* Sen. Bill Brady is scheduled to kick off his 2014 gubernatorial campaign this morning at 10 o’clock. Our good friends at BlueRoomStream.com are providing a live video feed. No embed is available, but click here to watch and help us live-blog it in comments. Thanks.
*** UPDATE *** BlueRoomStream.com reports “network problems at the hotel” and therefore can’t provide a live feed. Brady was already getting buried by the DOMA decision and now this.
We’ll have archived footage later today.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Sun-Times coverage from yesterday…
In a clear shot at millionaire venture capitalist Bruce Rauner who is already hit the airwaves in anticipation of the March 2014 primary, Brady said his best asset is his history in the Illinois Senate state, where voters can review his record.
“In a big state like Illinois, running ads doesn’t make people comfortable with you,” Brady told the Sun-Times. “History and time makes people comfortable with you.”
Brady said Tuesday he would formally launch his campaign in a series of news conferences Wednesday, starting in Chicago and moving Downstate.
Brady didn’t flinch when asked about Rauner, who is already miles ahead in fund-raising. (Brady had about $200,000 in his campaign fund at the close of the last reporting period while Rauner had $1.3 million).
“I think (Illinois) primaries have proven that millionaires don’t win it by being millionaires. You’ve got to lay the groundwork. The voters know me, they’ve shown that they can trust me,” Brady told the Sun-Times on Tuesday.
“We won the last primary, we spent a little over $1 million, it’s no question that Mr. Rauner’s personal wealth can outspend anybody. We will raise the resources necessary to get our message out.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Here are the vids. First up, the announcement itself…
Click to view
* And here’s the Q&A…
Click to view
I haven’t had time to watch the announcement video yet, but he did dodge questions on today’s Supreme Court decision, saying he was focused on economic issues.
“Social issues are just that, there are people who are on one side or the other side of an issue,” Brady said, adding that he would “honor what the Supreme Court of the land as an abider of the Constitution decrees.” He said he believed the gay marriage bill is “flawed” and would violate the rights of churches.
* Tribune…
Republican state Sen. Bill Brady, who lost to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn by less than 1 percent of the vote in 2010, formally kicked off his third attempt for the office today.
“It’s time to finish the job we started four years ago,” said Brady who noted he expects to do better in the four of the state’s 102 counties he did not win last time, including Cook County.
- CircularFiringSquad - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:09 am:
The great flood of ‘13 isn’t helping NOTAXBill either. We are hoping to hear NTB explain how he will band all god fearers together to smash those supremes
- Will Caskey - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:10 am:
On the plus side, now Brady has his issue to run with!
- Levois - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:11 am:
Wait, so this means no live feed at all?
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:14 am:
When it rains, it …pours?
- Empty Chair - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:18 am:
Can we get #PoorBillBrady trending?
- Dude Abides - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:19 am:
The network problems are obviously part of a conspiracy.
- Dirt diver - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:34 am:
Hey Brady, aren’t you sick and tired of flushing your money down the toilet yet? I’ve got pristine ocean front property in Arizona you might be interested in, we should talk.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:45 am:
and he should get buried by the DOMA decision, and the Prop 8 one too. as in, DOMA is illegal, those claiming standing in the Prop 8 matter could not prove that the marriages of others could affect them. what do you have to say about those decisions, Rep. Brady? will you move for equal protection under the law in Illinois for all people and marriage?
- CircularFiringSquad - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:47 am:
And he can ignore questions how his IL would have fared without the $18 billion of extra cash needed to limp through the Bush/Wall Street crash.
- mr. whipple - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:51 am:
But if I can aggressively fund-raise and then quit the race after I see my poll numbers tanking but before I spend much, I can retire my debt from 2010! Sure, a big chunk of that is money I owe myself but that’s just a coincidence. Beats the heck out of building houses!
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:56 am:
An auspicious start… a portent of things to come?
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 10:58 am:
I find it difficult to get excited about the notion of a Brady candidacy.
To his credit at least he was honest with the public last time around.
Brady got ripped for his proposed margin of budget cuts while Quinn simply proposed a tax increase.
We wound up with the worst of all worlds - we got budget cuts matching or exceeding Brady’s proposal PLUS a tax increase exceeding what Quinn claimed he wanted.
At least Brady was honest.
