Could "Da Coach" Really Become "Da Governor"?
Posted By: Stonecipher
Dec. 23, 2008
Over the past couple of months here at The Stonecipher Report two stories have dominated many of our headlines, Barack Obama's recently vacated U.S. Senate seat and the arrest and resulting turmoil of Rod Blagojevich. Both stories will soon have a major impact on the state of politics here in Illinois, but what's beyond the next couple of months?
Yes, we here in the Land of Lincoln will soon have a new Senator and a new governor, the latter likely to be named Quinn, probably within the next few months and probably minus an election in both cases.
So what about the next big election in Illinois, 2010?
Just a few short months ago there was no doubt in anyone's mind that both the U.S. Senate seat and the governor's office would remain in the hands of the Democrats, but recent events have given the Illinois GOP a tiny sliver of hope. And I do want to emphasize, it is tiny, but it is there nonetheless.
In the case of Obama's former Senate seat, there have been whispers that Mark Kirk, the recently and barely re-elected Congressman from Chicago's suburban North Shore, could be just the man to give the GOP a shot at embarrassing the President-Elect by winning back his Senate seat just half way into his first term in the Oval Office.
Kirk's name has also been tossed around as a potential candidate for governor in 2010, at least on FOX News it has. But there is another name, a really, really big name. In fact, a huge name. A massive name. According to some a God-like name, that at least one Illinois resident would like to see in the race for Illinois governor in 2010:
Mike "Da Coach" Ditka.
Just this week a 27-year old Burr Ridge, IL man named Shaun Radecki recently created a website called dagovernor.com. The site's intent is to convince "Da Coach" to jump into the 2010 race.
The site has t-shirt ads prominently displayed, but it also has a mission statement of sorts that goes as follows:
We da people of Illinois are sick and tired of scumbag politicians who think dat it's their job to lie, cheat and steal. No more! We deserve somebody in charge who we can trust. Somebody who we can depend on. Somebody who we know understands the difference between right and wrong and won't be afraid to kick corruption in the ass harder than da '85 Bears beat down da Patriots in da Super Bowl!
Dat's right, my friends. Da man for da job is Coach Ditka. So let's make it happen! Ditka for Governor!!
Radecki now needs to track down Bill Swerski and have him create an audio recording of the statement for the site - that would drive some traffic there.
For our part, here at The Stonecipher Report, we've already had one of our own writers, The Rick, endorse Coach Mike Ditka...for President. Michael Sweeney and I also joked about this possibility on the air yesterday on WHPK in Chicago, but all joking aside, there was a serious movement to draft Mike Ditka for the 2004 Senate race against Barack Obama when Jack Ryan was forced to bail out, and there is no reason to believe that the 2010 Ditka movement can't become just as serious. After all, we are talking about Illinois politics here...anything is possible.
Oh, and by the way, speaking of "Da Coach", congrats to Da Bears on a big Monday night win over the Packers last night to keep their play-off hopes alive.
