* Today is a state holiday, but I forgot to shut down comments. Oops. Sorry about that. Instead of a song, here’s a story from Greg Hinz about how Bruce Rauner’s campaign already has a response ad on the airwaves…
The response ad says suggestions that Mr. Rauner profited from his connections to convicted political fixer Stuart Levine — who was on the payroll of a company partially owned by Mr. Rauner’s firm, at $25,000 a month — have been “dismissed” by the Chicago Tribune, which took a look at them.
These “false attacks come from ‘allies’ of incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn “and Springfield insiders, so you know they must be worried,” the ad proclaims. But the Rauner critics “are right” that he’ll cut wasteful spending and push term limits, Mr. Rauner himself declares in the spot.
The Tribune did indeed label some charges involving Mr. Rauner and Mr. Levine “tenuous at best.” But other reporters, including this one, have questioned whether Mr. Rauner really didn’t know he was paying Mr. Levine at the same time that Mr. Rauner personally solicited investment work from a huge state pension fund on whose board Mr. Levine served.
* The ad, which we’ll talk about tomorrow…
…Adding… Discuss away.
- OneMan - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:43 am:
Well as a counter it isn’t bad. If you are looking for the full truth in general, you don’t look for it in a political ad.
- CicrcularFiringSquad - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:46 am:
As we all remember the Tribbies wrote how tough it was to get a CDL just before the George Ryan election and after the death of the Willis children. They are all in for Mitt Rauner as is the Sun-Times.
By the way if no wants to go to Duluth Stu’s partner — Bob Weinstein — should be out of the slammer. His attorney was Vince Connelly and should be able to gab a little.
- CicrcularFiringSquad - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:48 am:
Opps…. Forgot to mention the ad appeared so quick that we are guessing Mitt Rauner has a paid stooge inside the attackers AND Stu’s friendship most poll pretty well.
- From the 'Dale to HP - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:48 am:
Meh. I’d skip even bringing up the ad.
And since Rauner brought it up… what is he going to cut? No education funding from the state? What little remains of the higher ed and public safety budgets?
- JohnTwig - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:50 am:
Rich, your last sentence says “a huge state pension fund on whose board Mr. Rauner served”
Should that not be “Mr. Levine”?
- DuPage - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:51 am:
“Truth” and “Political Ad” are an oxymoron.
- Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:52 am:
If the anti-Rauner folks have money, they can comeback with an ad that says something to the effect of: If Bruce Rauner did not know Stu Levine was his $300,000/yr employee, how can we trust him to clean up the state?
- Roadiepig - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:52 am:
Rauner knew this was coming. This could have been filmed on the same day as the snowglobe/hammer session. By November even casual voters will know all they need to know about Rauner. I still think there just aren’t enough angry but uninformed voters outside of the far right for Rauner to pull this out, but then again the citizens of this state voted for Blago twice ,so who knows?
- Jason - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:53 am:
It’s a good ad - and it gives us a good sense of what it will be like for Quinn and the Dem Party face Rauner and unlimited resources for TV. Brady will need to mount a monumental ground game to beat the socially liberal Rauner. you have to wonder when the pro-abortion micro-targeting mailers will begin to hit the mailboxes. Rauner really doesn’t have a quick comeback for this hit.
- CYR - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:54 am:
I think spending money to make this issue more visible is a bad strategy. His 10% negatives can only go up by bringing up suspect behavior and connections.
- train111 - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:57 am:
Rauner’s add plays beautifully into the whole conservative ‘victim-they’re all out to get us and will stop at nothing to do so’ mentality. The people he is trageting all believe this to be true, so Rauner’s add is talking religion to the choir and reinforcing his ‘conservative’ credentials by using their ’speak’
- A Modest Proposal - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:58 am:
Its good. Addresses things head on, then makes a positive spin talking about term limits and reducing spending.
- Downstate - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:59 am:
-Jason
Regarding the mailer - I haven’t gotten one, and am a little puzzled by that.
I’ve voted in every Republican Primary and General Election for the past 32 years. Contributed to Federal, State and Local Republican candidates and even held fundraisers for the same. And I’ve lived at the same address for 24 years.
But apparently, I didn’t make their “targeted list”. I don’t mind. I just find it curious.
- Upon Further Review - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:00 am:
The response ad is a predictable denial. Not sure that it adds to much to my view of the candidate.
Rauner has been campaigning and spending for months on end, but I still do not know where he stands on a host of issues. He claims to be against careerist politicians and sweetheart contracts — apart from the insiders, who isn’t?
I do not know where he stands on numerous issues. During the SSM debate, Rauner straddled. Concealed carry? I have no clue what his position is. So, it goes on a list of issues.
His whole campaign seems to be that he is not a politician and he has more cash.
- SonofSuperAbe2014 - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:05 am:
If Bill Brady responded to Quinn’s charges in 2010, he would be guv today. One may not like Rauner but respect his ability to respond.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:05 am:
===Rich, your last sentence says===
That wasn’t my sentence, but I fixed it anyway. Thanks.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:05 am:
Hard to believe that an insider like Rauner didn’t know that Levine was the fixer. Everyone else trolling for state pension business seemed to know it.
- truthteller - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:06 am:
AFSCME and Pat Quinn friends. Guess Rauner hasn’t been to the State Fair recently.
Does this guy ever speak the truth?
Trib whitewash of Rauner about as convincing as a pre-1989 Pravda defense of the Kremlin
- Frosty-The Snowman - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:06 am:
Rauner’s ads seem to say exactly what people are looking for. They say, “I am different. I have enough personal wealth that I can’t be bought or even tempted. I am going to squash these self-enriching insiders in Illinois.” Even though most Republicans have doubts as to Rauner’s sincerity, they are so frustrated at getting beaten in every election by the Chicago Democrats that Republicans are going to “take a chance on Rauner” in the GOP Primary. Unless Rauner is hauled off by the FBI on something before March 18th, his appealing and overwhelming number of political ads are going to carry him to victory on March 18th.
I hope Rauner is at the Grundy County Lincoln Day Dinner on March 7th so that a lot of us can ask the man questions in order to try to determine his sincerity.
- Walter Mitty - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:07 am:
Upon… I totally agree with you… And it is more than likely why it’s all but over in the primary. He has out worked the other 3. Spending alone is not the only reason for the lead. For never running a campaign, he is running a better one. Period. People want change. They clearly know this as poll tested. So why change a winning formula? When/If he wins then he must lay out answers. Clearly, not now. He ran against Quinn as soon as the Speaker named him by name after the speech about pension reform. Brilliant strategy. Don’t even name the other “3″…
- App - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:09 am:
Rich, I suggest you re-check your Guzzardi research. It doesn’t say “Daily Herald.”
The claim is about as cut and dry as it comes. Look again.
- Cassandra - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:11 am:
For us average folks, aren’t memories of Stu Levine fading. Who was that guy? Oh yeah, something about wild parties and pension funds, right? And Blago. Was Levine a Democrat or a Republican. Uh..
- SAP - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:29 am:
==For us average folks, aren’t memories of Stu Levine fading?== That’s why they have that lepruchan-sized Blago dancing in the background.
- hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:31 am:
Is CicrcularFiringSquad supposed to be a parody of the old CFS or just CFS with a typo?
- x ace - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:31 am:
Ad ends with ” Exactly Right” and my mind immediately says ” Nixon, Clinton and Pete Rose “.
- Jimbo - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:54 am:
Is the Sun Times concerned about with whom Stu Levine shared hotel rooms? Get them on the case stat!
- hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:58 am:
@Jimbo
You can’t only razz the Sun-Times about that any more after the Trib produced basically the exact same story just longer for yesterdays edition. Guess they wanted in on web traffic from Gawker too.
- Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 10:58 am:
==Hard to believe that an insider like Rauner didn’t know that Levine was the fixer. Everyone else trolling for state pension business seemed to know it. ==
If we are to believe Rauner’s denial, we have to believe he doesn’t do the most basic homework. How does he not know he’s got a Board member on his payroll to the tune of $300K?
