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READER COMMENTS CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAY

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Be back Monday or Tuesday. Enjoy this gorgeous weather.

Or, if you just can’t pull yourself away from the computer screen, head to Illinoize and enjoy yourself there.

UPDATE: My latest Sun-Times column is now online.

UPDATE 2: My weekend is planned.

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The ads must be starting to work

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

New SurveyUSA poll shows Gov. Blagojevich’s disapprovals are falling while his approvals are rising. Best numbers since the monthly tracker began in May of last year. He’s still -2, however.

UPDATE: A commenter just pointed something out that could mean the poll is an outlier.

I just looked through the various tracking graphs… and noticed something a little odd. The Governor is enjoying a fairly significant surge of support among Republicans (12 point jump from last month, as opposed to 0 points among Democrats and -1 point among independents) and conservatives (8 point jump, as opposed to 3 points among moderates and liberals).

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Oberweisâ€™ downstate director discouraged by tactics

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

From Bernie’s column:

Sometimes, people who work on a campaign don’t like everything they see. ROB WINCHESTER of Springfield, who was downstate director for the JIM OBERWEIS gubernatorial campaign, is in that category.

Winchester, 38, whose father, BOB WINCHESTER, was a deputy governor under GEORGE RYAN and remains on the Republican State Central Committee representing the 19th Congressional District, says he still considers Oberweis a “wonderful man.” However, the younger Winchester said, he was also “completely discouraged with the approach of negative campaigning and the personal attacks at the end that the campaign chose to take.”

Those attacks were mainly pointed toward the eventual winner of the primary, state Treasurer JUDY BAAR TOPINKA, who happens to be the candidate who was backed by Winchester’s dad.

“I think the negative helped bring her favorables down, but it brought our unfavorables up, therefore having a negative effect on us, in my opinion,” Winchester said.

Oberweis didn’t always seek his staff’s advice when deciding on campaign tactics. For example, Winchester said, he didn’t know that at last year’s Illinois State Fair, Oberweis was going to use his time on stage to ask Springfield consultant BOB KJELLANDER, who was also on stage, to leave his party post. Kjellander, who is now treasurer of the Republican National Committee, has represented companies doing business with the administration of Democrat Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH.

“They’re good people, and I think they were unjustly attacked,” Winchester said of Kjellander and Topinka.

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Daily Herald gets to the bottom of it

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

As I told Capitol Fax readers today, Animal Farm has the answer to a burning question.

And The Answer Is â€¦

16

Thatâ€™s the number of trips the governor has logged to Springfield so far this year. A little more than a week ago the Daily Herald asked the governorâ€™s staff for the number of days heâ€™d been at the Capitol. A spokeswoman called Wednesday with the information.

She said the governor has made 15 â€œgovernmentalâ€ trips to Springfield and one â€œnon-governmentalâ€ trip. That was in February to announce he was seeking re-election.

The Daily Herald had a little more fun with the guv today.

Rod Blagojevich says when he was a member of the Illinois House during the 1990s, he broke with Democratic leadership and helped Republicans with tax caps.

â€œWell, I remember when I was a legislator in 1995 and 1996. And I remember voting with the Republican leadership on property tax caps,â€ Blagojevich said this week.

State records tell a different story.

Blagojevich was absent when, in 1995, the Republican-led Illinois House imposed tax caps on Cook County, a move vociferously opposed by his fellow Democrats whoâ€™d been relegated to the political minority at the time.

Interestingly, Blagojevich is recorded as being at the Capitol that day. Heâ€™s marked as present on the Feb. 10, 1995, House attendance sheet â€” which guaranteed heâ€™d get his taxpayer-provided daily stipend for food and housing. And he cast votes on proposals debated just before and after the Cook County tax cap plan.

Although the Chicago Democrat missed the Cook County vote, a year later, he was among the 90 lawmakers supporting Republicansâ€™ plans to allow tax caps downstate.

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Quote of the day

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Jim Muir:

I found it amazing that Reardon said she sits across her desk from people that she knows are going to die and they know they are going to die before they can get any help. And that is happening right here in the Land of Lincoln. And all the while the beat goes on in Springfield.

Go here to see what Jim was writing about. Very troubling indeed.

7 Comments

Question of the day

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

It’s not Friday, but I’m not working tomorrow so let’s make this a somewhat light-hearted QOTD.

Which team ends up with the better record this year, White Sox, Cubs or Cardinals? Why?

Place your bets, please.

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Under the bus

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Obama expresses reservations about Alexi.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday he is concerned by revelations that the bank owned by Illinois Democratic treasurer nominee Alexi Giannoulias’ family gave loans to a Chicago crime figure and said the candidate owes him and the public a full accounting.

“I’m going to take a look at what’s been going on and I’m going to ask Alexi directly what is happening,” said Obama, an early and enthusiastic backer of the first-time candidate, after a town hall meeting at York High School in Elmhurst.

