* On Saturday, Congressman Aaron Schock’s chief of staff posted a diatribe against Bruce Rauner on his boss’ Facebook page…
Dear Schock Supporters,
By now most of you have heard or seen a negative ad on radio or television attacking Aaron Schock by falsely accusing him of voting to raise taxes and spending.
This blatantly false ad portrays the opposite of Congressman Schock’s strong record, which is founded on the principles of economic growth and deficit reduction.
The ad is from a previously unheard of out-of-stat…e organization (Jobs & Progress Fund) that does not disclose who is funding it.
This is all about the possibility of Aaron running for Governor in Illinois next year and that any opponent fears facing him more than any other candidate in an election–in this case, the Republican primary for Governor in March of next year.
One candidate is Bruce Rauner from Chicago. He is a billionaire financier. He has never been elected to any office. In recent years as he began to position himself to run for Governor as a Republican. Rauner has donated to many Republican candidates. However, Rauner has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats, including hundreds of thousands of dollars to Rich Daley and Rahm Emanuel in their races for mayor of Chicago. Rauner is frequently commented on in media stories as an “advisor” to Rahm Emanuel who has “unchecked access” to the mayor’s office.
One group that Rauner helped to create and lead gave a single $100,000 contribution to Democrat State Representative Jehan Gordon in 2010. Rauner and his wife have made major donations to: the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Emily’s List, Senator Dick Durbin, Barack Obama for U.S. Senate, John Kerry for President, Tammy Duckworth for Congress and one of the harshest left-wing members of Congress—Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, among others.
Notice that the post doesn’t come out and say that Rauner is behind the ads, but it sure seems clear that Schock believes that to be the case.
Rauner is rumored to have budgeted $50 million for the 2014 race. He could drown his opponents in cash, but that’s been tried before and it didn’t work. Should be a lot of fun.
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- wordslinger - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:31 am:
I thought it was Walsh’s sugar-daddy with FreedomWorks.
The fact that it is Rauner makes it funnier.
GOP operatives, hop on that Blair Hull gravy train now!
- Chicago Cynic - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:37 am:
I was worried about Rauner but I’ve been hearing lately that he’s not doing the hard work necessary as an individual to train himself on the skills necessary to win the nomination. Money alone will not get it done.
- Grindstone - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:38 am:
Rauner is obviously threatened by Schock. I wonder if this bodes well for campaign Schock as none of the other potential primary candidates have attack ads against them. Schock is showing more strength by the day. He’s the only candidate who sets himself apart from “the pack”
- Jaycee - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:43 am:
Aaron is the only one on this GOP lineup who can energize young voters and gather support from all sides. A force to be reckoned with. I think the ad actually might backfire on whoever is behind and GAIN support for this young up and comer.
- OneMan - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:48 am:
Bruce Rauner, as much I would just like to suggest a guy in the Aurora area for your campaign…. :-)
I would instead suggest the following, instead of spending time and money going after people at this point you spend 2 hours a day attending various Republican functions around the state. Go to committeeman meetings, every fundraiser you can buy a ticket to and just talk to people. Meet a car mechanic in Peoria, a small business owner in St. Charles, a pharmacist in Chatham.
- Can't buy a base - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:50 am:
If history has taught us anything it is that you can’t buy the base. Every candidate in Illinois who has been self-funded has been disastrous and badly defeated. Gidwitz. Oberweis. Andrzejewski. McKenna. And on and on. Schock has been building a base for a decade.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:54 am:
“Can’t buy a base” and “Jaycee” have the same IP address - out of Peoria, no less. That would be a violation of our sock puppetry rule, so the commenter from that address is now banned.
- walkinfool - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:55 am:
“he’s not doing the hard work necessary…to train himself”
Not working on his abs?
That’s Schock’s secret weapon.
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:56 am:
It won’t be fun for folks in unions if Rauner runs. I read his op-ed article in the Chicago Sun Times a few weeks ago, and he said it’s possible to implement right-to-work laws in a piecemeal fashion in Illinois, even without a state right-to-work law.
- pot calling kettle - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:57 am:
I can’t help but laugh–Shock is getting a taste of his own medicine. In the last election cycle he contributed $10’s of thousands of dollars to numerous campaigns that made “blatantly false” accusations about candidates. Now he’s the recipient and it’s a different story–hum.
- Norseman - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 11:58 am:
I was going to write “and so it begins,” but the GOP self- cannibalization has really never stopped. This will make the election of the Governor a Dem primary affair.
