* Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign continues to backbite Treasurer Dan Rutherford via anonymous quotes in the national media. As I told you last week, some Illinois Romney supporters shivved Rutherford for failing to kick several Rick Santorum delegates off the ballot. Politico looks at another angle…
News of the standoff was first reported Thursday by the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, but the Romney campaign’s effort to fix Rutherford’s mess has not previously been disclosed.
One Romney source described Rutherford’s leadership as “a complete disaster” and said Romney’s campaign headquarters had to fly paid staffers to Illinois to collect signatures at Chicago-area train stations and walk precincts because the treasurer’s organization had failed to collect enough signatures.
The Romney high command, the source said, “was flabbergasted that an Illinois statewide official had no organization.”
Once the Romney campaign challenged Santorum’s petitions, the Santorum campaign counter-challenged, pointing out the “fatal error” of the Romney petitions being notarized in Massachusetts instead of Illinois, said Santorum’s Illinois state director, Jon Zahm.
“I filed that challenge and they eventually asked me to withdraw my challenge in exchange for them withdrawing theirs,” Zahm said. “It was all a big waste of people’s time and money. But I didn’t use a law firm like they did, I did it on my own.”
Rutherford, who is widely expected to have ambitions to run for governor in 2014, then urged Romney’s Boston headquarters to withdraw the challenge to Santorum’s petitions, a request the campaign granted as part of what one Romney adviser called “home rule.”
I’m hearing, however, that it was Romney’s Boston people who wanted the petitions notarized in Massachusetts. As with everything else, they’ve got nobody to blame but themselves. Their candidate can’t close, so they blame others.
By the way, Rutherford attended Romney’s Springfield event. I wonder if the two had a chat?
* Thanks to you, Public Policy Polling surveyed Illinois. Romney is way up…
Mitt Romney is headed for a blowout victory in Illinois on Tuesday. He leads with 45% to 30% for Rick Santorum, 12% for Newt Gingrich, and 10% for Ron Paul.
Romney’s particularly strong among voters who live in suburban areas (50-29) and with those who live in urban areas (46-23). But he’s even running slightly ahead of Santorum, 38-36, with folks who identify as living in rural parts and that strength with a group of voters he hasn’t tended to do that well with is why he’s looking at such a lopsided margin of victory.
Romney tends to win moderates in most states and Santorum usually win voters describing themselves as ‘very conservative.’ The swing group in the Republican electorate is those identifying as just ’somewhat conservative.’ Romney is winning those folks by a whooping 60-20 margin in Illinois. Romney’s also benefiting from a 52-28 advantage with seniors.
We’ve tended to find Santorum a lot more popular with voters even in states that Romney has won over the last six weeks, but that’s not the case in Illinois. Romney’s favorability is 57/34, about par for the course of where we’ve found him this year. Santorum’s at only 55/36, much worse numbers than we’ve seen for him most places in the last couple months, and suggesting that GOP voters are starting to sour on him a little bit.
Santorum’s winning the group he tends to do well with- Tea Partiers, Evangelicals, and those describing themselves as ‘very conservative.’ But he’s not winning them by the kinds of wide margins he would need to take an overall victory- he’s up only 8 with Tea Party voters and 10 with Evangelicals, groups he needs to win by more like 25 points with to hope to win in a northern state. Santorum can’t blame Gingrich for his troubles in Illinois either. If Newt was out Romney would still have an 11 point advantage on Santorum, 45-34.
* PPP also asked these rather touchy questions of some southern Republicans a couple of weeks ago, but here are the Illinois results…
Q23 Do you think Barack Obama is a Christian or a Muslim, or are you not sure?
Christian…………………………………………………. 24%
Muslim…………………………………………………… 39%
Not sure…………………………………………………. 37%
Q24 Do you think Barack Obama was born in the United States, or not?
He was…………………………………………………… 36%
He was not……………………………………………… 36%
Not sure…………………………………………………. 28%
Q25 Do you believe in evolution, or not?
Believe in evolution………………………………….. 41%
Do not……………………………………………………. 43%
Not sure…………………………………………………. 16%
Q26 Do you think that interracial marriage should be legal or illegal?
Legal……………………………………………………… 75%
Illegal…………………………………………………….. 16%
Not sure…………………………………………………. 9%
Um, OK. According to the crosstabs, 23 percent of likely Illinois Republican primary voters over 65 think that interracial marriage should be illegal.
* More results…
Q16 Do you consider yourself to be a member of the Tea Party?
Yes………………………………………………………… 25%
No…………………………………………………………. 61%
Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the city of Chicago?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 27%
Unfavorable……………………………………………. 65%
Not sure…………………………………………………. 8%
Q22 Are you a Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, or St. Louis Cardinals fan?
