Rauner’s new web video: “NRI Blues”
Wednesday, Oct 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* On the morning of the Legislative Audit Commission’s hearing into the governor’s botched Neighborhood Recovery Initative, Bruce Rauner has launched a new web video which attempts to paint Gov. Pat Quinn as corrupt. Rate it…
* Meanwhile, the AP has a brief preview story about today’s hearing…
The Legislative Audit Commission subpoenaed seven former Quinn administration officials connected to the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative. They’re due to start appearing before the bipartisan committee that oversees state audits today. Organizers say testimony could take all day.
Quinn championed the program in 2010 to help target neighborhood violence. However, state auditors found “pervasive” problems with management and spending and county and federal authorities are investigating further.
Critics deemed it a “political slush fund” to help Quinn shore up votes in a close gubernatorial contest. Quinn dismisses those claims, but the issue dogs his campaign. He faces a challenge from Republican Bruce Rauner
- Jimmy CrackCorn - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:01 am:
Wait, now I don’t like to Gov because he is corrupt again? What happened to the incompetent argument?
I can’t keep up with you Bruce.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:02 am:
Meh, Quinn is at best a bumbler no matter how much Rauner tries to paint him as evil incarnate and people know that. He pushed for creation of the Citizens Utility Board, and ran a signature drive to place an amendment on the ballot to reduce the size of the Illinois legislature, which passed, and that Rauner is seeking further reductions to now.
- MoreNumbers - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:03 am:
NRI has the potential to be powerful stuff, I don’t quite understand why very thing Rayner has out out there on it has been web exclusive. Web ads rarely matter, especially this late in the game. Why not get this out there, is it the same flawed thinking that kept him off the air until the very end of summer?
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:07 am:
Meh. Quinn has had a pretty good record in Illinois, relative to actually corrupt politicians, and tying him to Walker’s and Blagojevich’s corruption is pretty flimsy.
I rate it a D, but that might change if a bombshell comes out with NRI.
To the Rauner supporters, there will be no crying if/when we start seeing the nursing home ads, tying Rauner to those failures, right?
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:09 am:
To the Ad;
“B-, C+”
Why? Who doesn’t know by now the Blago connect Rauner’s Crew wants to connect. This overt lust for the hearings to be a gotcha moment has set a bar much higher than needed.
This Ad continues to inch that bar higher.
How many under 35 know or remember Dan Walker. Inside baseball perfect for the internet, but not moving the narrative of the 15 months of Rauner rhetoric.
My absolute fear, not unfounded, sadly, is the Dopey manner Sen. Barickman appears when being “stern” or the snarky faces and questions of Rep. Sandack, thinking being Perry Mason is…winning.
All this could be derailed with a Dem asking either one;
“Is the relevance to your question to get an answer, or to make this political? What is the goal here?”
The media is already asking the “is this political?”
It’s uphill from Jump Street.
- Bill White - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:12 am:
Elect Bruce Rauner! He will be competently corrupt rather than incompetently corrupt
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:19 am:
That ad was awful. Can I give it a ‘J’ for ‘Just Move On’?
Who is the staffer that did the voiceover? I know it is only a web ad, but spend a few hundred bucks on professional talent next time.
As for the message, let me help you:
1) The only people who believe the Quinn-Blago conspiracy theory are already voting for you. And if they aren’t, this race is already over.
2) You are never going to convince people that Quinn is part of “The Democratic Machine”, especially that he is some sort of Manchurian Candidate for The Machine planted back in 1976.
3) I know it is frustrating when you think you have a really strong argument against a candidate but the voters aren’t buying it. The thing to do isn’t double down on a losing message. The thing to do is just move on.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:20 am:
Nah.
Quinn is incompetent, not corrupt.
- Percival - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:25 am:
C-. The Quinn-Blago schtick just isn’t schticking. Calling Quinn Blago’s “right hand man” is a real stretch. Bad VO, too. Of course, Rauner may have a lot better ad material within a week.
