Question of the day
Monday, Aug 23, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I already posted my newspaper column, but I want to pick out one section for our discussion here…
Meanwhile, it occurred to me as I watched Quinn’s speech at the Illinois State Fair’s Governor’s Day event that the guy wouldn’t recognize a campaign theme if it was bleeding to death on his front lawn.
Voters need simplicity. When they think about a candidate for major office, one word or short phrase needs to come to their minds. “Hope,” “Change,” “It’s the economy, stupid,” “What’s she thinking?” etc.
But Quinn is just all over the place, not only with his attacks on Brady, but in his defense of his own governance. One minute, he’s whacking Brady for not paying his taxes, the next he’s talking about the new jobs at Ford, the next he’s whacking Brady on some social issue or for missing a vote, the next, he’s holding a news conference to sign some obscure bill.
* The Question: What campaign theme would you recommend for Gov. Pat Quinn? Snark heavily encouraged.
- We Todd Did - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:37 am:
Three in a row. Lets keep the line moving.
- Rachel - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:39 am:
Don’t blame me! Vote for me so I can turn this around, again.
- Responsa - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:40 am:
This may be a sign that I am listening to too many Sox games, but I think something like “Stale, not Fresh” might work as a theme for PQ.
- A.B. - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:42 am:
“it’s about…wait your quitting??? No hang on, let me get you a raise to stick around… oh wait what did Brady just say?”
- Anonymous - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:42 am:
Re-elect Pat Quinn. He’s still an outsider.
- Concerned Observer - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:43 am:
“SQUIRREL!”
- Paul, Just This Guy, You Know? - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:44 am:
Vote for Quinn, because the economy WILL turn around if we can just raises taxes enough!
- Give Me A Break - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:47 am:
I can’t believe you would vote for Brady.
- Really?? - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:49 am:
I won’t kill your puppies.
- dr clean - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:51 am:
I’ve made it a year and 1/2 without being indicted, do you really want to risk this streak with a new guy?
- OneMan - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:51 am:
“No wait, on second thought”
or
“Seriously, would you want this job at this point?”
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:54 am:
Pat Quinn … the People’s Train Wreck
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:56 am:
Pat Quinn… This 1st Year Was Just Practice.
- Bluefish - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:57 am:
His theme should be “complete transparency” which Quinn should demonstrate by living in a transparent box without food suspended over the loop from now until the election. Worked when David Blaine did it in London. Hey, then after the election he can say his new governing style will be “lean and mean”. A twofer.
- Amalia - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:57 am:
PQ not IQ!
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 11:58 am:
Quinn … Now It’s Fredo’s Turn!
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:00 pm:
Pat Quinn … Land of Lincoln meets Land of Confusion.
- wordslinger - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:03 pm:
“Help!”
“What A Mess!”
“It Was Like This When I Got Here”
“It Could be Worse”
“Bound to Get Better”
“Win One for the Soyboy”
“Give Me a Break — I’m a Nice Guy”
“I Need the Work”
- Davey Boy Smithe - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:04 pm:
Pat Quinn….I put the Ill in Illinois!
- Robert - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:04 pm:
Quinn…too disorganized to do too much damage to Illinois.
- KeepSmiling - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:08 pm:
Bringing the Bermuda Triangle to Illinois, one spinning compass at a time.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:09 pm:
Pat Quinn … Going It Alone Never Looked So Good.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:11 pm:
Pat Quinn … “Leave a theme, Take the Cannoli”
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:11 pm:
More annoying to Mike Madigan than Brady.
- zatoichi - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:12 pm:
Pat Quinn-Working Illinois
- downstater - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:12 pm:
No Winn Quinn
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:14 pm:
Before the primary I posted this for a bumper sticker:
“Vote Quin” (ran out of room for the last “n”)
I don’t see how anything has changed.
- ghost - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:14 pm:
Quinn, like a good pancake I flip before my position overheats
- Anon - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:16 pm:
Not as sucky as Rod…yet.
- Sacks Romana - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:17 pm:
Pat Quinn: A disappointment we can believe in.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:19 pm:
Quinn/Simon … Making This Election ‘Special’
- mia - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:20 pm:
” blue, no red!”
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:23 pm:
Pat Quinn … Bringing Legislatures Down to Size, 59 At a Time
- VanillaMan - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:24 pm:
Governor Quinn - Medicine Woman
- Waco Kid - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:25 pm:
Vote for me Pat Quinn, I’ll be anything you want me to be.