Cubs……………………………………………………… 37%
White Sox………………………………………………. 20%
Cardinals………………………………………………… 22%
Not a fan of any of these teams…………………. 21%
* The Trib takes a look at the religion angle…
Santorum, a Catholic, has failed to win a plurality of the Catholic vote in any primary so far. Instead, the former Pennsylvania senator has relied on evangelical support.
According to a Tribune/WGN-TV poll conducted March 7-9, 42 percent of Illinois voters described themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians. Of that group, 42 percent backed Santorum, compared with 26 percent for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is Mormon. Of the 54 percent of voters who do not consider themselves born-again or evangelical Christians, Romney led Santorum, 43 percent to 22 percent. The poll did not give voters the option to identify as Catholic.
Romney’s Mormon faith may hurt him with some voters. In 2010, the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale conducted a statewide poll of registered voters that found a majority would never vote for a Mormon, results that were not publicly released at the time.
“Rick Santorum’s faith should play well in Illinois,” said Tobin Grant, a professor of political science at SIU who worked on the poll. “It’s unlikely that people will choose him because he’s Catholic per se, but as a committed Catholic, Santorum shares the same values, beliefs and viewpoints as many Republican Catholics in Illinois. In central and southern Illinois, Santorum will also draw support from evangelicals and other conservative Protestants who will value his family and faith.”
It’s kinda bizarre that the Paul Simon Institute didn’t release those polling results.
* John Kass believes Santorum and Newt Gingrich are running for president just to hurt Ron Paul. I kid you not…
There are two other pseudo-conservatives in the race who’ve done the GOP establishment’s bidding by blocking U.S. Rep. Ron Paul from a one-on-one with Romney early on in the campaign.
* Meanwhile, things are truly getting nasty in the 12th Congressional District GOP primary. Some people calling themselves “Concerned Citizens of Belleville, IL” sent out a letter making all sort of allegations about Rodger Cook’s private and public lives. Click here if you dare. Oof. [Fixed link]
* I was on the Dan Ryan Expressway a little over a week ago and noticed something missing from Patrick Daley Thompson’s billboard: The word “Daley.”
“Patrick D. Thompson” was how he put it on the billboard. it was hard not to figure that his middle name isn’t necessarily an asset everywhere…
It’s not often a first-time candidate for an obscure public office gets endorsed by the city’s Democratic powerhouses, but that kind of political mojo comes easier when you’re related to the two longest-serving mayors in Chicago history.
In his bid for a seat on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Patrick Daley Thompson is endorsed by House Speaker Michael Madigan, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, City Council Finance Chairman Edward Burke, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and County Board Finance Committee Chairman John Daley — one of Thompson’s uncles.
That kind of backing is no doubt one reason Thompson in recent months has raised the most money out of six Democratic primary candidates vying for three seats in Tuesday’s primary.
Since September, he has raised more than $140,000, including a $10,000 contribution from another uncle, former White House chief of staff William Daley, according to state campaign finance records.
* Related…
* Did CSU employee do political work?
* Cross backs Romney
* When Everyone is Irish: The only Republican in the whole shebang was Illinois Comptroller Judy Barr Topinka.
* Erickson: Voters have a voice in term limits
* Editorial: Reform state’s primary system
* TV AD: Matt Goetten for Congress - “Pictures”
* VIDEO: Rep. Johnson Endorses Rep. Manzullo
* VIDEO: Mitt Romney’s remarks at Charlie Parker’s
* Illinois Looking Like Fertile Ground for Mitt Romney: “I don’t think there was a single poll that had us up in Mississippi, so I don’t really worry too much about polls,” he told reporters after a speech in Osage Beach, Mo. “Look, Illinois’s a tough state, I understand. When you’re getting outspent 10 to 1, it’s hard. But we’re gonna keep working, and do the best we can. And we’re fighting money, we’re fighting the organization, and we’re fighting a divided conservative vote. That’s a pretty hard hill, but we’ve been climbing it and doing well.”
* Making the presidential decision: Tracking three Illinois GOP voters over months: Her vote is not that simple, though. She’ll pick Santorum for president. But on the vote that matters - delegates to the Republican convention - Eva will vote for those aligned with Gingrich. That’s because, she said, they’re Tea Partiers, and could raise a ruckus at the convention.
* Mitt Romney makes election-eve visit to Springfield: “These pancakes are as large as my win in Puerto Rico last night,” Romney quipped, making reference to the famously large 16-inch hotcakes Charlie Parkers has on the menu and his securing of all 20 delegates during Sunday’s vote in Puerto Rico.
- Fed up - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 2:58 pm:
It is heartening that the Daley name has fallen on hard times. Jim Ryan had the bad fortune of sharing the same last name as George and we ended up with Blago.
- Demoralized - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:06 pm:
It absolutely amazes me the number of morons who still continue to believe that Obama is a Muslim and that he was not born in the U.S. (or conversely that they aren’t sure).
- TCB - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:09 pm:
=Q22 Are you a Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, or St. Louis Cardinals fan?
Cubs……………………………………………………… 37%
White Sox………………………………………………. 20%
Cardinals………………………………………………… 22%
Not a fan of any of these teams…………………. 21%
=
How disturbing!
- OneMan - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:09 pm:
That sound you hear is this Republican looking at those poll numbers and hitting his head on his desk…
He was born here… Also the earth is round.
- OneMan - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:11 pm:
Also getting some outside group mail on the Manzullo race… Dudes, I am in Kane County, I don’t think any of that district is in Kane County, and the extreme SE corner of Kane County is not near that district…
Way to be all fiscally conservative…
- hisgirlfriday - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:14 pm:
Seems to me that Rutherford is on board with the Romney campaign throwing him under the bus with him refusing to comment on the Politico story and making all the appearances with Romney in Illinois even after that story came out.
But it’s pretty ridiculous that the Romney campaign would try to blame petitions being notarized in Massachusetts on an Illinois politician rather than their own campaign (or that Politico would accept that story from Team Romney).
I also found the Romney camp’s slams about Rutherford lacking a statewide organization pretty hilarious. Does any Republican in Illinois have a statewide organization? Does the Romney camp know anything about the state of the Republican Party in Illinois at all?
- Lakefront Liberal - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:21 pm:
Rich: ” According to the crosstabs, 23 percent of likely Illinois Republican primary voters over 65 think that interracial marriage should be illegal.”
After reading this I went to see if there was a big drop off for younger voters: 15% of those 18 to 45 also think interacial marriage should be illegal. Some drop off but not as much as I thought.
The other questions were similar — some drop off by age but less than I expected.
- Dirt Digger - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:25 pm:
It’s a “mess” that Romney doesn’t get to win by default in IL?
I must be a pretty terrible consultant, since I was under the impression that’s called a “campaign.”
- Shore - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:25 pm:
that poll is bad news for cardinals and white sox fans, if that’s the best you can do coming off recent world series wins and an epic cubs collapse. this state is going to bleed cub blue when king theo and prince jed finish their rehab project.
I am not really shocked rutherford is struggling. The only thing that comes to mind about him is the blurb on this website a few years ago that he drove around the state in a car that he named and put a picture of it on facebook. He’s way too sprinfieldish, establishmenty and goofy for me and team romney doesn’t seem to think much of him.
- lincoln's beard - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:27 pm:
What was that about extremely low information voters again?
- train111 - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:32 pm:
I already commented on here about possibly taking a GOP ballot for the first time in 18 years. Seeing those results about Obama being a Muslim, not being born in the US, and against interrracial marriage (which I am in, with a biracial child) I’ve definitely decided I just can’t do it. I don’t want to have to check any logic,intelligence or education at the front door before voting.
I’m totally disgusted–not so much by those results, but by the tongue in cheek actions of the ‘moderate’ Republican leaders who allow this nonsense to fester because they don’t want to alienate their ‘base’.
train111
- Dirty Red - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:33 pm:
You know what, these poll results make me question evolution as well. Let me call up Darwin and ask him to come over with a red pen so we can make some revisions and include a little more devolution.
“God made us number one because he loves us the best. Maybe He should go bless someone else for a while and give us a rest.”
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:36 pm:
There is an old saying … If you have a “political crew” running your government office, if they make a government mistake, you do your best and move forward … however …
If you have a “political crew” running your government office, if they make a POLITICAL mistake, you do your best and move forward without your political crew!
That is not the case for these Delegates!
Romney has be brutal, and can’t close. Treasurer Rutherford, honestly, in 48 hours, no one is going to care here in Illinois, and Romnry ain’t coming back after tomorrow.
Keep your house in order, you are fine.
- Southern Peggy R - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:37 pm:
Why ask about interracial marriage and evolution? To pidgeonhole people? I have seen an amazing number of interracial couples here in SO-IL. Usually lower income people, frankly.
- John Parnell - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:41 pm:
It seems Rutherford has made a lot of mistakes since becoming Treasurer. dNow that he has been out of the ofice campaigning, he making them in that position. He has been on the ballot many times. He should have known enough to have a notary here in Illinois, or asked the State Board of Elections for advice.
