Chicago's Mayor Cheers Senate Vote

It doesn't quite rhyme, but we dig you, Mayor Emanuel.  

Rahm Emanuel Is Killing Tony Perkins

Quote Of The Day - Rahm Emanuel

"Last week’s election continued America’s great history of expanding opportunity and equality. Today, we must take the next step on that journey by affording the opportunity to marry to all Americans — and we can continue that march by quickly enacting marriage equality here in Illinois. Gays and lesbians are our teachers, our doctors, our police officers, family members, friends and neighbors. Honoring their contributions as full members of our society means providing members of the GLBT community with the same rights and freedoms as every other citizen. Chicago is a city of different neighborhoods and nationalities, or different religions, races and sexual orientations. We are strongest when we are one people, united under the same set of laws, with the same freedoms and responsibilities. The City of Chicago and the State of Illinois have a special place in our nation’s history as leader in our nation’s struggle to equality to all. Marriage equality is the next step in our nation’s march forward. Illinois must lead the way." - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, in a letter to the Chicago Sun-Times.

ILLINOIS: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Vows To Promote Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel yesterday vowed to help campaign for the same-sex marriage bill proposed for Illinois.

“I’ll push for it because it is consistent with the values base, and the practical values base, that I think is right as a city, as a state and as a country,” said Emanuel, who supported gay marriage during the campaign. Just Tuesday, Washington became the seventh state to legalize gay marriage, but in Illinois, the effort is seen as an uphill battle, even with Emanuel’s support. It took decades to pass civil rights protects for gays and lesbians and years to pass civil unions, which became the law last June. This year, a bill has been introduced at the Capitol to approve same sex marriages.

70 Big-City Mayors Join Together To Advocate For Same-Sex Marriage

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The mayors of several big cities, including Chicago, New York, Boston and Los Angeles, are joining together to support same-sex marriage rights, a move that could put additional pressure on President Barack Obama to do the same. The effort is being organized by Freedom to Marry, an advocacy group that plans a news conference Friday in Washington, D.C.,, featuring mostly Democratic mayors and one Republican, Jerry Sanders of San Diego. Like others, Mr. Sanders has stated his views before, but organizers hope that their effort to join some 70 mayors together will give the issue a political boost.

“By joining the group, mayors hope to expand public and political support for ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage,” the mayors’ group said in a statement. The mayors planning to attend Friday’s news conference include Annise Parker of Houston, Thomas Menino of Boston, Antonio R. Villaraigosa of Los Angeles and Marilyn Strickland of Tacoma, Wash. Michael Bloomberg of New York and Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Mr. Obama’s first White House chief of staff, have also joined the effort.

Rahm Emanuel. Interesting.

Rahm Emanuel Backs Gay Marriage

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has endorsed same-sex marriage, saying that he hopes Illinois soon follows the example of New York. Emanuel is Barack Obama's former White House chief of staff.

"I would hope that the state would move in that direction," Emanuel said in the interview that aired Wednesday. "Tremendous progress has been made across the country on a value statement and I think that's very important." Emanuel declined to comment on Obama's stance on the issue, but noted that the president has signed into law legislation that recognizes hate crimes based on sexual orientation and a repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevented gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

Rahm Emanuel Elected Chicago Mayor

Former Obama administration White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel today coasted to an easy victory in Chicago's mayoral race.

"I want to extend my congratulations to Rahm Emanuel on a well-deserved victory tonight," Obama said in a statement. "As a Chicagoan and a friend, I couldn't be prouder. Rahm will be a terrific mayor for all the people of Chicago." Emanuel's declaration came after runner-up Gery Chico called him tonight to concede defeat. "We've elected a mayor tonight," Chico told supporters. "I want with all of my heart for Rahm Emanuel to be successful as mayor. We need that, ladies and gentlemen." Emanuel needed to be above the 50 percent benchmark to avoid a runoff election and six more weeks of campaigning, and he got what he needed. With 96 percent of precincts counted, Emanuel had 54.9 percent to 24.4 percent for Chico. City Clerk Miguel del Valle had 9.4 percent and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun was at 8.7 percent.

Rahm Emanuel Back On Ballot

This afternoon the Illinois Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Rahm Emanuel has met the residency requirements to run for mayor of Chicago.