- cicero - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:25 pm:
Quinn: At least he’s not a crook.
- MrJM - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:26 pm:
Last Season Was a Rebuilding Year.
– MrJM
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:26 pm:
VanillaMan … Nice Work!
- ArchPundit - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:27 pm:
Squirrel the new kitty.
- ArchPundit - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:29 pm:
This year is here!
- ghost - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:31 pm:
Quinn, One vanilla rich dupage shore governor, word!
- Behind The Scenes - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:31 pm:
Sorry, I wasn’t up to the job. See ya…
- Anonymous - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:32 pm:
A variation: Pat Quinn: He’ll always be an outsider.
- The Shadow - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:35 pm:
WIN with QUINN
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:35 pm:
Pat Quinn … Patrick Fitzgerald’s Governor.
- Dirt Digger - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:37 pm:
“Fire and forget.”
Incidentally works equally well for Brady.
- Lefty Lefty - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:37 pm:
Vote for me–I’m doing the best I can!
- Joe from Joliet - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:40 pm:
Man I wasted a lot of time on those damn dogs. From now on I focus only on Plummer.
- Davey Boy Smithe - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:40 pm:
Pat Quinn….I can hide in the bathroom too!
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:40 pm:
Pat Quinn … When Mediocre is Your Only Option.
- Vole - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:43 pm:
Quinn … finding the squiggly path to the bottom line but in the end that is all the taxpayers care about.
- Gregor - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:44 pm:
“Remember Mondale”
Mondale lost his bid for President during the debate when he admitted he would have to raise taxes to balance the budget if elected. “He will have to do the same thing; the difference is, I told you now, he won’t”
Mondale was correct about everything but the idea that being honest with the voters about the budget and taxes would win him respect. The other guy, like Brady, promised a lot of stuff and also that he would lower taxes at the same time. Of course, the people elected that liar.
- Joe from Joliet - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:44 pm:
Jobs today, jobs tomorrow, jobs everyday!
(Did we get enough employment apps out to the county chairmen and Chicago aldermen?)
- Cynic - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:45 pm:
59 down, 177 more to go
- Knome Sane - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:48 pm:
“I am doing everything in my power to get elected, er, I mean to get Bill Brady elected.”
- Responsa - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:48 pm:
Quinn: I just got my Super 8 VIP card re-activated. Voters of Illinois, please give me the chance to use it for state business.
- Betsy - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:48 pm:
Vote for Dilbert’s Pointy Haired Boss!
- Knome Sane - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:49 pm:
“Vote Quinn, Illinois’ version of Herbert Hoover”
- Knome Sane - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:50 pm:
Vote Quinn, I’m the dog who caught the bumper.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:52 pm:
Quinn for Illinois: It Can Get Worse!
- Levois - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:53 pm:
More honest than the preceding governor!
- Graham - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:55 pm:
Pat Quinn: Honest to a fault…the San Andreas Fault.
- anon - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:56 pm:
“Change Is Overrated”
- KGB - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:57 pm:
Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down.
- Kevin Highland - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 12:59 pm:
I’m the accidental Governor and I’ll fix the state buy accident!
- OneMan - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:06 pm:
Pat Quinn — Change it turns out he doesn’t even believe in.
Pat Quinn — Working hard to not offend you or impact you in any way.
Pat Quinn — Big Company Bad, Small Company Good
Pat Quinn — What’s that bleeding to death on my front lawn
Pat Quinn — Looking confused for you.
- Jake from Elwood - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:07 pm:
“Pat Quinn: People vote for Populists–Right?”
- D.P. Gumby - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:14 pm:
Pat Quinn–Wait Until Next Year!
- A.B. - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:17 pm:
Quinn, cuz Quimby already has a job.
- just wonderin - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:18 pm:
“The Flighty Quinn”, it comes with a theme song, lyrics below with apologies to Manferd Mann and Bob Dylan.
THE MIGHTY QUINN (QUINN THE ESKIMO)
Manfred Mann
- words and music by Bob Dylan
- Manfred Mann’s cover reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968
- lyrics adapted for this post.
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
Everybody’s building ships and boats
Some are building monuments, others are jotting down notes
Everybody’s in despair, every girl and boy
But when Quinn the Democrat gets here
Everybody’s gonna holler “Oy!”