- Southern Peggy R - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:41 pm:
PS The Monroe Co GOP chair (I think that’s his position) retracted the email with the Concerned Citizens message re: Cook. I was surprised he endorsed Plummer. We’re more strongly Cook the more we see from the Establishment.
- Raising Kane - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:43 pm:
hisgirlfriday:
I doubt that Romney’s campaign knew that the candidates statement of canidacy needed to be notarized in Illinois. Every state has different rules. Usually the chairman of the state campaign has a lawyer look over things to make sure they got it right, which is probably why we never had this problem before.
- hisgirlfriday - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:44 pm:
Random GOP presidential primary thought…
How in the world are these clowns campaigning in the state that boasts the birthplace of St. Ronnie yet haven’t made a single stop in Dixon, Tampico or Eureka?
I mean it’s bad enough that they can’t be bothered to connect with any Lincoln history here, but I expect them to ignore the state’s ties to a big government liberal Republican like Lincoln.
But nothing with Reagan? Do they even know he was born here?
- Small Town Liberal - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:46 pm:
- Why ask about interracial marriage and evolution? To pidgeonhole people? I have seen an amazing number of interracial couples here in SO-IL. Usually lower income people, frankly. -
Huh?
- just sayin' - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:50 pm:
John Kass is officially out of his gourd.
- just sayin' - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:53 pm:
re Romney petition screw up. Gee who would guess that a 50-something year old guy who has a creepy Facebook page for his car Pongee might make some mistakes.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:55 pm:
Were they phoning only mouth breathers?
- Arthur Andersen - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 3:57 pm:
To add to the points from Hisgirlfriday and Dirtdigger-
1) I was hard pressed to think of any non-Gov IL statewider excepting various SoSes who have had “Statewide organizations.” Please correct me if I’m omitting someone.
2) AA is old school, but in my day, someone who put their name up for candidacy in any election was expected to do some of the work associated with being a candidate, like getting some signatures on one’s nominating petitions. However, for this clean-hands, tone-deaf crew and some of their delegate picks (Exhibit A: samwich king Jimmy John
“Sprouts” Liautaud) that work is shuffled off to the hired help.
- Dirty Red - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:01 pm:
= I have seen an amazing number of interracial couples here in SO-IL. =
Because SO-IL is more liberal than western and central Illinois.
- Team Sleep - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:07 pm:
AA - he tried/tries to do it all himself. He had skeleton staffs in 2006 and 2010 - even though he raised a lot of cash in both cycles. His ambition outweighs his ability to manage (and micromanage) staff.
- Knome Sane - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:15 pm:
==and said Romney’s campaign headquarters had to fly paid staffers to Illinois to collect signatures at Chicago-area train stations==
Fly them in from where? Don’t petition circulators have to be from Illinois?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:19 pm:
===Don’t petition circulators have to be from Illinois? ===
Not any more.
- Anonymous - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:25 pm:
One can only hope that so many folks answer “he’s a Muslim” and “he was born outside US” because the question - “do you hate Barack Obama?” - wasn’t asked, and the first two questions are serving as a proxy for the latter. If not, how can any self-respecting person feel good about being associated with a party that harbors so many dingbats?
- hisgirlfriday - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:26 pm:
AA, who do you think Romney’s people should have picked as a delegate instead of Jimmy John? I was annoyed at him running as a delegate in Illinois after making a big stink about leaving for Florida, but from the Romney campaign perspective I thought it was pretty smart. I would guess that Jimmy John’s sandwiches are more popular in IL-13 than any particular politician. And it’s not like Jimmy John is running for anything other than a seat in Tampa.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:27 pm:
Has anyone looked at the crosstabs on the evolution question by baseball team affiliation? I’d wager that a higher percentage of Cardinals fans don’t believe Obama is a Christian and may not have been born here than Cubs or Sox fans.
Seriously, these poll questions are pretty disturbing. I think it shows how many people listen to Fox News, Rush, et al and the impact they have on the public. As far as I can tell, those are the two major broadcast outlets that feed this ignorance on a regular basis.
- Cheryl44 - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:28 pm:
John Kass. It rhymes with something.
- hisgirlfriday - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:33 pm:
Re: Kass
If he believes the shadowy and sinister GOP establishment is the reason that Ron Paul has completely failed to gain traction in the face of opposition from Gingrich and Santorum, why doesn’t he make the conclusion that the same shadowy and sinister GOP establishment is the reason that Romney refuses to commit to keeping Patrick Fitzgerald as U.S. attorney in Chicago? Why does Romney get the benefit of the doubt from Kass in just being a tin-eared wimp rather than blasted as a tool of the Combine?
