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The tabula rasa effect
Tuesday, Aug 12, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller * Mark Brown is amazed at recent poll results which showed 21 percent of voters think Gov. Pat Quinn is the real reformer in the race, while 46.5 percent believed Bruce Rauner was the real deal…
Most people get most of their information on governor’s races from TV ads, particularly this early in the campaign. It’s pretty much that simple. “Earned media” doesn’t really move the needle unless it’s used in a competent paid media message. Also, Quinn’s negatives have been awful for years, and Rauner is mainly a blank slate right now - although he did get just a plurality, so most are either not buying his act, think both of them are reformers or don’t know. I think about the same plurality would choose Rauner over Quinn when asked to compare the two on almost any specific positive attributes right now. Quinn is deeply unpopular. Rauner is not Quinn. The governor’s job is to make voters believe that Rauner is even worse than Quinn is. And that’s not gonna be easy, considering the governor’s numbers and particularly if his campaign spits out more goofy ads like they did yesterday. …Adding… From a commenter…
I think that has something to do with it as well. * Related…
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- Under Further Review - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:09 am:
I am not a fan of Rauner, but I wonder if he is the beneficiary of the “Peter Fitzgerald” effect? Having so much wealth and acting as a self financed candidate makes Rauner appear to be incorruptible. How do you bribe a billionaire politician?
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:09 am:
Please tell me people aren’t that gullible.
No they are not.
They were asked which of the TWO candidates was the real reformer - NOT if Rauner is a real reformer.
They know Quinn isn’t.
There is your answer, Mr. “Please tell me people aren’t that gullible”.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:12 am:
@VMan:
And that makes people not gullible how? To me siding with the other guy simply because he isn’t Quinn points to at least a little bit of gullible tendencies. But then again I’m not the expert in all things as you portray yourself to be.
- lol - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:14 am:
Based on what, exactly?
Because he said so in a television commercial? Please tell me people aren’t that gullible.
Hope and Change.
Blagojevich elected to second term.
Yes they are that gullible.
- Gooner - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:14 am:
“Stake out his populist principles and mostly stick to them”?
Somebody needs to give Brown a history lesson.
Quinn from his start with Gov. Walker has always been about power politics. We saw it then, and after 2011 we saw his admin hire a string of people best known for losing to Republicans. Hey, they needed work.
Quinn has got some good and some bad, but the idea that he’s really some sort of reformer is laughable.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:16 am:
Demoralized, I think VMan is right on this one.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:17 am:
I really like Mark Brown’s views on Rauner and Quinn. He’s not buying Rauner’s policies and slammed him previously for his property tax freeze proposal. Rauner continues to run on the property tax freeze.
If Quinn was indeed behind the NRI scandal in a damaging way, then it should be over for him. I don’t blame the voters one bit for voting someone like him out. We’re tired of it, and it doesn’t reflect who we are.
Madeleine Doubek has an article out today, telling people to not count Quinn out. That could be true, if Quinn is not damaged by the NRI scandal, and if the unions and others work together to GOTV.
Quinn also needs to win support from Cook County suburban women ASAP. That, the Chicago vote and unions can really help him.
I guess many people at this point support Rauner in whole or part because he’s not Quinn. Rauner’s policies, or lack of them, leave a lot to be desired, though.
- W.S. Walcott - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:17 am:
If one equates the word “reform,” with “change,” I think there is no question the Rauner is a reformer. Whether that reform/change is beneficial to most residents of this State, is another question, entirely. Looking 4 years into the future, with Rauner, and seperately with Quinn, I believe the greatest amount of “change” would come with Rauner at the helm. However, I wouldn’t necessarily call that “reform…”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:20 am:
===The governor’s job is to make voters believe that Rauner is even worse than Quinn is.===
Every day the Quinn Crew ignores this reality, is a good day upon good day for the Rauner Crew.
Quinn can’t sell Quinn as the cornerstone to victory. No way.
- walker - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:24 am:
Any 6-year incumbent, to a public unhappy with the economy and government in general, cannot maintain the “reformer” label.
“Anybody but” can assume the “reformer” label by necessity.
The alternative is to believe reform is impossible, and voters won’t abide hopelessness.
Does hopeful mean gullible? Maybe, in the absence of evidence the new person is better, but it’s natural.
