* This may not be the response that Democratic US Senate candidate David Hoffman was expecting when his campaign slammed Alexi Giannoulias earlier today for accepting SEIU’s endorsement. The Hoffman campaign’s prediction was that the Republicans “are going to have a good morning with this endorsement.”
From the IL GOP website…
The Illinois Republican Party called on Illinois Senate candidate David Hoffman to renounce his endorsement by Illinois State Senator Jeff Schoenberg – a leading recipient of SEIU campaign contributions and the man who introduced Hoffman at his campaign kick-off event. […]
According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Schoenberg accepted $13,400 in campaign contributions from SEIU. In addition, state records show Schoenberg also contributed $12,500 to Rod Blagojevich’s campaign.
“David Hoffman can’t have it both ways when it comes to Rod Blagojevich and SEIU,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said. “When you do business with Illinois Democrats, you do business with Rod Blagojevich and the SEIU. If David Hoffman is serious about changing Illinois, he should call on Jeff Schoenberg to return all SEIU campaign contributions or else renounce his endorsement.”
Welcome to the game, Mr. Hoffman. Enjoy.
…Adding… From the Giannoulias campaign…
The working men and women of SEIU have fought for progressive policies, independent leaders and middle class families and Alexi Giannoulias is proud to stand with them and their fight to change Washington. It is not lost on us or progressives to see Hoffman, a guy who worked for ultra conservative judges Rehnquist and Jacobs, echo a Republican smear campaign against working families.
…Adding More… From the Hoffman campaign…
It’s odd that the Giannoulias campaign would highlight Hoffman’s long resume, where he has worked in the highest levels of all three branches of national government. We welcome a comparison of achievements and experience levels between these two candidates.
We also welcome a closer comparison of business associates between the two. That’s comparing the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court with some of the shady characters who have received loans from the Broadway Bank.
This is all the Giannoulias campaign has to offer against David’s candidacy. It’s not much. We look forward to February 2.
* Meanwhile, since SEIU and ACORN have been tied together by some, here’s a recent article by CBS2 that has been completely ignored…
Denise Dixon was once president of ACORN Illinois, and Madeline Talbott was a top organizer. But two years ago, in a move that now looks prophetic, they and other Chicago activists quit ACORN.
“We just felt things were not right at the top. There were different people in charge then,” Talbott said.
“After I left and others left, we had heard that steps were being taken to get rid of the bad apples in the barrel and to straighten it out,” she added. “I still believe that’s true. But it’s very clear they didn’t get all the bad apples yet.”
Talbott and Dixon complained that ACORN’s then-national leader, Wade Rathke, put his brother in charge of finances, was concealing key money moves and was, in short, a scandal waiting to explode.
Still, they’re stunned by video from a recent conservative group’s sting.
Also, this claim by GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Proft that IHDA gave ACORN Housing - which does have a Chicago office - $100,000 appears to be false. The money was approved, but Gov. Blagojevich stopped the entire program. However, the group appears to have gotten a much smaller grant several weeks ago for an anti-foreclosure program. Working on it now.
LIVE session coverage...
- Brennan - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 2:20 pm:
The GOP just took the bait.
AKPD is very good.
- George - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 2:25 pm:
What’s ACORN?
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 2:30 pm:
Here’s my question for both of the U.S. Senate candidates trying to make their campaigns about corruption: what are you going to do to reduce corruption from the U.S. Senate?
What do Kirk and Hoffman see as the most egregious corruption in the federal government? Are they going to tackle corruption in the Military-Industrial Complex? Or are they going to sick in the IRS on people claiming an extra $250 per year through the EITC?
Why does it seem like Hoffman see Democratic corruption everywhere, but he doesn’t seem to ever see any Republican corruption?
Is Hoffman following in the footsteps of Jay Footlik?
While I’m incensed at corruption in Cook County in various units of local government, the federal government ain’t the same as Cook County.
If David Hoffman wants to reduce corruption in Cook County, I will gladly support him over Anita Alvarez.
But I fail to get excited electing a Democrat who spends his energy bashing unions. The United States would be better off with a larger percentage of the private sector workforce represented by unions.
I haven’t seen evidence Hoffman gets this.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 2:32 pm:
Denise Dixon was once president of ACORN Illinois, and Madeline Talbott was a top organizer. But two years ago, in a move that now looks prophetic, they and other Chicago activists quit ACORN.
