Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The view from L.A.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The view from L.A.:

The view from L.A.

The way schooling is supposed to be-- I'm out on the Left Coast. taking a few days off from Chicago tundra, watching a school field trip to Leo Carrillo State Park.

I'm in L.A. but still envious (no, really) of those who got to join the UIC picket lines or march yesterday  in Springfield in defense of public employee pensions. This show of strength, especially in anticipation of upcoming state and local elections, is bound to have some effect.

Now the question is, can this positive motion produce the kind of unity and organization needed to put a hurt on Rahm, Rauner, Madigan and their gang? I don't think the progressive movement really has a horse in the governor's race, but we should be able to use the growing rifts in the enemy's camp to our advantage.

Locally, the Will Guzzardi (39th) and Jay Travis (26th) state rep races are strategically key. The machine, including Boss Madigan's thugs, have jumped into the Guzzardi/Berrios race with both boots as Guzzardi's poll numbers continue to grow. Madigan's people are apparently taking  messaging and propaganda duties away from Toni Berrios' own incompetents. As a result the panicky Berrios campaign is headed straight for the gutter.

This from Gapers Block:

Maybe the memory of a close margin explains the recent outflux of advertisements from the 2014 Berrios campaign that range from the sensational