20 Comments - Shore - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 8:52 am: As an fyi, American Action Network is a spinoff of something called freedoms watch that was created in 2007, and now run by norm coleman. It’s been around a few cycles and ran several million dollars worth of ads in 2010 in Illinois backing kirk-a lot of their donors are pro-israel, and congressional candidates in Illinois and are a major force around the country emphasizing congressional races. I know these things have similar sounding names and pop up and down all the time but at this point they’re the american action network not “a group called” and are are a relatively well known group. I think after the NRCC they’ll probably end up being the top outside group in Illinois helping congressional republicans with ads. They’re establishment republican based more than conservative. - wordslinger - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 9:11 am: That’s one Big Bad Biker Wannabe. Reminds me of Sonny Barger. Keep working on that Teutul, Sr., look. You almost have it. Those kids scrambling in the street for the Tootsie Rolls the Shriners tossed better watch their behinds. And what’s with the goofs blocking the filming with the signs? Is there some expectation of privacy — in a parade? Memo to volunteers: Try not to make news. It’s not about you. - walkinfool - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 9:32 am: Volunteers clueless about how to act. Candidates and their senior staff just have to clearly instruct them to show tolerance and good humor about these kinds of things. - Louis G. Atsaves - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 9:33 am: How close WAS that tracker to the parade marchers? “If you step out in front of me one more time I’m running you over.” From the way it was filmed it looked like she was right on top of that biker under the marchers with the signs stepped up to run interference. Trackers need to keep somewhat of a respectful distance. Doesn’t appear this one was. Maybe Rich should have retitled this piece as “Trackers Gone Wild.” - Oswego Willy - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 9:39 am: What is the “Thug” with Biggert afriad of? Biggert is in a parade, Biggert is waving, maybe saying a hello to a person or two … If … If you are tring to stop them from taping … guess what … the Biggert “Thug on the Bike” MADE this an issue. The “Biker Thug” sounded like David Letterman when he does his “I’m a dumb guy” voice. This reminds me of Melissa Bean’s “Dopes” when they were getting followed. They handled the taping almost the exact same way. How did that turn out for Bean’s image come election time? It’s a parade, let them get their footage of an EXTREMELY public parade, and move on with your lives. Finally, who in their right mind … threatens to run someone over … when they know they are being filmed to begin with … a Dopey Thug? “I don’t care, I am kool, I can run you over and … still look kool doin’ it”. If you are the Volunteer Coordinator for Biggert … just so you know, without an apology for this “gentleman”, you have failed. Maybe the sunglasses will hide this guy’s idenity … cause when you are THAT kool … Parade - Open - Public … Is this too hard to grasp for Biggert’s Crew? - the Other Anonymous - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 9:39 am: Regarding the American Action Network ad: in what imaginary universe does single-payer universal health care coverage equal getting rid of Medicare? Medicare is itself a single payer, universal health care coverage plan for people over 65. Unless AAN has a statement from Gill that he wants to stop covering people over 65 in his plan (which statement does not exist), the should rightfully be categorized as false. - pg rider - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 10:30 am: i know jumping to attack your political opponent is the thing to do in the silly season but just taking another view of that biker interaction - i have done a number of slow paced motorcycle events i.e., funeral processions for our returning servicemen or fundraisers (nonpolitical) and driving those bikes at slow speed is pretty taxing…way more effort than highway speed. it just seemed like the guy was getting frustrated having to watch out for her on top of everything else…just my two cents. - Todd - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 10:47 am: riding a motorcycle in a parade is a pain with all the stopping strating and running at slow speeds. It appears that the video person was trying to get a shot and was not on the sidelines but interjecting themsleves into the parade field. If she — it looks and sounds like a she had placed herself infront of the rider more than once she may not understand that at slow speeds motorcycles are a lot harder to control, as you are wrestling a 700 pound beast. Now the volunteers need to understand about not making an issue of things and what they should do and should not do, but it seems she had placed herself in a position more than once that was complicating the riders’ tasks. A better way would have been to contact the cops and tel them that person X is interferring with the rider and has almost caused an accident and needs to stay x feet away from the riders. Willey — I don’t think he’s one of the wannabees. He may not be a patch holder, but I gots a pretty good idea where the riders came from. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 11:14 am: ===I gots a pretty good idea where the riders came from.=== NO Snark, Todd, I am sure you do, and respect that. Very Much. The blame is 2-Fold. The “Biggert Handlers” are seen, in the video, “guiding” the videoer, making quite sure that they do not get close to Biggert, and and to direst her to where they, (Biggert’s Crew) felt was a safe distance. Now, by doing so, they are putting the videoer in a position to move, and bob, and dodge, and whatever. As this continues, Biggert’s Crew, in a herding way, (like herding cats!) put this videoer in the way of the bike. If Biggert’s Crew would just let the videoing go on, then the biker would not be in harm’s way. The second is the biker. He knows, rather easily, that he is being videoed. Why go down the road, of “running someone over” and the tone, which you can hear, is not one of, “hey be careful, I don’t want to hit you, watch out!” … the Biker said, what he said, in the tone he said it. That is quite Dopey, and puts a stain of a threatening Thug, not concerned about being safe, but a, “I’ll get ya” tone. I concur, that the Biggert Crew could have gotten law enforcement involved, as this videoer was actively disrupting, but, herding the videoer, which can be seen easily, and then this herding was also interfering