- OneMan - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:02 pm:
“.. This young up and comer”
You know, a phrase like that is never used by real humans, just marketing folks and PR pros IMHO.
Rich, did you check Grindstone’s IP :-)
- Crime Fighter - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:03 pm:
Again Quinn’s timing was bad when he turned into a republican in 2011.
- ChicagoR - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:08 pm:
“Aaron is the only one on this GOP lineup who can energize young voters ”
Unless Aaron moderates on social issues such as gay marriage, he’s never going to energize young voters outside the Young Republicans.
- shore - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:09 pm:
watch the tape of rauner’s wttw stuff from the education debate which is online and you’ll see how he makes andy mckenna look like a dynamic charismatic leader-which is really hard to do. $50 million is a lot of $$ but if you can’t communicate in real time you’re not going far.
It’s nice to know one member of team schock is not on the dc party circuit.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:12 pm:
To the deleted “Fight for…” You’re gonna seriously regret posting that stupid link, my friend.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:14 pm:
===Rich, did you check Grindstone’s IP :-) ===
Thanks. Same IP address as the other two.
Aaron, stop it. Now. Rod used to try to do the same thing in comments. This does not reflect well on you, dude.
- Dan Johnson - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:15 pm:
Fifty million dollars? Wow. Downstate TV stations and Republican consultants must be salivating.
Is the rumor fifty million just for the primary or the whole thing? It can’t be just for the primary….but then again, no one should bet against the self-delusion of the one percenters. They really believe they ought to rule.
- Formerly Known As... - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:23 pm:
I seem to recall a poll from December showing Schock behind Dillard and Rutherford. Schock was also the only one losing to Quinn.
Surprising that Schock’s campaign tactics are suddenly in line with Mr. Clean’s. Who knew?
Interesting to consider the possibilities if this turns out not to be Rauner for some reason.
Could even raise Rauner’s status if he comes out with a strong denial and Schock has no concrete proof to push back. Rauner then shifts the narrative and claims Schock is hurling false allegations because he is a weaker candidate afraid of competition from Rauner (accurate or not).
Then again, perhaps Rauner is simply beginning to soften up his targets one by one. No better time to start than the present time.
How long until the Athens, Miami, P90X commercials?
And where is CircularFiringSquad when you need him-her?
- Crime Fighter - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:24 pm:
Rich, I think the Schock operatives did the same thing in letters to the editors in the newspapers during one of the times Schock was being dinged for ethics violations.
Maybe he should go back to being a Notary Public for investment firms.
- Crime Fighter - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:26 pm:
Maybe if tax services to pay the state’s debts, Rauner will leave Illinois because its unaffordable for him to stay.
- shore - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:31 pm:
Blog commenters beat up quinn’s chances for 2 years, then destroyed that kid he brought in from wisconsin to run his campaign and if memory serves he won two races and is now the governor of some state. I don’t get the nervous breakdown by team schock.
- Kwark - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:32 pm:
Schock will find a treasure trove of material in Rauner’s past. The contributions to odious Dems make for an easy opening. Then you have his country club memberships and associations. The fact that he was on Arne Duncan’s high school clout list. Some of the companies that GTCR funded and their business practices. That Dartmouth donors like Rauner used their clout to get funded by Dartmouth’s endowment (self-dealing). And if Schock doesn’t do it, Dems will get to have a field day. And as Shore mentions, Rauner’s vein-popping, drooling spitfire performance on WTTW doesn’t bode well for how he’ll play in the media.
- The Captain - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:42 pm:
I still think DC nutjobs and not Rauner are funding these ads so kudos to the Schock people for getting some free attention out of this lemonade.
- WizzardOfOzzie - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:46 pm:
If Rauner is behind this I’m really impressed. It shows a level of sophistication that not many candidates possess. He may be dismissed but it’s not like this crop of GOP candidates are impressive.
- Commonsense in Illinois - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:46 pm:
I find it a bit disconcerting that Mr. Schock nor his COS dispute the content of the ad other than to say its false. Wouldn’t it be a better use of time to say why the Congressman supported the bill instead of speculating who paid and what office that person might be seeking? It has not been shown anywhere I know of that this Rauner is behind it. Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:56 pm:
===Wouldn’t it be a better use of time to say why the Congressman supported the bill===
He’s already done that.
- Commonsense in Illinois - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:58 pm:
Thanks, Rich. Been out of state and obviously missed it. Nonetheless I’ll stand by the remainder.