According to what I have been exploring, ACORN has been having challenges for a few years, but had been making attempts to clean things up, so this isn’t a surprise to me. What I guess has been surprising has been the level of support the group had been getting even after these last few years of scandals. Even after the Rathke scandal, ACORN set their sights even higher when they should have continued cleaning house. ACORN became a public issue last year but their house wasn’t in order. It didn’t take much to burn it down.
You know how it goes. Hoffman knows too - now. A group can play politics until it becomes too much of a target and too big of a player. Then they have to entrench themselves with defensive moves to handle any blowback when their skeletons come dancing out of the closets. ACORN leadership thought they didn’t have to play defense with the Democrats and Obama in power to defend them?
They had a great forty year run, but like most organizations, they got sloppy. I believe if they had been able to make reforms within the organization, they could have weathered these latest videos. But with all the rest of the scandals, they just couldn’t keep up. It took a lot to lose their sugar daddies in Congress, and they lost them remarkably fast. They got too toxic.
I don’t know how the SEIU situation will play out. What we are seeing from Hoffman and the GOP could be just their campaign ambling along with the flow after ACORN. If SEIU implodes, I would be surprised at this point. It will have to come soon while the Democrats are throwing folks under their busses. My gut says SEIU is not good - but not yet at the meltdown point ACORN reached after years of neglect and political power plays.
A remarkable September! And wasn’t that a remarkable August! 2009 is definately NOT 2008!
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 2:35 pm:
BTW, here’s another set of follow-up questions for Hoffman and Kirk.
Is there any country that has had more of its operatives convicted of spying on the United States than Israel?
The Israel lobby dumps tons of money into U.S. politics.
Does your commitment to rooting out corruption extent to questionable activities by the Israel lobby?
Or are you willing to turn a blind eye to certain corruption, especially corruption by powerful interest groups?
But maybe the Israel lobby is a special case. What anti-corruption measures are you going to pursue against the health insurance industry or the financial sector? Or don’t those sectors engage in corruption?
- Easy - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 2:43 pm:
Yeah, AKPD is brilliant. They directed their candidate to get hammered from both the right and the left. Sounds eerily similar to the healthcare debate going on now as well. I think Hoffman needs to familiarize himself very quickly with the voting demographics in primary elections.
- Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 2:51 pm:
===I think Hoffman needs to familiarize himself very quickly with the voting demographics in primary elections.===
Candidates usually acquire that when they run for offices far smaller than US Senate. It’s called experience-something this chivalrous knight doesn’t have.
- shore - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 3:18 pm:
Boeing is kirk’s golden parachute in waiting you think he’s going after them? You know how much they would pay for his contacts all over DOD, State, the Hill, foreign governments overseas? He’s not going after the military industrial complex.
I don’t know if it made the clips, but Kirk went after obama for a 400,000 dollar donation to a libyan charity buried in some state approps bill. That’s the kind of clip he has made his career on and I’m sure we’ll see lots of little paper cuts like that against his opponents in the general and then if and when he reaches the north side of the capitol.
For what it’s worth Beth Coulson, a gop candidate for congress also lists on her website an endorsement from SEIU, I wonder if her opponents will nail her on that with ties to ACORN the aforementioned seiu/blago.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 3:25 pm:
===He’s not going after the military industrial complex. ===
Actually, he did. By voting for that ACORN defunding bill he apparently voted to defund most of the defense industry. lol
Which brings up another point, but that’s too national.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 3:45 pm:
–Boeing is kirk’s golden parachute in waiting you think he’s going after them? You know how much they would pay for his contacts all over DOD, State, the Hill, foreign governments overseas? He’s not going after the military industrial complex. –
Shore, there are times when I can’t tell if you’re viruently Pro- or Anti-Kirk.
This is one of those times.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 3:54 pm:
1. AKPD is not as formidable without Axelrod and doesn’t speak for the White House
2. The Hoffman campaign is coming off as arrogant
- Johnnyc - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 4:20 pm:
Sorry but John Kupper, Larry Grisilano and John Del Cecato are some of the best in the country. Go to their site and check some of their commercials, pretty impressive.
I thought Hoffman’s statement offered a real comparison b/t him and Alexi. Sorry, but campaigns require self aggrandizement.
- Pete Giangreco - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 4:56 pm:
It’s interesting that the Hoffman campaign would rather repeat GOP talking pints than go after Mark Kirk for voting against allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices or hit Kirk for skipping this week’s vote on extending unemployment benefits. That’s what Alexi did today.
