Misplaced Pages

Chicago-style politics (meme): Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 15:35, 8 September 2015 editHughD (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users19,133 edits disambig wls in refs← Previous edit Revision as of 15:54, 8 September 2015 edit undoSpringee (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users18,467 edits Undid revision 680076346 by HughD (talk) The issue of notability has not been addressed and no comments were left on the talk pageNext edit →
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Multiple issues|
{{notability|date=September 2015}}
{{POV|date=September 2015}} {{POV|date=September 2015}}
}}


'''Chicago-style politics''' was a political ] used in the ] of conservative ] politicians and commentators during the ] and presidency of ] to attempt to associate Obama with aspects of ], including ], ], ], and ], in the ], Obama's home town. '''Chicago-style politics''' was a political ] used in the ] of conservative ] politicians and commentators during the ] and presidency of ] to attempt to associate Obama with aspects of ], including ], ], ], and ], in the ], Obama's home town.

Revision as of 15:54, 8 September 2015

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
The topic of this article may not meet Misplaced Pages's general notability guideline. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted.
Find sources: "Chicago-style politics" meme – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (September 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Chicago-style politics was a political meme used in the rhetoric of conservative United States Republican politicians and commentators during the presidential campaigns and presidency of Barack Obama to attempt to associate Obama with aspects of political corruption, including bribery, patronage, nepotism, and authoritarianism, in the political history of Chicago, Obama's home town.

Earlier usage

The phrase "Chicago-style politics" originated before May 2008. In 1986, Pulitzer Prize winning Chicago Tribune editor and columnist Clarence Page lead his review of Dempsey Travis' An Autobiography of Black Politics with "It should surprise no one to find that black politics in Chicago have a history that is no less intriguing, raucous, wheeling, dealing, back-biting or cajoling than any other Chicago-style politics." In 2003, David Brewster, the founder and former editor of Seattle Weekly said "Chicago-style politics is coming to Seattle," which he described as "this whole muscling-the-opposition, reward-your-friends and punish-your-enemies, tough-guy politics," in reference to political campaign contributions from the owners of a strip club seeking a zoning change to expand their parking lot.

Wider usage as a political meme

The term was employed by conservative Republican politicians and pundits. In 2008, the political campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Democratic candidate Barack Obama practiced Chicago-style politics. In August 2009, Republican political consultant Karl Rove wrote, in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal in opposition to the Obama administration's health care reform effort, that threats were in the spirit of "Chicago-style politics." Wider usage as a political meme began in October, 2009 when Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) said during a weekly press briefing "Chicago-style politics is shutting the American people out and demonizing their opponents" in reference to the Obama administration's health care reform effort.

2012 Republican presidential primary candidate Mitt Romney introduced the phrase into the rhetoric of the 2012 presidential campaign when he described a recess appointment by President Obama as "Chicago-style politics at its worst." Romney supporters used "Chicago" as an epithet and referred disdainfully to "Chicago-style politics." Former Republican National Committee chair Ed Gillespie said the 2012 Obama campaign engaged in "classic Chicago-style politics," mentioning the meme at least three times in a conference all with reporters. In February 2012, Rove said Chrysler's Halftime in America Super Bowl advertisement featuring Clint Eastwood was a sign of Chicago-style politics.

In March 2012, in the Republican primary in Illinois, candidate for the US House of Representative Don Manzullo criticised his opponent Adam Kinzinger for his "Chicago-style politics."

Reaction

"'Chicago-style politics' is mainly just a way for him to call Obama corrupt without coming out and saying so", according to Jacob Weisberg of Slate, referring to Romney. "'Chicago-style politics'...seems to have become a generic insult for just about any politics one disagrees with", wrote Chicago-based political consultant and columnist Don Rose in Politico. The Chicago Tribune characterized the refrain as an attempt to discredit Obama through "guilt by geography," saying "...Chicago has seen a goodly share of high- and low-profile officials and operatives shipped off to prison over the decades, and Republicans would like to prod voters into thinking that some of that dirt surely must have rubbed off on Obama." Drake University professor of political science Dennis Goldford, an expert on presidential politics, said the meme was used by Republicans to imply that Obama was an product of a outdated large urban political organization based on unethical behavior and the use of force.

