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* The Fix is not the most credible pundit ranker, mainly because the author is a political journalist and not a “real” analyst. But it may be worth noting that the Halvorson vs. Ozinga congressional race has been moved down slighty from 6th most likely district to flip parties to 8th…
8. Illinois’s 11th (Open seat, R): The rocky road for state Sen. Debbie Halvorson (D) continues, as in recent week she has come under fire from some fellow Democrats — including Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. — for a bill she introduced that would give Will County officials operating control over a proposed airport south of Chicago. Democrats insist the fight is actually good news for Halvorson, since it shows voters in the sprawling 11th District that she is standing up for them and not caving to Chicago’s political power brokers. Maybe, but a public, internecine feud is almost never good for business. Republicans acknowledge that concrete magnate Martin Ozinga got a very late start but insist he is a surprisingly strong candidate. (Previous ranking: 6)
* The Republicans, meanwhile, have posted some raw audio of Halvorson reacting last year to Gov. Blagojevich’s gross receipts tax proposal…
…Adding… I should’ve been more clear with the setup to that video. Halvorson ended up voting for the GRT in Senate Executive Committee after Sen. Lou Viverito unexpectedly voted “No,” leaving her little choice.
* Kristen McQueary is tiring of the acidity in the 11th District campaign and wrote a pretty glowing review of the Green Party candidate…
It’s going to get ugly. Getting spin-free truth out of these camps will be downright exhausting.
So it was refreshing Wednesday to meet Jason Wallace, of Normal, the Green Party candidate in the 11th District. From Heritage Park in Crete - Halvorson’s hometown - Wallace met with reporters and made a few points worth repeating.
* Jim Oberweis on high gas prices…
Oberweis said gas prices are the result of a supply problem that could be solved with increased offshore drilling in the U.S. and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also supports exploration of alternative energy sources like nuclear, coal and wind energy - but noted that the government shouldn’t continuously subsidize those energy industries.
At a similar appearance in Elgin last month, Democrat Foster said he was “mystified” at why fuel companies are reporting record profits at a time when crude oil is so high.
“I think the Democrats making that argument don’t understand how business works,” he said. “It’s the same as saying farmers receiving $7.50 for a bushel of corn and making a profit are doing something bad. I would expect farmers to have record profits when prices are high and lower profits when prices are low, and I would expect oil companies to have high profits when prices are high and low profits when prices are low.”
Except because of the high fuel prices and the floods, I doubt farmers will have “record” profits this year. This is not even close to an accurate comparison.
* Progress Illinois has been taking Congresscritter Mark Kirk to task. Here’s the latest…
Another day, another instance of Rep. Mark Kirk twisting the facts.
Last week, we noted his falsehoods about the uninsured population in America. Yesterday, we thoroughly debunked his bogus claim that the federal unemployment insurance benefit extension he voted against would lead people to cash in after two weeks of work.
Then, during an appearance on WLS’ Don Wade & Roma Morning Show today, Kirk falsely asserted that the Chinese are drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba.
* Related…
* Foster: Fermi funding could be fine
* Funding bill may block Fermi layoffs
* Briefs: Meet new congressman
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:07 am
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I’m a focus group of one, so this may not be worth much but I always thought that Kristen McQueary and Aaron Chambers were the future stars of the Illinois press corps and I’m glad to see McQueary come into her own lately and find her voice, but at the same time since she has I’ve found her columns lacking. I’m hoping that maybe I wasn’t wrong and she’s still a great voice in search of a worthy topic, but it’s stood out to me lately.
Comment by Silly Rabbit Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:35 am
With all due respect to Mr. Oberweis, I haven’t noticed a shortage of gasoline. No long lines. No alternate days. No closed stations. No 10-gallon limit. No gun-toting grease monkeys. I can go to the corner and get all I want 24/7 at $4.30 a gallon.
Yeah, the 70s, we really knew how to have a gasoline shortage back then. Where are the gas siphoners, anyway? A little garden hose, a gas can and some Tic-Tacs and you’re a budding entrepreneur. Kids these days, no ambition…
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:40 am
===Kids these days, no ambition…===
Agreed.
lol
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:42 am
I think Obwerweis made quite a reasonable analogy. It is difficult to explain why oil companies make much more money when crude goes higher. (Farmers are another example of being massively long a single commodity, and having your profit swing wildly around it. If anything, oil companies are more exposed, as they generally don’t hedge, yet many farmers do.)