- lake county democrat - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:29 am:
Did you see Quinn’s pathetic response to the Sun-Times poll (also in today’s S-T)? He gave 3 reasons why he’s a reformer: The creation of the Citizens Utility Board 30 years ago, his campaign to raise the minimum wage (???), and that he releases his tax records.
Wow, that’s impressive after you threw your own reform commission under the bus and have seemingly done no oversight of your own current administration.
My advice for Quinn: start running tv ads on what’s going on in Kansas when the Republicans followed the “Rauner plan” (a stretch, but go for it). Keep repeating the mantra “Rauner will make things worse.” As Oswego Willie says, that (plus labor support best kept as under the radar as possible) is your ticket to victory.
- facts are stubborn things - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:31 am:
Tell them what they want to hear and you get elected. Lower taxes, balance the budget by cutting “waste and abuse” “shake up Springfield” etc. etc.
Someone explain to me how you let the tax rate drop to 3.75% from 5% and you don’t end up cutting education or if not increasing property taxes.
Yes, I believe many people are gullible.
Below is a quote from Thomas Jefferson on the importance of an informed electorate.
“Convinced that the people are the only safe depositories of their own liberty, and that they are not safe unless enlightened to a certain degree, I have looked on our present state of liberty as a short-lived possession unless the mass of the people could be informed to a certain degree.” –Thomas Jefferson to Littleton Waller Tazewell, 1805.
- the Patriot - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:32 am:
I consider the crew here to be the foremost in IL politics. We can find several Rauner haters explaining why he is evil, or not what he portrays. What we don’t find, is anyone making the case for Quinn.
When you have been Governor for 6 and you cannot sell anything you have actually accomplished, you are in trouble.
- facts are stubborn things - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:32 am:
“Light and liberty go together.” –Thomas Jefferson to Tench Coxe, 1795.
- Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:33 am:
==- Under Further Review - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:09 am:==
If he appears incorruptible because of his money, then Quinn has to paint him as the corrupter because of his money, which shouldn’t be that difficult.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:33 am:
Norseman called for a change at the campaign yesterday. Rich is reiterating his distaste for the ad.
This is a critical time for the campaign: do they stay the course with the team they have? Do they decide as a team to shift gears? Or is this where the finger-pointing begins and the wheels come off?
A man whose judgment I deeply respect is embedded in the campaign. He thinks Quinn is going to win by a squeak.
While I still think this one is tilting only slightly Rauner, you don’t really get a sense of urgency from the Quinn campaign, which is disconcerting.
All of this Comeback Kid stuff? C’mon.
Durbin creamed Quinn in 1996. Quinn lost a close one in 1998 to come from behind candidate Kearns.
2002, Quinn won but was never behind. Ditto 2006 and we now know 2010.
Bill Clinton made a comeback in New Hampshire in 1992.
If Team Quinn is going to make adjustments, they only really have a few weeks to do it. There is no tweaking after Labor Day.
As for the reformer mantle, it is not surprising.
Quinn’s response to NRI was underwhelming.
But you cannot blame it all on NRI.
Quinn has been governor for five years. Most folks find it hard to run against the system when they are the system.
And as I said back in 2010, no one in their right mind would want to be governor then. Whomever became governor was going to be faced with unpopular choices.
I have not counted Quinn out yet, but I am not counting on some miracle either.
Cosgrove and PersonalPAC haven’t begun to weigh in yet, and all signals are they are coming in REALLY BIG.
Union outreach typically begins to take effect after Labor Day, and a top-notch Friends and Family Program can move a few hundred thousand votes, if there is still anyone around who is old enough to recall how to run a top-notch Friends and Family Program.
- Shore - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:34 am:
Rauner isn’t an outsider and I’m not sure how economic, financial and private sector insider makes him a reformer?
Peter Fitzgerald took on the kind of combine folks Rauner represents.
that was a good brown column.
- Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:35 am:
Reform is defined as “to put or change into an improved form or condition”.
Change is easy to identify. Whether it is an improvement requires a judgement. So the respondents to the poll believe Rauner will improve things. I don’t agree, but that’s my judgement.
- Responsa - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:36 am:
It’s the known versus the unknown. When a basic “go to” restaurant you’ve patronized for a while starts going down hill or you have multiple experiences with poor food or surly waitstaff there, your disappointment and lack of satisfaction causes you to look for another “go to” restaurant. You won’t know for a while if it’s better or worse than the old one was, but you definitely know a change is in order and it looks pretty nice, so you give the new one try.
- Bill White - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:36 am:
Rauner won’t be bought because he is the buyer.
Cutting out the middle man is a much traveled road to business success.
- anon - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:38 am:
Blago was reelected because people believed what he said in his commercials. Why would this election be any different?
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:38 am:
“Quinn can’t sell Quinn as the cornerstone to victory.”
I know I don’t represent the average voter, but I’d really like to see Quinn do a commercial in which he’s prominent and telling people of his accomplishments.
Something like:
“Hi I’m Governor Pat Quinn.
“When I became governor, Illinois was in terrible shape. We had mountains of unpaid bills, runaway pension debt and an economy that was reeling from the recession.
“I made tough choices and stood against special interests to put the state back on the path of recovery. I reformed pensions and made necessary budget cuts. We’re paying down our bills.
“We passed a tough fracking bill to grow Illinois jobs of the future.
“As governor I passed SSM and MMJ.
“Vote for me to finish the job and bring back Illinois.”
etc.
I know I’m not an ad writer, but I know what I’d like to see. I believe that Quinn needs to get in front of a camera and tell people his accomplishments. He did make accomplishments. Some of you were screaming for them (e.g. pension reform), and he gave them to you.
I want to know what will Rauner do that’s different than Quinn, policy-wise.
- justthefacts - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:39 am:
“Please tell me people aren’t that gullible.”
People are that gullible.:
“That includes John and Ida Ryan, who live in Springfield. John is 81, a retired state worker whose pension provides the couple with roughly $1,000 per month. He says that’s not nearly enough.”
“Asked who the Ryans might vote for in November:
John: “It’s not going to be Quinn.”
Ida: “It’s not going to be Quinn.”
http://wuis.org/post/aarp-poll-rauner-has-edge-over-quinn-among-senior-voters
So instead let’s vote for the guy who says he wants to cap pensions and has stated he is open to the idea of taxing retirement income.
- pundent - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:44 am:
I wouldn’t necessarily conclude that people are gullible. Pat Quinn is seen as the status quo candidate and no one would associate reform with the status quo. Rauner may be a lot of things but you can’t say that he’s status quo. I think Oswego Willy has this pegged. The campaign message from Pat Quinn has to be “as bad as things are they’ll be a whole lot worse with Rauner”. I’m not sure if that’s going to resonate.
- A guy... - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:45 am:
The money line out on the trail, the fatal one, is when Rauner states; “Pat Quinn is the worst Governor in America”. No one argues. No one debates. No one makes a case that he’s actually in 47th place. They simply absorb it and try to conceive of any reason that’s not true. The horrible reality is that it is true to the people who hear it. Even the people who may generally like him and dislike Rauner. There are no tools out there to defend Pat with. Now, he’s perceived as “not a reformer” and his integrity is very much in question. That’s really all he ever had going for him.
- Downstate - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:55 am:
Even Blaogo was able to run for a second term by pointing to his “shakeup” of some state wide boards, etc. It was all mere window dressing.
By contrast, Quinn has only marketed his “cutting off paychecks” scheme.
- Big Muddy - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:56 am:
~Because he said so in a television commercial? Please tell me people aren’t that gullible.~
What I want to say will get me banned for life due to Rich’s mandate that we not speak of the “low information voter.”
Irony is awesome in politics isn’t it?
- dupage dan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:08 am:
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby. The mistake that is made always runs the other way. Because the plain people are able to speak and understand, and even, in many cases, to read and write, it is assumed that they have ideas in their heads, and an appetite for more. This assumption is a folly.”
H. L. Mencken
- Louis G Atsaves - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:16 am:
My door-to-door work in my Township has lead me to conclude there is a lot of anger and frustration out there with the current status quo. This is equally true in the Democrat precincts of my township. You can add disappointment to the Democrat precincts as an additional finding.
I’ve never heard so many complaints in over 30 years of walking precincts. And with the election fast approaching and with more people focusing in on it, I don’t see those complaints quieting down.
