73 Comments - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:01 am: The “letter” bit … they went with the “letter” bit? I may have to take a crack at it … Pretty lame/benign attempt. - Tom - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:02 am: Jordan doesn’t work at Metra! - Colossus - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:03 am: This reads like political fan fiction. - In absentia - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:03 am: stilted hackneyed - Tom - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:03 am: I learned long ago, the more personal you make them, the more they backfire. - Ravenswood Right Winger - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:03 am: I like the part about Saputo’s! - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:04 am: Shhh … let this poor attempt simmer. The facts are just the beginning …thus why I called it “poor”. There isn’t enough real “there” there, ILGOP? - keys85 - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:06 am: Very mature. Why not use facts and details instead of a satirical piece that isn’t even funny? - Anon - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:06 am: I know it’s meant to be funny, but the dumb tone and naivete is a bit offensive… I mean come on, attack her for something real. Sometimes I hate that this is what constitutes political discourse. - Wing Ding - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:11 am: Why are they wasting their ammo shooting at someone they cannot seriously harm? I would should for a target that can be mortally wounded. That is the IL GOP for you. Maybe this would work to raise money or rev up the base, but there are better targets for that too. Fail. - Wing Ding - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:12 am: I meant shoot, mot should. Darn keyboard. - Wing Ding - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:12 am: NOT not mot. Aaarrrrggghhh! - Ray del Camino - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:17 am: Seventh-grade level. Fail. - CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:17 am: Wow Gags & Billboard really know how to do groundbreaking politics. Raise your hands, who wants to see the time sheets and phone logs on how long this little ditty took to prepare and execute? Did Rove or WhackyJack Roeser chime in? Did ReBoot “consult”? Got it. Everyone has to know Fire, Aim, Ready! - OneMan - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:20 am: I think this bit of video summarizes my thoughts on this… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEkWH8DB7b0 - For the People - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:21 am: That is completely sexist and idiotic. - downstate hack - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:22 am: not well written, not that funny, not effective at all. - Louie - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:24 am: Wasted effort. - Honestly - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:24 am: The ILGOP relied too much on demagoguery and too little on fact. Everyone would be better served if they focused more on the AG’s defense of Quinn officials who violate rules and laws related to procurement, grant funding, and whistleblower retaliation. - Downstate weed chewing hick - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:25 am: How spending your about offering up meaningful proposed solutions instead of lame political cheap shots? It’s insulting to your base to offer up nothing but this stuff. - Downstate weed chewing hick - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:26 am: Wow, I monkeyed that up. Sorry. But I think you get the point. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:29 am: Or this … “Happy Father’s Day Speaker Madigan A Father’s Day message from Jason Plummer to Robert Plummer Dear Daddy….I mean Mr. Plummer, sir, You are the greatest dad ever. You got me this cool Nomination thingy, and that was after you got me that really kool Lt. Guvernor thing with all the neat friends. You still didn’t tell me if I won or not, so hopefully, if I am real good, you will tell me. Also, thanks for having all your employees at all the lumber places be real nice to me. I must be really a cool dude since they all think I am the best! I miss that cellular company you gave me. He loved playing telephone growing up. I don’t understand why everyone complains about the economy, all our family friends have great jobs, even me! You’ve done so much for the family, I’m going to make real sure I get to be a congressman and then a Lt. Senator, then even a REAL Senator. You’ve been working so hard for me, I gotta win, or I will have to move out, (j/k)! See you at my summer job at the Lumber yard next week. You’re Pal, Jason” - KaneGal - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:29 am: I consider myself to be a Republican but I even find these tactics to be childish and a waste of time. - Robert - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:30 am: Weak execution and insulting. Many of the points are fair game in what I assume was a fundraising e-mail, but they should have at least done more homework and provided numbers and links to buttress the allegations. And even to supporters, a father’s day attack could come off as a cheap shot. - soccermom - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:31 am: I thought the Joe Walsh letter showed how to squeeze a little lemonade out of a major hit. But this is just childish and stupid. Not funny, not focused, and trying to make hay out of something that most voters know — Lisa Madigan’s father is the House Speaker. Yup, he is. He was when she was elected. Voters knew it then and they know it now. I may join the IL GOP just to make things sporting… - J - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:32 am: Thanks IL GOP, I now have a new test for whether a press release should be sent out: Does this release make the sender sound like a particularly shrill anonymous commenter on the internet? - Wensicia - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:32 am: Tacky and immature. Which pretty much sums up the Illinois Republican Party. Jealous? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:34 am: ===in what I assume was a fundraising e-mail=== No. It was labeled as a press release. - Wumpus - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:37 am: Great, pretty cute. I just hope there is more to their strategy than this. - howie - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:41 am: Absolutely pathetic. That’s the best they can do? This coming from someone who is no fan of either Madigan. - Phineas Fogg - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:41 am: Pat Brady could have done better. Pat Brady should have called on Rich and Capitol Fax to ask for some help from Rich’s Rangers in the “Snarky Department”. Lisa is okay. Granted, she isn’t known to be a legal eagle or a human dynamo but then again, this is Illinois and we never do set the bar very high down in Springfield. She is “fair to middling” as the state’s AG. Mike already has it scheduled in for the rest of us so that when Lisa replaces Pat Quinn as our next governor, Tom Dart is going to step into her tiny shoes and Tom will become our next Illinois Attorney-General. Mike will take care of it for all of us. - Robert - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:43 am: ==No. It was labeled as a press release.== Oh man, wow, how unprofessional! You should e-mail back “I think you guys mistakenly sent an internal joke as a press release - just following up to see if you had any news to report, as that is the common reason press releases exist. P.S. Did Mike and Lisa really know Jordan when he was a child?” - Bluefish - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:44 am: Did I miss the ILGOP email that lays out their policy agenda that will return our state to prosperity and ensure electoral success in November? - TwoFeetThick - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:45 am: This probably plays well to the troll crowd. To anyone who actually has a brain it’s embarassingly childish. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:45 am: ===Tom will become our next Illinois Attorney-General=== Yeah, because MJM totally loves Tom Dart. Right. Stick with that one. Sheesh. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:51 am: Riddle me this … Brady and Co. think Lisa will be the Dem’s Nominee next time for Guv. The Guv runs in 2014. There is an election in 2012, including everyone running in new districts at ALL levels. And this is what the ILGOP is going to focus on? going personal on Madigan, thru his daughter, a multi-winning statewide Attorney General, who has beaten the GOP Nominees that no one can remember who the GOP put up against Lisa, and the ILGOP wants to go down THIS road? What about 2012??? What about REAL nominees to take Lisa on with REAL support to defeat Lisa. I am not getting steamed! Brady!!! Find someone to take her on for REAL, or all this garbage means nothing. Do you NOT understand that???? The ILGOP is like the puppy you bring home and is biting your hand as hard as it can, but the puppy has no teeth and you are laughing at the puppy till you have had enough. Dopes! I better stop, I am getting more and more upset the more I think the ILGOP gave Lisa “pass” after “pass” … then do these dopey things …Enough! - zatoichi - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 10:52 am: How many beers did it take to write that email and think that it was a good idea. Reads like a reject from MAD magazine. Some real policy planning effort would be a nice step. - Fred - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:04 am: Seems like this got quite a reaction from the lib crowd. Not sure why they’re poking the bear, but I guess there’s an election coming up or something. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:05 am: I bet Steve Kim is kicking himself that he didn’t hire the geniuses behind this e-mail. It’s much easier to get a bunch of interns to write pithy stuff like this than it is to organize precincts in Cook County and build some sort of functioning organization. Cook County offers the state GOP its best opportunity to find new voters and yet here we have a brain trust sitting around a computer giggling at how clever they are when they come up with sophomoric garbage like this and yesterday’s swing and miss release. They really deserve to lose and sticking with this strategy is the best gift they can give to the Democrats in Illinois. - redrum - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:05 am: Republicans are stooping to new low here. PATHETIC. - LincolnLounger - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:09 am: It’s hard enough to be a Republican in this state without crap like that. Embarrassing and juvenile. - LincolnLounger - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:11 am: Didn’t mean to hit “enter” so quickly. Was going to add that few people worked harder to prevent Lisa’s election than I, but she has done a pretty good job as AG (except on governmental corruption.) If all of Madigan’s maneuvering and appointments had done so well, perhaps his legacy would be different. - Anonymous - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:20 am: What a piece