For the small business owners, the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers and change-agents. There’s no 9-5. Work doesn’t stop and they don’t stop, because they know there’s always more to be done, more to achieve.
Bruce Rauner knows that drive. He made his name leading one of Illinois’ most respected businesses.
But his first job was cooking burgers. His second? Parking cars. In college, he worked in the dining hall to earn extra money.
When he moved back to Chicago to work at a data company, he spent nine months sleeping on a camping mattress, because he didn’t have any furniture.
But this self-made businessman would go on to earn an MBA from Harvard, joining an investment start-up and building a reputation as a business pioneer.
That same spirit now drives his push for real reform in our state, because across Illinois more than one million small businesses are led by creative, driven innovative people from every walk of life. And they need a governor who’s fighting for them.
Working for you and our future. Bruce Rauner.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE 1 *** The ILGOP press release puts the video into context…
More than one million small businesses in Illinois are hurting from decades of tax-hikes, burdensome regulations, and corrupt politics in Springfield.
As Governor Rauner cuts the red tape and fights for change to help small businesses, Democratic candidates for Governor shockingly had nothing to say this small business week.
That’s right, J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy, Daniel Biss and Ameya Pawar refused to even acknowledge small business week and the challenges that half of Illinois’ workforce faces.
But Governor Rauner is speaking out.
This week, Rauner toured small businesses across Illinois – pushing for real reform to help small businesses grow. See coverage of the Governor’s tour below.
And this morning, Rauner released a new digital ad highlighting the role small businesses play in Illinois, and how his business background and reform plan is paving the way to deliver change for struggling small businesses.
So, the governor officially declared “Small Business Week,” embarked on an official tour of the state to celebrate it, and then his state party whacks Democratic candidates for not following suit.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Ameya Pawar campaign…
Like Donald Trump, Bruce Rauner ran as a populist but governs as a plutocrat. Bruce Rauner claims he’s fighting for working families but under his leadership,130,000 low-income college students aren’t receiving tuition grants, 47,000 children aren’t receiving affordable child care that allows their parents to go to work, and 80,000 people have lost access to mental health services in Illinois.
Like Donald Trump, Bruce Rauner was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and this video is just another attempt to draw a veil over a life of privilege. Governor Rauner, you might have been “successful” in business, but spare us the theatre, the costume, and the phony accent. Do your job and pass a budget.
* Illinois Working Together Campaign Director Jake Lewis…
Today, Gov. Bruce Rauner visited the Small Business Development Center at Lincoln Land Community College. According to Crain’s Chicago, nearly a quarter of small business centers at Illinois colleges have closed because of the Rauner budget crisis. Colleges with shuttered small business centers include Governors State University, Joliet Junior College, Illinois State University, and Waubonsee Community College in Aurora.
When Governors State University was forced to close its Illinois Small Business Development Center and Illinois SBDC International Trade Center, school officials noted that “the centers have helped more than 6,000 clients create 4,650 new jobs with 190 new business starts and 150 business expansions.”
Other universities have made extensive cuts to their small business centers. Southern Illinois University’s Small Business Center, which was on the brink of closing due to the budget crisis, has cut its staff from 11 to two.
“It is the height of hypocrisy for Gov. Rauner to tout his failed political agenda at a college small business center while the Rauner budget crisis has shuttered similar centers across Illinois. By holding the budget hostage, Gov. Rauner has forced nearly a quarter of college small business centers to close and others to severely cut programming. To actually help small businesses in Illinois grow, Rauner should put people before politics, drop his failed political agenda, and pass a budget.”
For an outsider who is trying to become Governor, it’s not bad. Good themes, but kind of light on important details, like how notable investments in start-ups or how many jobs did his investments create?
But for a guy who has been Governor for the past couple years, it says absolutely nothing about what he has done as governor to help small businesses.
==his first job was cooking burgers. His second? Parking cars. In college, he worked in the dining hall to earn extra money.==
Ah, the trials of growing up in a family whose father was senior VP at Motorola. Bruce forgot to mention all those times he ate Ramen Noodles waiting for the next paycheck.
He’s “one of us”….check
He wears a Carhart…check
He’s a job creator…crickets.
