Nov 30, 2007 6:22 pm US/Central
GOP Ridicules Blagojevich With Raffle
"Governor For A Day" Raffle Offers Winner Dinner At Fine Restaurant, Tickets To Blackhawks Game, But "You Don't Have To Do Any Work."
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
-
-
Members of the Illinois Republican Party on Friday announced a raffle to be "Governor For A Day," in an effort to ridicule Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
CBS
Seeking to ridicule Gov. Rod Blagojevich, staffers for the Illinois Republican Party stood on the street outside his Loop office on Friday asking "Who wants to be governor for a day? You don't have to do any work."
It comes as a result of our special report ''Exposing Blagojevich.''
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports that while passing out free, raffle-style tickets in front of the State of Illinois's Thompson Center on Friday, Republicans promised to hold a drawing next week that would make some lucky winner "Governor For A Day."
The winner will get to dine at a fine restaurant and spend the evening at a Blackhawks hockey game, just as Rod Blagojevich did Wednesday night while the Illinois House was voting down a mass transit funding proposal he endorsed.
Blagojevich critic Chris Peters said, "He could have Tivo'ed it and checked it out later. He didn't actually have to go."
Lance Trover of the Illinois Republican Party said, "If the governor doesn't take his job seriously, why should we take him seriously?"
This kind of mockery may be cute, but it misses the mark, according to allies of the governor. They argue it doesn't really matter that Blagojevich often works from home.
Illinois Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville) said, "You should judge him on results … results as opposed to style or perceived style. Now, here in Springfield, we're having a very difficult time and there's a lot of bickering, there's a lot of fighting, but there are some things worth fighting for.
Among those sharply disagreeing was a Republican leader cited by the governor's staff as having a close working relationship with Blagojevich.
"The governor has a way of governing that baffles me," said Republican Senate Leader Frank Watson. "I mean I really don't understand it … not a hands-on kind of guy."
The governor has invited Watson and other legislative leaders to join him at the Thompson Center on Monday in order to try and find a long-term solution for mass transit funding in the Chicago area.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
