62 Comments - Bill Baar - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 6:10 am: In a race like the Republican Primary, it would be nice to see who’s peoples second choice. I’d like to know who Oberweis or Gidwitz supporters would vote for if they thought their guy had no chance and they wanted to vote for a winner. I can’t be the only guy who thinks like that and often times I don’t make the decision until I’m in the booth. - The Conservative - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 6:57 am: Good question Bill, That might get answered with JBT and Obie in a free fall situation, Brady might just slide in by the smallest of margins. - Beowulf - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 7:26 am: The key to me seems to be central & southern Illinois. I am not sure if this is correct but I have been told that the Tribune poll overweights the polling of residents in the Chicagoland area. Is this true, Rich? If this is true, then it would lend credibility to the opinion that Brady’s actual polling numbers should be substantially higher than the Tribune poll indicates. I was told that 45% of the total GOP numbers in Illinois come from central & southern Illinois. If that is correct and if the Tribune numbers are heavily biased toward Cook County Illinois voters, than my guess is Brady will be the “dark horse” on March 21st that surprises all of us. I am from one of the Cook County collar counties. Not many of us want another governor that is heavily biased toward Chicago and it’s interests. I would rather cast my vote to someone that will treat everybody equally with no “favoriteism” being shown toward interests that the new governor is beholden to. That makes me believe that Brady will get many of the GOP Chicago collar county votes as well as those GOP voters downstate. There is a definite distrust of Chicago and it’s politics by many of us. - YNM - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 7:27 am: that is interesting, BB … for a long time obe supporters were calling for brady to back out … but now it appears that maybe obe should be backing out and giving brady a better shot. of course, i’m leaning toward brady, so my comments are biased. but this poll seems to show that brady is in fact gaining and obe continues to fall. i just don’t see obe as a viable candidate and this poll seems to support that (as much as a poll can seem to show anything) … and gidwitz doesn’t seem to “play in peoria” as they say. - HeKnowsBarack - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 7:52 am: Actually the real interesting development in the Trib polls comes in the last few paragraphs when Alexander seems to have lost about 25% of his support from the #s his campaign sent to CaptFax. Apply the margin of error and Mangeiri is in a dead heat and the ground pounders are just warming up. Looks like Claypools could be toast too. - Cassandra - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 7:55 am: I haven’t heard any discussion at all on the impact of a jury verdict in the Ryan trial before the election. It seems to me that a guilty verdict would most negatively impact JBT who seems to be the most closely associated with Ryan. On the other hand, assuming she wins, a guilty verdict after the primary would be forgotten by the election. - Backyard Conservative - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 8:01 am: Well, Brady definitely has the momentum (and my vote) as the mainstream conservative alternative to JBT. I guess it will depend on turnout.I wonder if some light Republicans might cross over to vote for Claypool over Stroger in Cook county, so you may have the more conservative voters left.Also, voters in my old district, the 10th congressional, have had a look at Oberweis one additional time, when he lost to Mark Kirk in that primary a few years ago. - ISU REP - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 8:18 am: 7 days left and its neck and neck for second…what’s the consolation prize…I hope it’s a nice a fruit basket! - steve schnorf - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 8:33 am: JBT is in freefal?l. Yep, she’s between 35 and 40 for the past 90 days, and her lead has stayed in the middle teens, and there aren’t enough undecideds left to put Bill over the top even if he got 75% of them, and once again, goofiness and bias trumps real analysis from the brave ananymous citizens. - illrino - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 8:39 am: Interesting how Bill Brady has portrayed himself in this campaign. When running in his district, or running (unsuccessfully) for Congress against Tim Johnson a few years ago, he has never swung this far to the right. Guns and abortion were never on the radar in previuous campaigns. Like others in the past, he’s running to the edge in the primary and will (he hopes) be able to come back toward the middle in the general. Meantime, the many GOPers in his district who considered the notion of Brady as governor to be a joke are starting to wonder if the Chi.