- ArchPundit - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:38 pm:
I think it’s safe to say that the Romney campaign is just full of crack operatives. In Saint Louis, there were a constant stream of Romney calls before the GOP caucuses this weekend. They didn’t just go out to GOP voters though, people who had never pulled a GOP ballot were getting multiple calls over multiple days.
For a caucus which is an incredibly low turnout event.
They appeared to be working from a generic voter list and were hitting people in my suburb (U City) hard despite it being about 80-20 Democratic.
- Arthur Andersen - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:39 pm:
TS, that issue could have played a role here. Who is to know?
HGF-don’t confuse the popularity of the subs with popularity for JJ. We’ll see, but plenty of folks over there have their undies in a bunch about not just Florida but other stuff.
- Vasyl - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:39 pm:
Can we just clear up one thing about the Romney petitions? Back when they were filed, Rich reported that the supposed problem was that the statement of candidacy was notarized in Massachusetts.
In the early 1990s, Sid Yates was challenged because his statement of candidacy was signed and notarized in DC. The Cook County Electoral Board rejected the challenge. In 1996, some yahoo challenged Bill Clinton’s nominating papers because the statement of candidacy was signed and notarized in DC. The State Board of Elections threw that challenge out too.
There is no requirement that it be an Illinois notary that notarizes the nominating papers. Even with regard to petition sheets, the actual language is, “Such statement shall be sworn to before some officer authorized to administer oaths in this State.” Under the US Constitution, each state must give full faith and credit to the public acts and records of every other state (Article IV, Sec. 1) — that includes notarizations.
I understand that the Santorum people claim that there was some election challenge in Granite City, IL, that threw a candidate off the ballot for having documents notarized in Missouri. But it is highly doubtful that the State Board of Elections — having already ruled on this issue in a presidential race — would reverse course and follow the ruling of Granite City. Municipal election challenges in small places are incredibly rare, and municipal electoral boards often get it wrong.
Let’s not pretend that there was a serious problem with Romney’s petitions, because there wasn’t.
(For the record, I am a Democrat and therefore do not support Romney.)
- Vasyl - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:42 pm:
One more thing: if the petitions were circulated by Romney staffers out of MA and then taken back with them to HQ and notarized there, no problem either — see “full faith and credit” clause of the Constitution. There would be a problem, however, if the Santorum people could prove that the circulators did not sign the petition sheets in the physical presence of the notary. But honestly, how would the Santorum people know that?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:45 pm:
===But honestly, how would the Santorum people know that? ===
It wouldn’t be a tough guess.
- Downstate Illinois - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:48 pm:
For those like Train, it would be interesting to see what Democrats downstate think of Obama. I don’t think you would find much difference. In Springfield I’ve personally heard an African-American House Majority Leader from Chicago call the then-state senator, Osama.
They may have known him not to be a Muslim, but they recognized him as a radical even then.
The Muslim issue dates back to the U.S. Senate campaign. He says he’s a Christian, but folks don’t seen much evidence of it. That’s why it won’t go away. The good Rev. Jeremiah Wright scares folks just from the clips everyone saw and heard the last go-around. If you’ve ever met him or studied his beliefs, there’s way too much admiration for the Nation of Islam teachings. If you’ve ever read the statement of faith from Trinity UMC it’s a combination of liberal Christian theology which is at least recognizable by evangelicals, mixed with this pro-African political ideology that encourages the congregation to unquestionably support black leaders. It’s a scary mix that when combined is not mainstream Christianity and hurts the local community the most.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:50 pm:
This campaign has brought me to the following diverse conclusions. Neither Romney nor Santorum has enough character to deserve to be POTUS. Paul may well have enough character but he’s about 75-100 years too late. Gingrich doesn’t have enough character either, though he might make the best President of the 4. God save the Republic.
- capncrunch - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:53 pm:
Who would have guessed that Illinois voters are not very smart?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 4:55 pm:
===Has anyone looked at the crosstabs on the evolution question by baseball team affiliation?===
They wussed out and didn’t put that data in the xtabs.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:02 pm:
As to the poll, I think Swiss has openly said about what this poll confirms, and I think “low information” is saying it kindly.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:03 pm:
===They may have known him not to be a Muslim, but they recognized him as a radical even then.===
Actually, many BC members thought he was too conservative and much too willing to work with Republicans for their tastes. You really should search high and low for a clue, man.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:06 pm:
Rich, just remember what Ron White says, use it like a mantra
- Wensicia - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:09 pm:
The level of ignorance with many of the electorate never ceases to amaze me! Scared of y’all.