- FakeyMcFakeFake - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:32 am:
Somehow we are supposed to believe that the guy who is starving social service agencies and forcing them to close is such a great guy that came from nothing? Look at what you’re doing to the state, Bruce.
- don the legend - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:34 am:
I always wondered where Representative Dunkin got his camping mattress. Now I know.
It is a well made ad. Well edited, music pairs well with the visuals, not too long or at least does not feel too long. To the message, whether you agree or disagree, it is consistent. It is not an introductory ad, merely reminding where he stands. Give it an A.
Comes as little to no surprise that Rauner releases ad after Pritzker… Good thing it doesn’t attempt to underscore any accomplishments as Gov. The race between billionaires is going to get a lot more interesting..
Maybe I’m not getting it — but Rauner’s essential foundation seems to be all about business for businesspeople.
I hate to say it — actually, no, I don’t — but there’s more to life (and governing) than this incessant (and wrong) meme of “Since I ran a business, I can run a government.”
We know the two are separate. We know experience in one doesn’t guarantee success in the other. We know this. We see it here — and, well, pretty much everywhere these days.
But let’s for the sake of argument say — hard to believe, since Rauner seems to assume that this state is built of small business owners — I don’t own a business, I don’t want to own a business, I don’t care about owning a business. Let’s say that.
And then let’s say, I care about affordable health care. I care about LGBT rights. I care about a woman’s right to choose. I care about fair wages for labor. I care about higher education. I care for social safety nets for those in genuine need.
I care — again, I know, it’s a stretch in Rauner’s world — about everything that’s *not* a business, not a startup culture, and not about pocketing millions and pretending: “Yeah, I got a million! I’m a success! Woo hoo!”
So given this — this, apparently, odd mix of issues — what in the world has Rauner done or can Rauner do?
I ask it seriously. I have no idea. And for two years, Rauner appears to have no idea either.
“It’s time for a governor who doesn’t drop his g’s, who doesn’t pretend to wear a Timex when he’s got a drawer full of Rolex’s, who doesn’t have a hidden agenda underneath his Carhartt jacket,” said Pritzker.
You missed something - this one’s different than the others - at the end it says “Paid for by Citizens for Rauner, Inc.” - not State Solutions like the RGA “non-campaign” ads.
So I think it’s fair to say the Governor has “officially-officially” kicked off his re-election campaign.
==Yeah carhart goes to Harvard.=== and Dartmouth…and on his Dad’s dime.==
Parents shouldn’t provide financial support for the college-bound children? Wish you would’ve told me that before I opened that Bright Directions account.
In America, you can rise from the depths of your North
Shore upbringing and Ivy League education to skim Medicaid busting out nursing homes and hustle government business with pay-to-play campaign contributions.
==depths of your North
Shore upbringing and Ivy League education
There is that class warfare !
- Gruntled University Employee - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:44 am:
For the small business owners, the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers and change-agents, I’ll be your Governor. As for the rest of you, not so much.
Fake Bruce Rauner
Makes me wanna yak. This is a pritzker ad–suitable for the new guy. Not someone who has been destroying social services and higher ed, while running up the debt.
One of the “states most respected” businesses? Sez who?
Its heartwarming to know that higher ed is teaching such great business practices. You know ruthlessness,greed,outsourcing,selling off assets, moving assets over seas to avoid taxes. Almost makes me agree with the call for more money to higher ed. This Harvard MBA thing is priceless.
@ Lech. What do you mean by class warfare? How is it not class warfare when Rauner tries to weaken unions? How is it not class warfare when he weakens public higher education and makes it more difficult for regular families to get a college degree? How is not not class warfare when he feels it is necessary to put on a “working class” costume to sell the idea that he is a regular guy. How is Rauner not waging class warfare when he holds the budget hostage but gives tax breaks to businesses? I could go on.
I think the dial on your hypocrisy detector is turned off. You might want to check that.
So this isn’t going on TV? That’s really high quality for a web ad.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:10 am:
More phony working class affectations. It’s mockery. This dude is so bent on stripping the rights and lowering the standards of living of many actual working class people who are struggling to get by.
Rauner is the one who is waging class warfare by pretending he’s an ordinary Joe, so he can con people into thinking he’s one of them and get them to support his agenda that favors who he really is.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:10 am:
I’m as cynical as the next guy when it comes to political ads, but I liked this. I went to college with a couple North Shore-type guys that, when the education was paid for, Dad’s checkbook snapped shut. All of our friend group worked all four years of undergrad in minimum wage jobs.
