* Remember that press release from earlier today from the Illinois Republican Party?…
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is holding a press conference at Granite Innovation today for his Senate campaign. While the stated purpose of the event is to promote Giannoulias’ “new agenda to help Illinois families balance increased challenges between working to make ends meet and raising children,” perhaps the State Treasurer could ask his hosts to pay the $26,446 they owe the State of Illinois in back taxes.
Turns out, the business in question didn’t have a back tax bill. Oops. From a press release…
STATEMENT BY GIANNOULIAS CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN MATT MCGRATH ON KIRK/ILLINOIS GOP’S MALICIOUS SMEAR OF SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
“Mark Kirk and his Republican allies hit a new low today, spreading an irresponsible, malicious lie in order to smear an Illinois small business owner in the furtherance of a political agenda, and the only honorable thing for Congressman Kirk to do is to repudiate his party chairman, Pat Brady, and apologize to Ms. Dandamudi immediately.
“Today’s event, hosted by Ms. Dandamudi, was intended to foster a discussion of the issues facing women and families, and was successful - notwithstanding the Illinois Republican Party’s false claims apparently intended to drown out the discussion of important issues. By participating in the process, telling her story, and showcasing her successful small business, Ms. Dandamudi, who is also a single mother, deserves better than to be maliciously and falsely smeared, particularly on behalf of a politician like Mark Kirk, who seeks to represent her in the U.S. Senate. This kind of drive-by, cheap shot, substance-free attack is exactly what is wrong with our political process, but exactly what a Washington insider like Mark Kirk traffics in. Alexi is proud to be running for Senate to be a voice for people like Ms. Dandamudi and the countless others like her who are looking for leadership and solutions to the problems they face everyday, not more of the same political games.”
LIVE session coverage...
- 47th Ward - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 6:06 pm:
Shoot, aim, ready.
- tikkunolam - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 6:23 pm:
Where’d the $26,446 number come from, then? Weird that there’s no documentation from either side.
- Park - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 6:37 pm:
Nice try Alexi representative. Alexi’s toast.
Now that that’s out of the way…I’m looking forward to the great unifier on this blog… reading today, you can just see the tension and bickering (including me, but Alexi’s still toast).Who’s the unifier? Blago. Love the comments from those really in the know, the people trying to do good who were screwed by Blago, both R and D. Right now we’re like the crowd in a movie theater waiting for the damn preview’s to end and the show to start. Movie starts June 3d.
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 6:48 pm:
CommandoKirk should go back to attacking the Bank ….maybe thay could plan a joint campaign romp NoTaxBill? Or do they prefer to confine romps to Rutherford?
- Elliott Ness - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 6:52 pm:
Park: Your attempt to change the subject is laughable. Kirk’s campaign is so intent on running a negative campaign that they don’t bother to do and research. Kirk does not have a lock on the Senate seat. But that was a pitiful attempt to swith this thread to Blago. I’m sure Kirk’s campaign appreciates your efforts.
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 7:11 pm:
If Kirk believed the people of Illinois were with him on the issues, he’d campaign on the issues.
But Kirk knows that escalating tensions with–and hopefully bombing–Iran is not the top priority of Illinois voters.
- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 8:48 pm:
Park :
you must be on the silly sauce if you think GOPers are looking forward to Blagoof’s trial.
Day after day of Cellini and KJ being dragged through the news ….wow. Even NoTaxBill and the CommandoKirk in full flight suit will be stung uo r
- Heartless Libertarian - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 9:42 pm:
Elliott… both you and the Giannoulias campaign falsly included Kirk in having something to do with the press release. It was the state party who horribly messed up, not the Kirk campaign. Give credit where credit is due, as well as blame.
- wordslinger - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 11:05 pm:
The political gunslingers need to double check their sites are they start hitting civilians. Real sloppy work here, apparently.
- just sayin' - Thursday, May 6, 10 @ 11:35 pm:
dingbats
- grand old partisan - Friday, May 7, 10 @ 8:11 am:
The business owners, and even Alexi, have every right to be upset and turn this around on Kirk - no question. But they forfeited the high ground on this with their gross mischaracterization of the GOP’s motives. They didn’t spread a lie “in order to smear an Illinois small business owner,” they made a mistake while trying to attack Alexi.
- Park - Friday, May 7, 10 @ 8:23 am:
Sorry Elliot, its only May and the outcome is clear. The seat’s going R. Youve got a moderate R with lots of experience, military background, likeable, against an inexperienced, ethically troubled guy whose family just cost the taxpayers about $360 Million. He’s got about as much chance as whoever’s running against Jesse White.
I understand the D’s grasping for whatever they can find. But this is like their attempt to paint Brady as a devil because he sponsored a bill to kill dogs as a group, while “everyone knows you should kill them individually”. Just nothing there.
Still say all the grumpiness on the blog will go away on June 3d.
Have fun. Go catch some bad guys.
- the Patriot - Friday, May 7, 10 @ 8:34 am:
OK, everybody in the ILGOP, Brady campaign, and Kirk Campaign is fired. It ain’t rocket sciece fellas. The democrats took this ship into the iceberg and are swinging around to hit it again just for good measure. Just sit down, shut up, and stay out of the way. The only thing that can keep the democrats froma complete collapse is the republicans keep getting in the way to slow them down. Quinn and Gianoulias are idiots and incompetent. Stop reminding everyone that you may not be much better.
- wordslinger - Friday, May 7, 10 @ 8:48 am:
–Youve got a moderate R with lots of experience, military background, likeable, against an inexperienced, ethically troubled guy whose family just cost the taxpayers about $360 Million.–
Technically, the taxpayers aren’t on the hook for Broadway. The FDIC, funded through insurance premiums on banks, will pay what can’t be recovered from the assets sale.
That’s no defense of the reckless commercial real estate lending at Broadway or the lack of real oversight by the FDIC. And as someone who’s bounced a few checks in my day (I blame my wife), I know banks stick it to their customers to recover costs any way they can. And there’s no question FDIC reserves are dangerously low.
Still, since the New Deal, no depositor in an FDIC insured bank has lost a dime. If we had retained other elements of the banking reforms of that era, such as the separation of commercial and investment banking, we wouldn’t be in the mess that started when Lehman went down in 2008.