My humble opinion here.
- dupage dan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:20 am:
Mr Atsaves, do you see democrats crossing over and voting for Rauner or do you see them just staying home? Not sure it matters - just curious.
- Birdseed - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:22 am:
=== - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 10:16 am:
Demoralized, I think VMan is right on this one. ===
In my opinion, he is right on this one and many others, but his opinions are tossed aside by the usual suspects because - it came from VMan.
Well done, VMan!
- Crockpot Jackson - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:31 am:
Quinn forfeited any reform credentials he may have had when he personally vouched for Blagojevich to save his own political skin.
- Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:32 am:
== The governor’s job is to make voters believe that Rauner is even worse than Quinn is. ==
A pitiful reality. The governor’s job should be running on his record of success along with that of ILGA leaders, and people wanting another term from him.
Instead, this is his only option.
- Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:34 am:
In this case, VanillaMan is right.
Giving people a choice between “A” and “B” does not make them gullible for choosing “A” or “B”.
Particularly when A has destroyed their own credibility in regards to the question at hand. “B” is left as your only option.
- Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:45 am:
=== While I still think this one is tilting only slightly Rauner, you don’t really get a sense of urgency from the Quinn campaign, which is disconcerting. ===
YDD, you nailed it. You’re in a better position to assess Quinn’s campaign staff, but they need to do something to address this perception.
- Aldyth - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 11:55 am:
I’m guessing that Rauner has the kind of ego you would expect from a highly successful wealthy businessman. I’m also guessing that if he wins, he’s not going to incorporate the thought that he won because it was an “anyone but Quinn” kind of a year. He might actually take office thinking that people are impressed with his proposals?
I wonder what sort of cognitive dissonance is generated when big ego hits legislative realities? It could have great entertainment value. I just wish it was happening in another state so that I could watch from the sidelines without having to live with the fallout.
- Jimbo - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:05 pm:
Guy, you really need to explain why “everyone” agrees that Quinn is the worst governor in America. I can think of several who are worse. I’m not going to try to convince you he is good, because I don’t think these days anyone in charge anywhere is doing a particularly good job, but passing SSM, MMJ, trying to do something with pensions (although I count that against him), not skipping the pension ramp payments, being honest about taxes, paying down the bill backlog, cutting programs while increasing revenue are all accomplishments. Oh yeah, and while UE isn’t falling as fast as you’d like, it is falling. So he does have accomplishments he could tout. You can’t be all things to all people. Rauner has the advantage of being able to pretend he is all things to all people right now. Look at you, you actually believe that one guy, working within a Madigan controlled system, can turn things around. Why? He hasn’t given any detail about how he would do this. You just believe in him. Cutting income taxes and freezing real estate taxes does what to the budget? Maybe you think those dollars can come from medicaid or food stamps or sticking it to government employees. Maybe you’re okay with all the harm it will do to people who aren’t you, so long as you can save a few hundred dollars a year on taxes. I’m not sure, but you’ve clearly bought the idea that Rauner will be our savior. I just don’t have any idea what you base that belief upon.
- Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:15 pm:
== you’ve clearly bought the idea that Rauner will be our savior ==
Is it the idea that Rauner “will be our savior”? Or simply that anyone but Quinn will be an upgrade?
- Louis G Atsaves - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:34 pm:
@dupage dan: I won’t reveal my actual tally sheets, but demoralized enough where the turnout may be a little less than prior non-Presidential years, and not guaranteed to be voting strictly along party lines. I foresee some increased ticket splitting in certain races.
What would happen if pollsters asked voters if they would split their votes this election for certain races?
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:35 pm:
his opinions are tossed aside by the usual suspects because - it came from VMan.
Almost all the regulars often feel that their opinions are tossed aside, so I’m not special.
As a matter of fact, I haven’t read an opinion from Oswego Willy since I discovered he is actually a computer program which randomly generates comments when it picks up certain words like, “Rauner”, “Sanguinetti”, or “Plummer”. When it picks up any of these words, it is programmed to repeat the same five lines. Rich uses the OW code to generate page reads when approaching advertisers.
On some days, the Oswego Willy program writes up to two hundred entries, all similar. All it needs is electricity and an internet connection.
