* She spoke at 4:45 yesterday afternoon, so most people will have only read or heard about it, if at all…
Rep. Tammy Duckworth addressed the delegation at the Democratic National Convention Thursday, slamming Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“In Donald Trump’s America, if you get knocked down, you stay down,” Duckworth said to applause. “By the way, Donald Trump, I didn’t put my life on the line to defend our democracy so you could invite Russia to interfere in it. You are not fit to be Commander-in-Chief.”
And she never once mentioned her opponent by name.
A super political action committee allied with Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk’s re-election campaign is going on the air with TV and radio ads critical of Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth’s stance on national security.
The Independent Voice for Illinois Super PAC is headed by former Kirk chief of staff Eric Elk, and it reported more than $1.3 million on hand to start the month after raising $845,000 in the first half of this year, federal election records showed.
The ads backing Kirk and criticizing Duckworth, a two-term congresswoman from Hoffman Estates, are airing in the Peoria, Champaign and Rockford markets. A spot check showed the super PAC spending about $27,000 alone to air 115 half-minute TV ads on WCIA Ch. 3 in Champaign.
The ads are critical of a statement Duckworth made last year about Syrian refugees that are in dispute by the two campaigns. The Kirk camp argues Duckworth indicated she wants 200,000 Syrian refugees to enter the United States — 20 times the number authorized by President Barack Obama. Duckworth’s campaign has said the candidate supports resettling 200,000 refugees overall in the United States, not just from Syria.
They’re both highly impactful. On the TV ad, using her own image and voice is very effective. The radio ad is long by today’s standard and might be trying to bite off too much burden; smacking her AND kissing him.
The TV ad is fine, but for someone running away from Trump, it’s striking how much these seems like a Trump ad. The polling says most people are with Kirk on this, but I wonder if he does more damage to himself by undercutting his own “I’m a moderate” narrative.
The radio ad is too long. I ran out of steam before they got to how great Kirk is.
The TV ad had startling visuals, but the voice over didn’t excite. The radio ad sounded like someone selling toothpaste. I think they needed to have someone who lost family to ISIS or other Syrians go on and make the case for not putting Americans at risk by unnecessarily bringing them here. A message like, “Let’s create a safe zone for families in Syria and Iraq instead of Ms Duckworth’s plan to build a conduit for terrorists into our back yards. Ms Duckworth, thank you for your service and sacrifice, but we need to elect people with solutions to protect America, NOT putting our families needlessly at risk.
Senator Mark Kirk… compassionately protecting America…”
TV ad seems like kind of a mirror image of the Duckworth campaign scare ad we saw previously that said Kirk wants to round up African Americans which of course he didn’t say. Both teams obviously are playing to shore up perceived sympathetic constituencies in their own parties while trying to make their opponents look bad. That’s politics these days. Doubt if this ad will change many voter’s minds one way or the other.
They’re both very polished, ominous music for Duckworth, sweet music for Kirk, etc., but if you have been paying attention, you find yourself saying, “But wait, that’s not all she said.” So they feel deceptive to me and I don’t like to be deceived. Will they work with people who get their new by sound bye? Yeah, I think so.
I agree with CC both about the content and the length of the radio ad. The ads had the negative effect for Kirk with me, a GOP-leaning undecided, of reminding me that he signed that bone-headed letter to the Iranian mullahs, which was one of the dumber stunts of recent time. Really, the content of both ads reeks of the right’s paranoia, which will be effective with the base but lose the middle.
I’m not a fan of Sen. Kirk’s hard right stance on the refugee issue, but every time something happens in Europe, it makes voters wonder if he is on to something. On the other hand, both ads make it that much easier to link him to Trump.
Likely to be effective in branding Duckworth among independents and undecideds unless there is effective and early counter-messaging from Duckworth’s campaign. Won’t be easy to counter, the attack is simple while the reply might be too nuanced to be effective.