“I think it is absolutely appropriate for [Giannoulias] to have to explain what exactly the nature of the relationship was, how aware the bank was of some of the illegal activities that this gentleman had engaged in in the past,” he said. “I think that is something that, as his campaign goes forward, he’s got to explain to voters.” […]

“It sounds like they hadn’t fully thought that through,” Obama said. “My recommendation to him will be that he needs to have a thorough press conference in which all of this gets completely aired and all of these questions have to be answered. I think that’s what any elected official owes to the voters.”

I’m wondering whether Obama does any TV ads for Alexi this fall.

My experience dealing with Alexi’s campaign is that they just don’t take these questions seriously because they think, for whatever reason, that they aren’t legit. Well, they can’t ignore or dismiss the questions now.

31 Comments

The “questions”

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Yesterday I told you about how the Blagojevich campaign irked reporters by handing out a list of “questions” for Judy Baar Topinka before her press conference. Here’s the sheet (click for larger image):

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Another Lane Evans open thread - UPDATED

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Hearing anything new?

UPDATE: E-mail from a trusted RI County friend:

John Gianulis went public with an endorsement of Phil Hare for Congress, followed an hour later by just about every Rock Island Countywide elected including County Clerk Dick Leibovitz, State’s Atty Jeff Terronez, Treasurer LuAnn Kerr, Auditor Diana Robinson and Regional Schools Sup’t Joe Vermeire.

UPDATE 2: Here’s a press release (jpg file)

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The Meeks beat

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Sen. Meeks would like to take back that “Sears Tower” comment, according to Christianity Today:

Meeks preached to his church on March 26 telling white churches to call him and tell him to run for governor.

“If I do run and there are two people in the race who both are not standing for morality, if I don’t have every white Christian vote in the state of Illinois, I will stand on top of the Sears Tower and call every one of ya’ll racist,” he said to his congregation.

Wheaton College political scientist Helene Slessarev-Jamir said Meeks cannot expect to gain many white voters if he repeats similar comments.

“This isn’t the kind of rhetoric that is going to work in building the bridges you need to run for statewide office,” she said. “And I’m not sure they will see common interest with other parts of his political program, even though they may be in agreement with him on abortion or gay issues.”

When asked about his statement, Meeks said, “That is a quote I would take back if I could say it again. My statement was simply saying that I would be extremely disappointed if it boils down to a race issue.”

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Big trouble for Dems in “blue” states

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Congressional Quarterly finds an interesting pattern out there.

The ranks of Democratic governors who have the highest job approval ratings in polls â€” and who are strongly favored to win re-election this November â€” includes several who lead states that are among the â€œreddest,â€ meaning they favored President Bush for re-election in 2004 and often by wide margins.

Paradoxically, the incumbent Democratic governors with the most lackluster approval ratings, including some who face serious challenges in their re-election contests, govern â€œblueâ€ states that favored Democratic challenger John Kerry over Bush.

Every incumbent Democratic governor seeking re-election in a Bush-voting state has an approval rating above 50 percent. […]

With the exception of highly popular freshman New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, every blue-state incumbent Democrat seeking another term is just breaking even or has fallen into negative territory in job approval polls.

These chief executives include Oregonâ€™s Theodore R. Kulongoski, Illinoisâ€™ Rod R. Blagojevich, Wisconsinâ€™s James E. Doyle, Maineâ€™s John Baldacci, Michiganâ€™s Jennifer M. Granholm and Pennsylvaniaâ€™s Edward G. Rendell.

The National Journal has this:

Their ‘02 victories crushed the GOP’s grip on midwest GOVs. Four years later, those Dem GOVs (MI’s Granholm , IL’s Blagojevich and WI’s Doyle) are fighting for their lives. Why??
– First, the economy. The midwest is struggling to evolve from its manufacturing past. IN’s Daniels and MO’s Blunt, both GOPers, aren’t up in ‘06, but they also aren’t popular.
– None of the three Dem GOVs has had friendly legislatures. It reminds us of how poorly cong Dems received a Dem president in ‘93 and ‘94.
– These GOVs are also suffering from labor pains. Unlike in red states where Dem GOVs are safer, these three have a heavy union presence. All are struggling to balance labor and centrist policies.
– Expectations? All three replaced GOPers who’d held power for more than a decade. Did they spend too much time re-populating state bureaucracies? Or, perhaps, not enough time?
– In truth, it’s all four factors, and they’re turning the midwest into an unexpected ground zero for GOV races this fall.

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Morning shorts

Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 - Posted by Rich Miller

Â· Judge finds man not guilty but insane in shooting of Capitol security guard

Â· Peotone airport ad campaign to target governor. More here.

Â· Birth control emerges as hot issue in election year

Â· Blagojevich signs legislation protecting condo owners’ religious rights

Â· Pantagraph editor resigns to work for Texas newspaper

Â· The perils of “working” the left blogosphere

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