Obviously, farmers whose crops flooded this year are not making record profits, but I don’t think Oberweis suggested that. Farmers unaffected by the floods, by the way, will make more money.
Politically, the statement may have been touchy, but I think the comparison is solid.
Comment by Greg Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:43 am
I would take your caveat on “the Fix” a step further. It is a VERY DC-centric look and fully lacking in any nuance of the situation.
Not dismissing it outright, but it does lend credence to your distaste for national political journos.
Comment by JonShibleyFan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:47 am
===It is difficult to explain why oil companies make much more money when crude goes higher.===
Not really. Try this…
The oil companies pump oil, transport it, then sell it on the wholesale market to themselves, refine it and then sell it to consumers. They keep the market price high by buying wholesale at outrageous prices, which means their profit goes up all around.
Simple, no?
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:50 am
Is Kirk major problem that he’s clueless? Or unconcerned about the truth when trying to score political points? Or both?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:53 am
Oberweiss states: “but noted that the government shouldn’t continuously subsidize those energy industries.”
The government has been subsidizing the dairy industry for years big time for years! and it has no need to fund expensive research and test programs.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/tbb/tbb_0707_47.pdf
The problem with the farm analogy is that the oil companies articulated reason for the price of gas is an increase in the COST of gas. If farmers raised prices becuase the COST of growing increased, as opposed to just because they thought they could charge more, we would not expect to see them make more profit.
The oil companies say the cost of gas reflects the current increased cost of oil, BUT this directly conflicts with them making record profits. it is obvious that for the profits to be at record levels the increase in price has far excceeded any increase in material costs. Further they are all raising prices and reporting record profits together. This sure smacks of anti-trust issues. the oil companies used the increase cost of oil to afix substantialy larger increases on their price together as an industry. They need stopped and held accountable.
It is interesting that Oberweiss is not trying to get rid of support subsidies for the dairy industry, and thinks exploiting prices as an industry vis-a-vis the oil industry is ok to do.
Comment by Ghost Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:54 am
No, I don’t think that’s right at all, but I’ve learned before on this blog that I shouldn’t argue about companies’ financials. I will just continue to learn about state politics (and I’ve learned a ton with a long way to go, thanks) and keep my mouth shut about my field.
Comment by Greg Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:54 am
Now, compare that to the farmers.
They buy seed, fuel, fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides from other sources. All of those inputs are greatly impacted by oil prices. Actual tilling, planting, harvesting, drying and transporting costs are also highly sensitive to fuel prices.
They sell their crop on a market which is substantially controlled (in the end) not by them but by the big food (including meat) and ethanol processors.
Yep. Perfect comparison.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:56 am
===No, I don’t think that’s right at all, but I’ve learned before on this blog that I shouldn’t argue about companies’ financials===
That’s not correct. Argue away about how the big oil companies are at the complete mercy of uncontrollable market forces. I’d like to hear it.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 10:57 am
Sure thing: everyone’s nervous that oil production is not going to keep up with demand. That, combined with a falling dollar, as well as a rush to buy commodities for inflation protection, has crude at 135. The oil companies aren’t terribly involved in the energy markets (yes, I know, Enron, etc, etc) but that’s a rounding error compared to even the pension funds. So unless you remove buyers, cap prices, and ration, the oil companies are still working with 135 crude. The benefit they receive from this price comes largely from the fact that they’re long a ton of oil. There are also varying levels of spreads captured by refining (although those are often different companies.) Right now, the gasoline refining spread is low.
No one’s saying these companies aren’t quite profitable. But graph XOM ytd.
I still lie ethe farmer comparison. I know everyone is going to say I’m an idiot for my oil talk, but for what it’s worth, I spend way too many hours/week looking at these numbers.
Comment by Greg Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:06 am
In addition to the story Kristen McQueary wrote, there has been some coverage about Jason Wallace’s pledge to voluntarily cap his total campaign spending at $10,000. (He said that he will donate any excess raised to schools.) Both the Herald News and WJBC ran stories about this, which Wallace is calling 10K08.