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
I like to go just like the rest, I like my sugar sweet
But jumping queues and makin’ haste, just ain’t my cup of tea
Everyone’s beneath the trees, feedin’ pigeons on a limb
But when Quinn the Democrat gets here
All the pigeons gonna run to him
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
Let me do what I wanna do, I can’t decide ‘em all
Just tell me where to put ‘em and I’ll tell you who to call
Nobody can get no sleep, there’s someone on everyone’s toes
But when Quinn the Democrat gets here
Everybody’s gonna wanna doze
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the Flighty Quinn
- Responsa - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:23 pm:
Quinn campaign closing ad, shot straight to camera in sincere close-up:
” You know me. So when you’re standing in the voting booth shut your eyes and try to remember back to the day when you still thought I’d be a good governor. Then forget everything that has transpired since then. That way you can vote for me in relatively good conscience.”
- x's&o's - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:36 pm:
Honest Pat
- Joe from Joliet - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:42 pm:
Pat Quinn - “I won’t pardon Blagojevich”
- Commonsense in Illinois - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:54 pm:
Pat Quinn…Making it up for everyone.
- Segatari - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 1:56 pm:
Elect Quinn! We can’t allow a conservative to run this state and prove liberalism fails!
- belmont cragin kid - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:02 pm:
I vote for Concerned Observer - SQUIRREL!
- 13 - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:09 pm:
“We can’t stand pat!” (With apologies to Pat Paulsen’s ‘68 campaign.)
- Upstate - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:12 pm:
Road-kill candidate remembered as frantic, indecisive
- Anon - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:13 pm:
I am not ROD!!
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:16 pm:
“If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.” A. Lincoln
- Cincinnatus - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:23 pm:
Pat Quinn: Ambiguity is the mother of confusion.
- lakeview - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:30 pm:
Pat Quinn - too inept to go to prison!
- truthteller - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:45 pm:
“Brady has spent more on suits than I have!”
- wordslinger - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:45 pm:
“Spare Some Change?”
- the Patriot - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:46 pm:
Pat Quinn, good for dogs, people…not so much.
or
Help keep Pat Quinn off unemployment, vote for him.
- Living in Oklahoma - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:49 pm:
(Q)uite (u)seless & (i)nept (N)ovember (N)inth.
- Wondering... - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:52 pm:
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, for the little guy. Zzzzzzzzzz. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. For the people… blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Transparent, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I’m honest, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I tell the truth, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
- Cincinnatus - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 2:53 pm:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.
Or maybe not so much…
— Rudyard Kipling - Hat Tip
- CLJ - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 3:12 pm:
HOPEfully i’ll CHANGE
- zatoichi - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 3:17 pm:
Pat Quinn - Trying Hard.
Pat Quinn - CHa.CHa.Cha.cha..CHANges!
Pat Quinn - Government by, (no..no..ah)for, (no..) with, (no.ah) next to, (no, no, ah) because of, (hmm..no), above, (this is tough) despite the people.
- Aldyth - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 3:38 pm:
Think of me as a placeholder until 2014
- Bakersfield - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 3:40 pm:
“you know me”
(on second thought that might actually not be a winner)
- Rich Miller - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 3:56 pm:
IP address of that deleted moron is 205.212.73.38
$100 reward for anyone who tracks the idiot down.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 4:05 pm:
This is all I could find. Not very helpful.
OrgName: NTT America, Inc.
OrgId: NTTAM-1
Address: 8005 South Chester Street
Address: Suite 200
City: Centennial
StateProv: CO
PostalCode: 80112
Country: US
RegDate: 2005-12-08
Updated: 2010-07-30
Ref: http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/NTTAM-1
- CircularFiringSquad - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 4:29 pm:
NoTaxBill - 4th Bait & Switch GOP Gov in a Row
- Bullet in my foot... - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 5:22 pm:
1. Not in it to “Quinn” it!
2. Quinn to voters…”Paper bags…are tricky…I often have a difficult time finding my way out of one….so I am banning their use..in order to save the planet”.
- Gregor - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 5:37 pm:
“Give me Ambivalence or… something else.
- Cincinnatus - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 6:45 pm:
Quinn has a new campaign sign… in the shape of a fork.
- Lefty - Monday, Aug 23, 10 @ 8:43 pm:
Completely Different Approach with the Same Oustanding Results!
- Cool Hand Luke - Tuesday, Aug 24, 10 @ 7:13 am:
Pat Quinn—-”Be all that you can be”–(and that is the root of my problem).