Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Three Rauner thoughts

1. We listened to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s State of the State address this afternoon. We turned the radio on just a couple of minutes past noon and waited for him to say something about the lack of a state budget. And waited, thinking we must have missed it.

But no: in a prepared text of 4,229 words, Rauner’s first direct reference to the lack of a budget appeared with only 236 words to go: “If each of us commits to serious negotiation based on mutual respect for our co-equal branches of government, there’s not a doubt in my mind we can come together to pass a balanced budget alongside reforms.”

2. I have never heard a politician drop so many -g s from -ing s, on gerunds and participles both: cost of livin’ , leavin’ our state . The -g sound seems to show up only when its absence would make for awkward repetition of -in and in- : fosterin’  fostering innovation. Listen to Rauner speaking — not speakin’ — in 2013: his habit of dropping -g s seems to be very recently acquired.

3. The Illinois Budget Clock.

[Language Log explains that there is no g in the dropped -g. But ordinary mortals speak of what’s involved as a g . And, yes, Barack Obama, too, drops -g s. I find faux folksiness tiresome, whoever’s doing the dropping.]

comments: 3

Daughter Number Three said...

The dropped "g" convention in political speak drives me wild. Our former governor, Tim Pawlenty, was famous for his selective use of it.

Michael Leddy said...

Oh boy: I did a search for pawlenty dropped g , and he’s everywhere.

I’d say that it drives me crazy rather than wild, but I think we mean the same thing. :)

Slywy said...

There's an English accent that drops the "g" ("I don't know anythin'"), but it doesn't come across as folksy.