I think the best part about this is that Jason issued a challenge for unscripted town hall style debates with Halvorson and Ozinga, the media actually went to those candidates for a response, and they indicated they would be willing.
Comment by Squideshi Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:10 am
===The oil companies aren’t terribly involved in the energy markets===
Somebody has to buy up those contracts for final delivery, and it ain’t the speculators.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:11 am
Rich, they’d be sellers. Our energy traders think if xom started getting involved (ie, hedging with short positions) crude would drop up to $30.
Comment by Greg Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:21 am
Yes, they’re sellers and buyers.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:22 am
What’s interesting about the Halvorson audio? She gave stock, non-committal answers, saying she wants to promote education and health care without applying too much of a burden on business. Is there something incriminating about her remarks that the Republicans see but that I don’t?
Comment by DeepFriedOnAStick Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:25 am
The companies you’re referring to have basis risk, which can be hedged with cash v futures, but they’re not the buyers that everyone’s blaming.
Comment by Greg Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:25 am
When Halvorson was set up by political insiders to run in the 11th, they didn’t consider state or local issues. Perhaps they did, but they didn’t vet them correctly. Had they done this they could have predicted what has happened to her campaign this month. Or at least prepared itself.
Instead of running a national campaign, Halvorson is being forced to run a campaign based on state and local issues. This hurts her. Instead of running against George W. Bush, she is being questioned about her partners Jones and Blagojevich. She is being questioned about her political past in regards to Senate Bill 2063, courtesy of Jesse Jackson Jr. At a time when she wishes to present herself as someone to fix the gridlock in DC, state and local issues are presenting her as a cause of the gridlock in Springfield, and a pay-to-play insider.
Halvorson will paint Ozinga as a Bush puppet, and Ozinga will paint Halvorson as a Blagojevich puppet, a Jones puppet, and a Rezko puppet. Jackson has aided Ozinga’s job in a big way.
Anti-Jackson voters will vote for Ozinga. Anti-Chicago voters will vote for Ozinga too, as will anti-Cook county voters.
Halvorson cannot win if she cannot unite Will County Democrats. She needs them for a base. If she captures only 80% of them, she will need to hope for an extra large percentage of independants to put her over. That isn’t good, but not impossible this year.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:25 am
She then voted for the grt in committee.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:25 am
I think it will be easier for Ozinga to scrap Bush off of him than it will be for Halvorson to scrape Blagojevich, Jones and Pay-To-Play politics off of her.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:31 am
And no painting Ozinga with the Bush brush isn’t fair, and painting Halvorson with the Rezko brush isn’t fair either.
Both Ozinga and Halvorson are good people.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:33 am
===I think it will be easier for Ozinga to scrap Bush off of him than it will be for Halvorson to scrape Blagojevich, Jones and Pay-To-Play politics off of her.===
I wouldn’t be so sure of that. I think voters are more aware of why they’re fed up with the administration, especially when it’s a federal race. Additionally, I think you’re underestimating Halvorson’s stock response to the Blagojevich charge, “Hey, I didn’t donate $20,000 to his campaign like he did.” That will stick out a lot more than a bunch of insider statehouse news that most voters either a) don’t follow or b) don’t understand.
Comment by Kevin Fanning Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:38 am
That’s right. She voted for the LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
Don’t think that line isn’t going to be plastered all over every square inch of the 11th congressional district. That will hurt more than any Jesse Jackson fight, ties to Blago, pay to play, or rules committee duties.
Comment by Jaded Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:39 am
VMan, if Jackson and Halvorson are fighting, why do anti-Jackson votes go to Ozinga?
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:43 am
What Oberweis needs to do is bring Foster out in the open and get him talking. The more Foster talks the more he talks himself out of a job. Foster isn’t a fit for this district, so Oberweis needs to allow this district to recognize this by November.
My recommendations for Oberweis is to shut up but work through allies to force Foster to blather and alienate himself from voters.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:45 am
Just yesterday I read a link to a study on ANWR that said if we allowed the drilling there, it would drop the price of gas at the pump a whopping 2 cents….. but only sometime after 2025. It is really hard to get one’s head wrapped around the immense stats of the oil game.