- Johnny Q. Suburban - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 12:59 pm:
The whole ordeal seems so weird. Schock can’t actually feel threatened by Rauner, can he? Also, isn’t he implicitly admitting that he’s running for gov? Why do it like this?
- IrishPirate - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 1:03 pm:
First, I’m a congenital Democrat with a bad moon rising, but if Schock is going to go ballistic and start playing sockpuppet games over these Rauner ads he needs to stay in Congress.
Right now he’s a relatively unknown downstate Congressman, with a penchant for flaunting his abs and fashion choices.
If he runs for Governor he’s playing in a whole different ballgame, with a whole lot more scrutiny. The folks who are going to go after him hardest aren’t generally members of the Democratic Party.
Personally I hope he runs for the pure theatrical spectacle of it and because I suspect he’s too thin skinned to win a race for Governor. Is he going to go into attack mode over every criticism?
That might work for his alternative universe doppleganger Chris Christie, but it ain’t gonna play in the Land of Lincoln.
- Ahoy! - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 1:15 pm:
I’m not sure that going after popular elected officials is a good idea for someone who is looking at running for governor, especially the president… who is from Illinois. While this might make a good piece for a primary, you still have to win in November to be governor. Congressman Schock (and anyone else running in the primary) needs to remember the lessons learned from the Romney presidential campaign, what you say in a primary can come back to bite you in a very big way. The post was poorly written and not thought out very well (probably because they were angry). Be careful in the future.
Besides, don’t we want a governor who can reach across the aisle and work with the other side?
- Fan of the Game - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 1:23 pm:
I believe that Congressman Schock DID vote for tax rate increases with the Fiscal Cliff bill. This angered and confused me because I had always seen the Congressman as having a more conservative bent.
That being said, I don’t see how ads stating that he cast such a vote are “negative” or false.”
- 47th Ward - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 1:28 pm:
I still don’t believe Schock will be a candidate for governor. Youth seems to be his primary selling point, but that didn’t work out too well when Bradley Tusk was governor.
- lost in translation - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 1:31 pm:
Donations to Democrats, remember this?
Schock for Congress
P.O. Box 10555
Peoria, IL 61612 $5,000.00
2/8/2011 Transfer In
Friends for Susana Mendoza
http://www.elections.il.gov/CampaignDisclosure/ContributionsSearchByAllContributions.aspx?ddlContributionType=All+Types&ddlLastOnlyNameSearchType=Starts+with&txtLastOnlyName=schock&ddlFirstNameSearchType=Starts+with&txtFirstName=&ddlAddressSearchType=Starts+with&txtAddress=&ddlCitySearchType=Starts+with&txtCity=&ddlState=&txtZip=&txtZipThru=&ddlOccupationSearchType=Starts+with&txtOccupation=&ddlEmployerSearchType=Starts+with&txtEmployer=&txtAmount=&txtAmountThru=&txtRcvDate=&txtRcvDateThru=&ddlOrderBy=Last+or+Only+Name+-+A+to+Z&ddlVendorLastOnlyName=Starts+with&txtVendorLastOnlyName=&ddlVendorFirstName=Starts+with&txtVendorFirstName=&ddlVendorAddress=Starts+with&txtVendorAddress=&ddlVendorCity=Starts+with&txtVendorCity=&ddlVendorState=&txtVendorZip=&txtVendorZipThru=&ddlPurpose=Starts+with&txtPurpose=&pageindex=2
- Endangered Moderate Species - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 1:43 pm:
Schock made it from School Board to Congress with a successful Jefferson Smith strategy. I have admired his political determination and success. Unfortunately, the semi-national stage of Congress has not been kind to his young idealistic image.
Blago played the same political card when he left Washington for Springfield, but his warts didn’t show until after he arrived in Springfield.
Dillard or Rutherford deserve the GOP nod for Governor. They are both in the best position to rise above the craziness that is the ILGOP.
- anon sequitor - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 1:56 pm:
I guess the teabaggers aren’t buying the Schock defense that he voted to “reinstate” the Bush tax cuts for people making less than $400K/$450K, not to raise taxes on the people above.
- Jorge - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 2:08 pm:
I just hope whoever is running the ILGOP will attempt to limit the numbers of candidates in the primary so a better consensus candidate can be fielded in the general.