with the Biker, it comes down to the “blockers” being Dopes, and not handling this professionally, and the Biker, making it quite clear that he is more concerned about what he WILL do, as opposed to worrying about what MAY happen to the videoer, the Biker and the Bike. I get ya, Todd, but “C’mon Man!” (Biggert Crew), you can’t handle this any better, in a public place, with chasing and blocking signs, leading to a threatening volunteer, making the campaign look bad? Pretty Sad. Appreciate the insight, Todd, no snark. - Louis G. Atsaves - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 11:53 am: Oswego Willy, I just viewed that video again. The tracker clearly inserted herself INTO the parade and from the nature of the biker’s warning, she had stepped out in front of him more than once in injecting herself. After the warning, the other marchers with the signs came up and ran interference to keep her at bay. I understand the need for trackers in campaigns but this one went too far, then tried to make a news story out of how much of a pest she was. Was she tracking or being a major pest? In this instance, she was being a pest. That in my opinion is crossing the line. - Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 11:57 am: ===The tracker clearly inserted herself INTO the parade=== Where did you see that? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 12:00 pm: - Louis G. Atsaves - I refer you to my 2nd post … ===I concur, that the Biggert Crew could have gotten law enforcement involved, as this videoer was actively disrupting, but, herding the videoer, which can be seen easily, and then this herding was also interfering with the Biker, it comes down to the “blockers” being Dopes, and not handling this professionally, and the Biker, making it quite clear that he is more concerned about what he WILL do, as opposed to worrying about what MAY happen to the videoer, the Biker and the Bike. I get ya, Todd, but “C’mon Man!” (Biggert Crew), you can’t handle this any better, in a public place, with chasing and blocking signs, leading to a threatening volunteer, making the campaign look bad?=== Apples and Oranges. No matter the thought on the Tracker, the handling of the manner, when other avenues might be better, and further, I can not think of a time its “ok” for someone to say they will run someone over AND they don’t like you, (threat, and motive if it DID happen). Biggert’s Crew chasing and the Biker were Dopes. the fact they couldn’t handle a Tracker is the issue, not the Tracker. The manner it was handled (apples), to the Tracker being annoying and a pest, (oranges). Preception is reality in these cases … ask Melissa Bean. - Todd - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 12:36 pm: I agree the Biggert crew could have handled things better and the using of the sign to block the camera is childish in these times. The biker could have handled it better as well. But these guys are not pros they are simply volunteers. And now it seems that campaigns are out looking to find something or generate something as the next political gothcha. Hired staff should respond to this and include a briefing at the beginning of any event on how to handle this type of thing. Now at the same time if the best your campaign has is to go see if they can instigate an issue or action what does it say about them? Are volunteers now going to be the suuragtes for camapgn fopas? it’s one thing to have a cmapign manager say something, another to have some volunteer, from the biker to the little old lady say or do something and try to cast those apersions as representative of the campaign. Willey — no snark taken. I think I actually missquoted you for Wordslinger, but you got the point. And again agree with you that it could be handled better. - Conservative Republican - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 12:51 pm: Re Biggert: Is CF aping the national media here? Taking a very minor non-incident and claiming that the Biggert campaign is going nuts? (Methinks that a bunch of suburbanite sign wavers and a biker who says “IF YOU GET IN MY WAY I will run you down” at 6 mph is small beer) Meanwhile, we live in a political environment where Democratic Party/union thuggery is quite in your face and very routine. E.G. try serving as a Republican poll watcher on Chicago’s South Side and see how “mannered” the local Democrats are. - Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 12:55 pm: ===claiming that the Biggert campaign is going nuts?=== Yeah, that’s exactly what I said. Take a breath, dude. Also, video trackers from both parties have been a recurring theme here lately. That’s the tie-in. Try also removing your tinfoil hat. - Small Town Liberal - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 1:31 pm: - she may not understand that at slow speeds motorcycles are a lot harder to control, as you are wrestling a 700 pound beast. - Is this going to be the ABATE slogan from now on, us bikers are too delicate to handle our bikes at slow speeds so please be nice to us? Way to protect the image, Todd. It took me over two hours to get from downtown Chicago to Bolingbrook on one of the hottest days this summer. Needless to say, the speeds were slow for most of the trip, somehow I managed not to threaten anyone. If that’s the guy’s excuse, he’s a wuss, and so is anyone defending that excuse. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 3:22 pm: ===“Don’t wave, she’s gonna send you back to Mexico!”=== Rude, tasteless … pathetic. All that is true, but I still can’t see how someone can take that obscene remark and herd the Tracker around, and have a volunteer say “they don’t like you” while threatening to run the Tracker over … I dunno, threatening deportation does not justify how the Biggert Crew and the “Biker Thug” reacted … does it??? Is that what the Biggert Crew is saying? “She called someone a name, lets steer her away, and if she gets run over, it’s justified!” ??? Not defending the Tracker’s horrible statement, but does ANY statement justify the Biker’s threat? Something to think about … - Dg crew - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 3:28 pm: The worst video of Judy generally comes when she volunteers to go on news programs. Not sure why they even need a tracker - amalia - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 3:31 pm: hey Todd, are those some of your motorcycle/political regulars? maybe they are more used to putting up signs on rural roads. - Todd - Monday, Sep 17, 12 @ 4:33 pm: probable more use to putting up signs in general. usually don’t ask them to knock on doors either. But they did rreal well as security at a kirk event a few years back — leather and all Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.