Now something I CAN understand is that before you can use the oil, you have to process and refine it. The refinery capacity of Illinois and the US has remained fairly stagnant all this time the oil companies have been raking in the record profits. But the oil companies have NOT expanded or even updated the old refineries. When was the last time they improved Wood River complex? Joliet? Some will argue it is because of excessively restrictive regulations on pollution and NIMBY neighbors that won’t let refineries expand where they are or locate in new places. This is something we need to look into as a state, just as we keep an eye on other utilities. Why is an oil company making billions extra profit not re-investing some of that profit back into improved production, something most other businesses do as a matter of course?
Comment by Jed Clampett Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:47 am
==VMan, if Jackson and Halvorson are fighting, why do anti-Jackson votes go to Ozinga? ==
The reason I believe this is because Halvorson and Jackson appeal to the same voter base. Joliet is in the Chicago market. They know Jackson. He isn’t disliked by Democrats in Joliet. He has really proved himself over the past decade and has a lot of respect. So his attacks on Halvorson hurts her with her largest voter base in Joliet.
Anti-Jackson voters dislike what he represents as in Chicago and Cook County. They are already preconditioned against Halvorson. There are simply not enough anti-Chicago, anti-Cook, anti-Jackson Democrats to offset the damage he has done.
The DCCC needed to have stepped in a long time ago and dealt with Jackson in regards to Halvorson’s run. We have all seen this coming and when she announced, the first question I had was, “Will Jackson allow this?”.
Why didn’t the Democrats ask this question and settle it ahead of time?
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:52 am
Jed,
2 separate issues: refining and production. Refining capacity is not full, so expansion or lack thereof isn’t much of a driver. Production is of course entirely different.
Comment by Greg Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:53 am
also remember that Halverson’s remarks came some time after (not exactly sure - a week?) portions of GRT were leaked and subsequently panned by legislators and ed. boards heading into the actual speech
Comment by underdog Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 11:54 am
Vanilla Man, even if you’re right about democratic voters being turned off by the Jackson fight. (Which I’m not even sure of because it seemed to me like Halvorson was playing off of the distaste for Chicago politics among the suburbs, something that probably bodes well among that base) Why would those voters move over into Ozinga’s camp?
Comment by Kevin Fanning Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 12:02 pm
I like Halvorson. I like Jackson. I do not like seeing her jumped by him. But Jackson puts it out there and I admire that. When he presents something, I listen. He has earned that respect after doing a very credible job in DC.
What he is saying doesn’t sound good. It makes me question a person I’ve known for a long time. It makes me wonder why she has been so blindly loyal to Jones and Blagojevich. She needed to have cut those apron strings years ago, but then, I believe she was in line for Senate President, so I understood.
Now what she has to do is run this campaign on a national level. She needs to bury these state and local issues. Ozinga will continually bring them up, and she will get hammered over them.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 12:05 pm
voting for GRT, stalling ethics, and playing games with recall are not necessarily insider issues… esp. when millions are spent telling the story in a campaign… as for the bush v. blago argument, remember all politics is local. Worst case scenario for Ozinga, blago counter-balances the bush stuff Halverson will throw at him… which is more than you can stay for CDs in most states.
Comment by underdog Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 12:05 pm
==Why would those voters move over into Ozinga’s camp? ==
Because Ozinga is a known product in Joliet and he has been active in local not-for-profits. He has been a good benefactor and has roots within the community there. He isn’t Simon Legree. Ozinga’s trucks are everywhere. He has a good record of being a part of public works with minorities. That is why you saw the DCCC staffers hitting Ozinga over the head regarding his work with minorities. They want voters to question his intentions after all these years of doing this kind of outreach.
By running against Blagojevich/Halvorson, Ozinga will mildly offset what should be her natural base in Joliet. Jackson adds fuel to that fire.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 12:15 pm
I think you’re stretching pretty far. That wasn’t just a story put out by the DCCC. The sun-times picked it apart, and having the minority-owned status revoked doesn’t look very good. If you’re going to argue that some Dems may stay home because of the attacks on Halvorson, ok I can see your point. But to say that Ozinga is going to poach her base, and in particular through minorities in the district, then you’re dreaming.
