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Axelrod tries to nudge Krishnamoorthi out of race

Friday, Sep 23, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* David Axelrod held a fundraiser yesterday for 8th Congressional District Democratic candidate Tammy Duckworth and had this to say about her primary opponent Raja Krishnamoorthi…

“I like Raja a lot — he’s a friend of mine,” Axelrod said. “I have told him I don’t think it’s the right decision for him. I think he’s made a mistake by getting into this race but sometimes you have to make your mistakes and learn from your mistakes. Unfortunately it’s going to be an expensive lesson … I think a lot of resources are going to be squandered unnecessarily.”

* The Krishnamoorthi campaign’s response…

Raja was the first candidate in this race, raised over $400,000 last quarter, and worked hard to get the backing of numerous local leaders. Despite recent efforts from the Duckworth campaign, our local backing has not eroded, and our list of supporters has grown. Supporters like Toni Preckwinkle and Danny Davis have seen the dynamics of this race and they doubled-down on their support by fundraising for Raja.

It is a mistake for party elders in DC to try to impose their will upon the voters of the 8th district. This race will be decided by the voters of the 8th district who want real solutions and ideas for job creation and middle-class prosperity. Raja got in this race to give the voters of his district that option, and that fact has not changed. Raja is the only candidate in this race with real economic experience and thorough ideas on how to produce jobs for the middle class and restore prosperity to American economy.

The Raja folks do have a point. Raja was in the race months before Duckworth, so how was jumping in first a “mistake”? And, as far as resources go, they’re getting a whole lot of contributions from South Asian folks who aren’t normally on everybody’s fundraising list. Krishnamoorthi is definitely the underdog here, but it’s a free country. And I’m not sure the high-end Duckworth backers are gonna look all that great if they fail to force Raja out of the race. I’m told they’re calling Krishnamoorthi’s list and attempting to convince contributors to bolt. We’ll see how far they get. So far, however, it ain’t working.

* And, frankly, this strange fantasy just made the Duckworth people look silly…

All the speakers speculated that Walsh abandoned the district rather than face Duckworth.

“Joe is so tired of his own act that when he heard Tammy was going to run in the 8th, as you saw just yesterday — obviously I worked up this speech a week ago — Joe cut out on us,” Brandt said. “Joe, where did you go? Joe went someplace else because he knows he can’t beat Tammy.”

Axelrod echoed that.

“Joe Walsh has spent the last year and a half essentially auditioning for right-wing talk radio instead of meeting his responsibilities for the people … of his district,” Axelrod said. “I think part of the reason he left is he recognized who Tammy Duckworth is. She is an authentic American hero.”

But the truth is more of Walsh’s current district — including his McHenry home — was thrown into the new 14th rather than into the new 8th, which is designed for a Democrat to win, so Walsh may well have opted for the 14th whether or not Duckworth ran.

Walsh wasn’t ever gonna run in the 8th. The 14th is far more Republican and way more to his liking. Running in the 8th meant he’d have to either move to the center or perish. Running in the 14th means he can stay right where he is, geographically and politically.

* Krishnamoorthi’s spokesman, by the way, is Mike Murray. Many of you will remember Mike as a former Capitol Fax intern. I’ve found it a bit difficult, but still interesting dealing with Mike in his new job. Mike understands I won’t show any favoritism here, but I thought you should know about this going forward.

My first intern, Paul Richardson, just graduated from law school and founded LawBlogWriters.com. It’s a pretty cool business idea. My second intern, Kevin Fanning, is in law school and works for Cook County Commissioner Jeff Tobolski. Barton Lorimor, who was my intern last year, is now at the comptroller’s office.

…Adding… I lost track recently of my other intern from last year, Dan Weber. I sent him an e-mail earlier today and he just replied. Dan is teaching English in Mexico. He said he’s having a lot of fun.

* Meanwhile, Duckworth is training for a marathon. Check out the video…

20 Comments

- Whatever - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 11:13 am:
Axelrod — a true “friend”. What a phony.

- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 11:27 am:
Why is a White House bigfoot (I know, no official title, but he still is) messing around in an inconsequential Illinois primary? Everything squared up back at the office, some time on your hands?

- Loop Lady - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 11:31 am:
I cant stand Axelrod.
BTW, great job “advising” Obama Dave…stick to campaigning. You are not a policy advisor.
I hope Raja stays in the race…last time I checked it’s still a free country…

- JBilla - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 11:34 am:
I hope Raja stays in the race. He offers a fresh perspective from a finance and engineering background and a job creation focus. Exactly what is needed right now.

- Moot - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 11:42 am:
“Raja [..] raised over $400,000 last quarter, ”

That’s the problem…he is not beholden to the party like Duckworth is.

- Team Sleep - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 11:59 am:
Hey - I broke this news yesterday.

I’m guessing Tammy went up the flagpole and asked for a favor. I’m not surprised. I remember when President Bush went to Pennsylvania in 2004 to campaign for Arlen Specter and against Pat Toomey. Arlen was the establishment candidate and Pat was the up-and-comer who could raise his own cash but maybe wasn’t quite to the GOP establishment’s liking. Granted, Dubya wasn’t from Pennsylvania, but it’s a similar occurrence and Obama’s presence in Illinois may make a huge difference for Tammy.