-area candidates might carve each other up and let Billy ride downstate to a narrow win. JBT probably has too much downstate cachet to let that happen, but stranger things have happened. - YNM - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 8:47 am: hard to have much real analysis when every poll seems to say something different, steve. i guess what you are looking for is for everyone to concede to a candidate based on a poll of 500-600 probably primary voters — man, that would be good for our system. mmm, i look forward to that day when people just throw in the towel to back someone because that person leads in the polls. analysis runs deeper than looking at the lead horse and conceding … it includes looking at who was polled, what was asked … it includes looking at who has gained and lost and what they did between gains and losses to get to that point. the most telling thing about JBT’s numbers may be that she has remained steady — which could end up being a positive or negative depending on who turns out. says to me, she has a base but hasn’t expanded it - and while that may get her a primary, that won’t do her much in a general. - steve schnorf - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 9:00 am: YNM; no, your post is exactly what I’m looking for, not “JBT and Obie are in freefall”, and I think your analysis as far as it goes is right on target. It also represents what at least some of us feel: candidates who don’t fall victim to the temptation to appeal to the fringes of the spectrum leave themselves with at least a theoritical possibility of being competitive in the fall because they haven’t locked themselves into positions that turn off the great middle. - Wumpus - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 9:27 am: I am glad I am passing out Brady literature. I like Gidwitz, but he is a little too far left for me. I still could support him. Oberwies is mentally unstable and stands for nothing once the heat is on. Topinka has supported dems as the GOP chair and the whole crying about Obie “picking” on her is unnerving. This is a campaign, you are both grown ups, you have won statewide races before, stop playing the victim! Plus, her treatment of the Fitzgeralds is appaling. Birkett needs to apologize (even half0heartedly) to Rolando Cruz, Wegman, who I liked initially is apparently campaigning against someone named Kustra and I’ll throw my support to Rauschy. - SenorAnon. - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 9:46 am: HeKnows, I find it kind of humorous that you would add the MOE to Mangieri and subtract it from Giannoulias to call that race a tie (a stretch, to be sure), but then suggest that the Cook County Prez race was essentially over, even though it is closer. Undecided voters have had more than a decade to decide whether or not they like John Stroger. Late undecideds usually break against the incumbent. That isn’t to say Claypool’s going to win - just that it ain’t over until it’s over. Although the results you’re pointing to may well come to fruition, your polling analysis is a study in fuzzy math. - the Patriot - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 11:15 am: You don’t even have to buy Judy and Obe are in complete free fall to think Brady has an outside shot. Just the fact they are declining and the possibility of 30% undecided puts this in anybody’s basket at this point. Judy knows she doesn’t have as big of a lead as the Trib shows or she wouldn’t be pressing as much to get some ads out and strong arming downstate groups to stay in her pocket. Only time will tell, but I think Judy will at least sink near 30 which means the numbers have to go somewhere. With them not going to OBE or Gidwitz Brady with at a minimum 18% undecided starts taking a point here and there and looks like a contender. No one is saying Brady has it in the bag, But it is march madness and bigger underdogs have pulled it off before. Brady could be the Cinderella of the Ball come March 21! - In the Land of Silos and Cows - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 11:30 am: If the undecided percentage (let’s say … 18) is double your percentage (let’s say … 9) and you spent over $7 million, and there is 7 days left before election day … only one thing can be true … Those are great consultants, they get you to pay them and spend all that money to them and ads, and all that campaign stuff, and all the while, you probably could have been down 2 to 1 to “undecided” by spending only $700K on newspapaper ads. If you are going to run statewide, and you are considering hiring these guys, they have milked 2 other candidates for their millions with their great tactics and advice, so maybe they will give you a “cut-rate pummeling”. - Bubs - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 11:48 am: Judy’s getting 26% of the “very conservative” vote. That must be causing heartburn somewhere. It shows that the terrain is changing. “Conservative” vs. “Moderate” is becoming less distinct. Certain conservative groups have sought to polarize the Illinois GOP for their own ends by stressing the existence of Conservative Monolith, (which, of course, they are speaking for), a monolith that will “revolt”, “stay home” or such other horrible things, unless these groups get their way. The 26% shows it’s not really there, at least not any more. - LittleEgypt - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 11:56 am: I won’t accuse Obie of picking on anyone but I sure will accuse him of being an out and out liar. It’s hard to find a politician who is not; however, I