45 Comments - some dude - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:16 pm: Nice: the parody ad spells it Ruaner. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:17 pm: The parody ads are pretty funny. I think if you put a few of us in a room with some video equipment, we could knock these out of the park. Of course, ours would probably be so inside baseballish that we’d be the only ones laughing. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:22 pm: Parodies were excellent! I enjoyed Gov. Christie’s face; “I am never sharing a ‘Q & A’ stage with this guy again” - priceless. To the Ad, “A-” Goes to the hypocrisy of Rauner, and making it clear that what Bruce says, and what Bruce does, especially to make money, is just as phony as the image he wants others to believe. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:26 pm: Boy-o. All you have to do is look at Rauner’s eyes. They are blinking “I am lying right to your face” in Morse Code. Apparently, he made the same huge mistake Romney made, claiming he left the company much earlier than he did. When there was a clear paper trail of paperwork with his signature on it. But again, notice that the only way he can stop blinking is to turn away from the person asking the question or change the subject. The Telltale Eyes - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:28 pm: Willy: Christie did look like he was trying to pass a kidney stone. I wonder if the whole thing was that painful? - Snucka - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:32 pm: Mr. Rauner is proud of the fact that he’s been “successful at everything”. Watching him on the stump, one gets the impression that he senses this particular conquest starting to slip away from him. I hope he’s seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist, because I worry about how he will deal with failure on such a grand scale. All you have to do is look in his eyes. Fear… disbelief… building anger. They’re all there, JUST below the surface. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:36 pm: - YDD -, When I saw that sequence, you can feel that kidney stone type of feeling happening. Focusing on Christie’s reaction really also is about the “distain” Rauner had for Quinn, currently under Federal investigation, and the amateur Rauner is, not understanding he is sharing a stage… with a governor..,currently under …Federal investigation. I can imagine the Christie Crew gave an earful to the Rauner Crew. “Is your Principle willfully ignorant or blissfully ignorant?” Pathetic by Rauner to walk into that one, and Christie’s face says a you need to know; Amateur Hour. - wndycty - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:40 pm: I have been waiting for someone to point out that as fond as Rauner is of Christie and Scott Walker they too are facing some major investigations. - Frenchie Mendoza - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:42 pm: Another Rauner “tell” I’ve noticed: When he’s repeating anything “practiced” — or, more likely, anything he’s been coached to say — he presses his thumb against the side of his index finger and moves his arm up and down to emphasize. I’ve seen this in several videos now — but it only dawned on me with this particular video — that Rauner does the “thumb/forefinger emphasis” thing when he’s repeating something he’s either been coached on or he’s memorized. I’d like to play poker with Rauner. He’s a nice little fish. - Come on man! - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:43 pm: “So is Governor Christie so what is the difference?” RGA should have know better than to send a Gov under investigation. - Demoralized - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:46 pm: Rauner needs to stop having press conferences because he doesn’t do well. He still hasn’t mastered the question and answer thing. Oh, and I loved the Christie question. What’s good for the goose . . . - William j Kelly - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:51 pm: ‘Not every job should be in America,’ are you friggin kidding me? No wonder Krispy cream is losing weight, standing that close rauner must burn thousands of calories just from squirming and cringing! - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:51 pm: ===RGA should have know better than to send=== Christie is the chairman, for crying out loud. - Gooner - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:54 pm: The DGA ad is devastating. It goes to the core of Rauner’s campaign. If this race is about economics and job creation, does IL need a guy who had a role in destroying those jobs? Rauner’s response to the questions was not good. Repeating “this is a distraction” makes him look afraid of the issues. It looks weak. He sure does not look like a successful leader in those two minutes. Rauner really needs to take a few days off to regroup. His appearances and his responses have been been terrible. He needs to sit down with his staff and decide how to handle some of these issues. They are going from tuft to tuft across the morass, and unfortunately, they seem to be sinking. - Ducky LaMoore - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 3:54 pm: I’ve been waiting for that Christie thing to come up for a while. But I certainly didn’t expect it