71 Comments - Thoughts... - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:44 pm: Quinn - it’s already too late for this, but I would’ve advised he hand his campaign over to competent professionals and let them run the show with minimal oversight and an emphasis on message discipline. Micromanaging a campaign, especially a statewide campaign, is a pretty good way to lose. Brady - Do you have a safe house/bunker? Find it, and stay there for the next six weeks. Only come out for already scheduled appearances, do not schedule anything more public or with media, and turn every question back to jobs and the economy during the debates. - We Todd Did - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:44 pm: Take a vacation. Get as far away from Illinois as possible. Every time Quinn opens his mouth he reminds us who he is. Brady wins because no one knows who he is. - A.B. - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:47 pm: Brady stick to your talking points and don’t give out anything new to anyone. Quinn keeps shooting himself in the foot and you just need to coast into the governor’s mansion. Just zip around the state, shake hands and be the nicest guy in the world. - RMW Stanford - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:51 pm: Brady- Keep hitting Quinn on the state of the state, the economy, and the idea that he has failed to reform the state and the back room deals continue. If you can continue to pin the state’s problem squarely on his shoulders he done. Quinn- Thoughts advise is the correct one but it probably to late. Think before you make a political decsion for once. - eastsider - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:53 pm: Quinn’s campaign is almost futile at this point, because he’s so far behind the 8 ball, and he keeps making things worse for himself. My advice to Quinn would be to spend more time downstate, but do so in a very populist manner. He was down here in the Metro East (Alton) last week touting the high speed rail plan…a project that almost everyone in this particular area thinks is a waste of time and money. And he did the press conference just a few miles from Olin Corporation, which just announced that they will likely be moving at least 1,000 more jobs from its Winchester ammunition factory in East Alton down to Mississippi. These jobs have been in this area for 100 years, and Quinn never bothered to address the situation while he was down here. I’ve heard nothing from complaints from Democrats down here about how “out of touch” he is. The Quinn campaign should also keep Sheila Simon as far away from Southern Illinois as possible. She has nothing in common with voters down south and I still haven’t seen how she benefits the ticket. As for Brady, he needs to keep pounding the collar counties and use copycat ads from Dan Hynes’ primary campaign. I still contend that Hynes’ prisoner release commercial (the one with the mugshots) was the best commercial I’ve seen all year, and I think that Brady needs to revive it. It should have the “Willie Horton effect” on Quinn. Also, if I were the Brady campaign, I’d deflect every one of Quinn’s attacks by saying, “If I had the disastrous and embarrassing record that Pat Quinn is trying to run on, I’d be desperate to create distractions as well.” The Brady campaign should also keep Jason Plummer out of Cook County, and primarily downstate, where he is well-liked. I’d have him doing rallies in every town in which there is an RP Lumber yard located. - Wumpus - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:53 pm: Brady-stick to things that make you popular among all voters. Be mainstream. Don’t focus on things you cannot change, highlight things you can affect once elected. We all know how you feel onAbortion..who cares? Quinn, liten to your brain. Stay on message and get Obama’s teleprompter. Once you speak off the cuff, trouble emerges for you. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:54 pm: I’ve deleted one snarky post already. Lots of work to do today, so try to elevate yourselves, please. I’m interested in seeing real ideas here. Also, try to offer up advice for both candidates, not just one. Thanks. - OneMan - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:55 pm: Quinn — It may be too late but run against the legislature as much as you are running against Brady. Brady — Don’t let Quinn define you too much, but for the most part keep doing what you are doing and keep Jason away from mics. - Davey Boy Smithe - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:56 pm: To Quinn: Your body language has always looked off. You either look unbalanced, confused or dead tired. When you talk, your shoulders always shrug and it looks like your explaining your way out of a maze. Aesthically, you just don’t look confident. To Brady: Maybe explain to people why you didn’t have to pay taxes. Strength the fact that you didn’t avoid them. - VoterUSA - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:59 pm: As far as Brady, it’s a no brainer (no pun) stay on message and hide… For Quinn, he needs to really start pounding the drum, Gun control, environment, education other things beside the economy. Also, he needs to tie Brady with the tea party at every chance. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 12:59 pm: Davey Boy Smithe, that was pretty darned good. I guess I haven’t processed that before, but you’re right. - Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:00 pm: I would tell Quinn to keep the faith. Keep generating his message of inclusion. I would also encourage him to be positive and wait for the electorate to come to their senses. They are angry right now but usually come to the best collective decision. As far as Brady goes, I would give him the opposite advice everyone else is giving. I would have him in Chicago almost exclusively making an effort to garner urban votes and trying to make him less threatening to this vast constituency. My experience is that elections like this get fully vetted and you can run but you can’t hide. By election day, everybody will know all they want to about Big Bill whether he likes it or not. I think he better get some City votes because he may have trouble with women. - Say WHAT? - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:01 pm: VoterUSA, So you want Quinn to lose? - GetOverIt - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:02 pm: Quinn - Talk Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs…and counter Brady, i.e. he doesn’t have a plan…”No Plan” “No Plan” “No Plan”. Quinn should point to Ford, Navistar, and possibly the United/Continental deal, if he can. Also, introduce legislation that would establish parameters (floor and ceilings) for state employees, including union employees, so that during difficult times like these we can hold the line on wages and even defer/eliminate increases. Obviously there will be challenges to this, but its an “idea.” Brady - Articulate your best case scenario, i.e. return of manufacturing (Green Jobs), hold the line on taxes on corporations that invest in and employ Illinoisians, and balancing the State Budget. Stay away from RNC talking points and Sarah Palin. - Springfield Alum - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:02 pm: For the Governor: You lost the voters when you stopped being Pat Quinn and started acting like a politician desperate for votes. You have to go bold to stand any chance of pulling this election out. Provide details on how you are going to resolve the state’s budget problems. Call for and provide details on a comprehensive reform of the state’s tax structure. Level with voters. They see right through your pandering to the unions and special interests. For Senator Brady: When you get elected, don’t make the same mistake Blago did. People aren’t voting for you on the strength of your personality or your ideas. They are voting aganist your predecessors. Convince Kirk Dillard or Jim Reilly to be your COS. - Bill - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:09 pm: With no snark intended, the only chance Quinn has to get votes downstate would be to promise to quit if elected and let Sheila be governor. That might save a few down ballot races down there. As for Brady, I agree with everyone else. He should make himself scarce, avoid any big blunders, which might be hard for him, and listen to his people. - Levois - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:11 pm: Brady should go into the city neighborhoods and talk about what a Brady administration could do for those depressed urban areas. If there is concern that Scott Lee Cohen could take votes away from bother Quinn and Brady then they need to go into those communities and compete for those votes. - OneMan - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:11 pm: Quinn — At this point I wonder if taking a stronger general stance with everyone might be a better approach. For example call a special session on the budget. Look active, Davey Boy Smithe does have a point, you look like the guy who asking the girl to dance and who has convinced himself she is going to say no. Brady — Spend some more time up north. - Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:14 pm: Brady: Prepare for your debates and learn the details like the back of your hand. Raise money for yourself and other Republican candidates in the GA in any district where there is even a slight chance of flipping it, unless the candidate is a flake. Lay low, work behind the scenes and get your team in place for taking over the governorship. If any idea from your team is outstanding, and after thorough vetting for any holes, announce it in a reinforcing venue. Remember you are under no pressure to announce how you would balance the state budget, at least in any detail. Quinn: Ah, Quinn. Do not do another bill signing, project announcement event or any other thing that can be considered a payback to a special interest. Ain’t gonna work in this cycle. If you have a plan to get the state on track, flesh it out. The plan need not be one-year, or even five-year. But it must address the systemic budget problem. You will need to [anger] some of your special interest friends, you have a choice to lead, or submit to their whims and go down to an ignoble defeat. You are at the top of the ticket, if you crash totally, you are taking a bunch of people with you. Consider giving your campaign up for a loss (don’t tell anyone) and work for the good of the party and fundraise for Democrat members of the GA where your presence doesn’t hurt them. Go out in style. - Phineas J. Whoopee - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:17 pm: BTW, Jesse Jr’s got a lot of nerve. Pat Quinn has to come to his community to get their vote. He’s been there all his life. Jr. better get off his but and start working for the ticket