For all the sanctimony that Democrats fly on their recently multi-colored flag, they sure are into theatrics just as much as Republicans. Maybe more so, particularly in matters of good taste. In Illinois, beleagured—and that puts it mildly—governor Pat Quinn decided it was a good idea to have a handful of the Newtown victims’ parents on a stage and make them weepily recall how their lives have been shattered. Pure politics.

Quinn, as you know, is the least popular governor in America according to sequential polling. His image is so bad that the sole commencement address he is giving this year is at a far suburban Chicago community college. You read that right: one of the 50 governors of these United States—the one with the third largest city in the US—and the only job he can get is chatting before a bunch of people who just want their diplomas so they can maybe get one of the few jobs left in this state. He should expect very light applause.

And why indeed not? His entire political limelight has been a comedy of errors. He became governor only by being a little known and little respected lieutenant governor in quasi-power the moment that Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office. Flush with the success of being the next man standing, he promptly went after a series of bad political causes with the dogged determination of a village idiot trying to sit on a broken wall.

His most prominent—and most typical—cause is Illinois gun control. Quinn, make no mistake about it, hates those gun things, whatever they are. And he will do his utmost to swear and protect most of the Constitution to see they are disappeared from polite Zima-sipping society. The business of running Illinois less into the toilet has to wait so that he can make speech after speech about the Evils of Gunnitude to audiences of dozens.

The reality is that Illinois wants shall-carry issue; the polls show it, legislative bodies support it, and the real test is that the Illinois State Police (who also endorse concealed carry) have had to hire an outside agency to deal with the crushing load of Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card applications. Illinois used to deal with a few thousand a year; now they are dealing with 10,000 per month, as residents recognize the inevitable is finally happening.

Just over the weekend, support for Quinn’s preferred tempered but still highly restrictive gun bill collapsed, as downstate Democrats joined Republicans to kill the bill in committee. In order to punish them, Quinn flew out—almost certainly at tax payer expense—the families of young Newtown victims to pimp them out on a stage and make them guilt those bad Republicans into supporting his measure.

And that shows how inept a politician Quinn is: there are more Democrats who support concealed carry than Republicans. The reader should remember, because Quinn doesn’t, that Illinois is not divided into Republicans and Democrats: they are divided into Cook County politicians and every-other-county politicians. Republicans and Democrats tend to get along pretty well in Illinois, except the Cook County politicians who hate everybody—and given the immense size of Cook County, they have a 55% or so majority in state politics. That’s just enough to kill Illinois for good.

Quinn, although he grew up in DuPage County, quickly joined the Cook County cabal early in his political career. That alone is easy proof that he rarely makes a good decision.

And Quinn continues his Quixotic quest, because if he thinks anyone can “guilt” state politicians into voting a certain way by showing them mourning parents, he is truly a man-child in political science.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.