won’t give my vote to someone who is so blatant about it. His ads go beyond misleading - WAY beyond. - VanillaMan - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 12:25 pm: The Tribune poll is showing two trends favoring Blagojevich and Topinka. One: Experience in a statewide government office is the deciding factor. Voters are still prefering whom they know over the other candidates. Two - There are not enough conservative voters in the Republican Party for two major opponents to split this segment and win. We have seen conservative Republican candidates win statewide against moderate Republican candidates, but only one-on-one. Fortunately for Republicans in 2006, a weak conservative candidate will not win the nomination. If Topinka faced another moderate Republican with incumbant exposure, you would have a different outcome forming. What is happening is Oberweis and Brady are splitting the conservative votes with Gidwitz fading. Gidwitz could have beaten Blagojevich. But he chose the wrong primary to run in. If Gidwitz ran in the Democratic primary, he would have won. Gidwitz is the right candidate, but not as a Republican. There is simply no realistic scenario that could show a win for either Oberweis or Brady. Illinois is not Missouri. There are not enough Illinoians to support a statewide candidate as conservative as either of these candidates. The only time we saw a conservative candidate win was when Fitzgerald ran against a highly discredited Mosely-Braun. Blagojevich is no Mosely-Braun. Republicans will win with Topinka in November. She is the right blend that appeals to the majority of voter’s preferences. She has experience, she is moderate, she is a woman, she is known, she is from Chicagoland - yet has adopted Springfield, and will carry the majority of downstate and Chicagoland votes to win. She will even do well in Chicago itself. She is Blagojevich’s nightmare. Blagojevich has another stumbling block coming up. While Eisendrath cannot win, he will win enough votes to give Blagojevich a black eye. Blagojevich can only “win” if he breaks 65% of the final vote. He won’t. - Skeeter - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 12:42 pm: The numbers really are interesting, in that it looks like the ILGOP has learned from the Keyes affair that they can’t fall for the right wing extremists. If Brady or Obie win the primary, they will lose in November. It will not even be close, and the result will be that the Dems could count on winning the Sec. of State, picking up C6, and holding C8. If Gidwitz wins the primary, he will win in November. JBT will at least give Blago a run, even if the loses. It is nice to see the ILGOP return to reality, which is that extreme right wingers do not win in Illinois. - The Conservative - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 12:56 pm: With Topinka we all just stay home, have a nice day. - Establishment Republican - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 1:14 pm: These numbers, if true are extremely positive for Topinka. Here is my prediction as of today as to what we will see next week- Topinka- 33 Oberweis- 28 Brady- 20 Gidwitz- 18 Martin- 1 - ron - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 1:22 pm: topinka 36% oberweis 21% brady 24% gidwitz 18% martin 1% blago 64% eisendrath 35% other 1% - downstateyp - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 1:41 pm: What this tells me is that Obie has cost Topinka a close race. If you combine the conservative vote, it would a horse race to the finish. This also tells me that 36% of the Republicans will be staying home or not voting at the top of the ticket come November. - ChicagoCynic - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 1:47 pm: Topinka 39% Brady 24% Der Oberfuhrer 19% Gidwitz 16% Martin 2% Rod 64% Edwin 36% Claypool 50.5% Stroger 49.5% - ISU REP - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 2:00 pm: VanillaMan- Could not have said it better myself… Conservative Republicans..You’d rather have 4 more years of Rod than vote for a Moderate Republican? Aren’t you a bit old to be taking your ball and going home when things don’t go your way. I have a feeling when faced with Blago or JBT conservatives will pick the lesser of two “evils”, real party loyalists won’t stay home. - DOWNSTATE - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 2:17 pm: CONSERATIVE almost everytime you post on here about JBT it is the same thing.If she wins conservatives will stay home either you have a very narrow vision or you work for the other side and want Blago to win.I’m a conserative and I don’t care who wins I will vote to get Blago out of office and try to work with the new governor.It’s called a democracy.As Republicans we must all work together.It must be views from all sides of the isle.It can’t be my way or the hiway if we want to take this state back and do what needs to be done. - scoot - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 2:18 pm: Judy has the champagne on ice. ISU rep and Vanilla man are correct. Conservatives that stay home just stay there and don’t ask for anything after Judy wins in Nov. Ya heard. - Bubs - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 2:38 pm: Topinka 41 Brady 24 Oberweis 23 Gidwitz 11 Martin 1 - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 