Commentary: Big Tent Ideas

BRAD WEISENSTEIN: What To Know Before Considering Pritzker As Vice President

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaking at the Center for American Progress annual IDEAS conference in Washington, D.C., Oct. 25, 2023. (Screen Capture/CSPAN)

President Joe Biden is out. Vice President Kamala Harris is his pick to run in his place. But she needs a running mate.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker had been discussed as a potential replacement for Biden, but with Pritzker’s endorsement of Harris that speculation shifted. Now, Pritzker is being discussed as a vice-presidential candidate, and he will be on his home turf Aug. 19-22 when the Democratic National Convention convenes in Chicago.

There are a few things Pritzker’s fellow Illinoisans have learned in a little over six years with him in the state’s top political job. Democrats need to think about how this hotel-empire heir has handled his only political job before they potentially put him a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Pritzker would likely do for the nation what he has done for Illinois. That has been:

— Record state spending of $53.1 billion that is $15 billion higher than when Pritzker took office.

— The nation’s highest combined state and local tax burden.

— The nation’s second-highest corporate tax rate, property taxes and gasoline taxes.

— The nation’s third-worst unemployment.

— Ten years of Illinois losing population as people move to lower-tax states.

— Making Illinois one of the last states to end pandemic emergency orders, letting Pritzker rule without legislative approval for 1,155 days.

— Spending $58 million from his own fortune in a failed bid to convince voters another $3 billion tax hike was needed.

It has been a while since Democrats were last in this position.

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s unpopular escalation of the Vietnam War drove his decision to drop his bid for re-election. He pushed for Vice President Hubert Humphrey to replace him. The 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago became infamous for its divisions and violence.

But more devastating to the party was that Humphrey lost to former Vice President Richard Nixon. His own vice-presidential pick, Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine, never saw his presidential hopes fulfilled.

Pritzker’s not alone in the vice-presidential chase. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis or one of the other contenders named by pundits may emerge.

But, again, Pritzker has home field advantage. He was already positioning himself as a major player by trekking to political events across the country; and he was to deliver Democratic counter-messaging at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee until the Trump assassination attempt canceled it.

The Pritzker versus Sen. J.D. Vance vice presidential debate could certainly be entertaining: a billionaire with a short political resume versus a Marine Corps vet and senator with a hillbilly book and movie credit.

Pritzker has certainly been part of the anti-Trump chorus. He has called Trump a racist and a homophobe and said he echoed the Nazis.

But after an entertaining campaign, think about the day-after regret that would result from electing Vice President Pritzker, especially if he ever became President Pritzker. He would work to go national with his “Think Big” agenda, which for Illinois has meant big taxation and big government solutions.

But in the Illinois-centered world, maybe the state could catch a break if Pritzker went somewhere else with his big thoughts – especially into the job that is “not worth a bucket of warm spit.”

Brad Weisenstein is the managing editor of the Illinois Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank dedicated to protecting taxpayer interests.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.