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Hot Air: Am I The Mayor’s BFF?

glabwrites

I’ve long wondered if John Hamilton likes me.

Now the mayor of this mighty megalopolis, Hamilton has been a loyal customer of the Book Corner for years. He’s the kind of pol who remembers people’s names, even otherwise unremarkable bookstore clerks such as I. Far be it from me to imagine he knew who I was for any reason other than I was one of the many millions of potential voters for him should he have decided to run for public office.

He did just that in 2015, fending off a robust challenge from City Council member Darryl Neher in the primary and thoroughly trouncing one of Bloomington’s two perennial Republican candidates — Nobody and Anonymous (it turned out to be Anonymous)  — in the general election.

Funny thing is, I didn’t vote for Hamilton for the simple reason that…, well, I don’t live in Bloomington. That’s right. Chez Big Mike et L’aimé is positioned in unincorporated Monroe County directly east of town. Our mailing address is Bloomington, sure, and our drinking water comes straight from Vic Kelson’s mad lab and, for chrissakes, should I sneeze in my living room, it’s a good bet a preponderance of the germs expelled will reach the city limits within a few short seconds, considering the border crossing is some 50 feet away.

I don’t know, if given the chance, whether I’d have voted for Hamilton or not considering his primary opponent Darryl Neher is as rabid a Chicago Cubs fan as I am. Ignoring that criterion, though, I’d have rated the pair a toss-up.

Does Hamilton know this? Have he and his army of political strategists been drawing up plans to somehow rope me into the local electorate?

Gotta be, for news has emerged that Hamilton is proposing to annex some 10,000 acres of unincorporated land into the city limits by 2020. And, yeah, Chez BM & A is part of that land gulp.

So, he must dig me and my vote. Either that or he wants my property tax dough. One of the two.

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Four Short Years

Start thinking Kirsten Gillibrand for 2020.

Gillibrand

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The Jr. Senator from New York has been wowing ’em during various confirmation hearings this month. She cast the sole Armed Services Committee vote against President Gag’s Defense chief pick, James Mattis. She’s been speaking on the stump against L’il Duce‘s immigration ban. Overall, she’s been honing her liberal and even progressive chops, clearly with an eye on positioning herself for the next White House contest.

For most of last year, I wondered if Hillary Clinton might tab her as a running mate. Natch, HRC did no such thing, selecting that postman from Virginia, thereby earning the Dem ticket an extra…, um, zero votes.

In the spirit of trying to dig myself out of the glum abyss that the election of a carnival barker/con artist as Leader of the Free World has hurtled me into, I hereby begin a sporadic series of profiles of possible Dem challengers in the next prez election. Now then:

Kirsten Gillibrand

American Conservative Union: 8%, 2007

Americans for Democratic Action: 70%, 2008

ACLU: 90%

Women: Leader, Women’s Leadership Forum, DNC

Immigration: Against drivers licenses for illegal immigrants, for withholding fed. funds from sanctuary cities, strongly opposes Mulsim immigrant ban

LGBTQ: Led repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Abortion: Supports abortion rights

Women: Strong equal rights advocate

Guns: Moving toward more gun control since Senate term began

[Click here for a complete rundown of Gillibrand’s positions.]

I gotta keep reminding myself: There is hope

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