2:42 pm: I said it before and I’ll say it again. Brady was the best candidate to unite Republicans and take on Blagojevich. If Topinka wins on Tuesday, she will emerge with the support of about one-third of her party. A party which, according to SurveyUSA, only 25% of Illinois voters call their own. Meanwhile, 40% of Illinois voters consider themselves Democrats. Don’t get me wrong, Blagojevich has a long way to go, but party identification is powerful. I’d rather come out of the primaries with 70% of 40% than 36% of 25%. And those who think that “family values” Conservatives will fall in line behind Topinka in the Fall are kidding themselves. The ideologues who supported Oberweis and Brady to a lesser extent have an existence to justify and a prophesy to fullfill, and they want to win control of the Republican Party more than they want to win the Governor’s mansion. In short, the purging ain’t over, and will likely continue through Election Day. - ISU REP - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 3:06 pm: YDD: I think your way off base, as you have correctly stated the number of Republicans in Illinois is outweighed by the number of Dems therefore it is logical to have a moderate candidate who can siphon off votes from the Dems and capture moderate voters who don’t identify specifically with either party, last time I checked 25% was less than 40% - Beowulf - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 4:00 pm: I prefer Gidwitz, Brady, or Obie over Judy but, I will wake up on March 22nd and realize that not everybody in the GOP thinks the same way that I do. If that happens (which it probably will), my first knee jerk reaction is to mot cast a vote in November for Judy. But, I would be wrong in reacting that way. My wife and I have some pretty spirited discussions since she is a moderate GOP and I am a conservative GOP. She is a nurse and is for Pro-Choice. I disagree and I am a Pro-Life advocate. I am Pro-Guns & she is anti-Guns, etc. One thing that we do agree on is that come November, I will do myself and the state of Illinois citizens a disservice if I do not vote for the GOP candidate. I will hold my nose and vote for Judy when the time comes. My guess is 90% of the other conservative GOP voters will reluctantly do the same. She will have become the lesser of two evils (JBT vrs. Blago). - DOWNSTATE - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 4:12 pm: OBSERVATION more people are interested in the repub primary and canidates than the dem primary and canidates.Is this a trend that will follow thru at election with a lot of dem crossovers?Last election a lot of repubs crossed over to vote for Blago because they were mad at Ryan.I think this election is almost to the point of unpredictable. - DOWNSTATE - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 4:20 pm: CLAP CLAP CLAP THANK YOU MR. BEOWULF.That is called party unity. - notquitehip - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 4:23 pm: Maybe I just haven’t noticed it before, but it seems that the poll results are now message of the campaigns. Polls used to be used to plot campaign strategy so you could get the voters most likely to vote for you to the ballot box. Now it seems that the campaign strategies are based on getting the polls to move, and then using movement in the polls as an excuse to tell people to vote for you. We are also using name recognition as a qualification for performing the job of governor. What would the polling data look like if each candidate had exactly the same name recognition and we had to rely solely on their qualifications and experience to determine whether to vote for them or not. I submit the polling data would then show Brady leading by a significant margin. We give simple name recognition far too much weight in deciding who has the qualifications to lead. I think we would be much better off March 22nd and November 8th, if we would disregard the polls and vote for the person that is most closely aligned with our own values, principles, and beliefs, instead of trying to figure out beforehand who the winner will be and then voting for them. - Dem Voting R - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 4:32 pm: I’ve predicted all along that the only thing the attack ads of Obie and Giddy would achieve is bringing Judy’s negatives up. It did nothing, nothing for their own candidacies. The R’s have done it again - made a primary messy without changing the outcome, leaving Topinka going into the general weakened. I hope they all can sleep at night. The bright spot, of course, is that common sense and a certain dignity attracts voters, so Judy is leading and the appealing Brady is gaining. (Let me just remind you, however, that Brady was the one who called for the Bible to be taught in schools - not a position that would go down well in the general.) Let’s hope that the moderate Republican nominee (Topinka) can now run right at the real problem: Blago. And if you can’t get behind her for that fight, then, yes, you are an idealogue, and we have enough of those in Iraq right now to make everyone take pause and think pragmatic thoughts. I will be celebrating next Tuesday - and that is a relief! - anon - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 4:40 pm: Brady is going to win this … by the very slim margin but a win none the less. He’s stayed on message, he’s stayed out of the “fray” & has won support & voters !! The guy is everywhere. He can win a general election. They’ve got 8 months to campaign hard. Bill Brady is an aggressive campaigner & though not a “big name” or of past statewide elections, people like him & they are getting to know him & like what he stands for ! He’s come a long way.The money will come, a good crafted message will come, help from the people that matter & he will define that the dem’s had their moment in time & blew it beyond all . explaination. BB is a fresh face & a new turn in the Ill. GOP story & just in time if you ask me. You can newspaper poll all you like & put them end to end and they’ll never reach a definitive agreement. If the GOP has a chance in Nov. it’s with Brady. - ChicagoCynic - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 5:21 pm: If Brady wins, Rod’s romp is going to be more than 60%. Many of Brady’s ultra-right positions, particularly on the role of God in government, would hang him in a moderate state like Illinois. They haven’t been given much media attention because nobody takes Brady seriously as a threat. But you better believe that Axelrod would be dancing a jig if Brady wins. Boy those would be fun ads. - anonny - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 5:38 pm: well !!!!! maybe. GRod has pretty well scrwed himself with just about anyone who’s cognitive of what’s going on in this state. This state is deep in the tank & most folks know it !! They better start looking at Brady as a threat if he wins because … though maybe he ain’t what some think the right guy but he’ll be our guy in November! Don’t thnk for a moment that the RNC won’t put some cash & help his way…they “ain’t” stupid & see a real opportunity. He’ll have lots of help with campaigning & message & 8 months to tune it up. He’s new that’s true but I’d call your attention to 4 years ago a guy named Bladgo who was basically an obscure congressman from Chicago rode in on a wave on “opportunity” & it could happen again with the GOP. JBT, Gid & “Oby-Won” are a retread message and rehash candidates. JBT has’nt been in the General assy. since the 80’s , Oby NO experience except business & losing elections, Gid although successful has nothing new to say. Brady has something new to say & people are listening. - ISU REP - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 6:19 pm: Anon: While I admire the optimistic view you have of Brady and while he generally is a good guy, his politics specifically his social ideals are more suited to his current position rather than state wide. A moderate is needed to win the campaign, the pro-life, pro-gun, cutting taxes doesn’t play with most of the population (i.e. why Kerry won IL and not Bush). I wish he would have run for Treasurer, he’s not ready for the Mansion…still a good guy none the less. I applaud those of you who will stand behind JBT even though you may not agree with her issues socially. Remember its a big party with a lot of different views, but everyone is welcome under the tent! We all have the same goal of getting rid of Gov Elvis and bringing our party back from the abyss. Although it may not be your grandfathers GOP, the moderate wing is the future of the party in IL and that will return us to glory. - B Hicks - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 6:43 pm: Amazing! - Skeeter - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 7:47 pm: Sure Brady has something new to say. He says “The public schools should teach religion — MY RELIGION — and not science.” He says “No abortion, ever.” He says “No gun control, and by that I mean let them sell semi-automatic weapons and cop-killer bullets.” Of course if he is the ILGOP candidate, the people of Illinois will say “Damn, it is too bad the Republicans nominated this extremist, again, because if they had nominated a moderate, we might have voted for him.” If Brady gets the nod, then the Democrats win everthing in Illinois. If Gidwitz or Topinka gets the nod, then I will actually have to listen to the debates because I might vote for either of them. I should send Brady’s campaign a check. - Anon - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 8:05 pm: Oberweis 35% Topinka 33% Gidwitz 22% Brady 9% Martin 1% Steve Rauschenberger 61% Joe Birkett 30% Sandy Wegman 7% Lawrence Bruckner 1% Jeremy Cole 1% - Six Degrees of Separation - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 8:32 pm: Topinka 42% Oberweis 23% Brady 18% Gidwitz 16.5% Martin 0.5% GRod 68% EE 32% - anon - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 8:52 pm: Don’t people think that maybe they’ve thought of that ???? a primary appeals to those of a particular persuasion & Brady fits that & really is right on the issues that matter to the GOP core. Maybe folks have been so far away from the views of our party it appears radical when in fact it isn’t. The trick is finding the medium to attract both sides to vote for you in the general. People are able to be convinced that he’s for the state as a whole while retaining his personal values. I think GRod will rip JBT & it’s too bad as she’s a nice lady ! You are right it’s a big party & someone has to lead & BB is the guy, straight, level & on message