadn’t eaten since noon so I filled my plate. Dan
Rutherford had to do a couple of TV interviews so I left and went home. I was
so glad that I went. It was so much fun.
William Kaufman
It's really odd. The guy that didn't show up for the debate is the one who got elected, Bruce Rauner. I don't even know what his views are on any of the subjects. That's why I went to the debate so I could hear from everybody. I don't know what I am going to do come election day in November.
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