Sometimes it is appropriate to let the dictionary do the work for you.

Steamrolled:

(steamroll) steamroller: bring to a specified state by overwhelming force or pressure; "The Senator steamrollered the bill to defeat"

My little spot on this blog pops up the first Thursday of the month, sometimes I can catch a topical story nicely, and sometimes I get caught out by the timing.

The Winkle announcement came in just past mid in September, that announcement was Rick’s intent to run for the Circuit Clerk office here in Champaign County. Big gun, little barrel, shooting fish, they all came to mind right away. One of the races I was looking at with more than mild interest was the primary between Frank and Holderfield for the GOP spot in the Circuit Clerk race. Frank of course the incumbent and Holderfield the challenger, and the race looked like a showdown between two like qualified candidates that would bring true meaning to knock down, drag out. It was going to be good.

But someplace in local GOP politics it looks like some heads were getting together and decided that this was going to get just a little too ugly to be funny anymore. Now this is all conjecture on my part of course, as I can barely keep up with the intrapersonal relationships in my own party’s backroom dramas, let alone know what happens over there in some guy’s law office.

Oh yeah, the republicans moved out of Jason’s place.

Anyhow, what the outside observer sees is a desire to keep this cat fight from getting out of hand, the incumbent and the challenger looked to set a record for the race to the bottom, a real fight right out to the primary day, and perhaps too many issues would crop up detracting from the office itself. 

I ran for the County Board against Holderfield, she is a fighter, determined, and was truly energized from the primary in that race, defeating one of the good old guard out in my district. She beat me soundly, getting a good share of the republican percentage of the district. I did what I could to scrape a few off  from the herd and did get some to flip, then made some folks a bit worried, but alas it would have taken quite a big flip to win.

It was a fair fight and she fought it. 

The Circuit Clerk spot must have looked vulnerable and attractive, and I do think it would have been quite a race, but the cat fight was busted up by the big dog, and I have to say for Stephanie it will not be as easy now.

Now why the hell would Winkel want that job? I do not see him needing the cash, the office seems like a bit of a step down from his U of I work, the think tank stuff, the being a retired State office holder and all. Does he really want to be Circuit Clerk? Did Linda really want to fall on her sword like that; she was just in the parade in Mahomet a few weeks before the announcement running for the office.

It seems to me there is a bigger play happening here, and despite the fact I ran against Holderfield I hope she fights for the primary spot with vigor, Winkel needs a good scare. I am not sure who the Dems have set up to run, nobody should think they just get appointed to things like this, there has been enough of that stuff lately.  The victory should not be an automatic for the tall white guys in cheap suits.

And above all that, what really chapped my ass was the useless News Gazette coverage of the de facto anointment of Winkel as the new Clerk before we even have not one, but TWO elections is pretty shameful.

Tear it up kids, we are watching.