- SangamoGOP - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 2:12 pm:
At two different GOP events this weekend, there was discussion of the ‘anti-Aaron’ ad as well as the lawsuit filed by the Congressman. In both conversations, the comment was made at how ‘thin skinned’ the lawsuit made Schock look and if he can’t handle this little ad what is he going to do when the going gets real tough?
- John Galt - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 2:30 pm:
Agreed RE: the thin skinned thing. I don’t see Schock getting much traction. Rauner might dump a ton of cash into the race but might end up pulling a McKenna.
In my book, this is between Dillard and Rutherford.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 2:47 pm:
This is like a crash of clown cars — just can’t take your eyes away or stop laughing.
Well-intentioned-but-confused-partisan Secret-agent bloggers, thank you. You’ve brought warm and merry mirth to a cold Monday.
I imagine Bill Brady, Dan Rutherford and Kirk Dillard are whistling Zip-ba-de-do-dah out their derrieres today.
I don’t expect much from Rauner — in these strange times of financial banditry, nobody-hedgies with delusions of grandeur are a dime a dozen.
But I thought Schock was a lot smarter. Dishing some good oppo background dirt in the right places and a couple of dismissive pithy remarks would have been a lot more effective than this almost-panicked reaction.
Got to be able to take a punch, dude.
- Chicago Cynic - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 2:56 pm:
I love this thread. All kinds of new commenters with fancy new names - all trolling for Aaron Shock. And yeah, to the trollers, Shock is going to have trouble running for governor because he IS a conservative and Illinois likes moderate Republicans in the Dillard/Rutherford mold.
I know countless Dems who would have voted for Dillard last time against Quinn but couldn’t vote for the right-wing puppy killer Brady. Shock is in that camp.
Look, abs and good looks alone do not a political energizer make. If he was in Indiana, he’d have been governor. But he’s not - sorry Aaron.
- Chicago Dem - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 3:11 pm:
Very clever of Schock to imply Rauner’s support of very liberal Democrats like Jan Schakowsky by saying “Rauner and his wife” have contributed…..”
Rauner’s wife is an fairly well known early childhood activist who is definitely more liberal than her husband. I doubt very much she checks with her husband before she gets behind someone.
A little sexism, Mr. Schock?
- B2Chicago - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 4:02 pm:
Aaron needs to be far more honest before he thinks about running for governor of this state.
Disingenuously stating that he had hasn’t “thought too much” on the federal marriage amendment disqualifies him as a serious consensus candidate, and certainly undermines any perceived bump he may get from the youth vote as a “young, up and comer.”
- Cincinnatus - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 4:06 pm:
After you’re elected, you have to lead and govern. Schock? I don’t think so…
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 4:55 pm:
Would you like some cheese with that whine?
- B2Chicago - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 5:34 pm:
His positions on a number of social issues fly in the face of his generation - he’ll have a hard time convincing a sizable portion of the youth vote that he wouldn’t set progress in Illinois back decades.
- Chicago Cynic - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 5:38 pm:
B2Chicago - nailed it.
- Scott Thorsen - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 6:09 pm:
Is schock trying to create an enemy? He voted for this obama solution to the fiscal mess. Schock cannot blame anyone else for this vote that was rejected by the public.
Looks to me like we elected another policitican who is selling washington to us. Fun and game time is over for schock. Time to start truly representing Illinois amd not Nancy Pelosi.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 6:38 pm:
–Is schock trying to create an enemy? He voted for this obama solution to the fiscal mess. Schock cannot blame anyone else for this vote that was rejected by the public.–
I missed where the public rejected it. What are you talking about?
But, as a constitutional scholar, you must know nothing gets to the president before it’s passed by Congress.
So….
No Reagan deficits. No Bush HW Deficits… No Clinton deficits…(they were gone at the end, anyway)… No Bush W. deficits….No Obama deficits…
Congress. No money gets spent or borrowed without Congress.
Awww, that’s no fun, is it?
- steve schnorf - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 10:19 pm:
another fellow party member who thinks what’s really on the minds of every day voters is right-to-work laws. He’s wrong-get a clue before you screw up our party even more
- Fred's Mustache - Monday, Jan 14, 13 @ 10:35 pm:
=== Is schock trying to create an enemy? He voted for this obama solution to the fiscal mess. Schock cannot blame anyone else for this vote that was rejected by the public.
Looks to me like we elected another policitican who is selling washington to us. Fun and game time is over for schock. Time to start truly representing Illinois amd not Nancy Pelosi.===
Hey Aaron, Have fun trying to win a primary buddy!