for these troubled times! - just a thought - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 9:43 pm: Judy Baar has the top ballot spot. That is good for a few points right off the bat. Some voters may think she is on top spot because she leads in polls. - Ditto2 - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 10:52 pm: BB is a hypocrite; and his kool aid drinking followers are definitely cliff dwellers. He sends a *mailer* misrepresenting Obie and protects JBT’s indewscretions and then has the audacity to say he’s staying out of the `fray’. He tells everyone he’s running a clean campaign and then sends out his minions to `whisper’ and grand stand. If he had guts to go with his rheteric, maybe he could have accomplished a little more as Senator? - Zatoichi - Tuesday, Mar 14, 06 @ 11:25 pm: I met Brady while coming out of a radio station. He was going in to do a call-in interview segment. All I thought of as he walked up was “Here comes a sales guy who is in constant sales mode”. Didn’t realize who he was at first. Virtually none of the other candidates grab me in any way regardless of what the polls say. Voted for Rod last time and regret it. The messages about “for a change”, bring back religion, using a business model, fearless, and all the rest are worn out platitudes that get repeated every election cycle. Just what are these people going to do to solve the problems the state faces? What will solve the financial debt? Their messages and pickering just have not connected. Voters should expect more than a candidate who will train on the job if given a chance. “Trust me, I will work hard” is used in every job interview. Must be getting jaded. Seems it doesn’t matter who wins, the same basic issues will not go away. - Anon - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 12:39 am: Judy–has to much baggage and is to liberal.–30 Obey–Won’t be able to pull party together after election not ready for prime time.–27 Brady–Businessman/Public servant just right.–33 Gidwitz–lost some were.–10 - Schiznitz - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 12:54 am: Enough of people’s wishingful thinking polls. Brady is getting his butt whipped like a puppy. I get he is a great guy, but he is still a pup. He will lose and badly. Deal with reality. Topinka 36% Oberweis 23% Who cares about the others. Blago 64% - T.J. - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 1:37 am: “Steve Rauschenberger 61%” AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH - anon - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 6:11 am: despite what people report & their in-depth analysis of all campaigns the real poll as they say is next Tuesday. Let’s all work hard for our candidates this last week & hopefully unite behind our nominee. What ever the outcome {or surprise} is remember to vote or you really don’t have much to say if you don’t. - Bill Baar - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 6:28 am: I listened to Brady’s interview on WBBM radio Sunday. He’s a guy with Conservative views but he’s realistic about the rest of the state. He comes off very well on radio. And I think those values help him with the corruption people see accross the state. He could be a uniter and give Blagojevich a run for it. I’m just not sure he has the time to get the message accross unfiltered by the media. That whole interview and the sound bite that came out was he wants to teach ID. Far far from the truth, he wants school boards to run schools, he’s disappointed with Bush’s No Kids Left Behind… …it all depends on how that message gets filtered. - The Conservative - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 6:33 am: I hear a lot of noise about the various campaigns. I only know about the one I am involved in. When I have a candidate that I really want to win I work night and day for that person. That is exactly what I have been doing for Brady. For those that feel if a liberal wins we should all join her in November, I say “Nuts” to quote a famious General. We have heard that for how many years, then let a conservative win and the same liberal say Oh they are to conservative, I cannot support him. Well that dog has hunted and we aren’t buying it any longer. So if you want more of the liberal dems, then you go vote for Judy and I will watch my HD tv in the fall. - YNM - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 7:31 am: Ditto2, please come up with something better than the “kool-aid” line. Are you DuPage? That was the last moniker I remember pulling that line out. And what is it exactly he could have accomplished as a lone senator that he didn’t? These guys don’t go it alone you know. It’s that whole representative government / general assembly thing … sure the GA probably could have done more, but that doesn’t fall on the shoulders of one … but i’d still be curious to know what you think he could have done. and Schiznitz, really? getting spanked like a puppy? hmmm … ok. that’s great analysis. have russert or matthews called yet? maybe they could get you on sometime in the 08 election cycle to provide such thoughtful analysis to our country’s voters. bottom line is this … the polls are all telling slightly different things … with a few seemingly consistent pieces or trends: JBT has remained constant - could be