of trash. Its offensive and dated. The AG has done an admirable job by most anyone’s definition. The GOP already has a problem with women voters and this will not help them by attacking the most successful and popular female office holder. Out of touch does not even begin to explain the current Illinois Republican party. - Tommydanger - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:25 am: I claim the 11:20 posting under “Anonymous”. Lost my name when the computer rebooted. - Anon - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:25 am: Though I try to be careful in applying such terms, I have to agree that this “letter” at the very least borders on sexist. It’s really hard to imagine the repeated use of “daddy” being ascribed to a male AG. More significantly, though, I have to marvel at the idiocy of attacking someone who is most likely the most popular statewide elected official in Illinois, when you have hundreds of new districts where you could badmouth the Dem candidates, particularly where they’re new to voters. You want to really get at Mike Madigan? Take away his majority or at least make it smaller. He may have created a huge mountain to climb with redistricting, but at least start somewhere and go at it a couple cycles and maybe you’ll get your wish. But going after Lisa Madigan now to weaken her for an as-yet-unconfirmed (if universally assumed) run for governor years from now? Dumb. I’m no fan of either Madiagn, but Mark Kirk refused to run for Senate against her for a reason: He’s not stupid. Apparently his party leaders are. - Way Way Down Here - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:38 am: That was sent out as a press release? You gotta be kiddin’ me. O’Willie: Surely, by now they know you’re out there and still, they tossed that one right down the middle of the plate. - The Captain - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:42 am: I’m not sure what this is all about, I couldn’t follow it. Big words confuse me. - Norseman - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:52 am: OneMan’s post says it all so well. - Raising Kane - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:57 am: I really don’t know what is wrong with Pat Brady. He spends no time on the grassroots of the party but he puts out pathetic crap like this. He needs to get back on track. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 11:58 am: WWDH, Thanks, appreciate your thoughts. I guess, also, the big difference between ILGOP Staff sending this “attempt” out as a Press Release, and me and others mocking or using Snark in this matter is quite clear; ILGOP Staff is trying to make this either Policy or Strategy. All of us Mock. We are not using our mocking as a political strategy, philosophy, or tactic. The ILGOP would be better served to continue to not listen to me at all, like they do anyway, instead of trying to use the “letter” bit, or mock press releases. That is NOT the ILGOP’s role, or I would hope that would not be their role. I ask alot, I know …Maybe we all expect better in strategy…. ??? - CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 12:32 pm: Almost too many items to mention,but let’s try. 1. Capt Fax before you dismiss Tom Dart you are really obliged to ask why anyone, espeically the Attorney General want to be Governor. ( Shock does not want to be governor he want the Durbin seat) 2. OW: too bad you did include Daddy’s Little Deduction asking for an increase in allowance (which is important beause it means JP has no income, thus no tax return) 3. Wasn’t the last guy to use the “attack the Family” plan BickheadJoe. It worked so well he eventually had to ask The Kicker for a job. - Rutherford B. Jayes - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 12:35 pm: For all that goes wrong in Illinois government, ranging from a public corruption to incompetence and misfeasance, Lisa Madigan should have more scalps on the wall. But she can’t because a lot of it is the result of people her father put in government and protects. I giggled at the press release and I guess that is what it was designed to do. - Give Me A Break - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 12:35 pm: Maybe I’m wrong, but I would think that if you have an enemy, one that beats you like an ugly mule every couple of years, it might not be the best idea to give them any motivation to raise their game up to another level in making sure you getting your rear handed to you the next time you go head-to-head. - Palos Park Bob - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 12:35 pm: Geez, this is just a minor dig on the Madigan “fatcats” and you folks act like this is the central strategy of the GOP! Yu hard core dems must REALLY be nervous if a little deal like this pulls 49 comments! - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 12:41 pm: CircularFiringSquad, I hate letting you and others down! That “allowance” add would have been really good. My bad. - too obvious - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 12:44 pm: This is the same Pat Brady who can’t even run a convention without turning Republicans off. The personal bitterness towards Madigan is unhealthy and odd. Clearly some major jealousy issues. Something is seriously wrong with this guy. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 12:45 pm: ===you folks act like this is the central strategy of the GOP!