* Gov. Pat Quinn’s campaign posted its new TV ad on YouTube on July 29th. It’s so far received 1,731 views…

* Two days later, on July 31st, Bruce Rauner’s campaign uploaded a paradoy of the Quinn TV ad. Check out the view count…

Neither one of these videos has gone viral, but the Quinn ad is its most-watched YouTube video of the year. Rauner has at least 30 videos which have garnered more views so far.

Rauner is the challenger, and there’s always lots of interest in a challenger, and as we get closer to the election we’ll see Quinn’s viewcounts rise. Four years ago, one of Quinn’s videos got national attention and received over 174,000 views.

But when your TV ad is being out-viewed online by a parody ad, that’s probably not a great sign.

* Meanwhile, the Illinois Federation of Teachers is hoping this video of Rauner saying last year that he may have to shut down government will get hot online…

The Rauner quote…

“I apologize. We may have to go through rough times. We may have to do what Ronald Reagan did with the air traffic controllers. Sort of have to do a do-over and shut things down for a little while. That’s what we’re gonna do.”

From the video explanation…

In this clip, Illinois gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Rauner proposes that Illinois fire public employees (apparently without cause) because he felt “things” need to be “shut down for a while” to fix government.

Rauner will probably believe he has ample “cause” if he ever decides to take that step, but I see their point. Full speech is here.

* And the Rauner campaign is trying to put words into Quinn’s mouth with its latest video…

Quinn Disagrees with Tribune, Falsely Claims No Federal Funds Were Used in NRI

Governor intentionally misleads public when asked to respond to congressional delegation concerns

On Friday, the Chicago Tribune reported for the first time that federal disaster funds were misused in Gov. Pat Quinn’s Neighborhood Recovery Initiative.

When confronted with the front page story at a press conference in southern Illinois later that day, Gov. Quinn pretended that no federal funds were ever misued in NRI, despite a front page Tribune story laying out the facts and members of the Illinois congressional delegation calling for an investigation.

Um, not quite. The video…

Quinn’s quote…

“No, I haven’t misused any funds like that. I don’t agree with that at all. You know we take safe-guarding of any of the funds we receive,” he says.

To which the Rauner campaign responds…

Quinn doesn’t agree that federal disaster funds were used in NRI?

A bit of a stretch.

* But while this political video posted by a state legislative candidate has no views as of yet, it does have perhaps the best chance of catching some fire if we give it a little nudge today…

Heh.

Keep it short, keep it simple, add a bit of humor.

       

24 Comments - Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 11:36 am: ===“I apologize. We may have to go through rough times. We may have to do what Ronald Reagan did with the air traffic controllers. Sort of have to do a do-over and shut things down for a little while. That’s what we’re gonna do.”=== Yep. Brutal. His own words. Scott Walker style. If you are in a Union, specifically a public-sector Union, Rauner wants to do whatever it takes, even shutting down the state, to dismantle the Unions, and the Constitution if need be. - Formerly Known As... - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 11:38 am: In just 30 seconds, Wilson already seems more likable than either Quinn or Rauner. Wilson for Gov! - Formerly Known As... - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 11:42 am: What does Squeezy say about Mr. Wilson’s ad? Never pick a fight with a cartoon character. That rule is even older than “Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.” - Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 11:52 am: To Wilson, That is funny stuff, and I even like the snake is the right color. Exactly what it should be; short, funny, making ONE point, dripping with irony. - Bluefish - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 11:53 am: “No more snakes in Springfield!” Great. Just what we need. St. Patrick as a legislator. - Chris - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 11:54 am: “Yep. Brutal. His own words. Scott Walker style.” Only minor surprise is that he said it in a room where he knew/should-have-known there was a camera. He’s clearly considered it a possibility; it’s one of the things that PE firms do to acquired companies, in order to reset the cost structure. Anyone who doubted/doubts that he would consider it, simply isn’t paying enough attention to the whole context of Rauner. - Chris - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 11:59 am: “Great. Just what we need. St. Patrick as a legislator.” Heh. Just realized why PQ chose the Squeezy thing. - Johnnie F. - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:08 pm: I thought the air traffic controllers were fired b/c they initiated a strike when they were forbidden to by law. How does that situation compare to the average state employee? He proposes just randomly firing all state employees? - A guy... - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:09 pm: I guess the “funny” was kinda lost on me. None of these will go viral with any help from me. - Chris - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:11 pm: “He proposes just randomly firing all state employees?” Wouldn’t be random. Would be everyone not covered by a contract, and then everyone covered by a contract, once the contract expires (and that only bc, (1) already fired all the lawyers, and (2) to expensive to just pay off the broken contract). - OneMan - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:15 pm: In a press release Squeezy The Pension Python announced he has seen the Wilson ad and looks forward to giving the candidate a big hug. - Shark Sandwich - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:26 pm: Opposition ad ‘Sen candidate Don Wilson’s silence on spiders, rats, and roaches in Springfield is deafening…’ - Levois - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:31 pm: What does it take to get a campaign video to go viral? Perhaps it’s not just having something to say. Perhaps it’s everyone all smiles. - wordslinger - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:32 pm: Johnnie F, yeah, Rauner is abusing the Reagan/PATCO story. When the facts becomes legend, print the legend. I’m assuming that Rauner was talking “government shutdown” before he saw how popular that federales shutdown was. - Show Me the Money - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:39 pm: What in the world has 270 Strategies been doing for the past three months? - Demoralized - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:59 pm: Mr. Wilson should have showed a clip from the movie Snakes on a Plane and then morphed the image of the snakes over the State Capitol. - Rich Miller - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 1:08 pm: Demoralized, I think you’re overestimating Wilson’s budget. lol - Demoralized - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 1:21 pm: How about this one: “Mr. Wilson comes to save the state from Dennis the Menace” - Precinct Captain - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 3:07 pm: ==- Johnnie F. - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 12:08 pm:== Easy to make that mistake when you think you’re running for emperor. - Anonymous - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 3:32 pm: Honestly when are politicans gonna stop going after state employees. Enough is enough! If you wanta find waste, then combine the Treasurer and the Comptrollers position. There is savings there. The state is top heavy with many management positions that weren’t there a few years ago. - Both Sides Now - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 4:42 pm: When I viewed the Quinn video, I also found a link to this one. Thought this was better than the previous one posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yem25Tr4jp4 - Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Aug 4, 14 @ 9:16 pm: Rauner may not be viral, but his online ads have infected every news site in Illinois. Is there a newspaper he isn’t advertising in? - Orestirt - Tuesday, Aug 5, 14 @ 7:59 am: In fewer than 24 hours, the IFT video received almost as many hits as the official ones. (1,513). Screenshot —> http://imgur.com/1vFahdn1 - Orestirt - Tuesday, Aug 5, 14 @ 8:00 am: Sorry, correct link. http://imgur.com/1vFahdn Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.