I think some of you vastly underestimate the difficulty of starting, growing, and successfully maintaining a private equity business.
It is a well made ad with music to match. It is full of positives. The only problem is that it fails to mention his record in office, specifically what he has accomplished to help small business in Illinois.
“We’ve heard his claims four years ago about his business success, and we’ve seen his claims for the last four years why he’s been a failed governor. Bruce Rauner is out of excuses. He’s out of fingers to use to point at us as the reason for his failures.”
“Even as a businessman, Bruce Rauner knows he’s failed you, me, our children and our state.”
You are letting ideology get in the way of intellectual honesty. You point to the Governors supposed plans to “weaken unions”…” “weakens public higher education”…. I point to the fact that Illinois was and still is a failed state in terms of its finances. Rauner is at least tryin(g) to change the course set by the Dem’s with a growth agenda. His fixes may or may not get implemented- but if they do they have a better chance of helping all Illinois residents then Status quo which will get us just further into debt !
Nice ad that also describes hundreds of thousands of people. Does cooking burgers qualify for anything? Then McDonalds is packed with hard working people. Don’t work 9-5? That describes most people I work with. Ad is a nice intro before an election, but what is Rauner actually doing now, not what he could be doing because he slept on a camping mattress 30 some years ago.
Arthur Andersen- “I think some of you vastly underestimate the difficulty of starting, growing, and successfully maintaining a private equity business.”
What I don’t underestimate is the “success” that private equity business had in making its profits off of “vulturing”. Business people have choices to make. Usually the longer and harder road is to build, not buyout and deconstruct. All the dormitories, libraries, YMCAs, and checks to the Mansion rehab are not going to make up for the change Rauner is crippling Illinois with for generation to come.
- northsider (the original) - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:22 am:
So he had summer jobs in high school and enjoyed glamping it up on a floor in Lincoln Park between college and grad school.
And I am to do what with this information?
- Slippin' Jimmy - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:23 am:
Reminds me of the Slick Willie slogan, ” How we gonna fool em today?”, said with that unmistakable Arkansas twang.
- Daniel Plainview - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:26 am:
- difficulty of starting, growing, and successfully maintaining a private equity business. -
I agree, 99.9999999% of people couldn’t come within 10 miles of the front door of that opportunity. Pretending his upper class upbringing, support, and connections weren’t the biggest contributor to that opportunity is an insult to hardworking people everywhere.
I really think his campaign people are as delusional as the Governor.
- don the legend - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:29 am:
=== Sal says, Dearest Billionaire Brucie ===
That’s Millionaire Brucie. It’s important to be accurate since there is now a true Billionaire in the race!!
==So this isn’t going on TV? That’s really high quality for a web ad.==
It’s testing the waters. See what kind of response it gets online (best case scenario, it goes viral), and if it’s good, put it on the air later (maybe chopped up to get to 30 seconds). The only problem with this strategy is everything Rauner puts up on social media nowadays gets an avalanche of negative responses, but you can correct for that if you pay attention.
Did they admit BackPackin’ Bruce pitched his campin’ mattress at a suite in the Hyatt?
Just checking. Good to see they are gettin’ use out of the video they shot at the aldermnan’s pizza place by the fair.
add S*
People who form opinions of candidates solely based on this type of ad must be extremely gullible. But I suppose I know a few of them even though I try not to.
Must be nice t have time to make adds instead of governing and getting a budget passed. Bottom line is he may be a great businessman but he has been the worse Governor Illinois has ever had to deal with.
“Like Donald Trump, Bruce Rauner was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and this video is just another attempt to draw a veil over a life of privilege.”
I think Pawar wants a couple other people to come to mind when we read this sentence.
- Free Set of Steak Knives - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:03 pm:
1) You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression
2) That said, for the base it’s a great ad because it reminds them of “the man they fell in love with four years ago,” even if he had been a pretty lousy life partner since then.
3) for everyone else: the ad sends an equally important and negative message. By talking about Rauner’s college days, the ad reminds us that Rauner is out of touch with us and the things that actually matter in our lives, and it reminds us he has zero accomplishments to show for the last theee years of misery and chaos he has created.
