And this is from the Associated Press (via the Daily Southtown)
Monday, January 17, 2005, By Christopher WillsThe Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD — Rod Blagojevich's two years as governor have been a series of crusades.
He rode to war against lawmakers he accused of spending "like drunken sailors." He challenged the "Soviet-style" bureaucracy at the State Board of Education. He battled government corruption, expensive prescription drugs, even violent video games.
Scorning the idea of quietly building consensus, Blagojevich prefers to launch his crusades with maximum publicity — news conferences, rallies, executive orders, statewide tours.
Springfield insiders can't block change if the public is demanding action, he says. The approach has helped him limit government spending while still providing more money for schools and health care, increase his control of the State Board of Education and strengthen the state's weak ethics laws.
It also has helped his popularity despite the state's massive budget deficits.
Polls conducted in September found that more than half of voters approved of the governor's performance. In one poll, 67 percent applauded his efforts to import cheaper medicine from abroad.
"I don't believe we could have come anywhere near the achievements we've made in the first two years had it not been in such a public fashion, had I not used the bully pulpit as I have," the Democratic governor said.
Blagojevich calls it open government. Skeptics — from Republicans to fellow Democrats to his own father-in-law — call it chasing headlines.
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsindex/17-ds2.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment