Assessing the impact
Friday, Sep 25, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The first thing you should do when gauging the impact of a news event staged in Chicago is to see how it played on Chicago TV stations, which cover the majority of Illinois’ population.
So, how did the SEIU endorses Alexi Giannoulias story play yesterday on TV? Well, ABC7, which runs the most-watched news program in the market by far, pretty much dismissed the Republican and Democrat David Hoffman outrage and focused on Giannoulias’ actual message…
The vote in Washington to extend unemployment benefits took center stage in the race for the United States Senate in Illinois on Thursday.
In a state where the jobless rate hovers in the neighborhood of 10 percent, political candidates watch each other like hawks when it comes to positions they take on issues related to unemployment. And when they don’t take a position for whatever reason the campaign knives come out.
As he was endorsed on Thursday morning by Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the state’s largest labor union, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias took a shot at Republican U.S. Senate front-runner Mark Kirk. The North Shore congressman missed the House vote in Washington Tuesday when the chamber approved the extension of unemployment benefits to jobless Americans. “This was a very important vote for the American people and Mark Kirk didn’t show up,” said Giannoulias.
I wasn’t in the Chicago-area yesterday as planned, but none of the other stations have any Giannoulias-related stories on their websites as I write this. Not even Fox, which is odd, considering the ACORN component.
* The next thing you do is look at the AP’s take, since it will usually be picked up by many city, suburban and Downstate radio stations, newspapers and TV outlets. The AP went full-on for the GOP spin…
Illinois Republicans are using a union endorsement Democrat Alexi Giannoulias received Thursday to again try to make disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich a central figure in the U.S. Senate race.
The powerful 170,000-member Illinois chapter of the Service Employees International Union endorsed Giannoulias, the state treasurer, in his bid for President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, and Republicans jumped at the chance to point out the union’s ties to Blagojevich.
* Next up, the Tribune, Sun-Times and Daily Herald. All three appeared to run the AP story today, if that.
The Tribune did post a story on its Clout Street blog, however…
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias was endorsed today by one of the nation’s most politically active unions, but he also got criticism from a Democratic primary challenger and the Republicans. […]
The fury of the Illinois GOP response was notable given that it said little when Gov. Pat Quinn got the SEIU’s endorsement 10 days ago.
On the move by Congress to take away ACORN’s federal funding, Giannoulias said he agreed with the majority of the U.S. Senate. “The goals of the organization are laudable, but serious allegations have been raised and it’s not an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars,” he said.
Actually, the Illinois GOP only responded to Hoffman. It was the National Republican Senatorial Committee which initially attacked Giannoulias. The IL GOP merely posted the NRSC hit on its website. The state party also prominently featured the AP story, of course.
On balance as far as the mainstream media goes? Not a totally horrible day for Giannoulias, but not good, either.
- Anon - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 8:22 am:
“I wasn’t in the Chicago-area yesterday as planned”. You should get a Slingbox. Park it in a friend’s place upstate, and have Chicago TV here in c. IL.
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 9:00 am:
Is SEIU really that much of a villain to the general public, or just the full mooners who don’t seem to like anyone, Democrat or Republican?
- Niles Township - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 9:28 am:
“Not even Fox, which is odd, considering the ACORN component.”
I’ve found the local Fox station to be eben-handed, and not influenced by the mother Fox News Channel.
- Niles Township - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 9:28 am:
“Not even Fox, which is odd, considering the ACORN component.”
I’ve found the local Fox station to be even-handed, and not influenced by the mother Fox News Channel.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 9:31 am:
Since I’m often considered a full mooner, I’ll answer that.
No.
There is a jealousy thing going on within the country regarding neighbors with union jobs, and your typical anti-union bloviating from sincere, yet unrealistic, free market champions - but when these folks step into the voting booth, SEIU isn’t going to movitivate them in any direction. At this point.
The ACORN and SEIU stories are just more fodder being ladeled onto the public debate for consideration. Since ACORN has been going down, this actually makes the situation less toxic for Democrats they put into office and supported. SEIU is a more difficult situation to sell to voters, and so it comes off as just another union issue with Blagojevichian ties.
It will take a lot of money to make SEIU an issue next year by any opponent.
- John Ruberry - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 9:55 am:
A year ago most ppl hadn’t heard of ACORN. The general election is in 13 1/2 months.
- well - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 10:40 am:
Giannoulias should catch grief for the SEIU endorsement. Yesterday he accepted the union’s endorsement from a man who appears on federal wiretaps scheming with Rod Blagojevich to trade Obama’s Senate seat for personal gain. Not exactly a smart move in a year when Election Day is going to be occurring in close proximity to the Blagojevich trial.
I can just see the commercials now: video of Tom Balanoff testifying in court about how he helped facilitate Blagojevich’s schemes, and then video of Alexi shaking his hand and happily accepting his endorsement. It’s gonna be good stuff.
- Montrose - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 10:54 am:
Until SEIU has its own scandal, it is a good endorsement. It takes too much to explain the ties between ACORN and SEIU for it to become a soundbite that plays in a general election.
Now, if Balanoff comes across as truly connected to the selling of the Senate seat, then SEIU will have its own scandal and that will hurt.
- David Ormsby - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 12:43 pm:
The “SEIU” endorsement is inside baseball.
Yell “SEIU” in a crowded Starbucks or Dunkin Doughnuts and count the blank stares. Go ahead. Try.
- Anonymous - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 1:12 pm:
Knowing that Mark Kirk would have voted for the legislation, had he been able, is enough for me.
Furthermore, to claim that Kirk had avoided the vote “for political reasons” sounds like a bit of a stretch. He could have chosen to issue no reply, but instead his statement was clear.
- Fan of the Game - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 1:36 pm:
@ well - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 10:40 am:
Your post is the kind of analysis I love to read on here.
As to the question, I suspect the SEIU endorsement will mean a lot to Gianoulias and the audience to which it was targeted despite the tepid press.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 1:57 pm:
I can see the campaign commercials now: “The SEIU donated $$$$$$ to corrupt Rod Blagojevich. They now support Giannoulias.”
In fact, substitute the SEIU for anything or anyone else, and . . .
It’s going to be a long political season!
- Scooby - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 2:00 pm:
Doubtful. They don’t allow cameras in the courtroom.
- Inish - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 2:07 pm:
I am not sure I agree with any of you on the coat tail drag down of Blago- this state re-elected him in the midst of the debacle. The average voter doesn’t know or care about ACORN or SEIU. And the ACORN video is too extreme to take seriously- those two kids look like they are out of Starsky and Hutch.
Kirk cannot count on the far right- they won’t vote Dem- they just won’t vote. The average voter is too busy trying to keep their home and their job- the candidate with the most believable solution will win- if we learned nothing from the Obama race- people need hope.
- Ghost - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 2:08 pm:
Louis, those can play alongside the majority of the GOP standing next to Blago and the GOP demanding that Blago be given billions and billions in contracting authority.
“The IL GOP stood up for rod blagjevich, do you really want them making the decsions now?”
- JonShibleyFan - Friday, Sep 25, 09 @ 4:07 pm:
I agree that SEIU is inside baseball.
Inside baseball with scads of cash and bodies.