- David P. Graf - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:01 am:
If Brady couldn’t win last time, why does he think he’ll do any better now especially if the Dems go with someone other than Quinn as their candidate? I just don’t get it.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:04 am:
===I can retire my debt from 2010!===
He already has. http://www.elections.state.il.us/CampaignDisclosure/D2Quarterly.aspx?id=499101
Post a comment like that again and you’re gonna be banned for life. I mean it. Don’t do it.
- Mmmmmmm - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:07 am:
Brady or Rauner? Brady or Rauner? mmmmmm..I am glad I vote in the Dem primary..oops, I forgot I have the option of PQ..:(
- Chicago Cynic - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:08 am:
Bill Brady’s running? Boy that will shake up the race!
- langhorne - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:13 am:
poor planning. he will be buried by the supremes, and any coverage he will get will be asking for a response re the decision. coulda issued a statement re the decision,and waited a week to roll out the cmapaign.
- Downstate - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:15 am:
Brady backers, that I know, in my area, raised a nice six figure amount for Bill back in 2010. Most, if not all, of those backers are already on board with Rauner.
- Hacks - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:18 am:
So Brady already picked Plummer ($$$) as his running mate again?
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:26 am:
99% this was a horrible day to announce - weather, scotus, etc.
1% he was crazy like a fox and said, “DOMA? That just might help me remind the base who ‘their guy’ is and help me get through the primary. Let’s announce that day.”
- soccermom - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:29 am:
It is never crazy like a fox to have your announcement buried somewhere on page A13 and in the bottom of the tv news.
- Ahoy! - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:38 am:
–Brady said his best asset is his history in the Illinois Senate state, where voters can review his record.–
Wasn’t his voting record a liability for him last time? In particular his votes on women’s health?
How did he vote on the puppy lemon law?
- John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:38 am:
>>>>> “History and time makes people comfortable with you.”
Yes, we’re getting plenty comfortable with Brady running and losing.
- Chicago Cynic - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:46 am:
soccermom,
Maybe he meant crazy like FoxNews…that might make sense. Otherwise, you’re exactly right. This news will be treated with exactly the amount of attention it deserves…zilch.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 11:51 am:
I don’t think Brady has any kind of chance. He lost the last election in a race that should have been a lock and Repubs are too hungry for a win to let him have a second go around.
- shore - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:03 pm:
thanks for posting. love the whole q and a.
- DoubleD - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:08 pm:
Not overly excited about Sen Brady’s candidacy…if my memory serves me he stated that he was not for 10% across the board cuts to all state services but wanted to save a dime on every dollar…now if my math is correct….
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:13 pm:
@soccermom - truer words were never spoken
@Chicago Cynic - that was indeed the core of my comment. The only folks who would see that red flag go up are the ones who would be looking for it in the first place.
Either way, his announcement buried on page A13. And that 1% possibility scenario assumes it played any role in his thinking.
Seems more likely he just picked a terrible day to announce and planned poorly.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:18 pm:
Yeah, his announcement will really get stepped on.
I’m not a big fan, and I don’t know how he ran his business, but I’m quite sure Brady was not the only homebuilder who got hurt Great Crash brought on by the Wall Street wizards.
Anything to do with residential property got smoked pretty bad because of the recklessness of those cheap hustlers.
Brady was a victim of them as much as anyone who got tossed out of work, lost their home or are still under water.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:19 pm:
Ah geez …
Just leave the word “counties” out of the thing!
His website makes note that Bill Brady won 98 of 102 counties as well.
Funny thing, counties don’t vote, so quit with the “counties” thing, especially on the website.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:29 pm:
=Funny thing, counties don’t vote, so quit with the “counties” thing, especially on the website.=
Yeah, Bill. Stop using a standard in the industry for planning, executing, measuring, and reporting because “Oswego Willy” told you to.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:35 pm:
Counties. Don’t. Vote.
They Don’t.
Do not feed trolls.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:38 pm:
===Counties. Don’t. Vote.===
People who insist otherwise really need to get a clue. This ain’t the electoral college.
