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* Publications like the Free Beacon are known for taking oppo that others probably don’t want. But considering the claims made by Darren Bailey this week more than just implying that Jesse Sullivan is a Democratic plant, well, it’s at least worth a look before it becomes a regular primary campaign talking point…
A venture capitalist running in Illinois’s Republican gubernatorial primary is a relative newcomer to the right. Fifteen years ago, Jesse Sullivan founded a self-described “social justice” magazine that has defended riots and abortion.
Sullivan, a political neophyte who ran a San Francisco-based nonprofit before launching his gubernatorial bid in early September, founded the magazine One World in 2006 while a student at St. Louis University. The publication had financial support from left-wing groups like the Center for American Progress, whose Goal Was To “counter the growing influence of right-wing groups on campus.” In the years that followed, One World published articles Dismissing riots in Ferguson, Mo., as the work of “a few troublemakers” amid “an entire crowd.” Four years later, in 2018, the magazine Expressed Support for the “legal right to choose” to have an abortion. […]
A Sullivan campaign spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon that the Illinois Republican founded the publication “when he was in college doing humanitarian work,” though Sullivan remained on One World‘s masthead as the magazine’s “visionary” long after his graduation. His campaign says that role came with “zero involvement or editorial oversight.” At the same time, Sullivan appears to have remained involved with the magazine, headlining its 10-year anniversary celebration in 2016. A campaign spokesman said he spoke at the event “as a courtesy.”
“The suggestion that Jesse agrees with the viewpoints of a magazine he has had nothing to do with, is laughable,” Sullivan’s campaign said in a statement. “Let’s get back to the issues at hand and leave the cancel culture to the liberals and political hacks.”
His problem is he’s an unknown quantity who kicked off his campaign by fudging his “military” background. I dunno what to believe now. Also, there’s this from Sullivan’s LinkedIn page…
So, he claims to have been the CEO for five years. Yeah, OK, but he was in college when he founded it and it’s been ten years since he left the group. I dunno.
* Jim Swift is quite dubious of the life change…
Who is Jesse Sullivan? A guy I went to college with wants to become Governor of Illinois. He’s got the look. He’s got money from the tech bros. But what he doesn’t have is a pedigree in being a Republican.
It’s like he was kidnapped and transformed into a GOP Manchurian candidate out of central casting in Ripon, Wisconsin.
Thankfully, those of us who knew him back when aren’t alone. Jesse Sullivan, social justice warrior king of St. Louis U. as a Republican? I would have known him if he were a Republican. I helped run the College Republicans on campus and in the state. This transformation is about as legitimate if Shoeless Joe Jackson walked out of a [expletive deleted] cornfield wearing a Red Sox uniform.
Maybe tech money does corrupt. Ask JD Vance.
Perhaps somebody in Illinois should ask him about his views on Donald Trump? Or Mitt Romney? Or John McCain?
Beware of posers. Jesse Sullivan is a poser.
…Adding… Gary Rabine…
Republican Governor candidate Jesse Sullivan needs to answer the growing number of questions about his Republican credentials as he seeks to be head of the Illinois Republican Party. In the last several days it has surfaced that until recently he has been aligned a with far-left publication, politically active in Democratic campaigns and has not voted or supported the Party’s presidential nominee since at least 2004. (voted for Obama, but not Trump). Crashing your parent’s car is something you can blame on youth–aligning with the socialist elements of the Democratic Party until right before you decide to run for the Republican nomination for Governor is something else. We don’t need a fake Republican as our nominee.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:10 am
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It’s becoming clear that Sullivan is a tragic figure. He clearly had some progressive inclinations in his youth. He apparently gave those up to serve big capital and the American occupation of Afghanistan.
Comment by Quibbler Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:19 am
Hilarious. Jesse Sullivan once care a little bit about humanity in college, so now he cannot be a Republican.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:19 am
==This transformation is about as legitimate if Shoeless Joe Jackson walked out of a [expletive deleted] cornfield wearing a Red Sox uniform.==
Real timely and relevant reference there, Swift.
That being said, I more or less buy that Sullivan is a moderate Dem who just saw an opening on the Republican side and is trying to fake it.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:21 am
Hence the problem with purity tests.
Over time, no one meets the criteria.
Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:23 am
Looks like it’s time to water the plant.
Comment by Raising Kane Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:23 am
But, it’s not Friday afternoon.
Or is there more to come Friday?
Comment by Bruce( no not him) Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:24 am
Jim Swift, the 2021 version of “Swift Boating”, perhaps?
Click on the link to Swift’s piece in “The Bulwark.” He looks like a central casting version of a “college republican”.
Comment by Colin O'Scopy Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:26 am
It’s certainly not as extreme, but this reminded of Kevin Nicholson’s campaign in Wisconsin.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/22/kevin-nicholson-wisconsin-republican-senate-2018-former-democrat-215631/
Comment by Lori's Fedora Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:26 am
Illinois’ own Beto O’Rourke
Comment by Random Thought Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:26 am
Candace Owens ran a liberal blog and won a lawsuit back by the NAACP over claims of discrimination in education. People change…Or modern conservatism is a grift, and in college being a liberal grifter was more palatable to Sullivan, but now he’s all grown up.