instead of puting his mouth where it don’t belong. Talk about a drag on the Democratic Party. He could be a poster child right now. - The 'Dale to HPark - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:17 pm: I’d tell Quinn to embrace the fact that he’s from Hinsdale. People want to like Pat Quinn, the problem is that, imo, he tries so hard NOT let anyone think he’s from Hinsdale that he doesn’t seem ‘real’… and then go into DuPage and tell ‘em that you are one of them. And that Bill Brady is not. Brady? Don’t go to Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry or DuPage counties because you can only lose votes by opening your mouth there. - 47th Ward - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:20 pm: For Quinn, it’s time to think about how you wish to be remembered in Illinois. Bring back Pat Quinn, the earnest populist whose heart is always in the right place. Stop the political calculus and the pandering and the appeasement with those who’d otherwise be your enemies (cough Joe Berrios cough). Be yourself and have fun out there. Stay positive and stress all the things that are good about Illinois and Illinoisans. We’re sick of hearing bad news and attacks. Give us a positive vision of the future and a road map of how we get there. For Brady, as someone else said, come to Chicago. Ride along with CPD on a weekend night. Spend some time at County Hospital. Speak at a Chicago elementary school. Ride the CTA. Understand that if you get elected, you’ll be expected to govern for us too, and Lord knows, we’ll need your help. Waiting until January to learn about Chicago is too late. - ILPundit - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:22 pm: Quinn: In a word, simplify everything. It’s clear his campaign can’t handle a complicated tasks. I would move all campaign assets related to field to the coordinated campaign and focus 100% on message and Chicagoland event appearances. Never communicate unless its about the economy — why your ideas for it are good, and why Brady’s are bad. Shut up about social issues, etc. It ain’t playing this year. (I suppose that might count as 2 ideas…sorry) Brady — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. He’s running away with it as it is. - Piling on - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:24 pm: Quinn — Sit down for an afternoon and ask yourself why you want to be governor and why would anyone vote for you? What would you say to someone (in under three minutes) to prove you deserve the job? Your answers are your message. Then you need to stop reacting and start doing. Both as a candidate and as a governor. Quit worrying about interpretation and spin. It’s not like you’re going to blow the race more than you already have. If you can’t explain in bold, brief real terms/decisions/actions why you should be governor then you should drop out now and should have never run. Brady: Get an absentee ballot (which would be fitting), fill it out, mail it in, then go on globe-trotting vacation. Call it an economic development mission and that you’re scouting business investments and opportunities for Illinois as kind of a governor in waiting. It shows you are in command, that you’re already thinking ahead about getting our economy going and you appear above all of this mudslinging ankle-biter politics. It’s the kind of thing Jim Edgar would do. Heck, take him with you. And, most importantly, it greatly reduces the opportunity for you to shoot yourself in the foot, face or any other body part. Fly back the weekend before the election and hold a news conference touting all the inroads you’ve made for illinois businesses and investments and you can’t wait to put the into action just as soon as voters put you in office. - Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:28 pm: Quinn-Sack your 26 year old out of state campaign manager and bring someone in with a modicum of Illinois experience who can reach out to black voters. Delmarie Cobb, step up to the plate! Brady-Take the Hynes ad featuring Harold Washington, make it into a radio ad and run it on WGCI. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:29 pm: ==Be yourself and have fun out there.=== I was just about to write that here. Even Dawn Clark Netsch managed to have fun while she was losing by 35 points. Yes, he has a lot of people depending on him and this burden has to keep him awake at night, but his spark just isn’t there and that’s obviously working its way through his entire campaign. “Have fun” may sound like silly advice to some, especially in serious times like these, but campaign staffers love campaigning. It’s their entire lives. And they love it because it can be an immense amount of fun. Yeah, it’s serious business, but, man, if it seems like you’re going to a death chamber every day, then who can possibly get motivated in any endeavor, let alone an intense campaign? Plus, if you’re in a down mood, the voters tend to notice, particularly your base. Those verbal/physical cues mentioned by another commenter above are hurting him. Not as much as his governance, but they’re hurting him still. The old Pat Quinn was a fiery populist who thoroughly enjoyed what he was doing. These times would seem to demand a happy warrior. He is neither, but he used to be. - Pioneer P. - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:31 pm: Quinn could be spotted in the Loop more than any politician in Chicago this summer. Why