Playing the “corruption card”
Monday, Jan 9, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller
From Bernie Schoenburg’s column:
The campaign manager for gubernatorial candidate EDWIN EISENDRATH won’t be shy about playing the corruption card in the Democratic primary race against Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH.
BRANDON HURLBUT, a lawyer in Washington, D.C., has signed on to run the primary campaign of Eisendrath, a former Chicago alderman who is now vice president of academic affairs at Kendall College in Chicago.
Hurlbut, 30, was born in Melrose Park and got a political science degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign in 1997. He then was a full-time staffer on the gubernatorial campaign of then-U.S. Rep. GLENN POSHARD, who lost a close race to Republican GEORGE RYAN in 1998. Poshard was recently named president of Southern Illinois University.
“I saw up close and personal the tragedy of (the) Poshard race, which is that we were right about George Ryan’s corruption, but the indictments came down after Election Day,” Hurlbut said. “It was too late.
“Democrats should remember that experience, because if we trust the governor and wait until the current investigations are completed, we could have another George Ryan disaster, and that could mean more trials and embarrassments for Illinois. And if something comes out after March, we will lose in November again, after we fought 30 years to get the seat back.”
Bernie also noted that the Eisendrath campaign has hired Sean Smith of Smith Strategies as its political consultant. There’s not much on his website, but here’s an interesting nugget:
Sean has pioneered a communications technique known as “impression management.†Based on the premise that it is the low-information, episodic voter that swings elections—and that those voters only make broad impressions of candidates—Sean has developed an innovated [sic] approach to political communications. He has successfully applied these principles to issue campaigns and general communications campaigns.
Meanwhile Carol Marin’s column took a look at the campaign over the weekend. Worth a look. A couple of quotes, the first from Larry Suffredin:
“[Blagojevich] communicates too much through grand event. You wouldn’t have a fireside chat with him. You’d expect him to address you in Rockefeller Chapel.”
And then one from Sen. John Cullerton:
“There will be protest votes against Rod in the Democratic primary for [former Ald.] Edwin Eisendrath,” predicts state Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago). “Eisendrath will get a surprisingly higher number of votes than people expect.”
Many of those votes may come from Downstate, where there is great disaffection with Blagojevich’s decision to live in Chicago. “Edwin, if he spends money, stands in front of the governor’s mansion with his pretty wife from Champaign . . . and says if you elect me governor, I’m gonna move in here” would, according to Cullerton, send a powerful message.
For more on the race, click here and here.
- Rele Tahrd - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 6:21 am:
VETERANS FOR EISENDRATH !!!
- Mr. ANON - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 7:45 am:
Where can I get the English translation for that Smith’s pitch? Looks like he hustled Edwin pretty good. Wonder what the fee was? Any mention of winning campaigns with this impression mumbo jumbo?
Gotta think they guy is another GRod imbed designed suck all those millions people are waiting to be spent.
Better use the fake nickname just in case E2(want it be “squared” can’t to work in Blogville)
- Cassandra - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 7:51 am:
It would be nice if Eisendrath won the primary, but that is so unlikely.
The question is, what number of votes would get the attention of the extremely corrupt Dem establishment–Daley, Blago, Emil Jones, Mike Madigan, John Stroger et al—so they felt it necessary to take real steps to curb corruption and the waste of taxpayer money.
Probably, an awful lot of votes.
Although I support Topinka, I am encouraging my friends who say that no way can they vote for a Republican to vote for Eisendrath in the primary…it’s a way of signaling support for an end to rampant state government corruption in Illinois.
- Anonymous - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 8:24 am:
Patronage is a part of a good-functioning democracy. If you don’t like it, you are free to move to China.
- Anon. - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 10:24 am:
Mr. Anon, you took the words right out of my post here: “Where can I get the English translation for that Smith’s pitch?”
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 10:42 am:
I understood it.
- VanillaMan - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 11:57 am:
It is good to have a 30 year old campaign manager that has already tasted defeat. It makes them work harder, and they are young enough to have the energy to do it.
As for the web blurb about Smith, we can all have a good laugh at it because it is such an obvious statement. Pioneered! - Love that verb!
The folks that are not laughing are the ones who currently work for the governor. The quotes above are correct, as of this date, Eisendrath’s campaign is still in incubation, but already the political weathervanes are swinging in his direction. Like I mentioned when he announced, he must avoid appearing swamped by the sudden surge in support for his candidacy. Like Braun in 1992, he will find himself overwhelmed and needing a serious staff of professionals to handle it all to stay afloat. It will take more than overblown rhetoric from Mr. Smith to show voters that Eisendrath is to be taken seriously.
- Papa Legba - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 1:08 pm:
It would seem that Smith is saying it as pleasant as possible. And that it most voters are just plain uninformed, lazy, stupid voters who are swayed by sound bites and blurbs. Seems accurate to me.
- Goodbye Napoleon - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 3:41 pm:
Great quotes from Suffredin and Cullerton, really how many Dems feel . . .disappointed.
Glad to see Brandon Hurlbut get hired. Too bad they couldn’t find any of the other “geniuses” behind the Poshard campaign.
- ZC - Monday, Jan 9, 06 @ 3:59 pm:
I worked with Hurlbut on both the Poshard and Pierce campaigns. I think Eisendrath made a great pick. Brandon is smart, works hard, thinks fast on his feet, and he knows how to motivate a team to do their best. He also knows Downstate well, from his experience on the Poshard campaign. Picking him is a sign, I think, of where Eisendrath is looking to capitalize on people’s disaffection with Blagojevich.
I still don’t see how Ed Eisendrath wins in a two-person primary, but at about a similar time stage, they were talking the same trash about Poshard’s primary chances. Brandon has always been a crusader for underdogs (Poshard, Bradley, etc.) He will work all-out for Ed and inspire others to as well.