Maybe just call out the attack ads as lies by presenting the actual number of Syrian refugees implied by D’s call for 200,000 refugees overall. Then question the honesty of Kirk’s campaign and highlight his desperate willingness to say anything to stay in office.
- South of Sherman - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:56 am:
Shorter Mark Kirk ads: TAMMY DUCKWORTH WANTS US ALL TO DIE!
Good Lord, the pants-wetting gets tiresome after a while. I’m sure this appeals to the typical Trump voter, but those people weren’t voting for Duckworth anyway. I’m not sure if this breathless hysteria really builds Kirk’s coalition beyond where it already is.
Duckworth and her campaign continue to stumble over the specifics of the refugee numbers, which reflects her broader struggle to present consistent foreign policy.
Kirk has a proven record of being strong on national security issues. Trying to tie Kirk’s measured, reality-based foreign policy to Trump’s vague calls to action is ridiculous.
Sort of ironic to hear the Democrats slamming Russia like Cold Warriors given the fact that they always admired Moscow and Hillary urged us to hit the reset button.
Agree with the prior comments that the ads are something you’d expect from Trump. Not thrilled with either candidates’ apparent position on this issue. I oppose a complete ban but worry about completely throwing the doors open too. What for example do we do with refugees without any identity papers and no real way to prove who they are or where they came from? I don’t dismiss this concern out of hand.
Congresswoman Duckworth is desperate to link Trump to Senator Kirk-it will not work. Senator Kirk is everything trump is not-thoughtful, serious, independent, and experienced. Congresswoman Duckworth seems just a little desperate.
These ads play into the very real fears people have about terrorism in this election, and will likely be a good strategy for Kirk. The difference between Kirk and Trump is that Kirk has a nuanced view of security issues while Trump has a simplistic one. I think that is a pretty straightforward case for Kirk to make.
TV: C-. Good subject matter for a hit, but really sloppy execution. The refugee scene was hardly scary; there are pictures out there that show all males, rather than families…and why have a woman nodding positively in the background while Duckworth speaks? Crop it.
Radio: C. Sloppy as well. Seemed rushed, too many facts in the ad.
I didn’t like either of the ads, but that may go to my own bias than to the content. I’m beyond tire of this constant message of fear from the right, and even the best produced ad on that topic is just going to annoy me.
This will turn out right wing GOP base, but I don’t think it will have an impact beyond the base.
Trump and the national Republicans overplayed their hand last week. The constant drumbeat of fear turned off a lot of people and left them looking for something more positive. If this runs now, it may actually hurt.
However, depending on how Trump runs his campaign, this may be a marginal positive closer to the election. Kirk cannot win without high right wing turnout, and this may push some to show up and vote for him.
Will this turn more people off, or increase the base more? It will be interesting to see how it plays out. The more Trump runs on the issue, the less effective this sort of thing will be.
I thought the radio ad was far too long, but the tv one was good. It will be interesting to see if Duckworth is successful in tying Kirk to Trump. I personally think it might be a tough sell just because Trump is so different from most Republicans and politicians in general. People are voting for or against his personality and overarching message more than his specific policy views. As a result, I think coattails from the presidential election will be smaller than in years past. But we’ll see.
Tv ad more easy to follow, and makes clear its anti Duckworth message. Just one small shortcoming — using her voice and face makes Tammy appear strong, decisive, and not an Obama puppet. B-
Radio ad too complex. Too much detail. Too little emotion. I also noticed that all three statements about Duckworth were technically false, but the average voter won’t catch that. D plus.
Painting Duckworth as a security risk takes a lot of nerve. Yet Kirk is doing it. Time for Duckworth to run an ad about the sacrifices she made for security.
- The Fool On The Hill - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 10:36 am:
Kirk is worried.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 10:46 am:
===Kirk is worried===
Duh. Wouldn’t you be? It’s a presidential year. No Republican has won a US Senate race in this state during a presidential year since… ?
Now, please, go watch both videos. Do me a solid because I’m trying to make a point with somebody. Thanks!