Not sure if he learned his politics at the knee of conservative icon Rehnquist or ultra conservative Judge Jacobs, but if Hoffman thinks those were such great mentors why did he scrub them from his resume? They appeared on his IG bio but are mysteriously absent from his campaign bio.
Having already explored a race for AG and spending today sounding like a GOP candidate for senate, maybe Hoffman is planning to run as a Republican for mayor.
- forgetit - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 5:07 pm:
GOP is scared to death of a David Hoffman candidacy. They’re licking their chops over Alexi. Hoffman topping the ballot is their worst nightmare. Otherwise, wouldn’t they be attacking the frontrunner?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 5:10 pm:
I guess for those going negative on Hoffman, “conservative icon Rehnquist” is some kind of ridiculous cuss-word, kind of like McGovern Democrat (guy flew dozens of combat missions in WWII).
Meanigless and stupid. Elevate your game.
It remdinds me of when McGovern got made over the use of the term
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 5:11 pm:
wordslinger, keep in mind that Hoffman is trying to raise money from North Shore liberals. Rehnquist is not exactly a popular historical figure in that crowd.
- Progressive Dem - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 5:57 pm:
I think Forgitit has nailed it - the GOP is terrified of seeing David Hoffman’s name at the top of the ballot instead of Alexi Giannoulias. With Alexi’s background, bank ties and lack of substance, his nomination would be the surest way to send Senator Kirk to Washington. Thankfully AKPD and the Washington Dems (behind the scenes!?!?) recognize this as well and have gone to work with a solid candidate who would stack up much better in any substantive debate wtih Kirk. Go Hoffman Go!!!!!
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 6:07 pm:
So let’s see if I understand
“Gags” Brady is speakingfor Commando Crusts Kirk these days? Where is Crusts touring delis?
I am sure there must be an explanation.
- Responsa - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 6:31 pm:
When Hoffman appeared recently on Chicago Tonight he discussed in detail his clerkship with Rehnquist. He made it clear that being chosen to clerk for ANY Supreme Court justice was a very special honor and a privilege. He not so subtly pointed out that while he, Hoffman, is a lifelong Democrat, clerkship at the high court is about the law–not politics. I think voters will have no concern if he makes this very reasonable and appropriate explanation, and I also think that Alexi will be wise to steer clear of this issue. I mean, what does Alexi have in his own resume that is even remotely as impressive?
- wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 6:40 pm:
Politics is politics, but mindless politics is always stupid.
Of course it was an achievement to clerk for Rehnquist or any justice. Anyone who would try to make it a negative clearly doesn’t understand what it means.
Responsa, LOL — you’re right, Alexi might not want to initiate the dissecting of resumes.
- JonShibleyFan - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 6:57 pm:
“Politics is politics, but mindless politics is always stupid.”
You mean like attacking the most powerful union in your state to score…well no real political points?
- Brennan - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 7:39 pm:
My read here is that this actually helps Alexi. I really don’t think AKPD is in this game for anything other than the money. How could they sit out a 30 million dollar United States Senate race in their own back yard? Hoffman and Jackson can’t win without something big taking down Alexi.
Hoffman attacks Alexi using what is otherwise a GOP Federal talking point that lacks real substance in Illinois without some further damaging information that has yet to surface. Alexi easily deflects because the rank and file SEIU members are not going to suddenly turn on their leadership regardless of the deals they made with Blagojevich. The GOP attacks Alexi when that is exactly who they should prefer to run against. A mute Hoffman fighting his own campaign to raise money is better for the GOP. The GOP should be trying to wage a battle against Blago endorsing Democrats.
With Hoffman firing this shot it likely increases the spending on this race. It’s an issue that should really relate with voters without lots of time to explain the issue, but what it really does is position Hoffman - actually consider him Candidate X with no connections to Blagojevich - that will keep Democrats voting in the Democratic Primary.
I think Alexi can come out of the Dem Prim on his own. And the more his opponents attack his strengths the more opportunities he is granted to talk them up.
- Patrick McDonough - Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 11:46 pm:
Now that Hoffman left the Chicago Office of the Inspector General, today an employee was put on Administrative leave for a alleged residency violation. Sol (the jew) C……. Relax not an anti-Semitic statement. Looks like the OIG that was making progress on real matters of concern under Hoffman is back under the control of Daley. More witch hunts for low lying fruit. I give Hoffman credit, he built an independent department with credibility. He did something with an underfunded department.