- the koala - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:26 am:
I’m sorry but anyone who has lived in Illinois for a few years has to just laugh at the idea of Quinn as Blago’s right hand man. The two didn’t even speak. I find this demonstrative of how out of touch the Rauner campaign continues to be.
- Lunchbox - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:28 am:
That voiceover was awful…
- votecounter - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:30 am:
56 million and we still don’t know where it went? The problem is everyone knows what it was for and where it went. Take a walk on the west side or south side and ask what the money was for the’ll tell you GOTV.
BTW if you accuse someone of killing old people for money don’t be surprised if the campaign goes negative
- Wumpus - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:36 am:
I am not saying Quinn is corrupt, but he should be tied to Blago. At the very minimum, keep using the infamous quote.
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:39 am:
I wasn’t impressed with the ad, but I guess it’s a pass. It plays to the people who don’t really pay a lot of attention to politics and who gobble up what the ads tell them. Not denigrating those people. Just recognizing that they exist.
- Chicago Publius - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:58 am:
Check out today’s Sun-Times article. Perhaps one of the weirdest aspects of the article is that it shows how closely the Executive Director of the Illinois Finance Authority was involved in NRI. People always have known that Lavin’s surrogates at the Finance Authority, the Toll Highway Authority, and DCEO would do his bidding — what’s strange is that he has them working on issues that don’t even relate to their agencies. That raises some other legal and auditable concerns, because an agency’s budget and its governing statute(s) both limit the manner in which its personnel may work.
http://politics.suntimes.com/article/springfield/emails-show-quinn-aides-had-political-concerns-over-nri-2011/tue-10072014-908pm
- Carl Nyberg - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 9:59 am:
Rauner and Oberweis made some effort to court Chicago’s Black voters. But my guess is that neither of them make big gains in the Black community.
Oberweis is talking about 60,000 fraudulent votes.
How are Black voters supposed to take this? Believe the smiles and handshakes at the Oberweis press conference? Or believe that Republicans continue to see Blacks voting as inherently suspicious?
Rauner is talking about fraud in the anti-violence spending in Black neighborhoods.
Should Blacks believe Rauner’s largess at the credit union? Or his implication that spending on Black community is inherently suspicious and probably fraudulent?
Can Republicans go a full campaign cycle without implying Blackness is inherently suspicious?
- siriusly - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:01 am:
Is this a real Rauner ad or is that an Onion spoof? It was so cheesy and unreal. They should push on the competence issue more - even Democrats who like Quinn admit he is not a great manager. This one is a far far stretch. PQ was clearly not Blago’s right had man. This is more evidence of why the Rauner campaign is in a free fall - they are using messages that don’t have any traction.
- walker - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:05 am:
votecounter: You’re really stretching reality.
People know exactly where the money went, (millions were returned to the state or never disbursed after an early review of parts of the program). The real question is was what was disbursed properly used, and did it impact what it was supposed to accomplish? Or was it a cynical waste?
Exactly what GOTV program are you talking about? What activities, by whom, where, before the election and before anyone was getting paid? It’s a fiction — and if you can find anyone on any sides of the city who believe it was for specific GOTV activities, I would be surprised at their being so misinformed.
It certainly can be seen as buying general support and good PR, just like all governors do before elections.
And if it was a disgraceful waste, that’s to be denounced. But this GOTV thing just doesn’t make sense.
- Carl Nyberg - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:05 am:
If Rauner wants to get traction on attacking Quinn’s competence, it would probably help if Rauner’s communications team was competent.
- Del Clinkton - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:09 am:
I remember Dan Walker. He was a DJ on WDHF-FM. Referred to himself as the “Governor of Rock N Roll”.
The “Whammo Line” was a poor-mans Boogie Check.
Not sure why Bruce is bringing this up now. You’d think the Republicans would have done a better job of vetting him than this.