I am not sure where he got his facts. I can tell you there are 382 518 scorps and partnership returns. The top 101 830 average 206 617 per return. The rest are small business or investments Their income averages 1900 to 22000 per year. The highest earning passthrough 44000 averaging 257357 a year are located in downtown Chicago and a number of well off suburbs. Some of these may very well be the type Rauner uses …it we had his full tax return we could learn more…There is no industry breakdown but a huge percentage of income from these passthrough are from the financial sector and most of that income goes to the top 1 percent. Mon and Pop type industries that we think of as small business tend to have those 1900 a year profits
Like the small business owners Rauner didnt pay and put out of business?
or the families who cant get to work because of cuts to day car assistance while we pay contractors 30k a month to suuggest we rob pension funds and vilify workers
@ Lech. So, just to be clear, you don’t think weakening unions is a form of class warfare?
You claim that criticizing Rauner IS class warfare, but Rauner trying to weaken unions and reduce pensions for people who worked hard and were promised those pensions is not class warfare.
See, by definition, a war has at least two sides. Rauner is part of the wealthy, powerful, elite. He is trying to balance the budget (and enrich himself) on the backs of working class and middle class families. He represents one side of the war.
I agree that it is class warfare. You should just be honest enough to admit that just as unions and other working class stakeholders are waging a war against Rauner, Rauner is waging a war against the working class. The working class is just trying to defend itself against predatory capitalists. And let’s be even more clear, he STARTED the war with his Turn Around Agenda. Just be honest and admit it. It’s okay to be honest. Try it.
Brilliant ad. Great move. But it is as always perfidy
It is droppin’ G’s
It is trash can van
It is Carhardt jacket 2.0
Well done
Except
It’s so easy to prove that Rauner has
Never done a thing for small business
Closed all the small business centers
Gutted and starved DCEO
Gave away 100’s millions in EDGE
To only the big corporations!
But hey be thankful that he still
Uses you small business as a prop
Scamp640. I am a union guy. But I need to correct one comment you made….”he is trying to balance the budget on the backs of working class and middle class…” Democrats have been in charge for decades. A flat income tax increase, and high property taxes or aimed squarely at the working poor and middle classes. If we can’t find fault with Dems, and continue to place all the blame on Rauner, we will never,ever get a progressive income tax. It is ONLY when we get a progressive tax will we be able to reformulate the K-12 funding formula and curb ridiculously high property taxes.
His “agenda” is not new, it has been tried elsewhere with no demonstrable success (please see Kansas).
You may cite Indiana’s slightly higher economic growth percentage, but in reality Indiana continues to fall behind Illinois GDP at an increasing rate.
So, his agenda is not “pro-growth”, evidence abounds but none of that evidence supports the “pro-growth” theory.
Quality add, good production, very slick. No bruce message is a big deduct. Give it a “B”.
@AA- I respect your honesty and opinion! There is a lot of truth to what you said. I do not know if it applies to Rauner, but I applaud your integrity.
Yeah…Bruce Rauner struggled like every white person who grew up in a privileged Chicago suburb and had a father who was a Senior Vice President for Motorola. His “I’m just like you” shtick is so tiresome.
The State tour he took those video at was billed as non-political. But they are appearing in political ads. I wonder if those people gave permission to be in a political ad??
@ Blue Dog. I don’t disagree with you. But I also stand by my comments. Democrats are certainly not blameless here. Not by a long shot. But an earlier poster was trying to defend Rauner’s efforts and pretend that the Turn Around Agenda was not class warfare. It is absolutely class warfare.
Again, the centrist / corporate Democrats have been at the helm when pension payments should have been made and funding to higher education was incrementally cut, among a range of other actions that hurt working class and middle class families.
But please do not imply that the Democrats are as culpable as Rauner. He brings a whole new level of anti-family and anti-worker antipathy to the battle.
@ City Zen. I think you are comparing apples and kumquats here. The tax increase applied to both you and Gov. Quinn.
With Rauner, he gives tax breaks to the rich, and is trying to lower wages for workers by breaking the unions, while reducing pension benefits for people who were promised those benefits. When Quinn raised the tax rate, he was also subjected to the same tax increase.
