Will Danny Davis be Blago's pick?

It was at a Thanksgiving Day event with his old friend U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (IL-7) that IL Governor Rod Blagojevich joked "Where's Senator Davis?" and raised suspicions that the 11 year veteran congressman may emerge as the next U.S. Senator from Illinois.

The governor went on Thursday to laud the 67 year old Arkansas native as a worthy successor to Barack Obama, who recently vacated his U.S. Senate seat to prepare for the nation's presidency.

"Congressman Davis is a very good person. He and I have worked together in Congress, and I know the kind of man he is. I know that he is a good, decent man, and you don't find a lot of that in politics," the Sun-Times reports Blagojevich said. "I'm breaking my rules about speculating on a candidate, but Congressman Davis is here, and I can tell you he's certainly a strong candidate for the position."

The list of possible replacements is almost as long as the list of Chicago Democrats, and Blagojevich holds the keys.  On a recent Chicago Tonight, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr (IL-2) voiced his desire for the job, as did U.S. Rep. Luis Guitierrez (IL-4).  Guitierrez said he had spoken to the governor about it, and Jackson had not.  U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9) and IL Veterans' Administrator Tammy Duckworth's names have also been floated. 

Davis' appearance with the Governor raises speculation that Davis, a longtime friend of the governor, who served with Blagojevich when a U.S. Representative, may emerge the favorite.

What do we know about Davis?  He's consistently voted on the liberal side with fellow Chicago area-based black Congressmen Jesse Jackson Jr and Bobby Rush.   Representing Chicago's West Side, Davis has been challenged by Republicans, but his seat's never been seriously endangered.

More to come on Congressman Davis...

(Sun-Times photo of Davis and Blagojevich taken on Thanksgiving Day)

Comments

[spintreebob]

I first met Danny Davis when he was a YMCA street worker in 1962. I was in many coalitions with him in the 60s and 70s. People like Danny and Dr Quentin Young in those coalitons were a leading force behind changes in our health care system.

- Illinois Health Facilities Management Board was their child under the belief that central planners would do better at watching out for people's interests and keep down healthcare costs better than competition between hosipitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities.

- HMOs were a favorite of Danny Davis. His side of the coalition argued that a focus on preventive care would provide better healthcare, reduce costs, eliminate emergency rooms as provider of choice for the poor who didn't have emergencies and solve the problem of some in the 1970s not covered by a health care plan.

- Most memorable moment of the past. He led us coalition members on a YMCA-George Williams retreat in which we played touchy feely games that were intended to teach us that cooperation was better than competition. The games totally backfired on him with competition always winning, even though about 30 of the 32 were pro-cooperation and anti-competiton. Danny Davis kept having to change the rules of the game in the middle of the game to help the cooperation side win against the competition side.

- More recently he has been outspoken that the elite know better than adults in his westside district what is best for their education and the elite know what is best for their healthcare and the elite know what is best for their retirement.

In short he believes that if only the right people can be chosen to run the plantation, the benevolent masters will make the plantation a happy place where we can all hold hands and sing kum-bah-yah.

[Fran]

Bob,
I remember hearing that interview in which he says parents shouldn't be given choice for their kid's education, that they're "too stupid" -- is that what you're talking about? Am I remembering that right?

[Phil Collins]

I hope that Blago. will choose Rep. Schakowsky. She's slightly less liberal than Rep. Davis.

[spintreebob]

Fran, you remember correctly. On multiple occasions Danny has said that parents are too stupid to educate kids themselves, too stupid to choose a private school for their kids, too stupid to choose a public school for their kids.

He has ridiculed Westside's Mavis Collins as not worthy of mention. He dissed Alberto Campos private school because it's teachers weren't properly credentialed, not because it trained terrorists to be part of the FALN.

Important decisions should be left to the elite properly trained in making the best decisions for the rest of us.

[urbanleftbehind]

I hope he does get chosen and lasts beyond 2010 for one reason alone - his 7th congressional district will not need to be preserved and with that in mind, that odious "earmuff" known as Luis Gutierrez' 4th district can also be withered away. The distinct Black West Side/ West Suburban community is bleeding residents (sensible people after all) and thus will not possess the requisite population to sustain a distinct CD (it currently has a chunk of the black south side as well). Though I favor a n/s split of the 4th district resulting in a more Mexican (e.g. a centrist George Cardenas as the next rep)than PR district, maybe it is time to end the gerrymandering madness, and a geographically sensible consolidation or split of the 4th and 7th CDs would be a good start.