Two political mice, Governor Pat Quinn and his boss Terry Cosgrove*, have pushed a rape victim out in front of their brawl with Illinois's Catholic Bishops.
Governor Pat Quinn has revealed the full content of his character and its emptier than a politician's promise.
Terry Cosgrove, President of Planned Parenthood's Personal PAC, shoveled $ 500,000 and 'in-kind' support behind a career opportunist.
I worked to help this manneQuinn get elected Governor. God forgive me.
Since his victory Governor Pat Quinn has done everything he was told to do by every lug nut and gear in the Progressive Machine. He has been especially compliant to Boss Terry Cosgrove.
The most sickening thing about Governor Quinn's will to power is his immediate run-for-cover on every decision he makes and every bill he signs. He is now permanently hiding behind Terry Cosgrove's Personal PAC and a sad young woman who was forced by Terry Cosgrove to dive on Quinn's barbed wire with Cardinal George.
Quinn, whose approval ratings have been stuck around 30 percent, has seemed energized by the jousting with his church, describing his action as “the Christian thing to do.”
And as if recognizing the potential of a public-relations backlash for targeting a rape victim, the Catholic Conference of Illinois issued a statement Thursday that seemed to soften its focus on Goodman, though it did not name her nor contain an apology. “Our hearts go out to any victim of rape, one of the most personally violent crimes against women,” the group said.
Cardinal George and the Catholic Conference of Illinois never once mentioned rape, rape victims, or the poor woman being honored by Terry Cosgrove's abortion PAC.
Pat Quinn, who calls himself a Catholic in front of Catholic voters, stated that he is standing with the abortion happy dowagers of Planned Parenthood, because he is a Christian. Christian trumps Catholic, because Catholics do not recognize abortion or the marriage between two men, or two women. Christians are good and Catholics are mean, until the Knights of Columbus, or Chicago Catholic League All-Stars are needed to help Gov. Easter Bunny.
The Christian Quinn plays the media. The media plays everyone. However, it is Quinn appointee Terry Cosgrove who plays Quinn. Now, the Two Christians are playing the victims by pushing the previously unnamed rape victim into the news.
She said her attacker went on to college, never having faced charges for the two rapes in 1991.
When asked why she didn’t go to police back then, Goodman said, “It was like my insides were ripped out. I felt powerless, like I couldn’t do anything. It didn’t cross my mind to go to the police or go to the hospital or even be tested.”
Until last year, G?????? was not active politically. But her mother told G??????’s story to the head of Personal PAC, Terry Cosgrove, who directed nearly $500,000 in cash and services from his bipartisan organization into Quinn’s campaign.
“Terry knew about my story. He called me one day and said, ‘We’re really fighting hard because this person running against Pat Quinn feels very strongly about abortion, even in cases of incest and rape. He believes a person should not have a choice,’ ” G?????? said. “That really struck me. I’m not political, or I wasn’t very political. And he said, ‘Would you like to speak on behalf of that campaign and speak against this guy, Bill Brady?’
“I started reading up on him, and I decided OK. I wouldn’t mind representing the people who are so silent. Rape survivors are a very silent epidemic,” she said.
She appeared in a Personal PAC commercial that used only her first name. It aired shortly before the election and, along with a major phone-banking operation by Cosgrove’s organization, helped turn suburban women against Brady.
The poor woman says that the Cardinal makes her feel like a baby killer.
The Cardinal never once mentioned the woman. I sure as hell will not. I'll leave that to the two Christian heroes -Quinn and Cosgrove.
Quinn and Cosgrove are two Christians. Give me a Pagan any day.
Quinn's Boss -Terry Cosgrove
*
Fresh off of the role he played in getting Gov. Pat Quinn elected, the president/CEO of Personal PAC discussed the past, present and future with Windy City Times
Terry Cosgrove, who started off as executive director of the pro-choice organization Personal PAC in 1989, has been a tireless fighter for a women's right to choose during his entire career.
