* The News-Gazette interviewed possible Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner…

Rauner also said he was prepared to use the power of the governorship to take on “special interests.”

“We are a state that has been taken over completely by special-interest groups that make their money from government. Unfortunately for us, they’ve taken over a big chunk of the Republican Party too,” he said. “We don’t like to talk about it, but it’s true. And they own the Democratic Party. The folks who make their money from the government — AFSCME and SEIU and the teachers’ unions and trial lawyers, you look at their financial muscle, who they’ve given donations to. They’ve got our taxpayers by the throats and they’re squeezing. They’ve got our schoolchildren by the throats and they’re squeezing them.”

He declined to say specifically how he would take on interest groups.

Um, hmm. Wouldn’t “special-interest groups that make their money from government” also include the companies which have made millions of dollars from investing government pension funds? And wouldn’t that list include Rauner’s former company?

The attack ad basically writes itself.

* More Rauner…

“The governorship in Illinois is a very powerful governorship,” he said. “You can do things with executive order here that many states can’t do. You have an amendatory veto, line-item veto, you’ve got the ability to appoint to key positions that the Legislature wants to have influence in. If you’re a creative negotiator and you’ve got a steel backbone and are willing to play hardball, you can get a lot of stuff done. We’ll be stretching the power of the office. I’ll be stretching the envelope aggressively.”

Executive orders are basically limited to reorganizing state agencies. Lots of governors have done that, and the reorgs have failed more often than not.

And I think it’ll be extremely important for political reporters to get him to say how he will be “stretching the envelope aggressively” if he’s elected governor. If Rauner intends to do unprecedented things with the office, then we definitely ought to know what he has in mind. And if he won’t say, well, that’s also a great attack ad. Fear of the unknown is the worst.

* And Rauner on Bill Brady’s 2010 campaign…

“I don’t think Bill ran a particularly good campaign. Let’s start with that. I think he ran a pretty lousy campaign and he spent virtually no time in metro Chicago,” he said. “You’re not going to win if you don’t show your face. Nobody will outwork me in this campaign.”

* Speaking of Sen. Brady, the likely 2014 candidate sent a confidential letter to his supporters a few weeks ago. In that letter, he defends his losing 2010 race. Click the pic for a larger view…

The full letter is here. There are some poll results and other stuff that you might wanna discuss below.

* And while you’re at it, take a gander at this letter Sen. Brady sent to his colleagues yesterday. Notice the misspelling of Sen. Durbin’s name. It’s also misspelled as “Durban” on the press release, along with numerous other typos. Oops.

       

19 Comments - MrJM - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 11:45 am: “If you’re so rich, why aren’t you smart?” – MrJM - walkinfool - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 11:53 am: Theoretically, a stronger Executive branch might help drive fundamental change, while being less-responsive to constituents. Perhaps that is what we need during a time of crisis. It doesn’t reflect reality or near-term possibility in Illinois. Amazing how many can criticize others, without realizing it applies equally to themselves. - wordslinger - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:06 pm: Rauner’s hyper and empty rhetoric reminds me of Mr. Burns run for governor on The Simpsons. “And I’ll tell those bureaucrats in the state capital…” “Excellent. I’ll have every Johnny Six Pack and Suzy Housecoat in the palm of my hands…” - Nearly Normal - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:09 pm: Last sentence in Brady’s letter about mistakes made in his campaign is interesting. Yes, Brady did not have much of a campaign in the burbs and Chicago; however, he is still seen as very consservative on social issues and needs to temper the image as further to the right and not even center right. That won’t carry in Illinois. - Nearly Normal - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:12 pm: Sorry about the typo “conservative” not “consservative” - WizzardOfOzzie - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:16 pm: Brady’s letter is amusing, but the memo and press release are even funnier. I guess it’s probably hard to find talented staff when you are in the super-minority, but really? - carbaby - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:21 pm: Word- great comparison of Mr. Burns and Rauner. Actually fiction may be closer to reality in this case! - 47th Ward - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:22 pm: Brady’s secret letter isn’t so secret anymore. He definitely should run again. Former Jeb Bush even said so, although Former Jeb Bush won on his second try and this would be, what, Brady’s 3rd? The third time is the charm Bill. Go for it. - foster brooks - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:29 pm: Great Bruce Rauner reveals he’s hot rods long lost brother - Just Me - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:39 pm: I would like to see the polling data 6-months prior to Jeb Bush’s unsuccessful run. I’m willing to bet Jeb Bush’s opponent didn’t have the same negative ratings that Quinn had. Anyone with half a brain should have been able to beat Quinn with the numbers he was showing in May/June 2010. Even his own party didn’t want him to win. - Gregor Samsa - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 12:50 pm: See, It is time to dust off the Blago-to-English Translator machine and give it a minor upgrade to be the Rauner-to-English Translator. With a military-grade cognitive dissonance discriminator circuit, it will make fast work of explaining what Rauner means: R: “I’ll make government work more like a business” T: “I’ll run the state like Enron and Bank of America” R: “If you’re a creative negotiator and you’ve got a steel backbone and are willing to play hardball, you can get a lot of stuff done. We’ll be stretching the power of the office. I’ll be stretching the envelope aggressively.” T: “I have never attended a civics class in my entire educational career, and I don’t know what a COGFA is” See? Much easier to understand the man, using the right technology. - Small Town Liberal - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 1:01 pm: It’s ironic that Rauner touts the power of being governor while hiding behind a referendum on SSM. I guess he’s selectively tough. - Norseman - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 1:02 pm: 10-1 odds on whether Rauner couldn’t even answer the question on how the Exec. Orders work. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 1:21 pm: I am very excited both Rauner and Bill Brady are going to run, and to that point … Bill, you lost on the ground in Cook and Chicago in the General Election. When I hear that you “blew it” in field operations and decisions in the campaign regarding field operations … and Jason Plummer … You are just the same guy you were 4 years ago, operationally, for me. Mr. Rauner, Just keep talking. Please do not STOP talking. Tell me everything, so when the hypocricy rears its ugly head, I don’t want to hear about what you didn’t say, or didn’t mean. Get it all out, even the Un-Constitutional stuff. Add Rutherford and Schock to this, and I can’t help but smile…crying hurts too much. - Slapstick - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 1:35 pm: Thanks for posting Bill Brady’s cell phone number ! - Jasper - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 1:43 pm: Rauner also said he was prepared to use the power of the governorship to take on (board) “special interests.” - Cincinnatus - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 2:18 pm: He can call the pen and ask his buddy Stu Levine. - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 3:57 pm: Wow - Bill Brady - You talk goodly. Speak English much? Typos. Missing words. Durban? Geez, the man’s been there for nearly 18 years. Just how hard is it to spell D U R B I N? I mean I know it’s the largest City in the South African province of KwaZULU Natal, but cmon! Durbin is not Durban. - hisgirlfriday - Friday, Apr 12, 13 @ 3:58 pm: Rauner is seriously giving me testicular virility flashbacks with this stuff. Every arrogant egotistical word out of his mouth reminds me that unless quinn really messes up well be due for another gubernatorial indictment come 2016 or so. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.