Again, I do not hold Democrats blameless. They have a great deal to answer for. But Rauner is a mission-driven ideologue who is on record stating he wants to ruin the unionized working class (i.e. the blue-collar middle class). You cannot honestly say the same about Quinn.
If he really wants small business owners to vote for him, his ads would say, “Re-elect me or I’ll have to go back to buying up, breaking up and selling off the pieces of your businesses.”
These guys have mastered the art of making create video. Whatever else anyone thinks, much of it legitimate disagreement, these guys are owning the message.
- Carhartt Union Negotiating Team - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 3:18 pm:
Gawd that ad makes me feel good about our “risk taker pioneer in chief!”
It paints a narrative that may or may not be as phony as he is. But, it paints a good picture.
The guy has been delivering an Oscar-worthy performance in his self-paid and self-approved scripts.
And, I must admit, he’s a contender.
Problem is, Governing - the work of government - ain’t hedge fund management. It ain’t a script. It ain’t simply “big ideas.”
And, I’m fairly certain everyone in and around this bubble of make believe known as Springfield now knows that the pull-yourself up by the off-the-rack, dollar shoe bin governor is far from a volunteer. He’s a hobbyist. This is a fun exercise. He has no attention to detail. He’s got no real interest in making any positive change in the way positive change gets done - small but real victories, and then a little bit bigger victories and then momentum and even bigger victories…
I really like this ad. But, my mind was made up in the last GOP primary. He’s reckless, dangerous, small-minded, petty and out-of-touch.
Scamp640. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Union membership as a % of the labor force in Illinois was 16.6% In 2009. In 2015 it was down to 15.2%.this coincides with Quinns terms. Lucky for us he lost, we couldnt keep that trend up(down?) I say it often here, we have met the enemy, he is us.
–These guys have mastered the art of making create video. Whatever else anyone thinks, much of it legitimate disagreement, these guys are owning the message.–
Almost a coherent statement from someone who doesn’t get paid, for obvious reasons.
@ Blue Dog. Well, you’re not wrong. The enemy is at least a little bit us.
I can’t deny that Democrats have some serious issues to resolve. I was a Bernie fan. Ignoring working class issues to focus on cultural and identity issues was (and continues to be) a miscalculation. So, yes, folks on the Left have significant internal problems that need to be resolved. And they won’t increase their competitiveness until they face those problems head on.
But at the same time we need to be pushing back against Rauner (and Trump, and the Koch Brothers), who are the real enemy. They have figured out how to play working class voters off against other voters who should be their allies. And that goes to your point. People on the left and center-left (and swing voters) have been effectively fragmented by the Right. The Democrats haven’t figured out how to counteract the effective messaging coming from the Republicans as can be found in the video above.
So, your exhortation for Democrats to reevaluate what they’re doing is 100% correct. But while that inward evaluation is occurring, Democrats need to be outwardly focused to counter the relentless onslaught from the Right. Thanks for your engagement.
It’s a good ad…unless of course you grew up in Deerfield, the son of a millionaire…then of course, it’s a joke…A realistic ad would have Bruce saying–Sure I grew up rich…but I didn’t turn out like Eric or Donald jr….
- Juice - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:22 am:
Ugh…it’s really good.
- Give Me A Break - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:23 am:
They are betting the farm voters don’t understand he is already the Gov and has no record other than screaming Madigan, Madigan, Madigan.
- Arsenal - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:23 am:
I think it’s a little too late for introductions, Gov.
That being said, putting ads on the air is more important than what the ad actually says, except in extreme circumstances…
- Lech W - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:25 am:
Nice add, shows his human side. I’m sure the class warfare and identity politics folks here will immediately attack. let’s see; three… two.. one …..
- Anon221 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:25 am:
This is right on par with Ivanka’s new book. Yep, Rauner slept in the woods on that there campin’ mattress! He knows your pain and struggles. Right….
- Johnnie F. - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:26 am:
It would be a nice introduction if I didn’t already know who you are and what you stand for….Failure.
- Henry Francis - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:26 am:
For an outsider who is trying to become Governor, it’s not bad. Good themes, but kind of light on important details, like how notable investments in start-ups or how many jobs did his investments create?
But for a guy who has been Governor for the past couple years, it says absolutely nothing about what he has done as governor to help small businesses.