while Rauner and Christie were sharing the stage. Oh sweetness. - wndycty - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:00 pm: You have to wonder what the DGA will do now that Christie has been called out for being under investigation. Will they use this clip in other states that Christie campaigns in, it is priceless. - Bogey Golfer - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:01 pm: “I’ve seen this in several videos now — but it only dawned on me with this particular video — that Rauner does the “thumb/forefinger emphasis” thing when he’s repeating something he’s either been coached on or he’s memorized.” He’s been coached, but it’s the same thing lots of politicians use - better point of emphasis than pointing a finger. Dont’t ya remember Clinton: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” - Gooner - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:02 pm: Let me add to the “distraction” thing — at some point, it seems paranoid. If it is a distraction, who created it? Quinn? The media? Is he suggesting they are working together? What did he mean by “distraction”? Next thing you know, Rauner is going to tell us “the weather is chilly today, and that’s a distraction from the fact that Pat Quinn. . . . Pat, as well know, controls the weather.” - Frenchie Mendoza - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:09 pm: Yet another tell: Rauner’s blink frequency increases when he talks about the nursing home business. The blinking is quite emphatic during his “this is a distraction” nonsense — almost deliberate. He’s very, very uncomfortable. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:10 pm: This campaign might, literally, come down to who handles the media scrutiny of a court case in Tampa, or a Federal investigation in Illinois. Whoever comes off better weathering their media storm might be the victor in November. Rauner can not handle heat. Period. Doesn’t know the nuances, doesn’t know how to pivot, comes off angry, frustrated, smug, “teaching” (you need to focus here? Press people!), and worst of all untruthful in rehearsed, canned, responses that aren’t close to answers. Today…no exception. - Colossus - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:10 pm: Does Rauner live in the house from Home Alone? - Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:12 pm: The next time Rauner starts crowing about Quinn being under investigation a reporter needs to ask him if he thinks the press should just “wait for the courts to sort it out.” It’s interesting that Ruaner seems unable to provide even the most basic details about this episode even though his folks have had months to look it up. (Of course, providing actual details could really put him in hot water…) - Try-4-Truth - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:18 pm: I will ask again, do we know for a fact (yes a fact) that Pat Quinn is under any kind of investigation, let alone a “criminal” investigation? Do we know that? If you don’t know that, then you are stretching the truth a little bit. Prove that the NRI is about Quinn, and you can say it. If not, don’t. Period. - Amalia - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:20 pm: Chris Christie, this press corps doesn’t stand down. - MrJM - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:22 pm: Christie should not play poker. http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/9-23-2014/B2COT0.gif – MrJM - William j Kelly - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:25 pm: I honestly can’t get over the ‘not every job should be in America’ line. What, because we have too many jobs? What, because we have over employment? Nobody who thinks like that should ever be elected to anything, ever! It might be good for in rauner world but not in anyone eleses! Rauner has to be the worst candidate in the history of the world. - Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:30 pm: I rate the DGA ad an A, because it’s in Rauner’s own words. Obama also said something like this too, but he didn’t own a business that outsoured jobs. As far as Christie, a news outlet falsely reported that he’s cleared of wrongdoing, so far. - Leprechaun - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:34 pm: William Kelly yesterday you made a promise, said you were done on here what happened? As a true politician not true to your word are you? - Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 4:41 pm: The ad is pretty good; I’d give it a B+. Rauner’s press availability here is far more damaging. Wow. Talk about not-ready-for-prime-time. He seems scripted, defensive, panicked and dumb. He comes across as a guy trying to run from his business record. He doesn’t know what to do or say. And his “federal investigation” comment with Christie standing next to him… Well, let’s just say Rauner shouldn’t expect to be Treasury Secretary under President Christie. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:01 pm: I think Rauner is getting confused about which allegations of fraud and elder abuse by his companies he’s talking about. How can you blame Quinn for the THI bankruptcy trial. claiming he’s manufacturing a “distraction?” Quinn hasn’t even mentioned it in any of his spots. The Florida plaintiffs were awarded judgements and now are trying to get paid in bankruptcy court. The Trib is covering it. Quinn has nothing to do with it. Maybe Rauner thought they were asking about the Georgia Medicaid fraud his companies were involved in. That’s what Quinn is running a spot about. Trying to keep the fraud and elder abuse cases straight can be confusing, and distracting, too, I imagine. - Anon - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:06 pm: Rauner is surprisingly bad at these conferences. It’s interesting because if he’d give a presentation in front of a board the same way he’s been giving these recent conferences he’d be urged never to talk or present to potential investors. As others have pointed out, there’s a lot of awkward moments but what’s striking is that he’s not believable. He gives off a very nervous vibe. Surely he was better at this at his own business? If not, I see his persuasion factor as nil. The result of failed persuasion is often significant bullying. Ironic, since he’s standing by Christie here. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:08 pm: I know Christie is head of RGA, but is there some benefit to Rauner to have him standing in the shot every other week? Doesn’t that kind of step on the message you’re trying to make against Quinn? Federal investigations, ratings downgrades? Quinn, at least, isn’t shorting the pension funds like Christie. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:09 pm: Pretty good THI article from Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-22/nursing-home-neglect-trial-fights-shell-company-transfers.html - Carl Nyberg - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:11 pm: “You’re making accusations I believe are false.” Rauner would have fit into the Bush administration great. What the truth is: not so important. What’s really important is what rich and powerful people believe is the truth (or more accurately what they want others to believe is the truth). - walker - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:14 pm: The ad is killer. Short, simple, on a topic that folks care about, and hangs Rauner with his own words. Voice tone could be a little stronger IMO. Just don’t know about impact. Can Rauner’s negatives be driven significantly higher than they are at this point. I think Yes. - RT - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:14 pm: By my count, this is Christie’s 4th visit to Illinois on Rauner’s behalf. I understand using him to raise cash from Republican business types and downtown luncheons, but do you really want him taking such a high profile at media events? I can’t imagine he’s that popular of a figure among rank-and-file voters here. Maybe the Rauner folks tested him in polling and his numbers are good, but I find that hard to believe. - Gooner - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:17 pm: One funny thing — at the 2:25 mark, it sure looks like Christie is whispering something to Rauner. It is awesome that a guy who was under investigation is giving advice to a guy seeing his company face trial. - Amalia - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:31 pm: @Gooner, you score! - my two cents - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 5:55 pm: Christie remains a powerful fundraiser among republicans. Colossus, the Home Alone house that’s pictured in the ad is not one of Rauner’s nine homes. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 6:02 pm: I’ll give Rauner and his crew some points here. They got him to stop doing that nervous tic laugh every time he gets an off-script or uncomfortable question, at least in this case. That’s good for him, because there’s going to be nothing but off-script and uncomfortable questions from here on out. I wonder if the Tribbies are going to cover the whole THI trial? Bankruptcy judges have been known to ask some pointed questions on their own to get to the bottom of things. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 6:10 pm: RT and Rich: In answer to the question, What were they thinking?! Christie isn’t coming to help Rauner, Christie is coming to help: 1) himself, he is running in 2016 2) RGA, who needs to raise money from Rauner’s pals 3) Rauner’s staff, who will all be looking for jobs with Christie or RGA if this thing goes south. Truthfully yours, YDD - Rise of the Nutters - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 6:40 pm: It’s the return of Blinky Ben https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALNjevGdB5g - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Sep 23, 14 @ 7:06 pm: Well, Democrat or Republican, we all agree on one thing: Can’t wait to sit down at the poker table with Bruce. - Carhart Representative - Wednesday, Sep 24, 14 @ 8:20 am: I was just looking at the Real Clear Politics tracker on the Illinois Governors Race and I noticed that it looked an awful lot like the part inside my toilet tank. Somehow that seems very appropriate http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2014/governor/il/illinois_governor_rauner_vs_quinn-4224.html - AlabamaShake - Wednesday, Sep 24, 14 @ 8:20 am: Rauner’s response is hilarious. “Uh… this is, uh.. this is… uh, this is… (uh, what was my talking point again? oh yea)… a distraction!” Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.