I was surprised not to see any discussion of the Jack Ryan debacle on this list. Perhaps it was not substantive enough to merit any. I'm curious about what people's thoughts on the matter are.
The RedEye's Alison Neumer had a particular banal take on the news (http://www.redeyechicago.com/neumer.htm) and invited responses. Here was mine: The results of Ms. Neumer's informal downtown poll may reveal that a few yuppies who were unlikely to vote Republican anyway don't much care about Jack Ryan's alleged perversions. But it did little to illuminate the real issue, which is how Ryan's thirst for a Senate seat blinded him to common decency. Knowing full-well that the sealed divorce records did not deal with his child, he told the voters -- and the powers that be within the GOP -- that they did, and furthermore that it was solely for his child's protection that he wanted them kept private. Ryan deceived his fellow Republicans about the nature of the divorce files and shamelessly used his own son as a kind of human shield against public scrutiny. Then, when his ruse is was revealed, Ryan had the temerity to claim that he sought to keep the records private not to protect his political career but to protect his son. Ryan may regret that the sun was shone on some unpleasant, years-old allegations. But what he ought to regret more is that through his behavior he has deprived the Republicans a candidate, deprived the state a meaningful senatorial contest, and deprived his son a father he could look up to. Kevin B. O'Reilly Rogers Park _______________________________________________ Chicago Issues Forum - Citywide Civic Discussion To post to list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To (un)subscribe: http://www.e-democracy.org/chicago/ To contact list manager: [EMAIL PROTECTED] E-Democracy will not share, trade, or sell your information. Please do not harvest participant e-mail information for other lists or solicitations without specific consent from addressee.