- Newguy - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:28 am:
My thoughts are that this is the kind of messaging that would come from someone scared to death of Pritzker.
- Anon0091 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:29 am:
Gee, that ad couldn’t have anything to do with the guy he’s most afraid of running against next year. Ya know, inherited wealth…inherited agenda.
It would be a great ad…if he was just preparing to run for governor and introducing himself to people.
- AlfondoGonz - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:29 am:
Well, that turned the tide. I love and respect him now and think he’s done a tremendous job as Governor since being elected.
- Liberty - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:29 am:
Yeah carhart goes to Harvard.
- PublicServant - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:30 am:
===Yeah carhart goes to Harvard.=== and Dartmouth…and on his Dad’s dime.
- Jocko - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:31 am:
==his first job was cooking burgers. His second? Parking cars. In college, he worked in the dining hall to earn extra money.==
Ah, the trials of growing up in a family whose father was senior VP at Motorola. Bruce forgot to mention all those times he ate Ramen Noodles waiting for the next paycheck.
- unspun - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:31 am:
He’s “one of us”….check
He wears a Carhart…check
He’s a job creator…crickets.
- FakeyMcFakeFake - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:32 am:
Somehow we are supposed to believe that the guy who is starving social service agencies and forcing them to close is such a great guy that came from nothing? Look at what you’re doing to the state, Bruce.
- don the legend - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:34 am:
I always wondered where Representative Dunkin got his camping mattress. Now I know.
- Sprangfeld - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:34 am:
It is a well made ad. Well edited, music pairs well with the visuals, not too long or at least does not feel too long. To the message, whether you agree or disagree, it is consistent. It is not an introductory ad, merely reminding where he stands. Give it an A.
- Anon43 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:34 am:
Comes as little to no surprise that Rauner releases ad after Pritzker… Good thing it doesn’t attempt to underscore any accomplishments as Gov. The race between billionaires is going to get a lot more interesting..
- Mr. K - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:36 am:
Maybe I’m not getting it — but Rauner’s essential foundation seems to be all about business for businesspeople.
I hate to say it — actually, no, I don’t — but there’s more to life (and governing) than this incessant (and wrong) meme of “Since I ran a business, I can run a government.”
We know the two are separate. We know experience in one doesn’t guarantee success in the other. We know this. We see it here — and, well, pretty much everywhere these days.
But let’s for the sake of argument say — hard to believe, since Rauner seems to assume that this state is built of small business owners — I don’t own a business, I don’t want to own a business, I don’t care about owning a business. Let’s say that.
And then let’s say, I care about affordable health care. I care about LGBT rights. I care about a woman’s right to choose. I care about fair wages for labor. I care about higher education. I care for social safety nets for those in genuine need.
I care — again, I know, it’s a stretch in Rauner’s world — about everything that’s *not* a business, not a startup culture, and not about pocketing millions and pretending: “Yeah, I got a million! I’m a success! Woo hoo!”
So given this — this, apparently, odd mix of issues — what in the world has Rauner done or can Rauner do?
I ask it seriously. I have no idea. And for two years, Rauner appears to have no idea either.
- Anon0091 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:36 am:
“It’s time for a governor who doesn’t drop his g’s, who doesn’t pretend to wear a Timex when he’s got a drawer full of Rolex’s, who doesn’t have a hidden agenda underneath his Carhartt jacket,” said Pritzker.
Just sayin’
- Grand Avenue - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:38 am:
Rich,
You missed something - this one’s different than the others - at the end it says “Paid for by Citizens for Rauner, Inc.” - not State Solutions like the RGA “non-campaign” ads.
So I think it’s fair to say the Governor has “officially-officially” kicked off his re-election campaign.
- Rabid - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:39 am:
Self-made businessmen make business, don’t join business
- City Zen - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:40 am:
==Yeah carhart goes to Harvard.=== and Dartmouth…and on his Dad’s dime.==
Parents shouldn’t provide financial support for the college-bound children? Wish you would’ve told me that before I opened that Bright Directions account.
- Henry Francis - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:40 am:
Definitely a response to JB’s ad. Surprised he didn’t roll out his new slogan “Think Bigger”!
- wordslinger - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:40 am:
Horatio Alger, straight outta Deerfield.