In talking with Windy City Times, he described his job as "leading the organization in carrying out its mission which is to elect pro-choice candidates." He went on to say that "what's involved in that is a lot of cheerleading and keeping everyone on the same page which is recruiting candidates and helping them run campaigns. However, I spend about 60 to 70 percent of my time fundraising." Personal PAC's website states that the organization's overall mission is to elect pro-choice candidates in a bipartisan way to state and local office in Illinois.
Polling in October showed that Bill Brady, Quinn's Republican opponent, led by 13 percent. The question is: How did Personal PAC help turn the tide to a Quinn victory? The organization did so by sending out direct-mail pieces; buying its first television ad (called "Jennie") in the organization's 21-year history (costing $200,000); placing robocalls using a voice recording of the television ad; and distributing leaflets at Metra stations throughout Chicagoland to educate voters about Brady's conservative views.
Regarding these measures, Cosgrove said, "I knew if we could get enough of those suburban women, that's where the victory was" so the television ad, robocalls and direct-mail campaign were focused on suburban women who only vote in midterm general elections and not the primaries. The television ad ran during every morning-news show; many daytime talk shows; and WGN News and CLTV all day to reach as many suburban women as possible. Brady's operatives cited these tactics as the reason for his loss more than anything else.
Cosgrove also wrote an article in October for the Huffington Post entitled "Bill Brady: The Most Anti-Woman Nominee to Every Run for Illinois Governor" (which Windy City Times also ran) that outlined where Brady stood on women's issues. Asking Cosgrove how he felt when Brady conceded he said "he felt great" since Brady would "have been a disaster" for Illinois.
Some of the other victories Personal PAC can cite in this election cycle are four out of the six Illinois Senate races and nine of the 11 Illinois House races they targeted for the General Assembly elections. Other victories include Toni Preckwinkle as Cook County board president and Jeff Tobolski's 16th District commissioner win over pro-life incumbent Tony Peraica.
So what does Cosgrove do on an average day to keep things moving forward? The day we talked to him he also had a conference call with his executive committee, a business lunch with a friend/donor, a late meeting with a potential new board member and signing a stack of letters to donors thanking them for their support. He remarked that every day is different depending on what is happening politically.
Where did his passion for the pro-choice movement come from? After being raised in suburban Morton Grove along with his parents (his father recently died), older brother and younger sister (who has two kids, a girl and a boy) he went on to the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana where he earned two masters degrees. While still in high school he got involved with political activism, more specifically, Cesar Chavez's grape boycott in the 1970s. He protested in front of a Jewel grocery store and later got arrested. Along the way he got involved in the pro-choice movement when he saw that poor women would give up purchasing groceries for their children in order to pay for their abortions since the Hyde Amendment prevents the government from funding most abortions. Since becoming involved in the pro-choice movement, Cosgrove said he hears from many individuals, including family members, who have told them their abortion stories. He said hearing women tell their stories has only caused him to fight harder since 83 percent of counties in the United States do not have abortion clinics.
Being openly gay hasn't affected his work although elected officials call him to get information and advice on LGBT issues statewide, Cosgrove said. He sees the work he does with reproductive rights going hand in hand with LGBT equality since they are both civil-rights issues. Since his organization is bipartisan he stressed the importance of getting support from both sides so significant pieces of legislation can get passed.
To date he said his most satisfying accomplishments are getting abortion services restored for poor women at Cook County Hospital, getting Quinn elected, continuing to get pro-choice candidates elected to statewide offices over the years and passing proactive reproductive health legislation. Among his many honors is receiving the Impact Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women.
As for the future, Cosgrove said he is looking forward to the re-drawing of the political map in Illinois so they can elect more pro-choice candidates and pass the Reproductive Health and Access Act in the state assembly. He also would like to get comprehensive sex education taught in the public schools so young adults will know the ways to act responsibly.
His message to the readers of Windy City Times is to "live life to the fullest because there is so much opportunity out there so reach for the top of the trees." He said that is why he is optimistic about the future for reproductive and LGBT rights even though others around him may be skeptics.
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=29716
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