he was constantly buzzing around the State of Illinois bldg instead of downstate, who knows. - cassandra - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:34 pm: Quinn-back off on the income tax increase. You can legitimately say the economy hasn’t improved enough. Better yet, promise you will not support an income tax increase during your first full term and will devote yourself to reducing or eliminating the deficit by other means (than an income tax increase). Keep in mind that the many (well-off) Democratic liberals who want to tax tax tax the middle class aren’t going to vote for Brady. Brady. Keep quiet on social issues. Prepare, prepare, prepare for the debates. Pay somebody good to be your mock opponent. Take the high ground on everything including Quinn’s latest AFSCME sellout. Suggest an ethics commission review of the timing but avoid talk of massive employee layoffs. Layoffs are a bad word everywhere. Talk a lot about forensic audits of state finances when you take office. Everybody loves audits. Smile a lot, bring the delightful Mrs. Brady along as much as she can stand it but refrain from saying that fixing the budget will be easy. It won’t be and all too soon you might be eating your words. - ILPundit - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:35 pm: Pioneer P - You raise an excellent point that gets to the heart of all of Quinn’s problems. Bottom line — In both his administration and in his campaign, Quinn has refused to hire AND empower people capable of helping him succeed. He’s doing it all by himself, and creating chaos in his administration and his campaign. It’s too late to fix the problem, and in reality, it was never fixable to begin with. It would be like changing Quinn’s DNA - Been There - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:36 pm: For Brady, I agree with almost all the other posters, keep doing what you have been doing. Closer to nothing the better. Keep smiling and showing your family. For Quinn, Davey Boy Smithe hit it on the head as Rich pointed out. He looks like he just got done with a long car ride everytime you see him. And he never smiles while giving his speech. I know he is divorced but he should get his children out there with him more. But I think the only hope Quinn has now is to land a knockout punch during the debates. I would be overly prepared 10 times over for those. If he comes off the way Davey Boy describes he is double burnt toast. For downstate he might want to go hunting, for real. Bag a deer or whatever is in season. (And unlike the AFSME endorsement session it would be OK to bring the DNR director). - WRMNpolitics - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:37 pm: Since neither Quinn nor Brady has the ability to change their personalities at this point in their lives. The advise would be for them to have their handlers stop reacting to every slight, both real and imagined, and remember that the election isn’t about them, but is about the people of Illinois and how they will be best served. Solving the problems of Illinois will be a long and painful task with no simple answers. - Louis G. Atsaves - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:39 pm: Quinn sold himself out to the unions and special interest groups he felt he needed to get himself elected. Quinn the reformer, Quinn the populist, Quinn who raged against the machine, now is perceived as a puppet and completely beholden to all of them. Quinn only has himself to blame for this state of affairs, Quinn needs to return to his populist roots but can he rebuild his credibility in the 38 or so days left? No, but if he wants to walk away with his dignity intact after the election, he should give it a shot. And I agree with the earlier commentator, Quinn looks rumpled and speaks in disjointed circles. His opponent looks like someone who is governor material. Brady needs to continue to say “He had his chance” and offer his “clean break with the past” messages. Let the cheap shots slide and point to the obvious. Quinn had his chance and fumbled badly and we are all paying the price for it. We are seeing the results of a disciplined campaign versus a confused shoot from the hip campaign. I think the public has noticed and is ready to take a chance on a guy who ran a disciplined campaign becoming a disciplined governor over someone who governed chaotically and opposite to that he once stood for, and then campaigned the exact same way, Just my two cents. - jake - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:40 pm: To Quinn: You are behind, so you unfortunately must go negative in your paid media. Hit Brady with all aspects of his position and record that are out of touch with mainstream, and with personally being a tax avoider. Do a bit of humor in your ads on what a cheap taxpaying guy you are personally and contrast that with Brady as a wealthy guy who pays no state taxes. On the other hand, try to be more dignified and authoritative in your appearances as Governor and present in that venue some of the genuine accomplishments since you came into office–capitol projects, ethics reform, etc. Portray the fiscal crisis as a problem that you inherited and are trying to fix by streamlining government. You can’t run away from the proposal to increase taxes, so you need to explain the need for it in parallel with efforts to streamline government. Remind people of what they get from their tax