Comment by Kevin Fanning Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 12:25 pm
If I am saying that he will poach, than I agree that would be a dream. Will folks stay home? If a meme goes around that their vote isn’t needed to win Illinois for Obama, then yes, some will stay home. Obama will win his home state by at least 15%. Some voters will stay home because of this, hurting other Democrats hoping for coat-tails.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 12:36 pm
===Some voters will stay home because of this===
Wanna bet?
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 12:51 pm
VM. I think you give way too much weight to JJJ’s influence in Joliet. Just because there is a large black population there does not mean he is influential with them. JJJ has a good organization on the south side of Chicago & south suburbs because that has always been their base. On the west side and other areas outside of Chicago the Jacksons are not neccessarily the most popular black politicians. I just don’t see him being able to sway a black voter in Joliet or Kankakee, that is going to vote for Obama, to switch over and vote for Ozinga or the Green guy.
Comment by Been There Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 1:03 pm
Voting for the GRT in committee is a political liability for Halvorson, for sure.
But I still don’t see how that vote makes the audio clip any more interesting. She made no commitment one way or the other on the GRT (on this audio, anyway), instead saying repeatedly that she wanted to study it further to make sure the governor’s plan was “fair.”
If that audio is an indication of the strength of the ammunition the GOP plans to use against Halvorson, then the GOP has huge problems.
Then again, that audio could be useful in an attempt to show Halvorson as a typical politician who, when pressed, refuses to state a definitive position on real issues like the GRT, and instead speaks only in fluffy terms about all the good she’d like to do for education and health care.
Or, perhaps the GOP could use Halvorson’s elongated “Suuuuuure” at the end of the clip in a fun radio commercial like this …
Announcer: Debbie Halvorson voted for Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to put impose the biggest tax in Illinois history on Illinois businesses.
Halvorson: “Suuuuuure.”
Announcer: Debbie Halvorson is the right-hand lady of Senate President Emil Jones, the Chicago politician who tried to kill a plan that would have stopped ComEd from hiking up your utility bills.
Halvorson: “Suuuuuure.”
Announcer: Debbie Halvorson sponsored legislation that mirrored corrupt crony Tony Rezko’s plan to hand control of the Peotone airport over to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is under federal investigation.
Halvorson: “Suuuuuure.”
And so forth …
Comment by DeepFriedOnAStick Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 1:26 pm
Jed:
Interesting that you brought up Wood River:
“When was the last time they improved Wood River complex?”
They are trying. In fact, there’s a multi-billion dollar upgrade (allowing processing of up to 600k Bbl. of heavy Canadian crude) that just got IEPA approval, but got blocked by Federal EPA as a result of objections from the Sierra Club and American Bottoms Conservancy (and others) environmental groups.
Can’t blame the oil companies for trying. Apparently, the environmental groups would rather we ship our money to the ME, instead of processing Canadian crude.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/BB3D30BB74E0FFED86257460000F12E9?OpenDocument
Comment by Judgment Day Is On The Way Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 1:40 pm
Ozinga problem is not just scrapping of bush (with Obama’s presidential run hanging out there as well) but scraping off Daley and the various local scandals hitting contracting and pay to play in Chicago. Running an arguably sham minoirty subsidiary to pick up city business will haunt him.
Comment by Ghost Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 1:40 pm
By the way, I don’t buy that crap about Viverito’s No vote leaving her little choice. She had lots of choices. She could vote yes, no, present, or take a walk. She chose yes.
Comment by Jaded Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 2:02 pm
Actually, leaving US oil reserves untapped while bleeding the third world dry is the ultimate “conservative” move. In the short term, sending all our petrodollars abroad may hurt (and hopefully doesn’t finance WW III, the annihilation of Israel or another 9/11) but in 50 years or so, the U.S. may well control a good chunk of the remaining oil reserves in the world. Hopefully, we won’t need it too much by then, but who knows?
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 2:08 pm
I’ll say it again, those playing the Ozinga vs. Halvorson game are playing shortsighted. This race is not a lesser of two evil race–Jason Wallace was already polling at 7% before any of the recent positive news coverage. I think it will be easier for anti-Halvorson Democrats to vote Wallace than to vote Ozinga; and I think that many rural conservatives are already supporting Wallace because he’s got the right positions on their local issues, such as opposition to the airport.
