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By Ray Hanania
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There is no office that Gov. JB Pritzker doesn’t think he can’t buy.
But that shouldn’t bother you. What should bother you are Pritzker’s policies, which he has pushed to position himself to buy his way into the White House.
President Biden’s failed performance at the debate with former President Donald Trump in Atlanta (which I witnessed firsthand), has Pritzker licking his chops. And this is a guy who obviously licks his chops a lot.
Word is — and it is not just rumors — Pritzker wants to improve his image, lose some weight and present himself as an acceptable candidate for president just in case Biden steps down or is pushed out. Don’t rule Biden getting pushed out. Many Democrats are concerned their jobs are at stake because of Biden’s failing leadership image and cognitive challenges.
Ray Hanania
Pritzker can easily buy himself into the White House if the job opens up. Don’t rule him out. But can Pritzker lose weight? Pictures are floating around of the “before” and “after” of Pritzker, slimmed down.
Every state employee and official I know tells me he is no less the glutton for food and political dominion than he has ever been, but the pictures are frauds.
I did waste my time reaching out to Pritzker’s spokesperson, Jordan Abudayyah, asking if he is slimming down, but she didn’t respond. Of course, the Pritzker “money-roll” only talks to people they think can help pave the way to the nation’s biggest domicile, the White House, where they have toilets he just can’t remove to save money.
Pritzker and Abudayyah were probably too busy dining at some restaurant to respond.
Don’t criticize me for raising the issue of weight loss. Pritzker brought it on himself when he quietly pushed to expand insurance coverage for all of the state’s employees, to include high priced weight-loss drugs like Wegovy, Mounjaro and Ozempic.
Some estimate the inclusion of the controversial weight loss drugs will be about $210,000, but others say that when they become available, the costs will skyrocket.
Let’s be honest, Americans overall are overweight, and that includes me. I don’t use drugs to manage my weight. I’m not planning to run for president, or position myself for the job, like Pritzker. The skyrocketing costs of groceries makes most Americans trim their food budgets.
I’m not sure the real problem for Pritzker is obesity, though. It’s the policies he has embraced and the increases in taxes and fees he has pushed.
The state portion of the gasoline tax is up 2 cents a gallon, to 47 cents. Sports betting taxes go up from 15% to 20 to 40%. Video gaming taxes go up from 34% to 35%.
Pritzker has committed millions to help the “undocumented,” or “migrants,” which according to the U.S. Constitution are actually “illegal” immigrants. He’s spending millions on them, giving them driver’s licenses, while supporting harsh laws that undermine the police by easing prosecutions of criminals.
Pritzker is so wealthy he doesn’t care if people get upset with his policies. He can always “buy you off,” which just might be his best choice for a campaign motto.
Read more on this and other issues at hanania.com.