Alexi "Gino" Giannoulias, the Illinois Democrats' nominee for U.S. Senate, says he has "a plan for new jobs."
The thirty-something heir to a Chicago banking fortune has never gotten or held a real job on his own. But he is going to "restore fiscal sanity to the U.S. budget," "put people back to work," "rein in" private companies, and "keep our children competitive in the global market."
How? By accelerating the programs and policies that have bloated state and federal budgets, put millions of people out of work, and fueled the frivolous lawsuit machine against our employers, all while making the private sector more and more sheepish about its future.
Self-absorbed politicians like Gino always propose big sounding status quo solutions. They want to spend more money doing the very things that created the problems in the first place. You see, they don't really want to solve the problems. Our problems are their opportunities: the worse things get, the more we'll think we need them.
For politicians like Gino, that's the point. Not having experienced enough in life to know how to truly make a difference, their goal in politics is simply to be loved.
We opined on Gino last spring after the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on his fundraising prowess amongst trial lawyers in the Metro-East. He swiftly raised $65,000 in $2,400 bundles from the lawyers at SimmonsCooper and their spouses-- just like another young, politically-connected "me" candidate from Chicago did a decade ago.
That man was Rod "Blago" Blagojevich, backed by the asbestos lawsuit machine in Madison County in exchange for a little state clout. Trial lawyer John Simmons got $25 million in state tax dollars steered to his personal projects.
If he wins a seat in the world's most powerful deliberative body, what will Gino give Simmons in return? After the Blago experience, here's hoping we never have to find out.
Gino has a "plan for new jobs" all right, but the jobs are for him, starting with U.S. Senator. Sorry to disappoint you, Gino, but we want the electorate to retire your plans for the good of us all.