I wrote a couple days ago that I was disappointed that Rep. Marlin Schneider hadn't responded to an email I sent asking him when we could expect floor action on a recent bill of his. Uncharacteristically tardy, "Snarlin' Marlin" nevertheless eventually sent me a response that was characteristically snarlin.
It appears that the Majority Leader has no intention of reporting any of the bills the Privacy Committee has sent to him. He wants to be Lt. Governor, you know.
Ouch. I can't imagine what the unfiltered version of that message would be. Granted, my past correspondences with Schneider, as well as his nickname, strongly suggest that the longest-serving member of the Assembly does not have a filter or have any interest in acquiring one.
I responded by asking him how politics had changed since he first entered the Assembly, in 1971. He responded almost immediately with a lengthy discussion of everything wrong with American politics and media, including Newt Gingrich, Paris Hilton, social conservatives, tea baggers, but most of all, money.
The Bible says "The love of money is the root of all evil." That is most certainly true these days in the establishment of public policy decision-making.
While Schneider did not hesitate to lay most of the blame on the GOP and its "cynical gays, God and guns strategy," he made clear that Democrats have been sucked into the same cycle of politicking, and that it is fueled by a common pursuit of fundraising dollars.
We were known as Squeaky Clean and we snickered at Illinois politics and we had a great reputation because we were not beholden to moneyed interests as both parties are today. Television station owners laugh all the way to the bank which is why you never hear them talking about campaign finance reform in their editorials and most of the press doesn't seem to care about the drive for money.
And of course, he specifically slammed Tom Nelson.
I warned Tom Nelson, oops, it's now Thomas, a couple of years ago not to get too ambitious too fast but obviously he has not heeded that advice....Mr. Nelson should step down as soon as the session is completed so that a new majority leader can look out for the interests of the caucus as a whole and not use this position as a fund-raising gimmick at the expense of everyone else.
As always, it's tough to understand Schneider's humor (here's another great example) but it's easy to detect the anger. Expect updates on this story later. Yes, Tom Nelson does plan to run for LG that is certainly not a slander. I will ask other Democrats if they agree with Schneider's assesment.