- A guy - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 10:50 am:
They’re both highly impactful. On the TV ad, using her own image and voice is very effective. The radio ad is long by today’s standard and might be trying to bite off too much burden; smacking her AND kissing him.
They’re both very effective though.
- Cheryl44 - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 10:56 am:
I am sick of the Republicans trying to scare me.
- Tom - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:00 am:
I think they are very good, especially for the Republican base
- Amalia - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:01 am:
I rate both ads a D….for Donald. Because that is what Kirk is doing, acting like Donald and taking out the fear machine, while he decries him.
meanwhile, I watched Tammy live. that should be sent around the internet cause she was good, looked good and was inspiring.
- Century Club - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:05 am:
The TV ad is fine, but for someone running away from Trump, it’s striking how much these seems like a Trump ad. The polling says most people are with Kirk on this, but I wonder if he does more damage to himself by undercutting his own “I’m a moderate” narrative.
The radio ad is too long. I ran out of steam before they got to how great Kirk is.
- illinois bob - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:12 am:
TV ad- B
Radio ad-C-
The TV ad had startling visuals, but the voice over didn’t excite. The radio ad sounded like someone selling toothpaste. I think they needed to have someone who lost family to ISIS or other Syrians go on and make the case for not putting Americans at risk by unnecessarily bringing them here. A message like, “Let’s create a safe zone for families in Syria and Iraq instead of Ms Duckworth’s plan to build a conduit for terrorists into our back yards. Ms Duckworth, thank you for your service and sacrifice, but we need to elect people with solutions to protect America, NOT putting our families needlessly at risk.
Senator Mark Kirk… compassionately protecting America…”
And I don’t even like the guy!
- Responsa - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:12 am:
TV ad seems like kind of a mirror image of the Duckworth campaign scare ad we saw previously that said Kirk wants to round up African Americans which of course he didn’t say. Both teams obviously are playing to shore up perceived sympathetic constituencies in their own parties while trying to make their opponents look bad. That’s politics these days. Doubt if this ad will change many voter’s minds one way or the other.
- CCP Hostage - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:12 am:
They’re both very polished, ominous music for Duckworth, sweet music for Kirk, etc., but if you have been paying attention, you find yourself saying, “But wait, that’s not all she said.” So they feel deceptive to me and I don’t like to be deceived. Will they work with people who get their new by sound bye? Yeah, I think so.
- Excessively Rabid - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:14 am:
I agree with CC both about the content and the length of the radio ad. The ads had the negative effect for Kirk with me, a GOP-leaning undecided, of reminding me that he signed that bone-headed letter to the Iranian mullahs, which was one of the dumber stunts of recent time. Really, the content of both ads reeks of the right’s paranoia, which will be effective with the base but lose the middle.
- ChrisB - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:18 am:
I’m not a fan of Sen. Kirk’s hard right stance on the refugee issue, but every time something happens in Europe, it makes voters wonder if he is on to something. On the other hand, both ads make it that much easier to link him to Trump.
C, I guess. Not good, but not bad.
- X-prof - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:33 am:
Likely to be effective in branding Duckworth among independents and undecideds unless there is effective and early counter-messaging from Duckworth’s campaign. Won’t be easy to counter, the attack is simple while the reply might be too nuanced to be effective.
Maybe just call out the attack ads as lies by presenting the actual number of Syrian refugees implied by D’s call for 200,000 refugees overall. Then question the honesty of Kirk’s campaign and highlight his desperate willingness to say anything to stay in office.
- South of Sherman - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 11:56 am:
Shorter Mark Kirk ads: TAMMY DUCKWORTH WANTS US ALL TO DIE!
Good Lord, the pants-wetting gets tiresome after a while. I’m sure this appeals to the typical Trump voter, but those people weren’t voting for Duckworth anyway. I’m not sure if this breathless hysteria really builds Kirk’s coalition beyond where it already is.
- Harold - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 12:04 pm:
Duckworth and her campaign continue to stumble over the specifics of the refugee numbers, which reflects her broader struggle to present consistent foreign policy.
