32 Comments - OneMan - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:01 am: Pounding the message of Quinn failed is not a bad approach, the more you make it about Quinn and the less it is about you the better it is. That’s true in campaigns in general. - A guy... - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:07 am: If I’m reading this as attack the credibility of what Pat Quinn tries to pass off as “strengths”, then I agree. - Empty Chair - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:08 am: Counties still don’t vote. - Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:08 am: Spot on. If this campaign is about Illinois’ debt, economy, violence in certain areas, regulatory climate and the like, Rauner wins. If this campaign is about assault weapons, tax inversion, taking the minimum wage “challenge” and the like, Quinn may win. - Soccermom - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:08 am: That is excellent advice. Focus on winning counties. Spend lots of time in rural areas. Go door to door, and farm to farm. Don’t waste money running commercials in Cook County — that’s just one expensive county. Focus on the 99-county strategy and everything will work out fine. - North Shore Joe - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:09 am: C.O.L (chuckle out loud) at the “98 counties” line. Has anyone asked what Blago’s advice to Quinn would be? Would be much more interested in hearing that. - Anonymoiis - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:09 am: His advise could’ve been summed up in one sentence: Look at what I did in Cook county, and do the exact opposite of that. - Norseman - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:10 am: Rauner Campaign Staff Response: “Brady who?” Brady stepped in it on his own. His advice is basic Campaign 101 - steer the issues to your benefit. Raunervich needs to stick to his agenda and has pretty much done so this far. The times he gotten in trouble were caused by his getting off message. - Mighty M. Mouse - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:12 am: It’s certainly a good idea for Rauner to distract attention away from the kind of person he is. He’d rather have the focus be on ANYTHING else, as well he should. - Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:14 am: (Sigh) Counties don’t vote, voters vote, especially voters in Cook County… (Exhale…) ===“What Bruce has gotta try to do is not get in the weeds on a lot of issues that Pat Quinn will try to turn this election on Bruce Rauner as opposed to what really needs to be focused on is the failures of the entire Democratic party that has been in control since Rod Blagojevich,” said Brady.=== What was the very first thing the Rauner Crew did after the “GOP Unity Brunch”? “Democrats and Independents for Rauner” Sen. Brady focusing on Democrats is not the cake the Rauner Crew wants; Rauner’s Crew is counting on Moderate Republicans and Conservate Dems, and Independents frustrated with the current sitting governor, who happens to be a Democrat. The shying away from social issues is also shunning the Litmus Test GOP, and allowing Rauner’s Crew, unchallenged as of yet except for SSM, to frame the TV Ads and discussions on the economics of Quinn, sprinkle in MJM for some red meat, and literally dodge away from social and Romney mistakes. I really like Sen. Brady. I really do. This statewide political acumen in novice and reminds me that still counting counties as a positive is not the best way to think you are helping with a strategy to win a statewide race in a General Election. - Gooner - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:16 am: Too late for that advice. Rauner is already deep into the weeds on marriage equality. On social issues, Rauner needs to make a choice. If he revises his positions on marriage equality (how about, “Now that it is law, I would veto a repeal. We need stability and predictability and we cannot change the law on that issue.”) and assure moderates on reproductive rights/abortion, he may be able to at worst, negatively impact turnout among Dems, and possibly get votes from suburban moderates. The question, or course, is whether that would significantly decrease turnout of the GOP base. It is too late to just stay out of the weeds though. He’s in the weeds and those issues can have a major impact in November. He’s got to figure out a path. “Stay out of the weeds” just ignore the reality of the current situation. - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:19 am: Someone feeling lonely and ignored? Really? Rauner should build on what you were able to do in 2010? Dude - you lost during a national GOP landslide. You lost against Blagojevich’s old running mate. You polled so badly in Cook, you would have lost to an alderman facing trial. You would have lost to a guy in handcuffs. You want credit for losing only four counties? AKWARD. - Hit or Miss - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:20 am: ===“I think he can build on the fact that we won 98 counties against Pat Quinn last time…”=== Sen. Brady appears to fail to understand the importance of Cook County in the race. Just like with the pension funding issue, a greater understanding of mathematics might be in order. - Mason born - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:25 am: Normally i’d agree that political advice from Brady isn’t worth the electrons to put it on the screen. However if he had skipped the first two paragraphs and focused on the third it may actualy be worthwhile. That said if rauners team of advisors need that advice Rauner needs new advisors. I keep waiting for the Rauner ad with a script like so. “Pat quinn has been governor for 5 years. If you want more of what you got the last 5 years vote for Pat. However i think IL can do better if you agree vote for me.” Perception is reality and there aren’t a whole lot of people jumping up and down about our states last 5 years. - Demoralized - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:25 am: ==I think he can build on the fact that we won 98 counties against Pat Quinn last time== That’s nice. How’d that work out for you? People who quote that irrelevant statistic are doomed to fail. You could win that number of counties again but if you can’t up your totals in Cook County it really won’t matter. - LincolnLounger - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:28 am: Better advice might have been “Do not start working with your campaign manager to determine your cabinet before you win the election.” - 47th Ward - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:29 am: Senator Brady won 98 counties in 2010. Do you know what they call the guy who won the