- oskee87 - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 12:09 pm:
And what about that other intern of yours, Rich? Dan Weber?

- anon - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 12:11 pm:
What does training for a marathon have to do with being an effective legislator? She says she’s talking about jobs but then talks about nothing other than training for a marathon.

- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 12:14 pm:
oskee87, we kinda lost touch this summer. I sent him an e-mail to ask what he’s up to. I’ll let you know.

- bored now - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 12:43 pm:
hmmm, axelrod does a funder for duckworth — that’s news. he talks to the press and expresses an opinion that basically says tammy will beat raja. that might be news (since it’s conventional wisdom, you’d be hard pressed to convince me that this is news). people’s feelings about axelrod, the president or the economic mess that bush left the country in aside, of course.

here’s the rub: this is basically an open seat, and an open seat in congress. they don’t come around that often, so it’s really hard to imagine anyone thinking they could clear the field (for an open congressional seat). and in a tough fund-raising environment (made tougher by the president’s ambitious fund-raising goals), i could see how people might be a little sad about how much money will be spent on this primary. but it’s an open congressional seat! competition was inevitable. (i also think that trying to force raja out only makes him look better with the people he’s raising money from, but!)…

- Rich Miller - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 12:47 pm:
bored now, coverage follows conflict. You should know that by now.

- 47th Ward - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 12:54 pm:
As a partisan Democrat, I hate primaries between two excellent candidates like this because it’s a waste of resources. In the end, the voters will be well-served by either of them.

On the other hand, and as Axelrod should know, primaries can be useful for sharpening skills needed in a general. Even though Duckworth has run before, a spirited primary will make her a better candidate in November.

More importantly, if she can’t beat Raja, how does she think she can beat the Republican? If Ax thinks she’s the best candidate, he should welcome Raja’s challenge and embrace the fight. It’ll only help make her stronger in November.

- Anonymous - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 1:13 pm:
IMO, if one must meddle, at least Axelrod’s being open about it.

- Shore - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 1:14 pm:
47th-there is no republican as of yet.

“hard to imagine anyone thinking they could clear the field”-the white house in the obama administration is supposed to be to control the political environment in its home suburban area. Bush was able to do this on a number of occasions telling tim pawlenty to not run for us senate in 2002, putting arlen specter back in the us senate in 2004, getting rid of trent lott after his comments about strom thurmond. That 10 months after leaving the white house axelrod is playing defense in a democratic congressional primary shows how little capital obama has left.

- Responsa - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 1:29 pm:
I’ve had a pretty high opinion of Duckworth so I’m sorry to see that Tammy is allowing Axelrod to block for her so blatantly and obviously. This is a lot more than an “endorsement” and it makes Duckworth look weak–like she can’t fight her own battles against a quality opponent. Raja’s an impressive guy and I think he’ll make a race of it and raise a lot of money. And that seems to be the bottom line here. In a tough fundraising environment Axelrod is more interested in conserving and marshalling Democratic campaign dollars than he is in serving the electorate by allowing voters a choice of candidates.

Even though I rarely agreed with him I used to think that Axelrod was brilliant at his job. As of the last couple of years he seems to have lost his magic touch. Maybe he’s spread too thin. You’re looking rather transparent these days, David.

- Democratic voter - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 1:31 pm:
Rich, Raja and Tammy are not from central Asia. Their parents are from south Asia and southeast Asia. You are right that more Asian Americans who have never participated before will donate and volunteer for their campaigns.

- Responsa - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 2:10 pm:
Tammy might also wish to consider this, with respect to Axelrod’s assistance–especially if Raja runs for the open seat as “the untainted outsider guy”:

From Politico-
“I’m glad the election’s not today,” said Democratic pollster Keith Frederick, a veteran of House races.…

“It didn’t have to be this way,” said another House Democrat who requested anonymity in order to speak candidly. “Obama’s presidency has fizzled. It’s going to be every person for himself in 2012. There just won’t be any coattails, and any effect he does have on the ballot will hurt us.”

- oh dave - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 2:53 pm:
responsa, wordslinger…all on the money. This is unbelievably stupid. Tammy would be a better candidate after a primary, as would Raja, and as someone mentioned yesterday - the KEY POINT -

**why are they alienating all those Demo-Indian contributors and voters???

- In the Sticks - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 3:07 pm:
Obviously, Tammy deserves great respect for her military service, but her accomplishments at DVA were limited. She always was interested in starting new programs for veterans without any understanding for her agency’s ability to effectively support those programs over time. In most instances, necessary staffing, facilities or funding was not available. Those proposed programs did always garner great publicity for her.
Sounds a lot like the governor that appointed her.
Will she be any more engaged and effective as a legislator?

- anon - Friday, Sep 23, 11 @ 3:52 pm:
Here’s what the folks at Daily Kos have to say about Axelrod’s interference: scroll down to IL-08

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