dollars–schools, roads, etc. Listen to the bad news from your poll numbers and pay attention to the detailed strategy advice you get on how to combat that. To Brady: As long as Quinn continues to self-destruct, you should try to build up the image of yourself as somebody competent, practical, mainstream, identifying with the average voter and his or her concerns. When saying anything negative about Quinn, start by praising his sincerity, but then say it is too bad he is so incompetent–portray Quinn as a nice sincere guy who accidentally became Governor and is in way over his head. You are ahead, so you can afford to spend your resources portraying yourself in positive ways. Stay alert for any tightening in the polls so you can promptly counterattack, but hold your fire until and unless that happens. - Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:42 pm: cassandra said, “Pay somebody good to be your mock opponent.” LOL! That made me do a spit take. All I could think was that if Brady did that, who should he hire to play Quinn? - CLJ - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:43 pm: Quinn - besides the obvious of hire a campaign manager and get out of the way. Give Shelia some spot light and let her make the pitch to larger audiences. She’s actually a very good engaging speaker with a ton of knowledge and good ideas to offer. Brady - focus the tax cutting on tax reform. Eliminating the gas tax sounds nice and all, but I’m never going to drive out of state for gas. Period. Also, Indiana is not that great. Their taxes are actually higher than ours. Our problem is the system. - fedup dem - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:46 pm: I’m sorry, but there is nothing that I can offer, since both men are totally clueless as to what needs to be done. Quinn has abandoned his populist principles during the past year once he realized that he was incapable of making the transition from the outsider who holds Sunday morning press conferences to say what should be done to being the guy who actually gets things done. As for Brady, he still gives every impression that he’ll wake up on Inauguration Day and find $13-14 billion left under his pillow by the Budget Fairy. God help this state, either way! - SangamoGOP - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:52 pm: Quinn: Pick 3 ideas that will define your next four years - not what Brady might do, not what Madigan or Cullerton might do, not what Obama or the Feds might do - what 3 things will Pat Quinn do to make Illinois better. Next, only speak about those three things that define the Quinn administration. Every time you hear yourself talking about something else, stop, and go back to your 3 issues. Period. Brady: Keep doing what you’ve been doing - stay on message, divide your time appropriately between Chicago, Suburbs and Downstate and keep running like you’re 8 points down but closing. Also, everytime you hear someone say, “After you win…”, have a staffer smack them in the head. Many campaigns have gone to defeat because everyone thought they were going to win and took their eye off the ball. - NW - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 1:59 pm: Quinn: Spend the next 40 days downstate hitting the 7 media markets (Carbondale-Marion, Metro East, Springfield-Decatur-Champaign, Bloomington, Peoria, Quad Cities, Rockford). Brady: Spend the next 40 days in Cook County. - Todd - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 2:03 pm: Pat — it’s the economy stupid. And we need more than than J - O - B, I learned to spell that in first grade. Lay off the social stuff cause your gun ad is costing you votes both in downstate and amoung those Regan democratic union voters. Brady — Pat is running a 9 county race, heavy on Cook. stay in the collars and suburban Cook. Quinn and the democrats have drivent he state into near bankrupcy in the last 8 years they have had total control. He was at the table during the fiscal missmanegment of the state and now his “political deals” are only making it worse. His short sighted deal will mean more cuts else where in state goverment — he just threw educationa nd socail servies under the bus. Act like a leader, go to Olin and see what you can do to help. Quinn gets credit for Navistar, but Olin is a much bigger prize. And you know where the other jobs he tring to drive out of the state are. - Ray del Camino - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 2:04 pm: Quinn: Before message discipline, ANY discipline! Allow some pros to run your campaign, here at the very last. For Pete’s sake, I’ve seen City Council races run better. In fact, quite a few City Council races run better. Brady: See above. Make no mistakes. - Dirt Digger - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 2:05 pm: The best advice for Quinn qua Quinn is not great for the rest of the ticket. An unpopular incumbent this late can’t rehabilitate. The option is possibly win ugly or start polishing your resume. This means actually negative ads. Not these sleepy narratives he has running, but instead staccato, sharp personal attacks with grating voiceovers. This will, of course, hurt the rest of the ticket even more. Barring Quinn actually doing this Brady doesn’t need to do anything at all. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 2:10 pm: Brady: Learn to use the teleprompter. You speak in non sequiters too often. Other than that, keep listening to Jerry. He knows what he’s doing and it shows. You have transformed this race. I wouldn’t change much of anything. Quinn: You have to give people a reason to vote for you and, at the same time, you have to get a whole lot more negative on Brady. And by more, I mean nuclear more. And not with those one-photo b/w ads that nobody notices. Poshard was way down in September, then he ran those truck ads. He closed the gap. White is phoning it in. Drop the darned bomb. - dupage dan - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 2:24 pm: Anything I tried to come up with for PQ was snarky and would likely be deleted. Rebooting the campaign at this point doesn’t seem likely and would have little effect anyway. PQ can only go nuclear negative, as Rich says. I was going to make some suggestions of ads but the tone got snarky again. DBS got it right on - PQ looks like someone who gets up and says, “you don’t want to vote for me, do you?” He looks like a lost puppy - deflated and woeful. Needs a make-over big time. For Brady, if you don’t open your mouth you won’t be able to put your foot into it. Stay with the PQ had his chance theme - it’s working. - Steveo - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 2:39 pm: Quinn- find out which blago appointee’s are useless, move to fire them, call a special session introduce a ten year plan to get Illinois out of hock, call for a vote and slam anyone who opposes it, run the state Brady-low low low profile, no commercials, let Quinn look desperate with his mud slinging - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 2:53 pm: JJJ is not giving advice. He is throwing dirt on Quinn’s grave in the form of advice. JJJ is using Quinn as an excuse for the forthcoming debacle. QUINN - Go Rouge. You have nothing to fear but your continuing mealy mouth platitudes and excuses. Stand up and fight - against your party. You got stuck with Blagojevich as a Governor. He sucked and it is time you flat out denouce that scumbag. Attack him and the culture of corruption you found in Chicago. Attack Daley. He is gone in another six months so make him pay for all the fraud and scandal Chicagoan are tired of seeing. Attack freaking JJJ the guy who faces another headline making scandal now unfolding. He is burying you and blaming you. Give it right back. Voters are sick of the people who surround you. Show them you agree by sacking and fighting with the party that dumped them on you. And on us. These people are going down so push them out of your way to the lifeboat. Sell them just as they are trying to sell you. You kissed their butts and everyone is sick of seeing you do so. If voters see you angry they will reconsider your current inability to demonstrate testicular virility. BRADY - Go to Chicago and start a new theme of unity within Illinois. You are a downstate freak and everyone knows it. Tell Chicagoland that you come in peace. Talk about our common challenges.Talk about unity. Talk about how much you respect Chicago diversity.Be a unifier. - Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 2:58 pm: Rich, About half-way through this thread, I also thought about a nuclear event by Quinn. Then, as now, I can’t think what Brady trait-vote-view around which I would structure this event. The guns & puppy thing won’t work. I don’t think the tax paying thing works either. Near bankruptcy and layoffs? Nah. There is nothing in Brady’s past (or present) that equates to Quinn’s running of the state post-Blagojevich. So, given Brady’s lack of record and fairly squeaky clean personal image, around what can one build a message that does not make Quinn look even worse than he already does? If I knew Brady and his record better, perhaps I could come up with a way to manage Quinn’s campaign message. Failing to find the nuclear issue, it is all but impossible to resurrect Quinn’s campaign. Perhaps this is the very problem we’ve seen in Quinn’s lackluster efforts. The staff could never settle on a decent line of attack on Brady, which made Brady the perfect candidate to defeat Quinn. Do you, or the other posters here, have a clue what nuclear issue Brady has sitting in his past? - LevivotedforJudy - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 3:14 pm: Quinn = portray Brady as a nightmare to Chicago’s West Side and South Side African-Americans, Hispanics, LGBT supporters and unions in general. Brady = Whenever he is outside of Cook County, slam Mike Madigan. - Fred - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 3:14 pm: Rich, please tell us about that “darned bomb.” - flabergasted - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 3:18 pm: To both: Keep it simple, be articulate and clear. And Both of you talk about the budget in specifics, and do not flip flop. Get a platform that doesn’t look like a gallows. - SAP - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 3:57 pm: Quinn: I don’t think Quinn can escape the appearance that he is in AFSCME’s back pocket, but he should point to the pension reform legislation he signed both because it put AFSCME’s support at risk and because it was a significant cut in state spending. Point to all the other spending cuts you’ve made to replace tax and spend image with a cut and then tax image. Brady: Pounce whenever Quinn gift-wraps one for you like you did on the secret AFSCME deal and then hang back and wait for the next goody. Stick with that until Quinn shows some evidence of