- The REAL Anonymous fka Anonymous - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:15 pm:
=I also found the Romney camp’s slams about Rutherford lacking a statewide organization pretty hilarious.=
Am I the only one who is tired of all the drAma *ominous music in the background* in Illinois? Were campaigns always this way, or did the last generation of campaign consultants run them differently (i.e., actually focus more on the candidates and the issues v. every other pol who wants to get his face in front of the paparazzi?). And if they were different, have ALL those campaign consultants retired? Can’t we do anything to get them back again?
- hisgirlfriday - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:15 pm:
@Downstate Illinois:
Trinity is affiliated with the United Church of Christ, not the United Methodist Church, first off. And Jeremiah Wright may have said a lot of controversial things that make a lot of (white) folks uncomfortable, but did he ever preach that evolution wasn’t real from the pulpit? To me, the anti-science strain of certain Christian sects is not “mainstream Christianity” and a “scary mix.” Yet for some reason I’m guessing you would consider folks like John Shimkus who subscribe to this theology to be a mainstream conservative rather than a radical.
And as for the folks not seeing evidence of Obama being a Christian… you have to be willfully ignorant and blind to the facts to miss it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obama-makes-surprise-visit-to-st-johns-episcopal-church/2012/03/18/gIQAEUTdLS_story.html?tid=pm_local_pop
- Chad - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:16 pm:
Vasyl is absolutely correct. GOP presidential candidates have sworn their papers out of state for many cycles. Some folks were snookered here. That is the real campaign malpractice.
- The REAL Anonymous fka Anonymous - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:23 pm:
BTW, Romney Camp: This weekend I received close to TWENTY calls from you. Just two robos from the Santorum camp(one from Santorum and one from his wife). That seems a bit imbalanced and…quite frankly, unhinged.
- Aldyth - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:23 pm:
I’m sure that there is sound thinking behind the belief the Obama was born in Kenya and is a Muslim. It involves a Terminator and a Time Turner.
- Frankfort Phil - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:29 pm:
ed that challenge and they eventually asked me to withdraw my challenge in exchange for them withdrawing theirs,” Zahm said. “It was all a big waste of people’s time and money. But I didn’t use a law firm like they did, I did it on my own.”
Well, Jon, if you used a lawyer you would have found out that a Massachusetts notary is acceptable. FAIL. Santorum is a small-time wannabe and he is surrounding himself with small-time wannabes. Clowns.
- Just Me - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:43 pm:
Those numbers about Obama being born in America and being a Muslim truly are amazing.
- Shore - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 5:57 pm:
1. Illinois voters have elected more black us senators than the other 49 states combined since reconstruction. So the “I’m embarrassed to be in a state with people that think like that line doesn’t qualify”. At least a few of those people voted to elect him-which is something most americans can’t say they’ve done for a us senate race.
2. If memory serves there was a lot of thought in 2004 obama’s last name might be confused for another guy who was in the news and hurt him with Illinois voters-it didn’t.
3. the where does obama come from and which religion is he issue, was if memory serves not something those supposedly uninformed voters downstate cared about until he ran for president and national dc groups and media went after him for and spread this stuff.
4. Obama is 3-0 in general elections statewide when those voters have a chance to weigh in. His one loss you’ll recall was in a black congressional district. He hasn’t lost becuase of those people.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 6:28 pm:
- Vasyl -
Real, fake, whatever … It was a game of chicken, …and why risk losing when everyone can win … they are DELEGATES for Cripes sake, and neither Romney, Santorum, or Gingrich can’t “close”, and that too … is a fact.
It’s comical to think that come Wednesday, Illinois is involved in the national race. Did we all forget that Obama is from Illinois… you think any of the GOP canidates, if they are nominated will come to IL more that an other who could have won?
When the circus leaves town, Rutherford is where he is, and no bridges were burned forever.
That is real …now;
The illusion of good petitions, or bad petitions for delegates … those are just puppet show illusions.
Treasurer Rutherford, I am with you. You did RIGHT … no one will care, but they would have cared alot if you went down that OTHER road …
- Both Sides Now - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 6:38 pm:
@Train 111 - You are making your decision on who to vote for or what ballot to take assuming the biased people in this poll are Republican. No where did I see that these respondents indicated their political preference. Truth be told, there are bright crayolas and dull crayolas in both boxes. After Obama was elected, a couple showed up in my mother’s real estate office asking where they could get their free house that Obama promised them. What political party do you think they belong to?
- Lakefront Liberal - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 6:45 pm:
@Both Sides Now - The first question on the survey is this:
“Do you plan to vote in the Republican primary
or the Democratic primary, or are you not sure?