Comment by Dankakee Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:27 am
Jessie and Jussie. Both posing as something they are not.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:27 am
==Hence the problem with purity tests.==
I’m not sure that’s really the issue here, tho. Sullivan isn’t really meeting even the bare minimum “Requirements” to be a Republican. We don’t really know what he thinks about abortion, taxes, immigration, etc. He’s been so very vague about everything, and his past indicates something quite a bit to the left of most Republican primary voters.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:27 am
People can and do change and I wouldn’t hold his youthful opinions against him but the military fudging is a problem.
Comment by Momma Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:34 am
Seems Mr. Sullivan needs to figure out who he is before he can tell the public who he is. He sure hasn’t yet.
Nothing wrong with running as a moderate or to the left of the Bailey types in a GOP primary. But right now he is running as… well… nothing.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:37 am
I doubt very much I will ever vote Republican ever again–I didn’t do it often, but I at least used to listen to GOP candidates. This guy isn’t making me change my mind about that.
Comment by Cheryl44 Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:37 am
If Sullivan or any of the people he has hired to run that campaign are smart he’ll just admit that he was somewhat progressive as a youth and has become conservative with his age. Shoot, if spun correctly, he could turn his transformation into an origin story stump speech. We’ll see.
Comment by Lakefront Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:43 am
I recall a certain former President who supported Democrats most his life until recently converting to the Republican party. Now few in the party dare question his Republican bona fides.
Comment by Independent Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:43 am
The issue isn’t whether he switched ideologies, the issue is that he has no republican credentials other than him saying he has republican credentials. Perhaps run for state legislator first and establish your conservatism there. Then run for something bigger and maybe statewide.
Comment by Steve Rogers Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:45 am
==If Sullivan or any of the people he has hired to run that campaign are smart he’ll just admit that he was somewhat progressive as a youth and has become conservative with his age. Shoot, if spun correctly, he could turn his transformation into an origin story stump speech. We’ll see.==
Didn’t work for Kevin Nicholson, probably won’t work here. Voters can tell a fake
Comment by confused Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 9:45 am
==But right now he is running as… well… nothing. ==
This is exactly the issue. He’s been nothing but vague cliches about small town life so far.
Being a blank slate can be very useful, but the danger is that eventually, if you let them, someone else will fill in that slate for you.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:00 am
Dillard is the only Republican who can win. Period.
Comment by Galway Bay Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:08 am
Rich, what don’t you know? The guy is a lying sack, we all know that by now.
Comment by allknowingmasterofraccoondom Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:09 am
“Dismissing riots in Ferguson, Mo., as the work of “a few troublemakers” amid “an entire crowd.”
Riots are always the work of a few troublemakers. What is inherently nonRepulican about this concept?
Comment by Da big bad wolf Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:14 am
“Jesse Sullivan is a poser.“
Cool. If I grab a Republican ballot, then he is a consideration.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:15 am
===Period===
Thanks, Kirk (exclamation point)
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:16 am
=What is inherently nonRepulican about this concept?=
Aww, ya beat me to it. Seems like he established his gop bonafides years ago with that statement.
=Voters can tell a fake=
No they can’t. If you really believe that explain Rauner and Trump.
Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:22 am
He seems to be running a values campaign by letting his opponents define your values.
Comment by Publius Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:26 am
He did what exactly in the military?
Comment by DuPage Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:41 am
==No they can’t. If you really believe that explain Rauner and Trump. ==
Their opponents.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:46 am
Jesse was a friend
Yeah I know he’s been a good friend of mine
But lately something’s changed
It ain’t hard to define
Jesse’s got himself a job
But there’s a problem with the design
And we’re watching him with sharp eyes
And we’re thinking he’s a phony, we just know it
And he’s hiding behind his money, staying out of the light
You know I wish that I had Jesse’s dough
I wish that I had Jesse’s dough
Where can I find some donors like that?
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:47 am
-He did what exactly in the military?-
In the military, he did nothing.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:49 am
47th Ward for the win.
Comment by allknowingmasterofraccoondom Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 10:53 am
I thought Republicans were the “big tent” party. /s
Comment by Furtive Look Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:12 am
Well Sullivan is the one they want to take out don’t they. Are the concerned about the money he’s bringing in to fund his campaign? He’s certainly a blank slate everyone else who is either rumored to jump into this race or is in it at least they already have a record in some way. Also I have no issue with someone who’s changed their views later in life purity is as much walking the walk as it is talking the talk.
Comment by Levois J Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:12 am
Poser is a good word for this guy.
People can and do sincerely change their policy views, outlook on government, and political party affiliation over time.
But this guy just strikes me as a guy who was never truly left or right but only ever believed in one thing - his own ambition to viewed as important. Kind of like how I view Kyrsten Sinema.
I wish Jim Swift would clarify though whether Jesse ever went by “Sully” in college.
Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:17 am
==Well Sullivan is the one they want to take out don’t they.==
That’s how campaigns work. If you’re running against someone, you want to beat them.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:17 am
Wait until they find out Ronald Reagan used to be a Democrat and a union president
Comment by Anon Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:28 am
i sure wish i was young enough to get in on this campaign. It looks like this guy has the kind of ego and money that can give a young political mercenary a chance to pad the ole retirement account!
Comment by moving forward Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:35 am
This is a Republican primary guys. FYI—Reagan was a Democrat/Union Head 40 years before he won the Republican nomination.
Comment by Numbers matter Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:35 am
just saying. I used to be a liberal.
Comment by Blue Dog Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:42 am
===40 years before he won the Republican nomination===
Reagan had a very public split with the Democratic Party and then ran for governor. Sullivan has just come out of the blue and said he has nothing to do with his own past.
Again, the only campaign he’s known to have worked on was Colleen Callahan’s congressional race against Aaron Schock, who was a moderate Republican elected to the IL House in a Democratic district.
There are no op-eds, no speeches, no Facebook posts, nothing at all (so far) in the historical record to explain this switch.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:43 am
Sullivan is an opportunist looking for another opportunity…clearly.
Comment by Dotnonymous Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 11:45 am
There are multiple options here.
Sullivan didn’t think this stuff would come up and has no plan. (Unlikely but possible)
The more likely option IMHO
They knew this was going to come out and are helping in part to get it out now, before Christmas, before the vast majority of people are even paying attention. The folks who are going to really get their shorts in a bunch over this stuff were likely not going to vote for him anyway. He needs the others to fight over the Trump Wing (it’s a big wing) of the party.
This state has demonstrated one thing over the past 2 gubernatorial cycles, we like outsiders. Besides being an incumbent and running for the same office, “Springfield Experience” is not a net-positive in Illinois anymore. Let us say he gets a bit more money (or even if he does not) it becomes time to start running the ‘this is who I am’ spots. Shots of the family and talks about his life and story. Will anyone have the money to counter that (especially early)? Doubtful
He runs as a moderate outside voice. Defines himself as that, decries the ‘noise’ and the shouting past each other. A smaller government guy.
I think in the late and post COVID world a calm voice is going to work better with most voters than an angry one. He can be tha calm voice in the primary while the rest rant about stuff
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:20 pm
===are helping in part to get it out now===
Um, no.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:32 pm
Everyone named Sullivan has been called Sully at some point in their life.
Comment by West Side the Best Side Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:34 pm
==This transformation is about as legitimate if Shoeless Joe Jackson walked out of a [expletive deleted] cornfield wearing a Red Sox uniform.==
Or a Cubs uniform.
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:39 pm
===this switch.===
He’s made some campaign mistakes, but I am not sure if it is really a switch. The Republican party is just so crazy that the mere mention of social justice is enough to set the crazies off.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:41 pm
This all seems to feed the narrative Bailey started pushing yesterday around Sullivan being a tool of the Democrats. And that sort of branding has a tendency to stick in a party that’s all about purity and loyalty. And if Sullivan has to use his financial advantage to argue that he’s not what his opponents claim he is, instead of creating his own compelling narrative, all the better.
Comment by Pundent Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:49 pm
“The Republican party is just so crazy”
Wish Rep. Kinzinger would run for governor, as he seems to understand our partisan make-up in state government, and that he’d have to compromise to get things done. But he would fly into a sharp fan of GOP base crazy, and rage due to opposing Trump.
Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 12:53 pm
==Sullivan didn’t think this stuff would come up and has no plan. (Unlikely but possible)==
It’s not particularly unlikely. There’s a ton of self-delusion among those who run for office. And the way Sullivan has continually been caught flat-footed by this stuff doesn’t indicate that there’s much of a plan here.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 1:34 pm
How much campaigning is Sullivan actually doing?
He may be a plant, but so what he is running as a Republican now. His whole campaign, such that it is, strikes me as being very odd and very hollow.
Anything that makes Bailey scared (pretty much everything) is amusing to me.
Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 1:46 pm
what if his plan is to actually get soft democrats to pull a GOP ballot and vote for him? I mean with Bailey leaving the Chicago suburbs to everyone else there are votes there, among those who are not pro-Covid and in favor of shooting at budgets. If the others split the crazy pants part of the GOP, and he is able to get the sane part of the party as well as just random independents/soft dems, he might actually win.
Comment by cermak_rd Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 2:20 pm
===actually get soft democrats to pull a GOP ballot and vote for him?===
lol
C’mon.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 2:21 pm
Bailey [banned symbol] Bailey [banned symbol] Bailey [banned symbol] Bailey [banned symbol]
Give us Bailey. He’s the real Republican and a perfect symbol of today’s GOP.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 2:38 pm
===We don’t need a fake Republican as our nominee.===
People that run fake universities shouldn’t throw stones.
Comment by Candy Dogood Thursday, Dec 9, 21 @ 3:11 pm