Comment by Squideshi Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 2:13 pm
Excellent point, Jaded.
I’d love to see Halvorson attempt to explain her pro-GRT vote by saying she had “little choice.”
She won’t do that, I suspect, because it just goes to show how she’s spending her time in Springfield covering the interests of Jones and his Democratic leadership team — and not necessarily the interests of her constituents.
Comment by DeepFriedOnAStick Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 2:13 pm
Squid-
I can see it now. Wallace sweeps to victory in the 11th, powered by the Monee township vote.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 2:35 pm
Squid, by percentage, more people support the States most unpopular Gov then support Wallace.
Comment by Ghost Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 2:55 pm
==VM. I think you give way too much weight to JJJ’s influence in Joliet. Just because there is a large black population there does not mean he is influential with them. JJJ has a good organization on the south side of Chicago & south suburbs because that has always been their base. On the west side and other areas outside of Chicago the Jacksons are not neccessarily the most popular black politicians. I just don’t see him being able to sway a black voter in Joliet or Kankakee, that is going to vote for Obama, to switch over and vote for Ozinga or the Green guy. ==
Yikes! What a thing to post!
Jackson’s constituency is not a black thing - it is a Democratic thing. Maybe you want to only believe that Jackson appeals to black voters, but reality dictates otherwise!
He has been a congressman for over a decade and has built a reservoir of credibility. When he speaks he has the attention of all Democrats in the South Suburbs, not because he is black but because he is a good congressman.
Your analysis is shockingly shallow.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 2:58 pm
Six Degrees of Separation wrote, “I can see it now. Wallace sweeps to victory in the 11th, powered by the Monee township vote.”
You must not live in Will County, or southern Cook County; because if you did, you would know that the opposition to the proposed airport extends far beyond Monee Township. I mean sure, the people of Monee Township aren’t looking forward to having their long time family farms and local communities destroyed; but the any such airport promises to bring additional traffic to an already congestion strangled region.
Ghost wrote, “Squid, by percentage, more people support the States most unpopular Gov then support Wallace.”
Apples to oranges. Most people aren’t yet familiar with Jason Wallace. There is a difference between being known and unliked and being unknown and liked. In my opinion, Jason Wallace’s poll numbers will quickly continue to rise (just like the Whitney campaign) as more and more people become familiar with him. In fact, I am pretty sure that his numbers are already far better than Whitney’s were at this point in the campaign; but I would need to know back to make sure.
Comment by Squideshi Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 3:30 pm
Squid, but whitney also lost. More of an also ran at this point who has yet to pull numbers to bring him in as a viable topic of discussion.
Comment by Ghost Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 3:43 pm
Ghost wrote, “Squid, but whitney also lost. More of an also ran at this point who has yet to pull numbers to bring him in as a viable topic of discussion.”
The Illinois Green Party does not consider Whitney’s campaign a loss. He achieved more than double the percentage of the vote needed to legally establish the party statewide, and in every political subdivision therein, as a major party. His polling trended positive right up and until election day, and his numbers would have been even higher had there been more time. People needed the Whitney campaign in order to see that Green Party candidates can break into the double digits and be viable candidates. Now that has happened, and with major party status, people will be more likely to vote for someone like Jason Wallace. In addition, the media is more likely to cover Green candidates like Wallace earlier in the election cycle; so he has more time to get out his name and improve his polling. Voters appreciate a candidate who knows how to do more with less; and while Halvorson and Ozinga may be able to jumpstart their recognition with the big media buys that come with corporate cash, simply give the Green Party candidate enough time and they’ll easily win, even when outspent many times over. Why? Because they tell the truth; and while there will always be skeptics and cynics out there than bow to conventional political “wisdom” people appreciate something new, genuine, sincere, consistent, and different. In fact, candidates like Jason Wallace tend to energize NEW voters who are not otherwise interested in politics; so the whole dynamic of a race like this gets changed.
Comment by Squideshi Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 3:57 pm
I hope Halvorson is having real rocky road.
She says she is going to do everything she can to keep all state prisons open. She hasn’t done anything to do that.
Comment by Democrat Friday, Jun 20, 08 @ 8:43 pm