The justices said Emanuel's opponents did not prove that he had given up residency when he served in the Obama administration in Washington. "Given the record before us, it is simply not possible to find clearly erroneous the (Chicago Board of Elections') determination that the objectors failed to prove that the candidate had abandoned his Chicago residence," the court ruled in a unanimous decision. "We therefore reverse the decision of the appellate court and affirm the decision of the circuit court, which confirmed the Board's decision."

Homocon blogger Kevin DuJan must be positively quivering with rage. Heh.

Rahm Emanuel Back On Ballot (For Now)

The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear Rahm Emanuel's appeal of a lower court's ruling that he does not meet the eligibility requirements to be mayor of Chicago.

It will hear the case without oral arguments or new briefs, allowing for a faster ruling on the matter. The quick proceedings are necessary, with the race less than a month away and early voting set to begin next Monday. It was the second break in a matter of hours for Emanuel. The court ruled earlier Tuesday that no ballots may be printed without his name, at least not until the court has dealt with the appeal. "This Court is taking the case on the briefs filed by the parties in the appellate court," the court said. "No additional briefs will be filed in the Supreme Court. Oral argument will not be entertained."

Upon today's decision, all the end zone dancing from Twitter's wingnuts immediately ceased.

Court Rules Rahm Emanuel Ineligible To Run For Mayor Of Chicago

Opponents to former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's run for mayor of Chicago have won their appeal of an earlier court ruling that he was eligible.

Rahm Emanuel was thrown off the ballot for mayor of Chicago today by an appellate court panel, a stunning blow to the fund-raising leader in the race. An appellate panel ruled 2-1 that Emanuel did not meet the residency standard to run for mayor. Appellate judges Thomas Hoffman and Shelvin Louise Marie Hall ruled against Emanuel. Justice Bertina Lampkin voted in favor of keeping President Obama’s former chief of staff on the Feb. 22 ballot. “It’s a surprise,” said Kevin Forde, the attorney who argued on Emanuel’s behalf.

Emanuel's attorneys say they will appeal to the state supreme court.

Homocon Kevin Dujan Renews Claim That Rahm Emanuel Patronizes Bathhouses

Following Rahm Emanuel's announcement that he is running for mayor of Chicago, homocon Hillbuzz blogger Kevin Dujan is again spreading unsubstantiated rumors that Emanuel was once a patron of a Chicago gay bathhouse. During the 2008 campaign, when Dujan was a fierce Hillary Clinton supporter, he attempted (with no success) to plant the same story about Emanuel and Obama in the mainstream press.

Being a “resident” of a city does not mean owning property there; you are a “resident” if you rent so much as a room in Chicago, and can prove that you have such a room ready and waiting for you whenever you need to put your head down onto a pillow here to catch some ZZZs (among other things). Thus, another residency argument Rahm Emanuel can make is his lifetime membership to Man’s Country, a male bathhouse on Clark Street in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood – where Chicagoans for years have spotted both Obama and Emanuel when the two men lived here.

Man’s Country sells lifetime memberships for $10. Once a man becomes a member, he is allowed to show up anytime he wants (the place is open 24/7) to rent a room for 8 hours (he can also rent just a locker in case he doesn’t plan on sleeping and instead just wants to “hangout” or “play basketball” the way Obama used to with Kal Penn or Reggie Love until too much attention was drawn to their antics). The rooms have a small cot, a single pillow, a sheet, and sometimes a TV. Man’s Country is made up of a warren of these little rooms, with no ceiling, in what looks like a Halloween haunted house of twists, turns, nooks, and crannies. Watch out for ghosts! Could Emanuel’s Man’s Country membership, coupled with his voter registration, qualify him to run for Mayor of Chicago? We believe it could, because it meets all the requirements as we understand them.

You may recall Dujan's recent complaint that no gay man will date him because he supports Sarah Palin. Dujan has blogged that he fears "radical gay leftists" are planning his assassination.

Rahm Emanuel's First Campaign Ad

This plodding clip announcing a tour of Chicago's neighborhoods feels designed to counter his rageaholic rep.

Rahm Emanuel Says Good-Bye

Obama Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel Quits White House To Run For Mayor Of Chicago

The rumors were true. Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will resign tomorrow to run for mayor of Chicago. Earlier this month six-term Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced that he would not seek another term.