Republican primary…… 100%
Democratic primary…… 0%
Not sure …………… 0% “
- park - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 6:48 pm:
Nice spin Rich. Want to call all R’s bigots?
- Nearly Normal - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 6:53 pm:
talking about Robo calls, I just got three in a row this evening from Santorum–same phone number but a different script. So far, eight phone calls today between Santorum, Romney, and Cultra.
As to Rutherford, my past experience with his own campaigns was that he was on top of all aspects. Now that he is the treasurer, he is relying on more people for the day to day running of the Romney campaign. Reading the items posted here and the comments makes me think this is a tempest in a tea pot.
- Give A Break - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 7:08 pm:
The Romney people really need to figure who they target. My wife and I have never pulled a GOP ballot. Straight D for over 25 years of elections. Between Saturday and Sunday we had robo calls from the Romney people three times and once from John Ashcroft touting Romney.
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 7:24 pm:
==that poll is bad news for cardinals and white sox fans, if that’s the best you can do coming off recent world series wins and an epic cubs collapse==
Remember, this is a poll of likely Republican voters who also tend to not believe in evolution and think the President is a Muslim from Kenya. It’s not surprising they can’t pick a decent baseball team. LOL
- jeff__ing in Chicago - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 7:57 pm:
PPP only polled Republicans and asked these questions to try and prove how much smarter Ds are than Rs. Tribal Politics via polling what fun. Run the poll with same class of D voters. You will be surprised how discouraging the results will be.
It is also wise to remember 50% of elgible people don’t vote. I hope that those are some of the people staying home.
Finally Rep Smith was appointed not elected. Maybe our D elected leaders aren’t that much brighter.
- Vasyl - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 8:05 pm:
Rich –
If you look back on your own blog archives, you’ll see the exact allegation is that the Statement of Candidacy was notarized in MA. Here’s the link to the actual objection: https://capitolfax.com/ChallengetoRomneyforPresident2012FINAL.pdf Back in January, Jon Zahm was not talking about the circulators. All I’m saying is that even if somehow this turned into an issue about the circulators, the law seems on Romney’s side. But from what I see, there was never a really good case against Romney, and this new spin — Romney had problems with his petitions — is false. The reason, IMO, the challenge to Santorum was dropped was because pursuing it would cause chaos within the GOP during the primary season, and that Rutherford would unnecessarily create enemies in his 2014 bid for Governor — a point that you made back in January.
Oswego Willie: I don’t think you and I are disagreeing. Of course no one thought that Illinois would be in play, and so the decision to drop what appears to be a valid challenge against Santorum and Paul seemed pretty logical at the time. My only point is that the Santorum campaign is trying to rewrite history by claiming that the Romney petitions were invalid because the statement of candidacy was signed and notarized in MA. And that’s just not the law, even if there is some municipal electoral board in Granite City that made the wrong decision that contradicts State Board of Elections precedent.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 8:10 pm:
- Vasyl -
No worries, and no venom coming from me, just responding. i was/am coming from a pure political tact, you from the legal. What is great about this place, is all the things you learn and the discussion. It’s true, if you listen, you just might learn something, and I learned something. Thanks.
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 8:18 pm:
–I’m totally disgusted–not so much by those results, but by the tongue in cheek actions of the ‘moderate’ Republican leaders who allow this nonsense to fester because they don’t want to alienate their ‘base’.–
Amen, brother.
For years now, to me, that has been the most alarming and scary development among the body politic.
By any definition, I’d be called a Liberal (I prefer the Roosevelt/Truman Nazi-Commie-butt-kicking, life-better-for-tens-of-millions Progressive definition), but I’m constantly flabbergasted by the rejection of the conservatism of Barry Goldwater, William Buckley and Ronald Reagan.
For those who claim to be “conservatives” today, get over the fact that there’s public funding for libraries — read a book!
Start with Buckley’s columns and understand that he drove out the Birchers and the yabbos who are hijacking the “conservative” brand today. Go to Goldwater’s “Conscience of a Conservative” and get grounded on where the movement came from. And then move on to “The Reagan Diaries” and let him explain to you why he voted for FDR four times.
And one day, like I did, maybe you’ll get lucky enough to have a boozy afternoon with Sen. Alan Simpson of Wyoming, who can explain a whole lot more over a few martinis than most can do in a book.
Conservatives of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your cable!
- Emanuel Collective - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 8:40 pm:
Re: The “Obama is a foreigner/Muslim” question-that’s a lower figure than the national average. We’re slightly less bad!
- wordslinger - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 9:05 pm:
As I read the posts more closely, I’m, as usual, blown away by some of the more thoughtful.