other four? Governor. - PoolGuy - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:42 am: Four years ago this month a downstate senator told me that whoever won the election in November 2010, in order to deal with the state’s fiscal/budgetary situation would have to (or attempt to) do all of the following: 1) raise taxes, 2) cut spending, 3) close state facilities, 4) lay off state employees, 5) cut state employee’s salaries and benefits, 6) and cut pensions. And whoever won in 2010 would be vilified for it and lose in 2014. To me that is what is happening now, whether it was Brady or Quinn. Current Governor has tried to do all of these things, and besides the tax increase, the unions and state constitution kept him from doing much else. People don’t want their taxes increased but they don’t want spending cuts either, on schools, roads, prisons, human services, etc. Communities don’t want state facilities closed or worker layoffs. State workers don’t want their salaries cut or pensions tinkered with. And I’m not even mentioning small and large businesses in regards to corporate tax rates and overall business climate, as well as the reactions of the creditors on our state’s ongoing credit rating issues. So whether it was Brady or Quinn, Dem or Repub, the typical long-serving Springfield insider political-types, we now get a perfect storm in Bruce Rauner. Mega rich guy who plays the outsider, and can dish out money on both sides like candy at a parade. If Brady was Governor, Rauner may have buddied up even closer with Rahm and ran as a Dem. Instead Quinn is Governor and he slides in, rents an entire political party and buys the primary over 3 long-standing party guys who had no money to run a decent campaign or weren’t able to due to rumors and allegations. Now it’s up to voters to decide if they can no longer stand an unpopular Governor who made an attempt to try and deal with our state’s fiscal woes, or go with a new guy who has not always been forthcoming with his own personal wealth and past business dealings, and who may attempt even more extreme measures if he gets into office that he may quickly find he is unable to do. Then the voters may vilify him next. Who would want that job is what I can’t figure out. - CircularFiringSquad - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:49 am: NoTaxBill is right…skip those details….to bad he did not speak up BEFORE Flip called for the tax hike and new sale tax, offered to PATCO teachers and firemen, cut minimum wage, etc. Maybe Flip could start talking about his pets ….tee hee - wordslinger - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 11:58 am: Ah, sage advice from the King of the 98-County Romantics. The obsession with counties never ceases to amaze. How’s about, “Look what I did, then do the opposite.” I think Rauner already figured that out. - Amalia - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 12:00 pm: 98 counties…. of beer on the wall? this argument makes me as dizzy as beer. it is meaningless. Chicago Media market, do you best. - Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 12:19 pm: PoolGuy - that is an interesting comment, and one I also heard around that same time. It makes me wonder what things may look like 4 years from now. We may have to repeat some of those same steps once the pension reform is overturned in court. Or has Quinn done all the “heavy lifting” here and the next guy, if it is not Quinn, will get to reap the rewards? - AC - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 12:20 pm: The Chicago media market is huge, I’m not sure how useful the 98 county advice is. The Chicago TV market reaches LaSalle/Peru. - Mcleaniac - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 12:42 pm: Rauner should ignore whatever “advice” 2 time loser Billy Brady has to offer ! If the Rauner campaign cannot , for some reason, ignore Brady entirely , then it should do just the OPPOSITE of what Billy B advises ! - Anon. - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 1:42 pm: ==“I think he can build on the fact that we won 98 counties against Pat Quinn last time . . .”== I’ve got an idea — how about “building” on this statistic by figuring out how many acres or square miles of Illinois each candidate carried in 2010? - The Colossus of Roads - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 2:38 pm: Illinois counties are not an electoral college, a vote is a vote. I believe Quinn won by a little over 19,000 votes. I would not take advice from Brady, he might have beat Quinn if he would have kept his mouth shut in the first place. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 3:17 pm: ==Brady says Rauner is running a good, well-funded effort that will need to contrast Quinn’s populist campaign– Bill Brady. Master of the obvious. - Conservative Republican - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 3:37 pm: ==the more you make it about Quinn and the less it is about you the better it is. That’s true in campaigns in general. == If you take Brady v Quinn 2010, that’s not true. Brady spent over $8 million (guestimate) bashing Quinn and it wasn’t enough. - walker - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 3:38 pm: Regardless of the messenger, the advice is good. Rauner and crew have “gotten” the idea for months. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 4:37 pm: Um, Rauner is doing the opposite already. Rauner is running a purely populist campaign. A Republican spending money on ads attacking corporate welfare? Chutzpah from a billionaire, yes, but pure populism. And the last thing Rauner wants to do or should do is run against the Democratic Party. If it is a choice between a Democrat and a Republican, the Democrat wins. Kirk, Topinka and Rutherford were successful largely because they weren’t like other Republicans. Cross hopes to hop that path as well. The Democratic brand might be taking hits, but the GOP brand is bloody awful. Republicans hate gay people, immigrants, the poor, and believe rape isn’t always really rape…that is their reputation. Brady is still in denial. - shawneewatch - Wednesday, Aug 6, 14 @ 8:08 pm: “A well funded effort” equals one individual dumping large amounts amounts of his own money to bye an elected office for no reason besides personal gaines for himself and his multi-millionaire friends. If elected he will crush the middle class, and destroy our right for collective bargaining. Take yourself to Wisconsin Mr. Rauner, we dont need your type in Illinois - Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 7:44 am: Sounds like someone wants to be director of Dept. of Insurance in a Rauner admin. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.