self-discipline. - Reddbyrd - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:03 pm: The best advice for the Ds to look in the mirror and drop the “woe is me” BS & remind everyone you know that the Brady plan to cut the min. wage and freeze educators salaries wont’s do the trick. Quinn and the GA has already made more cuts than Brady wants. And… Remind the Indies that Brady will give IL the bait and switch GOP tax hike after the election. And… Remind the moderate Rs that this guy is not who you really want to “lead” your party - Skeeter - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:06 pm: I need to thank Davey Boy Smith for that comment. He’s absolutely right. Quinn just doesn’t carry himself like a leader. Nobody wants to follow the guy into battle. One on one, he’s a horrible campaigner. He needs to watch some video of himself. I also agree that Quinn needs to go hard negative, and Brady needs to avoid getting in the dirt. People in the comments keep talking (usually in response to some Quinn ad) of “Ooohh. Brady’s really going to hit back hard on that one.” No, he should do the opposite. Smile and way, Bill. Smile and wave. Don’t get in the dirt. - Skeeter - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:13 pm: And one note on Jackson’s comment — Democrats need to start taking a look at the races and see how people are responding. They need to start defining things on their terms. Quinn as the “top of the ticket”? No way. Dems all over need to start talking about how Illinois is at the heart of the control of the Senate, and if Alexi loses, the tea partiers will control everything. They need to MAKE Alexi the top of the ticket. Fight on ground of your own choosing. Stop letting other people define which races matter. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:15 pm: ===Stop letting other people define which races matter. === It’s not “other people.” It just is. The governors, like the presidents, tend to set the voter universes. - Skeeter - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:22 pm: Obviously I greatly value your experience and your opinion, but I disagree. President is one thing. But Gov. or Senate is another. There needs to be a consistent message, and that message can be echoed through all the candidates in any remotely close race: “This election is important. You need to come out and support me, and you need to come out and support the Alexi G, who is going to make sure the tea partiers don’t take control.” May be tough to pull off, but it is the only way the Dems can avoid getting kicked badly here. If 2010 is about Quinn, more Dems lose than if 2010 is about Alexi. - Wensicia - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:24 pm: I’m not being sarcastic here, but Quinn needs to convince voters that a Brady administration would be even worse than his own efforts at governing. Forget the social issues, scare people with the thought of losing government services and programs. Hammer him for not elaborating on his deficit reducing plans. As for Brady, point out Quinn’s failure to reduce the deficit and bring ethical reform to Springfield. Stay away from the Tea Party and extreme social views. Run ads pointing out the constant criticism of Quinn’s behavior in the media. - Change is on the way - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:34 pm: Brady-Just stay on message it is your race to lose! Quinn-Let Sheila Simon campaign for you in Cook County along with Toni Preckwinkle and Robin Kelly! Also it is time to bring in some real professionals from the community that have won a campaign!!! - Socratic - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:41 pm: Governor Quinn; think legacy Senator Brady; hide out - Been There - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 4:46 pm: === Nobody wants to follow the guy into battle.=== I need to agree with Skeeter on this one. Along with Davey Boys comment there is hardly any desire down in the trenches to help this guy. Which trickles down to the other races. If he shows he is a leader others will follow and that in turn will bring up the other down ticket slots. But I have no expectation of that happening. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 5:04 pm: –QUINN - Go Rouge. You have nothing to fear but your continuing mealy mouth platitudes and excuses.– Would that be Moulin Rouge, VMan? Given the idea, should he adopt a, say, Sarah Palinesque persona, as well? Unique idea, dude. - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 5:29 pm: I can always count on you slinger. I am still trying to master thumb typing. Quinn is not to blame for our current mess. He is to blame for trying to pretend it doesn’t exist. Quinn has spent two years without p’!