THE INTREPID TRAVELS and MUSINGS OF THE ITINERANT CEO

By

Dr. David J. Height

Politics is an interesting game.  It is not for the faint of heart nor is it for the weak.  You do not have to be a genius; in fact it is preferable that you aren't.  Intellectuals as a general rule fair poorly and are usually rejected in the long run.  Politics is a game of stamina usually reserved for those with money or at least has a source for substantial money.  I have always found politicians to be self serving generally representing only their beliefs.  And as more often than not with an agenda that is always hidden in the guise of "that which is best for their constituency."  If you stop and think about what politician receive as perks be it health care, chauffeured limousines, offices, etc. more than offset  their "paltry" salaries which by the way are above the national average.  In sum, as one of law professors was fond of saying: "It is good to be King."

With afore written now commemorated to paper, let me refresh your memories.  If you will recall in my last article I shared with you my initial foray into politics.  Yes, I decided to enter the world of Illinois politics.  The Governorship and the Lieutenant Governorship of Illinois has become a three ring circus.  In the world of Illinois politics, the candidate for governor does not select the running mate.  This position is determined by a separate ballot.  Hence the candidates for governor do not select a running mate but rather may be saddled with a person who may or may not enhance the campaign.

In our off year primary election, a democratic candidate for the lieutenant governorship won by a landslide.  He paid for his campaign out of his own pocket, a reported $2 Million.  Only after the election it was discovered that the successful candidate was back-due in his court ordered child support, consorting with a prostitute, using drugs and accused of using a knife to threaten his girl friend.  To no avail, the candidate appeared on television shows and the news to offset these allegations and in fact appeared with ex-wife and current girlfriend to defend himself. The Democratic Party successfully convinced the winning candidate to withdraw from the race.

The Illinois Democratic Party in a public relations move that would make any PR firm wretch and quite frankly left many of us scratching our heads in disbelief, opened to the general public the opportunity to submit applications to become the running mate of the governor.  I submitted my application and as my beloved wife and friends stated: "You have the chance of a snowball in hell."  I knew this and proceeded regardless of the outcome for the simple reason I wanted to call the bluff that the Illinois Democratic Party was playing.

Consider if you will what I attempted to do.  Without question I am a registered Republican and have been so all of my voting life.  My proposal to the Illinois Democratic Party was simple:  In essence, if you truly care about the state of Illinois, if you truly care about solving the fiscal mess and the myriad of other problems that confront this state do something about it.  End bi-partisanship and run a combined ticket of knowledgeable, intelligent people who represent both sides of the aisle.  Win the office and get on with the job of running an effective and constituency serving government.  End the seemingly endless favoritism, mistakes, perks, and self aggrandizement that currently haunt the state house.  Run a government "Of the People for the People and by the People"- hmm where have I read this before?

My "campaign" began with the requisite filling of the paperwork.  I advanced through round one.  Which simply means that I filled out the paperwork correctly therefore I am allowed to move to round two.  Again more paperwork differing only in that more detail was involved and in which I had to state once again for the record that I am a registered Republican not a Democrat.  Wow, I made it through the second act.  What came next was the unexpected phone call in which I am asked to make myself available for an interview. My problem? I had to be in Europe.  Problem solved, the Democratic Election Committee would conduct a telephone interview.  After traveling to Europe and having to remain awake for 36 hours, our telephone interview began at 2:00AM Swiss time. 

It was obvious to me that from the onset of this interview process that those conducting the telephone interview did not have the slightest clue as to whom they were talking with or for that matter what they were talking about.  Recall that paperwork for rounds one and two were required.  Among my written answers was my educational background including University and Law School.  Yet the interviewers were completely unaware if I had graduated let alone from where.  Other questions involved what I did for a living and for how long, answered in the paperwork for round two.  The ultimate question was simply to state one major issue I would address as Lieutenant Governor and why.  Needless to write, my answer was simple - the current miserable conditions of the state's finances.  No time afforded me, by the way, to provide at least a simple idea or solution.  That night after the interview my wife asked me how it went.  I believe that you can guess my answer. 

I, from the onset harbored zero illusions that my concepts and ideas would be seriously considered.  I viewed the entire scenario as a PR move on the part of the Illinois Democratic Party.  Somehow the Democrats had to recover as best as possible from the primary that turned into a fiasco.  I don't carry a crystal ball however it was obvious to me that the Democrats were going to select someone who was part of the Democratic Party and who would garner votes not a person who could contribute to solving Illinois problems. 

The position of Lieutenant Governor is viewed by many as a political graveyard.  As one former Lieutenant Governor called the position "it is the political booby prize."  The speaker of the Illinois State House wants the position abolished by 2015 therefore the next in line would be the state of Illinois Attorney General.  Who, by the way is the daughter of the Illinois Speaker of the House.  If I were the sitting Illinois Governor, I think I would be constantly watching over my shoulders.  After all we did impeach our last governor, albeit deservedly so.

As to be expected the position of running mate to our current governor has been selected.  Many of the political watchers and pundits were trying to make predictions as to who would be the eventual candidate.  To me it came as no surprise that the field was narrowed down to three potentials and I even predicted in advance the eventual winner.  The candidate is the daughter of the late Senator Paul Simon (D) of Illinois.  He was considered to be an intellectual.  She in turn is a law professor, lives in downstate Illinois, and is also considered to be an intellectual as well is a Democrat.  The reasoning given for her selection: Her name-Simon, her ability to garner downstate votes and as well as garner the female vote.  Our current governor and now her running mate is divorced and a confirmed bachelor.  Wow what reasons!

So there you have it.  This is our political system at work.  It is not about doing what is right for the state or for that matter the country, it is about being elected and then staying in office.  Who cares about how to fix what is broken let us keep on going the way were are and everything will work itself out.  If we have a financial mess - raise taxes!!

As a child of the 50s and 60s one of my favorite singing groups was Sonny & Cher.  They had a "chart topper" The Beat Goes On.  Do you remember it?

Charleston was once the rage, uh huh

History has turned the page, uh huh

The miniskirts the current thing, uh huh

Teenybopper is our newborn king, uh huh

The beat goes on, the beat goes on

Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain

La de da de de, la de da de da

Like these lyrics our politicians just going on and on and on with no end in sight except that the politicians are still the kings and we are just the humble serfs.  All of this simply because we do not vote them out of office or put into effect term limitations.  And like the Sonny & Cher song the beat just goes on and on.

Dr. David J. Height resides in Chicago with his family.  He is the President/CEO of TNI Group International specializing in International Trade Development Consumer Products.  www.tnigroup-international.com)