Kirk has a proven record of being strong on national security issues. Trying to tie Kirk’s measured, reality-based foreign policy to Trump’s vague calls to action is ridiculous.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 12:12 pm:
Sort of ironic to hear the Democrats slamming Russia like Cold Warriors given the fact that they always admired Moscow and Hillary urged us to hit the reset button.
- Walmart Manager - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 12:23 pm:
The tv is pretty decent. This year is going to be more of a national security year than dems want to admit.
- Northsider - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 12:29 pm:
Anon@12:12: Bring your trolling A-game to Capitol Fax or slink back under the bridge from whence you came.
As for the ads, more Republican fear-mongering and race/religion bating from Mark Kirk? Why, I’m shocked. Shocked, I tells ya.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 12:34 pm:
Agree with the prior comments that the ads are something you’d expect from Trump. Not thrilled with either candidates’ apparent position on this issue. I oppose a complete ban but worry about completely throwing the doors open too. What for example do we do with refugees without any identity papers and no real way to prove who they are or where they came from? I don’t dismiss this concern out of hand.
- Fremont - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 12:52 pm:
Congresswoman Duckworth is desperate to link Trump to Senator Kirk-it will not work. Senator Kirk is everything trump is not-thoughtful, serious, independent, and experienced. Congresswoman Duckworth seems just a little desperate.
- Suburban Guy - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 1:15 pm:
These ads play into the very real fears people have about terrorism in this election, and will likely be a good strategy for Kirk. The difference between Kirk and Trump is that Kirk has a nuanced view of security issues while Trump has a simplistic one. I think that is a pretty straightforward case for Kirk to make.
- Rober the Bruce - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 1:20 pm:
TV: C-. Good subject matter for a hit, but really sloppy execution. The refugee scene was hardly scary; there are pictures out there that show all males, rather than families…and why have a woman nodding positively in the background while Duckworth speaks? Crop it.
Radio: C. Sloppy as well. Seemed rushed, too many facts in the ad.
- The Doc - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 1:38 pm:
Fremont - did the Kirk campaign payroll deposit hit your account today?
As with most ads these days, not clear to me how this will swing votes one way or the other.
- Gooner - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 1:40 pm:
I didn’t like either of the ads, but that may go to my own bias than to the content. I’m beyond tire of this constant message of fear from the right, and even the best produced ad on that topic is just going to annoy me.
This will turn out right wing GOP base, but I don’t think it will have an impact beyond the base.
Trump and the national Republicans overplayed their hand last week. The constant drumbeat of fear turned off a lot of people and left them looking for something more positive. If this runs now, it may actually hurt.
However, depending on how Trump runs his campaign, this may be a marginal positive closer to the election. Kirk cannot win without high right wing turnout, and this may push some to show up and vote for him.
Will this turn more people off, or increase the base more? It will be interesting to see how it plays out. The more Trump runs on the issue, the less effective this sort of thing will be.
- Downstater - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 2:19 pm:
I thought the radio ad was far too long, but the tv one was good. It will be interesting to see if Duckworth is successful in tying Kirk to Trump. I personally think it might be a tough sell just because Trump is so different from most Republicans and politicians in general. People are voting for or against his personality and overarching message more than his specific policy views. As a result, I think coattails from the presidential election will be smaller than in years past. But we’ll see.
- walker - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 2:20 pm:
Tv ad more easy to follow, and makes clear its anti Duckworth message. Just one small shortcoming — using her voice and face makes Tammy appear strong, decisive, and not an Obama puppet. B-
Radio ad too complex. Too much detail. Too little emotion. I also noticed that all three statements about Duckworth were technically false, but the average voter won’t catch that. D plus.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Jul 29, 16 @ 2:42 pm:
Painting Duckworth as a security risk takes a lot of nerve. Yet Kirk is doing it. Time for Duckworth to run an ad about the sacrifices she made for security.