- A Casual Observer - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:45 pm:
Brady only lost the last election by less than 1% of the vote, he carried every one of the 102 counties except 3 (or was it 4?), every negative muddy insinuation or item that the Democrats could possibly sling at him has already been brought out in previous election campaigns. Bill Brady is well-respected in the GOP by even those GOP critics who prefer to support one of the other GOP gubernatorial candidates. Will he be able to defeat Lisa should she run? Ahhh, that is another story. Can he defeat Pat Quinn (along with Pat’s track record as governor)? Even my Democrat friends admit that “this time” Brady will have better than a 50/50 chance on that match-up.
There is NO LIVING REPUBLICAN gubernatorial candidate that will ever carry Cook County. That is the reality of the situation. The GOP could have run Abe Lincoln for governor the last election instead of Bill Brady and old Abe would have still been beaten in Cook County. Brady made a good showing in the state last election. The union rank & file have been suffering under Quinn and his economic solutions for Illinois. Now, Governor Quinn and the Illinois Democrat Party in Springfield have a track record that is an embarassment to be connected to. Bill Brady has even greater name recognition going for himself this time. Hopefully, the GOP voters won’t get Bill Brady mixed up with Pat Brady when they vote in the GOP primary.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:56 pm:
=People who insist otherwise really need to get a clue.=
Thanks for the lesson, Rich. Now everyone can obviously stop using the term for planning, executing, measuring, and reporting.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 12:58 pm:
===Now everyone can obviously stop using the term for planning, executing, measuring, and reporting. ===
What the heck are you talking about?
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 1:00 pm:
Yikes!
===There is NO LIVING REPUBLICAN gubernatorial candidate that will ever carry Cook County. That is the reality of the situation. The GOP could have run Abe Lincoln for governor the last election instead of Bill Brady and old Abe would have still been beaten in Cook County. Brady made a good showing in the state last election.===
Brady, Rutherford, Dillard, Rauner, whomever;
You don’t need to carry Cook County! If you won in the suburbs, it helps with the margins needed to overcome the Cook county numbers.
I know I have never asked any GOP candidate to carry Cook, just like I never imply Counties …VOTE!
When you run statewide, you are baking a ckae with ingredients based on raw votes. Not percentages only, not total counties, Raw Votes.
Nip this in the bud, right away. If any candidate is going with this narrative of “We in the GOP carried 90+ counties …”, that is a losing thought to winning.
Votes and voters …win elections, not Counties.
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 1:10 pm:
Remember also, there are really TWO elections that have different calculi on how a campaign is run.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 1:18 pm:
Agreed.
Remember too, a ground game in both, not one, not none, is a good way to win …one … AND both.
- reformer - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 1:22 pm:
Brady might have more credibility if he took responsibility for his upset defeat last time. Instead he recently joined Roger Keats and tried to blame Democratic vote fraud.
- VonKlutzenplatz - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 1:47 pm:
How did Team Brady not know that the Supreme Court would be doing something big today?
Does his team read the newspapers? We all knew something big was coming this week. Except his team.
Once again, not ready for prime time.
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 2:06 pm:
OW,
Oh, no doubt!
It’s an allocation of resources statement more than anything else. County-wide data is a good jumping off point to us when building an electoral strategy, though. And by County-wide, I also include Cook Townships and Chicago Wards. Can’t be everywhere, nor should one…
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 2:20 pm:
- Cincinnatus - …
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Feb 1, 13 @ 9:23 am: -
===The bottom line, this primary is going to be more about understanding the pool of voters, what your pluses look like, and where to get them, and actually GET THEM TO THE POLLS, becasue 2014 is going to be far different than 2010, because of landscape, the candidate pool, and literally time.
Whoever learns that first, wins.===
Belived it when I posted it, believe it today.
My only “add”, Rauner is the pivot point. Rauner is going to hammer everyone, from each party, 24/7. Drawing distinction beween Rauner in Brady/Rutherford/Dillard, while not looking like they are hammering on the GOP in general will go a long way.
It is what it is.
Counties. Don’t. Vote. Not in a Primary, not in a General.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 2:55 pm:
–There is NO LIVING REPUBLICAN gubernatorial candidate that will ever carry Cook County. –
Edgar did it.
But what’s your point, anyway? “Winning” counties is for losers. The idea is to get the plurality of all votes cast in the state.
It just so happens that far more GOP votes are cast in Cook than any other county, so it would be a good idea to get to work there, because you’re leaving points on the field.