=== If it walks like a duck … BTW, I am a member of the GOP, and I am worried it IS the strategy, thus the posts … And now we are over 50, and I dunno what you are reading, but most are about how real the inept ILGOP is, versus being nervous protecting MJM and family. You reading these posts? - Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 1:11 pm: Patronizing, immature and disrespectful. There are legitimate questions to ask regarding the Madigans, their relationship and potential conflicts of interest, and how each has carried out their public roles. This lowers the discourse and raises none of those questions in a thoughtful way. Embarrassing. - Ivory-billed Woodpecker - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 1:24 pm: At this late date, I am still hopeful the ILGOP will recruit someone for the Cook State’s Attorney race. Somewhere in this enormous county is a Republican lawyer interested in both public service and improving the quality of justice and who, with some assistance in building a respectable campaign, could win. - Soccermom - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 1:27 pm: Believe it or not, the Madigans are subject to election like everyone else. Its a lit easier to sit on the sidelines and whine about the mean cheaters in the other team than it is to step up to the plate and swing for the fences. - brains? - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 1:46 pm: That’s really going to assist GOPers in attempting to close the gender gap. There are many independent women who adore Lisa but can’t stand the old man. With stunts like these, which is just another example among many in what is considered the GOP war against women, they drive those voters closer to Lisa. Heck, they even make the old man look more sympathetic among this group! - Endangered Moderate Species - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 1:51 pm: The ILGOP has talent in their ranks. If their leaders continue with this strategy, the cream will not rise to the top. - Kerfuffle - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 2:48 pm: This is just sophomoric! Who ever is coming up with this crap needs to be let go. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 3:05 pm: @Soccermom - Believe me, as a Democrat, I’m not whining. I hope every woman in Cook and the Collar Counties gets a copy of this “news release.” @Brains - Most voters, including independent women, have absolutely no opinion about Mike Madigan whatsoever. Poll after poll and election-after-election have proven that using The Speaker as your Strawman is a losing strategy. To quote Doug Ibendahl: “My sense is Madigan worries about the Illinois GOP to the same extent the eagle worries about the sparrow.” - Anon 1 - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 4:36 pm: PP Bob - Why should Dems be nervous? Not when this is how Team GOP spends its time. This is pure buffoonery. The Speaker has had his fair share of haters over the years, mainly those he whips every cycle. I get it. You can’t beat him at the game so you resort to name calling. Pretty standard stuff. But this is just utterly idiotic and serves no purpose than to get some giggles at GOP HQ. - Anon 1 - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 4:59 pm: Great strategy, GOP. Congressional Republicans vote against equal pay for women last week, they want to strip funding from Planned Parenthood, so the think tank at Team GOP thought it would be clever to issue a tacky, sarcastic and insulting attack on a professional and successful woman, someone who has been duly elected by voters in Illinois three times. Has anyone at Team GOP even seen a statewide poll since 2004? Lisa Madigan is pretty much the most popular elected official in the state. Yeah, attack her with sexist insults. Good idea. Anyone recall when Blago called Lisa Madigan a pawn for the Speaker because she ruled against Blago’s attempt to mortgage the JRT? Who remembers this quote: “He is a complete Neanderthal, and I think it’s a complete insult to women,” said state Sen. Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) of Blagojevich. “She’s a professional. There are a lot of professional women, and we don’t necessarily do what our fathers and husbands say.” And in complete contrast to the mope who runs the party today, the GOP chair at the time, Judy Baar, called Blago’s comments “shameful and chauvinistic” and said he should apologize to all women. Here’s hoping our esteemed Senate minority leader and state comptroller remain consistent and give Brady the call-out he so justly deserves. - lost in translation - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 5:30 pm: If this is the GOP game plan, then even the Cubs can beat this team. - thunder - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 6:18 pm: Was it really from the ILGOP or was this faxed in from the Demcrat headquarters, to make the ILGOP look bad? - wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 14, 12 @ 9:26 pm: Did Spankie and Alfalfa send this out from the “He-Man Woman Hater’s Club.” It couldn’t have come from grown-ups. Very embarrassing. - Anonymous - Friday, Jun 15, 12 @ 12:31 am: I’ve written and deleted six or seven responses and decided that the best response was: O.M.G. IMO, that and OneMan’s link pretty much has it covered. (Nice to see you back, Willy.) - Anonymous - Friday, Jun 15, 12 @ 12:38 am: Rich, are you absolutely certain this came from ILGOP, and that if it did, it wasn’t some sort of security breach? - just sayin' - Friday, Jun 15, 12 @ 12:49 am: Pat Brady has some screws loose. - Anonymous - Friday, Jun 15, 12 @ 1:17 am: =I now have a new test for whether a press release should be sent out= Actually “J,” having an objective for a communication and determining whether the objective was met is the best way to evaluate whether a release should be sent out. We’re all aware anyone can write “shrill.” Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.