In America, you can rise from the depths of your North
Shore upbringing and Ivy League education to skim Medicaid busting out nursing homes and hustle government business with pay-to-play campaign contributions.
- Lech W - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:44 am:
==depths of your North
Shore upbringing and Ivy League education
There is that class warfare !
- Gruntled University Employee - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:44 am:
For the small business owners, the entrepreneurs, the risk-takers and change-agents, I’ll be your Governor. As for the rest of you, not so much.
Fake Bruce Rauner
- Rogue Roni - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:45 am:
Just like the “business man” turned politican in the White House, rauners got credibility issues. Dont believe a word he says.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:45 am:
===There is that class warfare===
Says the guy supporting the candidate who just whacked Pritzker for his inherited money.
- Rocky Rosi - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:45 am:
Best IL pol ad of 2017 so far. I give it an A+
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:45 am:
If you have to say you “struggled” after growing up in Deerfield and having the ability to “struggle” to get libraries and dorms named BY you…
This is a phony way to seem connected.
- Ractin - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:46 am:
1 million small businesses, 13 mil people, so 1 in 13 people are small business owners?
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:49 am:
Is this the “Bobby Ewing” Ad?
Like the last 2 years never happened and ole Bruce is this new guy we haven’t met before?
Even Pam Ewing was confused with Bobby’s new appearance.
- Langhorne - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:49 am:
Makes me wanna yak. This is a pritzker ad–suitable for the new guy. Not someone who has been destroying social services and higher ed, while running up the debt.
One of the “states most respected” businesses? Sez who?
- Rabid - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:49 am:
Way to reveal yourself with those tiny shorts
- Huh? - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:50 am:
A new commercial with a new costume. Too bad the backpack is empty, 1.4% is lost in the woods and can’t see the forest for the trees.
- Daniel Plainview - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:52 am:
Why the narrator, could Bruce not tell this tale with a straight face?
- Grass Bowl - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:53 am:
It’s a really good ad
- Flynn's mom - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:58 am:
Another day, another commercial, another couple of costumes. No wonder he can’t play at being the governor he’s very busy making regular guy ads.
- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:00 am:
“- Rocky Rosi - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:45 am:
Best IL pol ad of 2017 so far. I give it an A+”
I’m stunned you think so…not.
- blue dog dem - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:00 am:
Its heartwarming to know that higher ed is teaching such great business practices. You know ruthlessness,greed,outsourcing,selling off assets, moving assets over seas to avoid taxes. Almost makes me agree with the call for more money to higher ed. This Harvard MBA thing is priceless.
- City Zen - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:01 am:
“Working for you and our future” should have been said by Bruce himself. Seems odd to not even have one Bruce sound bite in a 60 second ad.
- Scamp640 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:05 am:
@ Lech. What do you mean by class warfare? How is it not class warfare when Rauner tries to weaken unions? How is it not class warfare when he weakens public higher education and makes it more difficult for regular families to get a college degree? How is not not class warfare when he feels it is necessary to put on a “working class” costume to sell the idea that he is a regular guy. How is Rauner not waging class warfare when he holds the budget hostage but gives tax breaks to businesses? I could go on.
I think the dial on your hypocrisy detector is turned off. You might want to check that.
- sal-says - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:06 am:
== Working for you and our future. Bruce Rauner. ==
Dearest Billionaire Brucie:
Working for my obsessions and against YOU, fellow Illinoisan and destroying our future. Bruce Rauner.
There. Corrected for the truth & fixed it for ya.
- @misterjayem - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:08 am:
“Thoughts?”
Words failed me: https://i.imgur.com/pCQikgj.gif
– MrJM
- Grand Avenue - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:09 am:
“new digital ad”
So this isn’t going on TV? That’s really high quality for a web ad.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:10 am:
More phony working class affectations. It’s mockery. This dude is so bent on stripping the rights and lowering the standards of living of many actual working class people who are struggling to get by.
Rauner is the one who is waging class warfare by pretending he’s an ordinary Joe, so he can con people into thinking he’s one of them and get them to support his agenda that favors who he really is.
- Arthur Andersen - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:10 am:
I’m as cynical as the next guy when it comes to political ads, but I liked this. I went to college with a couple North Shore-type guys that, when the education was paid for, Dad’s checkbook snapped shut. All of our friend group worked all four years of undergrad in minimum wage jobs.