- Upon Further Review - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 11:01 am:
Let bygones be bygones! The Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood has been demolished, so Levine’s parties never happened.
- Rod - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 11:56 am:
I saw both commercials last night back to back. I wasn’t impressed with either one. Rauner seems now simply to be running against Springfield insiders, and on term limits. Rich I would say is the consummate beneficiary of insider politics in Springfield, because sometimes he figures out the mysteries of the deal making going on while it is happening. Which is why so many of us read Capital Fax religiously.
So how is Rauner going to get rid of the insiders? He can’t ban lobbying, its protected by the Constitution. Lobbyists are already regulated, there are a good number of laws on the books to prevent pay to play, and the Office of the Governor does not enforce those laws.
What good is a term limit if all the candidates for either the state House and Senate in many districts in Cook County and in other counties are beholden to party chairs. Political parties are private entities and their rules can’t be regulated from what I can see.
The totality of Rauner’s platform is nonsense aimed at people hoping for simple answers. When Blago ran for Governor he too ran against corruption and insider dealing in the General Assembly, that worked out real good.
Since Rauner is clearly not a dumb guy I have to assume his political agenda is to turn Illinois into a right to work state, cutting social services to the poor to reduce the budget so the income tax increase will not become permanent. He would also move all public sector workers into 401K type plans, require them to work to 65 or 67 if he could. If he ran on that platform he would likely not get elected so he becomes a warrior against the combine in Springfield.
- DateNight - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 1:07 pm:
I pray Rauner wins the primary and goes on to be our next Governor. Imagine the fun? An independent business man cleaning-up the mess of created by Springfield Insiders and lobbyist. I bet Madigan and Cullerton can’t wait for Rauner to become a politician, so together these “Springfield Insiders” can reform Illinois’s fiscal mess!
- Anonymous - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 2:43 pm:
Downstate - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:59 am:
Ours came addressed to both my wife and myself in today’s mail. Haven’t voted Republican in a primary since 2008, so you are more of their target than I am. Check your mailbox when you get home tonight…
- Anonymous - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 2:57 pm:
I OTOH don’t have a wife. It’s one of the best short ads I’ve seen in a while. We often hear, “they’re attacking me because I’m ahead and that’s what we expected.” Rauner’s team took that and added some substance to it.
It’ll still come down to whether people trust him or not, but the “they’re right” was delivered convincingly.
- Roadiepig - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 3:05 pm:
Anonymous at 2:43 was me. Rebooted computer, lost saved stuff
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 3:26 pm:
Speaking of the Purple Hotel, was I the only one who missed its “cameo” in the Rauner attack ad? Never noticed it until I saw it on my big teevee.
- train111 - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 3:34 pm:
Looks like he’ll need the adds. The Illinois Freedom PAC just pulled in another 1.25 mil to run against Rauner.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 3:35 pm:
Thank you, Roadiepig.
- Just The Way It Is One - Thursday, Feb 13, 14 @ 9:03 pm:
Weak response, and one only Brucie could afford so instantaneously–the guy really just has the Greenbacks POURING out of his pockets in order to so immediately fund such a commercial–whereas decent opponents like Brady and Dillard can’t even afford ONE of these!!
By the way, the response is pretty ‘meh.’ After all, even though the Tribune said it was tenuous, even THEY acknowledged SOME Connection! And let’s recall that that Paper is only ONE of Dozens throughout this State (and with an obviously very Conservative, pro-Business slant!),not to mention a whole BUNCH of OTHer Media Outlets on Radio and TV in Illinois, many of whom no doubt see Rauner’s shenanigans in a much DIFferent(even altogether OPposite Opinion)…!
The bottom line is that the Baron has had a myriad of shady business connections over the years making his Mega-Millions and throwing his Clout around to get his way–and which obviously has NOT always been the most ETHical way by ANY stretch of the imagination, thus leading the Average Voter to doubt how THIS Dude, of all people, can really claim to tout the mantle of REFORM in Illinois?! Are you kidding us?
Come November–in a VERY LONG 8 MONTHS of MORE of the SAME heading your way, sorry to say, Bruce–the Voters will NOT be fooled by all of his pretentiousness…!