&ing people off who do not deserve the benefit.He is not a man who speaks his mind. No one could be that much of a doormat and expect any respect. Quinn has gone beta male to the point of his own extinction. Voters are so put out they are on the verge of electing a guy even the majority of a minority party did not want. Get a freaking clue Pat. Start gutting the guys backstabbing you.We do not like them either. We think they stink. It is time you show us that you agree with us. - Fed up - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 5:34 pm: To both of them shut up and lay low your opponent will self destruct if you let him. - McHenry Mike - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 5:39 pm: I would recommend that Quinn continue with the “Who is this Guy?” campaign ads. He needs to link Brady to the Tea Party wackos like Christine O’Connell. - Park - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 6:43 pm: Quinn: needs to convince all ‘mostly D’ voters of the urgency for Democrats to keep control of the State. Not going to be easy, but it’s his only chance. D voter apathy and protest votes for Whitney and Cohen will sink him unless he does something. Brady: Needs to be like Ronald Reagan in his Jimmy Carter debates. Reagan’s “there you go again” responses, combined with a cool and confident (but not cocky) demeanor made Carter, then the most powerful man in the world, look like a silly little whiner. - Obamarama - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 6:46 pm: ===He needs to link Brady to the Tea Party wackos like Christine O’Connell.=== Linking Brady with Tea Party folks is more effective in a mobilizable universe than in a persuadable universe, in my opinion. If he thinks his base+mobilizable is enough to cover the margin… go nuts. As far as O’Donnell goes, I’m not sure she has the name rec in Illinois to be useful in negative ads on Brady. Just my two cents. - Responsa - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 8:11 pm: Quinn: Show voters you are in touch with reality. The perception everywhere–EVERYWHERE is that you have fumbled the ball badly since taking over from Blago and that you don’t even know it. With few accomplishments to sell to voters now is the time for you to use what’s left of your lifetime reservoir of good will, and of your reputation as a decent, honest guy. So pick a specific issue (there are several to choose from) and fess up, while looking straight into the camera, that you know you’ve made some rookie mistakes and regret it, but by golly you’ve learned from them and you will make us proud in your next term. Brady: Keep on smiling and being positive and friendly and spend as much time as possible north of 1-80 meeting people one on one in everyday settings to demonstrate you are nothing like the boogy man you are painted to be in negative ads and that you are anything but a backwoods hick. - The REAL Anonymous fka Anonymous - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 8:53 pm: =backwoods hick.= Not sure what that is…but it’s definitely NOT snark. lol - Retired Non-Union Guy - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 10:22 pm: Quinn - go rogue but in a bit different way. Just tell the whole truth about everything … taxes, jobs, people trying to drag you this way and that, including all the clowns, backstabbers and special interests that have been sinking you. Fire them, stab them in the back, out all the dirty deals, whatever. You have nothing to lose right now anyway, so have fun outing everyone who is trying to take you down. Brady - just keep on the “Quinn had his chance and blew it” message. Run those ads every 5 minutes … and try not to make any stupid mistakes. - Southsider - Wednesday, Sep 22, 10 @ 10:48 pm: If I were Quinn, I would watch for staff spending more time organizing petition drives for Mayor, Clerk and Alderman then on the Gov race. The rats are scurrying for the exits. - Obamarama - Thursday, Sep 23, 10 @ 2:50 am: ===The rats are scurrying for the exits.=== Can you blame them? Let’s take a little journey through the area that I am in. First, the Governors campaign (henceforth referred to as GC) tried to find someone who could organize county-wide. That selection was mistake number one. The person he chose was more or less universally hated by the volunteer base. Second: GC brings in a staffer with zero electoral-political experience that baffles the volunteer base. Third: GC brings in an out-of-stater with seemingly zero organizing experience and zero field experience that begins dictating to area coordinators their targets and precinct priorities. Said targeting and prioritizing is quickly analyzed by the campaigns that have been on the ground for a year and are discounted entirely as, in scientific terms, a bunch of crap. Fourth: It is explained to GC that the Gov is consistently ID’ing between 18 and 21 points below our local candidates. Lastly: A group of campaigns starts whispering that giving personnel or financial support to the Gov is similar to flushing said resources down the toilet. I have never, ever seen a major statewide campaign planned and implemented in more of an amateur manner as this one. Democratic operatives, candidates, and super-volunteers are quietly (though becoming less so) furious with this clown show and the electoral anchor it represents for the left side of the ticket. Of course, this is just what is happening in my area. - Jasper - Thursday, Sep 23, 10 @ 5:58 am: Obamara, But he does have a very nice phone bank operation. The problem is that the materials provided to the phone banks are, in a word, a bunch of crap. After trying to identify pluses, the phone bankers then read a short paragraph to the person called. The problem is that the section read is aimed at women voters, with things like wage differentials, and would have limited appeal to men. It as if, with all the campaign resources, they did not have the time or energy to draft up a paragraph for undecided males. All in all, it seemed like a bunch of great equipment gone to waste. 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