a positive for her, but could equally be a negative. oberweis has bneen stagnant or declined. gidwitz has shown some growth, but at a huge cost. brady has shown some growth at minimal cost. in addition to the numbers, it appears that gidwitz has decided to go negative, but that could hurt him as much as anything. oberweis has made some blunders that many were expecting to occur all along, hurting him slightly with his base and making him even more difficult to elect in a general. JBT has flown under the radar. And Brady has made distinctions, sometimes making claims about his opponent, but has mostly stayed positive and on message. Some of his ideas have been presented in accurately (like his push for local control of schools and curriculum decisions becoming a push for teaching the Bible). I think he has made his values clear but at the same time taken positions that resonate with the base but, for the most part, make him electable in a general. - Beowulf - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 7:35 am: The reality to me is that all four of the GOP candidates will prove to be a decided improvement over the current governor. Gidwitz is probably the better choice for the GOP if we wanted to attract some of the Democrats to cast their vote for a GOP contender and yet, have a GOP governor that has the ability and necessary qualifications for fixing the deplorable financial situation the state finds itself in. I am really surprised that Gidwitz has not included Rauschenberger in more of his numerous television political commercials. Their focus is solely on Ron Gidwitz although you might see a cameo appearance of Steve Rauschenberger vaguely way back in the background. If I was Steve Rauschenberger, I would want to be standing prominently next to Gidwitz with these commercials. Rauschenberger can use all of the name recognition that he can get. And, it doesn’t cost Ron Gidwitz any extra to have Steve in the political spot with him. It actually enhances Gidwitz’s exposure by being seen with one of the established politicians in Illinois that is best qualified to deal with our state’s financial problems. - ISU REP - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 7:46 am: Well I say “nuts” to the conservatives in the party you’ve driven us into the ground long enough, we’d actually like to WIN an election…I know that may not be of importance to you, but to some of us it is. If a conservative gets the nod it doesn’t matter whether I sit home or not because he’ll get spanked…it’s reality and it’s time to accept it. - The Conservative - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 11:12 am: I have no problem with reality, and I think you are about to be surprised. However should Miss Liberal win I truly will enjoy watching the liberal wing of the party trying to work for a living. Remember boy’s and girls we do not have welfare in the republican party, you must work for your rewards and you have been living off the work of the conservatives for so long you actually think there is a republican party with out us. - Skeeter - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 11:37 am: No welfare in the Republican Party? That’s interesting. I thought welfare was cut under President Clinton and expanded under President Bush. How does this whole “no welfare” thing work? - Rick - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 12:48 pm: Mr. “The Conservative”, here’s one of many conservatives who is voting Republican in November, no matter who wins. In fact, I support Judy in the primary because of her stand on the Second Amendment. There are a lot like me out there. Funny how I could support, and vote for, Peter Fitzgerald, who in my view was screwed up on the gun issue, in 1998. Now you want to stay home because even though Judy is right on the Second Amendment, you don’t like her views on your pet issue. You’ll split conservatives seven ways to Sunday. Get a life. If you take a Repub ballot in the primary, don’t be a hypocrite. Support the winner-you expect all the others to do so, especially if your guy wins. If you can’t do that, take another ballot, or don’t vote until November. - Dem Voting R - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 12:56 pm: “You must work for your rewards.” So, that means you support the newbie who is running, and not the Lady who has served this state for so long. I guess I never find logic in right-wing arguments - they are simply incapable of seeing beyond their own beliefs - no matter how passionately they hold them. I admire those whose values propel them to action - but there is a time to join the world, or be apart from it. - The Conservative - Wednesday, Mar 15, 06 @ 11:08 pm: Rick, you are no more pro second amendment than I am, perhaps the difference is I am a christian first and formost. I couldn’t care less about the label of Republican. I care about issues. I have been a republican all my life and a leader in the party, however I am tired of holding my nose with liberal republicans that are not real to begin with. I have held my nose long enough. I think that is fine that you have to get off your butt and go work for her, I will be working along side you for other real republicans and just skipping her when I vote. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.