See also

References

  1. Pierce, Charles P. (May 11, 2013). "The Political De-Branding of America". Esquire. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  2. Page, Clarence (December 28, 1986). "Black Politics: Dempsey Travis Expands His Autobiography". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  3. Kershaw, Sarah (August 27, 2003). "A Tale of Sex, Money and Politics, in 'Mayberry'". The New York Times. p. A11. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  4. MacAskill, Ewen (4 June 2010). "Republicans accuse White House of 'Chicago-style politics'". The Guardian.
  5. Leibovich, Mark (September 27, 2008). "A Form of Political Flattery?". The New York Times. p. A14. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  6. Rove, Karl (August 27, 2009). "Obama Targets Medicare Advantage". The Wall Street Journal. p. A13.
  7. Silva, Mark (23 October 2009). "Obama's Chicago-style politics:' Boehner". Chicago Tribune.
  8. "Boehner Statement on the White House & Democrats "Chicago-Style Politics"". Speaker Boehner's Press Office. October 21, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  9. Sweet, Lynn (January 20, 2010). "Those from City of Big Shoulders shrug at 'Chicago-style' insult - Slams of Windy City politics 'hype,' 'not fair'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  10. ^ Secter, Bob; Pearson, Rick (July 20, 2012). "GOP uses association with Chicago against Obama; 'Chicago-style politics' enters lexicon of presidential campaign". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  11. ^ Sweet, Lynn (July 17, 2012). "Romney's 'Chicago-style' attack". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  12. Warren, James (January 6, 2012). "'Chicago-Style Politics at Its Worst'? Fact-Checking Romney's Jab at Obama". Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
  13. Cooper, Helene (January 6, 2012). "Obama Tactic: Jab Congress To Hurt Rivals". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  14. Trumbull, Mark (January 5, 2012). "Romney, Santorum bash Obama recess appointment. Why that could backfire". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 12.
  15. Leibovich, Mark (August 29, 2012). "Feel the Loathing on the Campaign Trail". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  16. Baker, Peter; Shear, Michael D. (July 17, 2012). "Obama and Romney Step Up Accusations on Jobs". The New York Times. p. A16. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  17. Kendall, Brent; Devlin, Barrett (July 15, 2012). "Fight Over Romney's Bain Tenure Thunders On". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  18. Peters, Jeremy W.; Rutenberg, Jim (February 7, 2012). "Republicans See Politics In Chrysler Super Bowl Ad". The New York Times. p. A13. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  19. Bennett, Jeff; Vranica, Suzanne (February 9, 2012). "Corporate News: Super Bowl Ad Goes to OT --- Chrysler, Dealers Deny 'Halftime' Ad Was Political; Furor Draws Web Shoppers". The Wall Street Journal. p. B2.
  20. Weiner, Rachel (February 6, 2012). "Karl Rove 'offended' by Clint Eastwood's Chrysler ad". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  21. Rivoli, Dan (February 6, 2012). "Clint Eastwood Super Bowl Ad is Chrysler's Pay Back for Auto Bailout: Karl Rove". International Business Times. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  22. Joseph, Cameron (March 21, 2012). "Rep. Kinzinger defeats Manzullo; victory a relief for GOP leaders". The Hill. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  23. Catanese, David (March 20, 2012). "Tea party backs veteran Illinois politician in House race". Politico. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  24. Weisberg, Jacob (23 July 2012). "Chicago Style". Slate.
  25. Rose, Don (July 30, 2012). "In praise of 'Chicago politics'". Politico. Retrieved 2014-04-28.
Categories: