I know you are, but what am I?
Thursday, Jun 17, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller
* More back and forth on the campaign trail between Sen. Bill Brady and Gov. Pat Quinn…
Brady, a state senator from Bloomington, also dismissed as Blagojevich-like criticism from his Democratic rival, Gov. Pat Quinn, that an appearance with a member of the Bush family was a sign that Brady would return to the fiscal policies of President George W. Bush.
“It seems to me that this current governor’s hallucinating the same way that the governor on trial is,” Brady said at the Chicago Club.
“He’s talking about raising tax rates on a recessionary economy that’s losing jobs faster than almost every state in the nation. He’s talking about borrowing on the backs of human service providers, educational institutions, colleges, cities and county government. He’s ignored dealing with the budget while he’s gallivanted around the state when we’re in a fiscal crisis,” Brady said.
“He’s a professional naysayer, we know that,” Quinn said of Brady. “All he does is preach doom and gloom, that’s not going to get Illinois out of the economic turmoil that George Bush created. You know, Sen. Brady was a George Bush delegate, he was a cheerleader for George Bush, George W. Bush, and all these policies that ran the American economy into the ditch.”
Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush beat up the Democrats with Jimmy Carter for 12 years, and it worked for about 9 of those 12 (they’ve used it again against Barack Obama with little success). The Democrats successfully used Herbert Hoover against the Republicans for almost two decades.
“W” was horribly unpopular in Illinois pretty much throughout his two terms, but particularly in that second term, when Blagojevich successfully whacked Judy Baar Topinka with a TV ad linking her to the president.
Whether this sort of thing will work in Illinois this year is up for debate, but I would like to see some polling data before making any firm pronouncements.
…Adding… One oppo dump deserves another in the US Senate campaign. From Matt Lewis, a “writer, blogger and commentator based in Alexandria, VA” and via the Kirk campaign…
According to his website, Alexi has taken a hard-line stand against BP, noting “the unreasonably low liability cap could enable BP to evade paying for long-term damages. Alexi supports raising the liability limit under the Oil Spill Prevention Act from $75 million to at least $10 billion.”
But while Alexi is talking tough about BP today, according to the City of Chicago’s Board of Ethics disclosure forms, from late 2003-2008, Alexi’s Political Director Endy Zemenides — often referred to as “a top aide to U.S. Senate hopeful Alexi Giannoulias” – was lobbying for BP Bovis Global Alliance. This means that in 2007, when BP attempted to increase “the dumping of pollutants into Lake Michigan,” Alexi’s “top aide” was working for BP.
Zemenides appears to be working as an unpaid adviser to the campaign, but he is clearly a top counselor to Giannoulias, and is frequently identified as a “top aide” or “political director.”
The “BP Bovis Global Alliance” was formed to build and maintain gas stations in Europe…
A groundbreaking partnership which will enable BP to extend and improve its service station network across Europe in a more cost-effective manner has been formalised with Bovis.
Under the partnership agreement - which will run for five years - Bovis will build and maintain BP’s retail sites in Europe and will derive its profit solely from the savings it achieves. By the end of 1997 at least 150 service stations will be built under the new arrangement.
BP is beyond radioactive at the moment, of course, so we’ll see if this former lobbying contract takes hold.
* Related…
* God Apologizes To BP For Putting The Gulf Of Mexico In The Way Of All That Oil
- bdogg - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 3:34 pm:
how about rep. barton (r) from texas, apologizing to BP this morning? unreal. it just about me sick. i wonder how many IL legislators would have done the same thing, given the opportunity? i can think of a couple that would in a heart beat
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 3:47 pm:
Not a bad move by Kirk…making this campaign a debate about who is the biggest political insider is better than a debate about who do you trust, but still a losing argument for Kirk.
- Rob_N - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 5:58 pm:
It’s the gas stations??? Grasping. At. Straws.
I guess we know what Kirk and his GOP think of us “small people”.
…Kirk took money from Big Oil.
…Kirk was on the floor of the House chanting “Drill Baby Drill”.
…Kirk lost the endorsements of two major environmental groups, organizations that had endorsed him in years past, in part because they believed his interest in BP’s Lake Michigan scheme was only as a PR stunt given that he didn’t actually do anything about other than blow hot air.
…And, Kirk’s GOP colleagues in Washington are literally falling all over themselves to apologize to BP. (Why hasn’t the DCCC put together and run 30 second spots on that yet? I know it just happened but what a friggin’ gift the GOP just gave the Dems.)
Is Kirk’s campaign really sure they want to get anywhere near BP right now?
This blogger’s complaint is like saying Giannoulias’ campaign worker’s college roommate’s cousin’s neighbor once worked as a cashier at an Amoco gas station that got bought out by BP, ergo Giannoulias is clearly neck-deep in gulf crude. (”Save the Mexican Gulf Walruses!!” the GOP cries out.)
Kirk is not only grasping at straws but he clearly been completely knocked off whatever campaign strategy he once had.
If BP is Kirk’s plan B he’s turned the corner and is just plain flailing around.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 6:04 pm:
@Rob -
Not just gas stations, but gas stations in Europe!
Grasping at straws is right. We’ll see if anyone even prints it.
- well - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 6:24 pm:
“Not just gas stations, but gas stations in Europe!”
If it’s just gas stations in Europe, why did they employ a Chicago lobbyist for five years?
- cassandra - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 6:42 pm:
What they say at campaign events is just the usual hype.
We need some real, formal debates, at least three, and not all of them at the end of October. One after Labor Day, the last two in October. I nominate Phil Ponce for the moderator. Or somebody who can hold firm and not let them blather on.
- Will County Woman - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 7:27 pm:
To bad all the animals who have needlessly suffered as a result of BP and man’s greed won’t be compensated.
But, the ecological imbalance from the BP oil spill will have to be righted somehow. Messing with mother nature usually comes back on humans in the worst way.
whatever.
- Victor Crown - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 8:00 pm:
Rich,
There is a financial link between Kirkland and Ellis, who represents BP and Independent Assessor candidate Forest Claypool. Mr. Claypool has received campaign donations from 3 lawyers at Kirkland and Ellis - along with donations from the company linked to the parking meter deal.
Linkage and campaign donations to the Combine may serve to raise questions about Mr. Claypool’s self professed INDEPENDENCE.
VICTOR CROWN
- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 8:17 pm:
“BP has more Democratic lobbyists than Republicans.”
I’m sure they aren’t lobbying for more BP gas stations in Europe.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 8:39 pm:
Rumpelstilzchen!
- just sayin' - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 8:56 pm:
I’m no particular Quinn fan, but he does have a point here about Brady:
“All he does is preach doom and gloom, that’s not going to get Illinois out of the economic turmoil that George Bush created.”
It’s rare that Republicans win by being gloom and doom. Think Reagan. Plus Brady is the one who has been in Springfield for around 20 years. He’s got 4 fingers pointing back when he tries to blame Quinn for the mess.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 9:07 pm:
The 8:39 was for Will County Woman, BTW.
Long time no see around here. First post in a long time, isn’t it?
- Rob_N - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 9:15 pm:
Well asks, “If it’s just gas stations in Europe, why did they employ a Chicago lobbyist for five years?”
For the same reason the nation of Georgia hired former McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann. Scheunemann of course advised McCain to be really over-the-top harsh re the Ossetia break-away incident during the presidential campaign (not that he had any financial incentive from his one boss to influence the rhetoric of his other boss)…
It’s also the same reason BP hired Dick Cheney’s publicist…
Our country has turned lobbying into a high-paying industry. Like it or not European groups hire American lobbyists all the time.
- Sueann - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 9:34 pm:
Speaking of hallucinations did you all happen to see the issues regarding the valuation of the assets in the teachers pension fund? No I guess you all didn’t. You are all to busy trying to complain why certain entitlement programs that affect you personally are being unfairly cut
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/61-underfunded-illinois-teachers-pension-fund-goes-broke-becomes-next-aig-waiting-selling-bi
- wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 11:05 pm:
Brady can put pen to paper and present a budget plan with real numbers any time he wants. There are actually computer programs that will do the hard ciphering for him.
- Rob_N - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 11:22 pm:
Victor Crown,
BP law firm Kirkland & Ellis just so happens to be atop Mark Kirk’s career donor list with more than $156,000 lifetime…
Oops.
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00012539&cycle=Career
By the by, Kirkland & Ellis also tops out Bob Dold’s donor list. Dold is the guy hoping to replace Kirk in the 10th.
http://www.opensecrets.org/races/contrib.php?cycle=2010&id=IL10
- Cincinnatus - Friday, Jun 18, 10 @ 8:00 am:
just sayin’ - Thursday, Jun 17, 10 @ 8:56 pm:
I’m no particular Quinn fan, but he does have a point here about Brady:
‘All he does is preach doom and gloom, that’s not going to get Illinois out of the economic turmoil that George Bush created.’”
So it’s Bush’s fault, and Illinois is in rosy shape? That is about the least serious argument one can make.
- Sucka free - Friday, Jun 18, 10 @ 8:31 am:
One candidate in the senate race has taken money from both the BP PAC and Tony Rezco. And … drum roll … yes, it’s Mark Kirk.
No need to look for the 2 or 3 degrees of separation - Kirk took money DIRECTLY from BP.
- fan of cap fax - Friday, Jun 18, 10 @ 8:37 am:
Rich, please don’t ban me for life for changing the subject a little….but I loved Pee Wee Herman! (I know you are, but what am I?) It’s so sad his corny show went away. I still have the talking doll. I know, kinda creepy.
- ArchPundit - Friday, Jun 18, 10 @ 10:16 am:
Actually BP/Bovis have partnerships in several areas of the world. In the US they manage part of the retail operation, in Europe it’s an even closer relationship. Regardless, BP/Bovis is about the retail end of BP’s business not the refining or drilling.