- walker - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:12 am:
Seeing the title, I was really hoping for some good hard-hitting blues as the background music.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:15 am:
===Take a walk on the west side or south side and ask what the money was for the’ll tell you GOTV.===
GOTV money is distributed in cash, before the election, not via checks to providers, months after the election.
I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:18 am:
===GOTV money is distributed in cash, before the election, not via checks to providers, months after the election.===
Got a big laugh.
“What if, what if we give you.,,your walking around money …as a check…after the election. That work?”
- Responsa - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:19 am:
== Web ads rarely matter, especially this late in the game.==
For reaching the people who don’t watch TV or who have literally unplugged their TVs for the duration of October in order to avoid the political ads, web ads may play an increasing although as yet unknown role. I do not think we have much data yet to prove whether they are successful or worth the cost of placing them on popular and targeted websites, or whether they just further annoy voters by interrupting their web browsing. But both parties are doing it heavily this cycle.
A picture showing Blago and Quinn together is never good for Quinn. People complaining that the ad calls Quinn Blago’s “right hand man” should prolly just be glad they didn’t call him Blago’s “lieutenant”.
B-
- AFSCME Steward - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:20 am:
“Got a big laugh.
“What if, what if we give you.,,your walking around money …as a check…after the election. That work?”
Not to mention the great paper trail for the feds to follow
- A guy... - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 10:32 am:
It’s a pass for a web ad. I wouldn’t move it anywhere upward without a recut, and…a better voiceover. If it’s just to heighten awareness on the web and eblasts that this is going on now and there’s more meat coming, then it carries that burden. But just barely.
- PolPal56 - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 11:15 am:
LOL. Yeah, Blago and Quinn were so close they couldn’t even find a photo of them looking each other in the eye!
Advice to the Rauner crew: keep it clean and stick to NRI. You won’t score points trying to link Quinn to Blago, in fact, quite the opposite.
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 11:26 am:
B - C
The picture of Mr. Quinn’s smirk at the end is a powerful closing shot, and the content is decent.
It will sound superficial, but the narrator’s voice was unpleasant and very distracting for some reason.
- Chicago Cynic - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 11:38 am:
If this was May or June and this was the beginning of a PQ is a crook campaign, I’d say it was pretty good - Say a C+ (poor VO hurts the grade). But since they’re launching this thing now…really weak. I give it an D-.
- Louis Howe - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 11:38 am:
Rauner is starting to smell like Blair Hull. He must have more consultants on payroll with no real interest beyond collecting a paycheck for as long as the checks don’t bounce.
- Chicago Cynic - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 11:38 am:
Started to give it an F which is why it says an. Should read, “I give it a D-”
- Peoria guy - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 12:42 pm:
The stage is set over at WTVP-TV Channel 47 for some political fireworks — a debate between Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner, the main combatants in the governor’s race in Illinois. The show airs at 8 p.m. Thursday, a program that will be picked up by public TV and radio stations around the state.
Jak Tichenor, host of Illinois Lawmakers from Carbondale’s WSIU-TV will serve as moderator while questions will be served up H. Wayne Wilson, host of 47’s At Issue; Amanda Vinicky, statehouse bureau chief of Springfield’s WUIS-FM; and Jamey Dunn, statehouse bureau chief of Illinois Issues magazine.
You remember the Rumble in the Jungle? That’s what they called the boxing match between Ali and Foreman staged in Africa back in 1974. Perhaps we can call this encounter Scorn in the Corn.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 5:09 pm:
–56 million and we still don’t know where it went?–
Is that what the auditor general’s report said?
You read that, right?
- Under Further Review - Wednesday, Oct 8, 14 @ 7:53 pm:
It is a reach to link Dan Walker’s prison term to his service as governor. Unless someone else knows something different, I believe Walker’s conviction related to his business activities after he left office. Quinn definitely worked for Walker, but I think that there is enough current stuff (NRI) to use in the campaign rather than making a feeble claim connecting Quinn to Walker’s failed businesses.