Start with Schnorf:
–This campaign has brought me to the following diverse conclusions. Neither Romney nor Santorum has enough character to deserve to be POTUS. Paul may well have enough character but he’s about 75-100 years too late. Gingrich doesn’t have enough character either, though he might make the best President of the 4. God save the Republic.–
See why we all love this Illinois Bull Elephant?
By the way, I’ll be pulling GOP tomorrow for Paul. When it comes to issues of national government challenges to individual liberty, he’s the canary in the coalmine.
Then, there’s the brilliant Hisgirlfriday:
–How in the world are these clowns campaigning in the state that boasts the birthplace of St. Ronnie yet haven’t made a single stop in Dixon, Tampico or Eureka?–
No one else saw this! How indeed! That’s my old neighborhood, and I’m a big Reagan fan who goes nuts on how he’s abused by knuckle-draggers who claim to be “conservatives.” Once again, Hisgirlfriday puts a knife to the heart of the matter and gives it a sweet twist. Well done, my Ben Hecht-inspired butt-kicker.
And to that the insight of AA, 47, Shore, Soccermom, Oswego Willy, Small Town Liberal, PotCallingKettle and all the other Usual Suspects on the Cap Fax and you can’t help but whistle zippity-do-da out of your well-informed backside before voting tomorrow.
And then, there’s Peggy:
–Why ask about interracial marriage and evolution? To pidgeonhole people? I have seen an amazing number of interracial couples here in SO-IL. Usually lower income people, frankly.–
It’s awful. I had to turn down Rhianna and Beyonce because I would have taken the income average way down. Diana Ross and Condi Rice, too.
Stay classy, Peggy.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Mar 19, 12 @ 11:07 pm:
Frankly, SOMEONE should have kicked Romney off the ballot for fraud.
The Act requires the Notary Public to witness the signature of the petition circulator. Candidates bust their butts to meet the Notary requirement. It is difficult to fathom how a Notary in Massachussetts could have witnessed the signatures.
- NotPompousGuy - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 1:11 am:
Santorum was in Dixon today.
- Vasyl - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 5:06 am:
YDD: the objection was based on the Statement of Candidacy, not the petition sheets. It makes sense that the SoC would be signed by Romney in Massachusetts.
But even if it was about the circulators, from Rich’s post we know that at least some of the circulators were from Romney’s national staff, presumably based in MA. How difficult is it to fathom the idea that they flew into IL, collected signatures, returned to HQ in MA where the sheets were notarized?
I honestly don’t know who benefits from the fiction that Romney was in danger of being knocked off the ballot. But there’s precedent (Yates, Clinton) for candidates having having te SoC signed and notarized out of state. In fact, I can’t imagine that Santorum flew into Illinois to sign his SoC.
On the other hand, it seems from looking at the archives of this blog that Santorum would not qualify for at least some districts (didn’t meet signature requirement) and neither would Pauk (gave campaign address rather than residence).
- Chad - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 5:49 am:
Dole (both times), Bush 41 and 43, McCain, and others all notarized their SOCs in other states. This is the standard procedure.
- hisgirlfriday - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 6:05 am:
Thanks for the heads up NotPompousGuy. Good for Santorum promoting our state’s Reagan heritage (even if you don’t like the guy, that’s promoting Downstate’s tourism potential darn it!)
It’s just a shame that and whatever message Santorum actually meant to communicate yesterday was hopelessly lost in the noise of dumb stuff like his complaints about porn enforcement.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 7:07 am:
- chad -
Since 6am this morning, it dosen’t matter. Guess what? After the polls close tonight, it won’t even matter MORE!
- Way Way Down Here - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 7:57 am:
===I’m constantly flabbergasted by the rejection of the conservatism of Barry Goldwater, William Buckley and Ronald Reagan.===
Me too. At least it was principled, intelligent, and civil.
- titan - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 9:08 am:
The Illinois Oaths & Affirmations Act specifically approves foreign oaths witnessed by foreign notaries.
Psident Obama signed his statement of candidacy in DC with a DC notary. As did the other non-Illinois presidential candidates. Many congressional candidates did that too.
The Romney campaign was well aware of this too.
- Conservative Republican - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 2:45 pm:
“Actually, many BC members thought he was too conservative and much too willing to work with Republicans for their tastes. You really should search high and low for a clue, man.”
Obama was known to be far left when he was in the State House. Bill Brady had many conversations with him and would vouch for that.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 20, 12 @ 2:48 pm:
===Bill Brady had many conversations with him and would vouch for that. ===
Dude, Kirk Dillard is far Left to Bill Brady. C’mon, man.