One Springfield alderman has taken great offense at being accused by a fellow alderman of “pontificating” during city council debate. Indeed, the accusation doesn’t seem quite right. To pontificate is to speak in a pompous way, and surely no alderman would do that. The accuser probably meant the alderman was “posturing,” saying things merely for effect, which sometimes happens during a political campaign. Posturing falls short of demagoguery, which is insincerity intended to rile up people for political gain. The best recent example is Gov. Bruce Rauner’s recent proposal for “right-to-work zones,” which don’t stand a chance of legislative approval but may serve as a distraction from the state’s serious budget problems that Rauner has yet to address. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and publisher
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2015.
