In the 1980s, when a recent college graduate named Rahm Emanuel was fundraising on a bicycle through the north suburban neighborhoods where he grew up and he convinced a wealthy Democrat to contribute $500 to a political campaign after the donor offered only 50 bucks, the signs of political success were hiding in plain sight.
And I can say, 40-plus years later, without a modicum of doubt or hesitation, that he became the most successful and effective political operative in the country before heading home to win a race for mayor of Chicago in 2011, serving two terms, and returning to the national scene in 2021 as President Joe Biden’s hand-picked ambassador to Japan.
Now, in the opinion of political guru David Axelrod and many others, me included, Emanuel is the best choice to lead Democrats out of the political wilderness as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
More on that in a moment, after a bit more history.
In 1989, Emanuel turned from nonprofit work to politics, heading up fundraising for Richard M. Daley’s first successful run for mayor.
Next, with bragging rights after a big local win, he moved from Daley’s City Hall to national politics, where his fundraising prowess helped Bill Clinton capture the White House in 1992, and his “take no prisoners” approach to legislative battles as a top Clinton aide contributed to passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a ban on assault weapons and welfare reform, measures that contributed to Clinton’s reelection in ’96.
In 2002, after taking a break from politics to refill his personal piggy bank in the world of high finance — a connection-friendly milieu where he also excelled — Emanuel won a congressional seat on Chicago’s North Side, a perch that led to his successful stewardship of the Democrats’ effort to retake control of the House in 2006.
His next stop began, as always, with fundraising, this time for Illinois presidential hopeful Barack Obama, which led to a top job in the Obama White House, where his most important of several legislative victories was passage of a massive health care reform bill that inherited the sobriquet “Obamacare.”
After that, it was back to City Hall in Chicago, this time as mayor from 2011 to 2019, where his controversial tenure was marred by an unpopular decision to close 50 public schools with low enrollment and his poor handling of the explosive recording of a police shooting.
He also racked up a slew of policy wins, as usual, but they were on small-bore local issues. Now he is finishing his ambassadorship in Japan, where he has worked tirelessly to strengthen our East Asian alliances in the face of Chinese aggression, and will soon become a free agent. Emanuel — aka “Rahmbo”— will never win a popularity or congeniality contest. His aggressive, high-intensity muscling, jawboning, threatening and cajoling — with large doses of profanity thrown in — offend many, and his penchant for political compromises in which expediency and victory often trump ideology, has alienated many Democratic progressives who object to his abrasive tactics and moderate goals.
But here we are, in late 2024, after Republican Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race and imminent return to the White House, the GOP maintaining control of the House and retaking the Senate, and Democrats arguing over what happened, who’s to blame and what’s next.
He is not prone to hand-wringing or finger-pointing — he is about maintaining a laser-sharp focus on the best game plan for the next battles: regaining Democratic control of Congress in 2026 and electing a Democratic president in 2028.
That will take a preternatural understanding of how Democrats, even without political power in Washington, can compete effectively in a new campaign universe ruled not just by money but also by internet messaging — not legacy media — venues where Republicans rocked this year.
Emanuel is said to be interested in the DNC job when he returns from Japan. Party leaders who want to reverse their political fortunes should dust off his resume — they’ll find more impressive fundraising numbers, long-shot legislative wins and unexpected political victories in the last three decades than anyone else on the national political scene — and shake off their worries about being offended or uncomfortable. Then they should ask him to work his magic one more time.
Watching him try to break Trump’s political spell would be a healthy exercise in democracy, as well as political theater even Harry Potter would appreciate and enjoy along with the rest of us, regardless of the outcome.
Andy Shaw is a retired Chicago journalist and good government watchdog. His email is andyshawchicago@gmail.com.
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