- Jimbo - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:41 pm:
Touche FKA. I just see the biggest strikes against Quinn being that he wanted to extend the tax increase (Rauner does too), our state credit rating is awful (Rauner’s tax plans will make it worse), he cut education (Jesus what do people think Rauner will do), and unemployment isn’t going down fast enough (psst. Rauner doesn’t have a plan to change this).
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:44 pm:
Only - VanillaMan - can take a compliment avid turn it into a way to attempt to trash someone.
Try to be gracious, - VanillaMan -, take a compliment and show you deserve it. If someone takes the time to say something about your comment, turning it around to go after someone else, what are you trying to say?
If it makes you feel better, after being singled out for kudos, to take shots, then maybe your own self-esteem might need calibrating.
I guess when I give you kudos as well, those fall on default remarks too?
What a shame. A chance to be gracious, but trying to be snide is you accepting accolades.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:53 pm:
==but his opinions are tossed aside by the usual suspects because - it came from VMan.==
*Sigh*
More victims heard from.
I could care less who it came from. I don’t agree with a lot of VMan’s political analysis but that doesn’t mean I toss it aside. Since when did disagreeing with somebody constitute tossing something aside?
Sometimes I think VMan hits the nail on the head (i.e. his low information voters narrative) and sometimes I don’t think he does. Isn’t this blog great that we can say that?
At any rate, I still happen to believe that gullible describes some who would support the other guy simply because they aren’t Quinn. But that’s just my opinion. Take it for what it is.
- ChinaTown - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:58 pm:
Oswego has it right in his first comment.
Team Quinn needs to start landing some punches that build a narrative of Rauner as crooked/corrupt rich, not just rich. Every day the Rauner crew is able switch the topic or avoid sustained hits (scattershot stuff is absorbable) is a win. Kinda thought the Caymans might be the beginning of a sustained push.
But if Rauner’s people do this for 80-whatever more days, they win.
- A guy... - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 1:08 pm:
== Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 12:44 pm:
Only - VanillaMan - can take a compliment avid turn it into a way to attempt to trash someone.===
For cryin’ out loud (literally), Man up. He’s reiterating what a minority handful of others here say. You dish, you eat brother.
And Jimbo, fondly,
I never hear anyone defend Quinn’s status as 50 out of 50, except you here today. It’s a tough argument people just aren’t motivated to make. He’s lost a lot of defenders. The chorus of people who criticize Illinois goes well beyond Rauner. He’s repeating it. They’re mostly agreeing. No one has said otherwise.
- Birdseed - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 1:08 pm:
=== At any rate, I still happen to believe that gullible describes some who would support the other guy simply because they aren’t Quinn. ===
If either A or B = Reformer (the question), and A ≠ Reformer, then B = Reformer.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 1:19 pm:
===For cryin’ out loud (literally), Man up. He’s reiterating what a minority handful of others here say. You dish, you eat brother.===
Man. Up?
So, when someone compliments you, you don’t thank them, but you take it as a chance to take a shot?
Speaks volumes. Stay classy.
(Tips cap to - ChinaTown -)
- steve schnorf - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 1:36 pm:
DD, I think Mencken said it far better than most of us can, but, yes, Rich, people are that gullible and more so, and it isn’t about just these candidates or this race
- dupage dan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 1:46 pm:
Thank you Mr Atsaves.
Mr Schnorf, I like that quote - it makes me look smarter than I really am.
- Original Rambler - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 1:48 pm:
In an attempt to get back to the topic, I was most surprised by Brown’s somewhat narrowminded view of what constitutes a reformer. Brown apparently equates it with solely liberal viewpoints. Those are some blinders he’s wearing. I don’t think the poll responders view it as such, though undoubtedly some do. Vman and WS Walcott have it right. I’m pretty sure that close to 100% of the gubernatorial voters on election day will leave the polling place believing they voted for the reform candidate.
- Formerly Known As... - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 2:43 pm:
== Touche FKA ==
Jimbo, you actually make a better case for the gov’s record than he has thus far. And I agree with you that some people seem to think no further than “the rich guy will fix stuff”. That is good enough for them and all they need to know.
I just happen to think it is more that people are tired of Quinn than they believe in “the rich guy”.
