Tammy Duckworth is no longer running TV ads and is running out of money.

After filling the airwaves with television commercials, Democrat Tammy Duckworth is heading into the crucial final weeks of the west suburban 6th Congressional District contest with a severely depleted campaign war chest.

She had just $206,381 in the bank at the end of last month, while Republican rival Peter Roskam had $1,500,950. […]

Duckworth said she had to answer $1.4 million in television and mail advertising financed by the National Republican Congressional Committee to attack and distort her record in the race to succeed retiring GOP congressman Henry Hyde.

“I couldn’t afford to stay on the air, [but] I’m going to do everything I can to get my message out — talk to the voters, do all of the grass-roots things,” Duckworth said. “I am not going to let this be a campaign that is won or lost based on funds.”

The Daily Herald story ponders whether Duckworth may have peaked too soon, but adds this nugget (albeit buried) that the Sun-Times missed.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which reserved $2.3 million to run ads blasting Roskam, starts airing its first ad today.

Also, Andrew Sullivan writes that this NRCC ad is “all-but racist.”

Notice the visual contrast between the alleged illegals and the white family who will have to “foot the bill” for them. Lovely. But effective.

[Hat tip to a commenter]

*** UPDATE *** Roskam’s own ad on immigration/Social Security/etc. is below.

       

29 Comments - Anon - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 8:37 am: Andrew Sullivan has highlighted this NRCC ad against Duckworth as one of the most extreme this year due to its appeal to bigotry: http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/10/ad_watch.html - Wumpus - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 8:42 am: I wonder will Roskam ask that she give her Soros money back? With the slap on the wrist given to traitorous lawyer Lynne Stewart, and her defense being funded in part by a Soros funded group, will she give it back? This is why so many on the right have disdain for SOros. He supported a lawyer who aided a terrorist who attempted to blow up the world tade center and more! With her distinguished military service, on ewould think she’d give the money back w/o being prompted. - Wumpus - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 8:43 am: Bigotry or law and order? - Larry Horse - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 8:48 am: Thanks for the hat tip. Forgot to enter my nom de blog. - Skeeter - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 8:55 am: Wumpus: She will give the money back to Soros when Solidarity gives its money back. How soon you forget. Soros backed Polish independence when Reagan sat on his hands. Not that you care about freedom. - So-Called "Austin Mayor" - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 9:11 am: I hope that it is due to the jerkiness of the video, but as a former infantryman, I am deeply disturbed by those soldiers’ inablity to march in step. Drill sgts spend the first week of boot camp teaching soldiers how to march and in that video it looks like they are doing the wave. If those guardsmen can’t even remember how to march, I suspect that Maj. Duckworth is right when she says deploying the guard to the boarder would cause more problems than it would solve. And here is a free tip to the NRCC: When you show middle aged women struggling through hip-deep water in an effort to live a better life, you might humanize illegal immigrants and create sympathy for them among the moderate swing voters you need to win. And I can only imagine the kind of hardened soul who would not recognize that. - moderate - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 9:30 am: interesting how the NRCC used the “whats she thinking” line at the end. - ChicagoCynic - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 9:39 am: Those NRCC and Roskam immigration ads are so over the top I’m very curious to see if they’re effective. They’re just so ridiculously cliche. And of course, they don’t bother to mention that the Ted Kennedy “amnesty plan” that she supposedly favors, just happens to be the plan proposed by one George W. Bush. - Frustrated Voter - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 10:22 am: I don’t like negative political ads and wish all politicians would pledge not to use them, but they’re a reality, and I think not a helpful one in the Roskam/Duckworth race. While I live in Chicago, my entire family lives in the suburbs in Hyde’s district, so this is their congressional race to vote in. The negative ads being run by the NRCC are turning voters away from Roskam - even though their ads are not endorsed by him. And this comes from people I consider to be educated voters! If this is having that effect on informed voters, I can only imagine what it is doing to the casual observer of politics. Hopefully the NRCC ads don’t tank Roskam’s chance of winning, as I think he would be an excellent congressman. I don’t like the idea of Rahm handpicking a candidate and then having her ads say she won’t be controlled by either party. I’m not buying into that one. Unfortunately, I can’t vote in that race. - Pat Collins - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 10:32 am: all but racist Is it true or not? Since when is truth racist? Guardsmen Actually, she’s right. The Guard on the border isn’t the answer, more border patrol is. Bush’s amnesty Yes, and when Speaker Pelosi kicks off his impeachmentr hearings, Bush’s backing for an amnesty will be a big reason WHY she is speaker. Had Bush pushed the Senate to pass the house bill with it’s employer sanctions and mandated checks, they’d have a real accomplishment to take to the voters. His stubborness there, and in not asking for 2, 3 more divisions for Iraq are his downfall. - Larry Horse - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 10:50 am: If the audio from that ad were made into a radio ad, then it would not be racist. The images though are clearly extreme and indeed “all-but-racist” - Larry Horse - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 10:54 am: The most vile part of the ad is the contrast of the two “illegals” in seconds 16-19 (who are just two ordinary Hispanic men with no indication at all that they are illegal immigrants - or do you assume that all Hispanics are here illegally?) with the “Illinois family” in seconds 20-22, who happen to be white. The ad is clearly trying to send a at best nativist and at worst racist message to those who are receptive to such vitriol. - Scott Fawell's Cellmate - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 11:07 am: As the Chicago Tribune reported on 9/26, Bill Clinton is coming to Chicago on October 23 for a major joint fundraiser for Duckworth and Bean: “Duckworth and Bean have a joint fundraiser of their own scheduled for Oct. 23 in the Chicago area with perhaps the biggest draw in the Democratic Party: former President Bill Clinton.” (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/nearnorthwest/chi-0609260213sep26,1,6820366.story?coll=chi-newslocalnearnorthwest-hed) Duckworth will have the money she needs to win. - Coloradem - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 11:08 am: Well, all republicans know that only whites pay taxes. Blacks, hispanics and asians don’t pay taxes. Oh, and all hispanics are illegal (except Cubans ones because they tend to vote for Republicans so we let them enter and stay once they hit the beach). - Miss Leading - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 11:43 am: I too found the newspaper articles buried the important news. The stories could have just as easily made this point: Tammy has attracted more than a million dollars while running in a formerly Republican friendly district. She’s run a very good campaign, ran saturation coverage of effective TV ads, now leads in the polls, and today the DCCC is launching a three-week $2.3 million dollar TV ad campaign targeting her district. Sounds a great deal different than the headlines the papers chose to run. - tomorrow we vote - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 11:52 am: This type of ad, now on the airwaves, and mailers like one the NRCC sent out to attack Bean with Osama Bin Laden next to Mexican workers (supposedly both threats to our “security”) are going to be a nail in the Republican coffin in this state. There will be no Latino or Muslim vote for the R’s for years to come. - Funny - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 1:22 pm: Reagan sat back on his hands? Good Lord, I love when history is rewritten in these rooms to fit partisan idiots. - Bill Baar - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 1:34 pm: I think the spirit of Roskam’s ads matchs Duckworth’s earlier fliers. Not the route I would have taken but there sure must be polling out there telling both sides that Oberweis was on to something. - Skeeter - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 1:57 pm: Funny, How much money did the Reagan Administration provide to Solidarity? How much did Soros on his own? That’s the problem with Republicans. They never have a clue as to the facts. - Larry Horse - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 2:16 pm: Say what you will about Ronald Reagan, but it is a fact that George Soros has done much much more to spread freedom in the world than has George W. Bush - Bill Baar - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 2:36 pm: How much money did the Reagan Administration provide to Solidarity? Skeeter, why your off on this tangent I don’t know, but many on the left think Reagan and the CIA funnelled quite a bit through the AFL-CIO too Solidarity in Poland (that’s ok) and other free trade unionists throughout central America (that was bad). Read The ClO without the CIA: Inside the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center. - Skeeter - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 2:41 pm: Bill, Your last comment sure explains your views. You post but do not read. Soros is part of the discussion because of the second comment. Try and follow along. Don’t like the discussion of Soros? Blame Wump and not me. And try and find some real sources, but that is another matter completely. - Skooter - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 3:13 pm: They provide plenty…had the Pope’s help too…how much did Soros actually provide? - Sweet Lou - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 4:03 pm: Reagan did give a lot of money…you mopes ever hear of the CIA? Oh, but he was Republican, so clearly he didn’t do enough, man, you guys are so transparent, I love it! Oh yeah, and I forgot, libs hate the CIA…it’s all coming back to me now! - Archpundit - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 4:09 pm: ==They provide plenty…had the Pope’s help too…how much did Soros actually provide? Over $3 Million a year I’ve never quite understood the animosity against Soros. Other than his strong dislike of George Bush–something shared by about 60% of the country, his work on democratization is quite remarkable and sustained. He has Institutes on 6 continents related to supporting democracy and the rule of law. You don’t have to like a specific decision, but respecting a man who fled Europe for freedom and has spent over 25 years working to bring others freedom is generally something most people would respect. - True Blue Voter - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 8:55 pm: The Republicans have run out of ideas. Roskam is borrowing a page from the national GOP playbook–bash your opponent for allegedly supporting illegal immigration. Every Republican inn the country is running on the Big Lie.He’s Does Roskam have anything else to say? Does he have an idea of his own Are voters really that gullible? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. - NW burbs - Tuesday, Oct 17, 06 @ 11:35 pm: When will Roskum pull his lies off the air? The Trib already politely asked him to do so and he refused. He might be risking the Trib’s endorsement. (Wait, he has an “R” after his name — he could be a rubber chicken with an “R” after his name and the Trib would still endorse him.) ———– Don’t quote us on that Published October 16, 2006 Chicago Tribune Editorial Roskam’s ad refers to a Sept. 23 story that mentions Duckworth’s support for the U.S. Senate’s immigration bill. The story says the bill “would allow illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship after learning English, staying employed for a prescribed length of time and paying a fine and back taxes.” Not a word about welfare or Social Security. Roskam may think that’s a fair extrapolation, and he’s free to make that case. But those statements are coming from his campaign, and his ads shouldn’t suggest otherwise. Politicians like to use newspaper headlines and quotes in their campaign ads in the belief that information, praise and criticism resonates more with voters if it comes from an independent source. We’re happy the candidates think this newspaper provides that validity, but when they misrepresent those words, they hurt their own credibility–and take liberties with ours. A word to Mr. Blagojevich and Mr. Roskam. If you choose to quote us, please take care to relate what we said, not what you wish we’d said. Get it right–or leave us out of it. ———– - Wumpus - Wednesday, Oct 18, 06 @ 9:19 am: Duckworth has raised money from primarily outside the district, Missleading. it is legal, but that was a tidbit left out of your quote of that article. - Claude - Wednesday, Oct 18, 06 @ 1:47 pm: What we need is a good ole Reagan Amnesty. Everyone knows that real republicans (i.e. wealthy ones) support illegal immigration. How else could we get such well-priced labor? Only when races are tight do some party leaders fan the flames of xenophobia and nativism (natives, really?) so that wannabe Republicans (i.e. poor to middle class white folk) can go out to the polls. I am embarassed by this wing of the party. America needs to continue with our economic progress! We can’t afford to revert to hickism… Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.