By the way, I’d suggest the GOP candidates get their game on in the Collars, as well. They ain’t your grandpa’s GOP stronghold anymore. Take a look at those margins the last three times out.
And wrap your head around this: the Dems have won the mansion three times in a row. That had never happened since before the birth of the GOP.
Twice by Blago, once by Quinn in a historic GOP year.
Some adjustments may be in order.
- So. ILL - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 3:31 pm:
First step…announce on DOMA day at the SCOTUS. Second step…kick signs. Now we’re rolling!
- Deep South - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 3:46 pm:
===Once again, not ready for prime time===
Saw photo taken at his Marion campaign stop…looked to be about six people there. Ground game already needs work.
No kiddin.’ Obama won Du Page County in 2012. Du Page County? Still have trouble wrapping my head around that one.
===They ain’t your grandpa’s GOP stronghold anymore====
- Just The Way It Is One - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 6:55 pm:
Has anyone woken me up yet? I fear the “3rd time” will hardly be the “charm” for BB’s 3rd attempt, but, rather: “Strike 3!!! You’re out!!!” But ya just have to at least take note of that “never say die” attitude, even when somebody’s down to the last, flickering embers…!
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 8:28 pm:
In a related matter, I saw my first paid spot for Farmer Bruce on Channel 7 this evening and it was trippy.
He’s standing in front of a green screen in his Carhart (dude, it’s 90 degrees outside with pea-soup humidity), decked out in “Hee Haw” duds with a bunch of stock footage of front-end loaders and bulldozers in the background.
I faded in to the spot so this isn’t verbatim, but in the script, he said he was going to “bulldoze” something bad, and “level” something else bad (get it? it ties in with the visuals; that’s good writing).
In the closer he says something like “I’m a citizen, not a politician.”
Who is this guy paying for this stuff! And where do you get what they’re on!
Here we have a North Shore billionaire hedgie who’s dropped millions on politicians. But he’s not content to pretend to be Oliver Douglas — he’s Mr. Haney, selling out of the back of his truck!
At least the writers of “Green Acres” admitted years later that they were under the influence of hallucinogens when they produced the show — and they kept Oliver in a suit on the farm.
What in the world do Rauner’s crew think they’re trying to pull here? How much money do they think it will take to sell Farmer Bruce?
And seriously, next time they cop what they’re on, I’m in.
- DuPage Dave - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 8:58 pm:
Downstaters like Brady love to count counties. In our state agency the downstate office managers love to say that they serve X number of counties. All of which add up to fewer people than a couple of wards in Chicago.
Brady’s insistence that carrying 98 counties matters at all is all the proof you need that he is not up to the job of being Governor.
It’s the total number of votes that count. Geez.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 9:06 pm:
This idea, that the Payton Prep Clouter is going to get through all this, untouched as a Dem funding Insider is a bit crazy as a strategy, however, when Kass decided that ignoring Rauner’s real background to feed the red meat to the RINO hating right-wing who are desperate to be relevent, even at the cost of embracing someone “un-pure” to the Slytherin House Republicans, but Rauner hates Unions and Pensions, while making money OFF pensions.
A child with a sign, “Bruce Rauner denied me a fair chance with his Democrat friends” with the words Payton Prep Clouter big and bold.
The Hypocricy is seeping, or is that sweat that someone like - wordslinger- saw on “PPC”, as he wears that Carhartt in the heat of summer ads.
The 2002 John Kass would have hated Payton Prep Clouter Bruce Rauner. What a difference.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 26, 13 @ 9:18 pm:
I went back to the Bill Brady website, to see how things are going, any info about how today went, whatever.
This is the FIRST thing you read:
On Wednesday, Senator Bill Brady will officially launch my campaign for Governor in 2014 with announcements of my candidacy in Chicago, Springfield, Marion and Bloomington.
Is Senator Bill Brady going 3rd person, then possessive?
“On Wednesday, Senator Bill Brady will officially launch my campaign for Governor in 2014 …”
Yikes!
Look, I am the LAST person to call out spelling, style, whatever …however …
Commenting here as the Dope I am, versus the FIRST thing you read on a Candidate’s website, and leaving a first impression on the visit … Just a 2 min proofread is all it would have taken to fix.
Please correct. My first impression; “who is writing this stuff, and who is proofing this stuff?”
Thanks.