- walker - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 3:14 pm:
A guy: of course that’s a winning line, because no one can think of much that any other Governor has failed to do. It’s like one I heard going door to door for a local office candidate “We have the worst potholes in the state”. No one disagreed, and it was fun to jump on the bandwagon and complain. No one actually had a clue if it was true.
BTW: all props to you for walking for your candidates. I miss it, (but not a lot.)
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 4:16 pm:
I for the life of me still don’t understand what Quinn’s #1 argument against Rauner is.
Out of touch?
Corrupt?
Conservative?
Tax hiker?
Copycat?
Gopher?
I would like to agree with Quinn, I am just not sure what he wants me to agree to.
- Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 4:22 pm:
YDD, if you’re not understanding where Quinn’s campaign is going then they are in deep trouble.
There is always room on the Willy for Gov. bandwagon.
- A guy... - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 4:34 pm:
=== walker - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 3:14 pm:
A guy: of course that’s a winning line, because no one can think of much that any other Governor has failed to do. It’s like one I heard going door to door for a local office candidate “We have the worst potholes in the state”. No one disagreed, and it was fun to jump on the bandwagon and complain. No one actually had a clue if it was true.
BTW: all props to you for walking for your candidates. I miss it, (but not a lot.)===
Walk, we agree so you must be right! lol. I’m an oddball in the sense I really like walking precincts and canvassing. I’ve met my share of jerks, but they’re outnumbered 100 fold by decent people. It sure beats phone canvassing. People at the door are a lot more honest. Some even are flattered by the visit. Only the weather is a downside often.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 4:59 pm:
- Norseman -,
I forgot to thank you for getting everything ready for the State Fair parade. The float was unbelievable….
Just a shame the parade was canceled. You did a great job organizing the whole thing. Too bad no one got to see it.
The Labor Day rollout will be epic!
Much respect - Norseman -.
Much.
- Norseman - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 5:12 pm:
Thank you Willy.
It was a shame they cancelled the parade. The Willy Bandwagon Float would have been awesome with all the folks climbing on board. I noted that Quinn’s folks were sweating bullets looking at it. Rauner’s people kept offering me money to pull it out of line.
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 5:18 pm:
OW
You are like a computer program.
Compared to some guys around here, that is a compliment.
I didn’t even know what county East St. Louis was in today!
Laugh.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 5:54 pm:
Norseman-
Help an old man out.
Quinn did just call Rauner a “gopher.”
I thought he was a “chicken.”
Or Uncle Moneybags before that?
This composition lacks rhythm.
- better days - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 6:16 pm:
Rauner a reformer ?????.. look at all the waste , corruption, spending under Quinn
Let Quinn join blago at the Colorado hotel
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 12, 14 @ 6:30 pm:
- VanillaMan -,
I learn a great deal here, and to be gracious and to try to look beyond what you see are probably “1″ and “1A”.
Between auto-correct and Goodfellas, I got my “Hills” wrong.
You put me in one of your parody songs, songs that make you unique, special, and one of a kind here, then I won’t be confused as to what you may mean, lol.
Dope is pretty easy to rhyme.
- Norseman - way to hang tough with Rauner, and the Quinnsters hear footsteps with your leadership.
To the Post,
Maybe the real heavy lifting for Quinn’s Crew begins and ends with the rationalizing of the lesser of two evils against unrealistic expectations by Rauner in policy that is wrapped around his own two personas…while trying to fend off a federal investigation following him and hearings that people will pay attention to…
At some point, will the people at the door tune out beyond where the polling is at now? Can the Unions change the narrative from Rauner’s possibly unattainable promises?
Long 80+ days.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Aug 13, 14 @ 8:40 am:
Better Days:
News coverage tends to greatly exaggerate negatives.
No human enterprise is waste or corruption free.
And as Bruce Rauner has noted, you can’t blame the guy at the top for every mistake in the bottom or middle.
Quinn is neither as flawed as Rauner claims nor as flawless as his campaign would have us believe.
Serious mistakes were made in the implementation of NRI.
It was not, as far as any evidence goes, a $54 million GOTV operation as Rauner has claimed.
Nor, as Quinn has implied, does all or even most of the fault lie with the nonprofit sector. Quinn also misleads to suggest that he was leading the charge to reform NRI.