The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, at his daily briefing on Thursday afternoon said that the president will give two personnel announcements on Friday morning from the East Room of the White House. Mr. Gibbs, admitting that he was being purposely “oblique,” would not confirm whether the announcements would concern Mr. Emanuel. The two officials, who declined to be named in advance of the official announcement, confirmed that Mr. Obama plans to name Pete Rouse, a senior adviser, to replace Mr. Emanuel. Mr. Rouse has been at the president’s side since Mr. Obama arrived in Washington nearly six years ago as a senator, serving as his chief of staff.

On Rahm Emanuel's Potty Mouth

Second City has some fun with Rahm Emanuel's infamous penchant for strong language. Totally totally NSFFW. (The extra "F" is for "fucking.")

Bill Clinton Offered Rep. Joe Sestak A Job On Obama's Behalf

The Huffington Post reports that Bill Clinton acted as the president's intermediary to offer Pennsylvania Senate candidate Rep. Joe Sestak an administration job in return for dropping out of his primary battle with Sen. Arlen Specter. The GOP is contending that the offer was illegal.

Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) was offered a prominent but uncompensated, advisory position -- in the national security/foreign policy area -- if he would drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate primary race, a source with knowledge of the exchange said during a briefing on Friday morning. The offer was made by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel through a prominent intermediary -- former President Bill Clinton -- during the months of June and July of 2009. The White House initiated the conversation, which occurred over phone. It would have allowed Sestak to remain in the House of Representatives while advising the president. The source said it would not be surprising if more than one conversation took place, though there were no other intermediaries involved. Sestak ultimately rejected the overture and went on to defeat incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Penn) in the Democratic primary election earlier this month.

The White House has issued a memo confirming the offer.

Gay PUMA Site Claims Obama And Rahm Emanuel Visited Chicago Bathhouse

HillBuzz, the Hillary Clinton PUMA site founded by gay political gadfly Kevin DuJan, has got the wingnut blogosphere all aquiver over a claim that some mysterious MSM journalist is at last investigating their ridiculous claim that the president and Rahm Emanuel were once regular patrons of the Chicago-area bathhouse, Man's Country.

This has to be cloak-and-dagger for the time being, because though we’ve not been sworn to secrecy on the project, we’re not at liberty to talk in depth about what we did yesterday, which was in response to one of the occasional requests we get from members of the media for background info on stories they’re doing. Normally, it’s foreign journalists who get in touch with us when they’re in Chicago and want to go to the Southside to see how terrible it is, and talk about how Obama did absolutely jack squat for it as either a state senator or US Senator, and hasn’t used any of his particular brand of unicorn horn magic to improve it (or the black community residing there) since the illustrious Golden Age of Hope and Change began on January 20th, 2009. But, this time it was a US reporter who wanted information on Man’s Country in Andersonville, which is a place both Obama and Rahm Emanuel frequented in the past. Obama until 2002 or so, and Emanuel through 2008, according to what we’ve been told. We spent a good amount of time on the ground in Uptown, Boystown, Andersonville, and Hyde Park yesterday with this reporter, also telling him everything we knew about Trinity United Church of Christ and the Down-Low Club it operated under Jeremiah Wright’s supervision/matchmaking.

PUMA, for those who have forgotten, stands for Party Unity My Ass, the derisive expression created by those who refused to accept that Hillary Clinton did not win the 2008 Democratic nomination.

Rep. Eric Massa: Rahm Emanuel Is The Son Of The Devil's Spawn

Rep. Eric Massa has probably burned his last Democratic bridge. Expect a party change announcement any minute.

Outgoing Rep. Eric Massa went on a rant regarding White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel today during a radio interview calling him the "son of the devil's spawn." Massa (D-NY) went on to say, "He is an individual who would sell his mother to get a vote. He would strap his children to the front end of a steam locomotive." Rep. Massa describes a confrontation with Emanuel in a shower: "I am showering, naked as a jaybird, and here comes Rahm Emanuel, not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me." Massa went on to say that Emanuel would go to the Congressional gym to intimidate members of congress. Massa, who is due to resign from the House on Monday on sexual harassment allegations, alleged he "was set up for this form the very, very beginning," and that Emanuel was a key orchestrator in the plot to get rid of him.

Listen to the rant below.