I think some of you vastly underestimate the difficulty of starting, growing, and successfully maintaining a private equity business.
- Anon0091 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:12 am:
For the guy behind 1871, every week is small business week. A swing and a miss by the GOP.
- Hit or Miss - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:12 am:
It is a well made ad with music to match. It is full of positives. The only problem is that it fails to mention his record in office, specifically what he has accomplished to help small business in Illinois.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:13 am:
“We’ve heard his claims four years ago about his business success, and we’ve seen his claims for the last four years why he’s been a failed governor. Bruce Rauner is out of excuses. He’s out of fingers to use to point at us as the reason for his failures.”
“Even as a businessman, Bruce Rauner knows he’s failed you, me, our children and our state.”
-VM
- Anon221 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:14 am:
Shouldn’t it be, “Volunteering for you and our future” ? Rauner is currently “unpaid”, remember.
As to the “our future”, I think both Rauners have a very narrow definition of who fits into “our”.
- Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:14 am:
Bruce Rauner is becoming one of those bad movies featured on MST 3000.
- Lech W - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:17 am:
=- Scamp640
You are letting ideology get in the way of intellectual honesty. You point to the Governors supposed plans to “weaken unions”…” “weakens public higher education”…. I point to the fact that Illinois was and still is a failed state in terms of its finances. Rauner is at least tryin(g) to change the course set by the Dem’s with a growth agenda. His fixes may or may not get implemented- but if they do they have a better chance of helping all Illinois residents then Status quo which will get us just further into debt !
- Winnin' - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:19 am:
Crushin’ and dismantlin’ and closin’. That’s how o made my millions.
- zatoichi - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:20 am:
Nice ad that also describes hundreds of thousands of people. Does cooking burgers qualify for anything? Then McDonalds is packed with hard working people. Don’t work 9-5? That describes most people I work with. Ad is a nice intro before an election, but what is Rauner actually doing now, not what he could be doing because he slept on a camping mattress 30 some years ago.
- Anon221 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:21 am:
Arthur Andersen- “I think some of you vastly underestimate the difficulty of starting, growing, and successfully maintaining a private equity business.”
What I don’t underestimate is the “success” that private equity business had in making its profits off of “vulturing”. Business people have choices to make. Usually the longer and harder road is to build, not buyout and deconstruct. All the dormitories, libraries, YMCAs, and checks to the Mansion rehab are not going to make up for the change Rauner is crippling Illinois with for generation to come.
- northsider (the original) - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:22 am:
So he had summer jobs in high school and enjoyed glamping it up on a floor in Lincoln Park between college and grad school.
And I am to do what with this information?
- Slippin' Jimmy - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:23 am:
Reminds me of the Slick Willie slogan, ” How we gonna fool em today?”, said with that unmistakable Arkansas twang.
- Daniel Plainview - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:26 am:
- difficulty of starting, growing, and successfully maintaining a private equity business. -
I agree, 99.9999999% of people couldn’t come within 10 miles of the front door of that opportunity. Pretending his upper class upbringing, support, and connections weren’t the biggest contributor to that opportunity is an insult to hardworking people everywhere.
- Anon221 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:27 am:
To the Update-
If this was part of this ad’s message, it sure got lost in the “woods”-
“As Governor Rauner cuts the red tape and fights for change to help small businesses,…”
You would think there would be some reference to this “campaign”. Which BTW, has accomplished what lately???
https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/RegulatoryReform/Pages/default.aspx
- Valvino - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:28 am:
I really think his campaign people are as delusional as the Governor.
- don the legend - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:29 am:
=== Sal says, Dearest Billionaire Brucie ===
That’s Millionaire Brucie. It’s important to be accurate since there is now a true Billionaire in the race!!
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:31 am:
===Status quo which will get us just further into debt !===
You’re absolutely right that the current status quo is putting us deeper in debt every day.
- blue dog dem - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:33 am:
Such an inspirational life story. Goosebumps all over. This is one compassionate fella.
- Arsenal - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:35 am:
==So this isn’t going on TV? That’s really high quality for a web ad.==
It’s testing the waters. See what kind of response it gets online (best case scenario, it goes viral), and if it’s good, put it on the air later (maybe chopped up to get to 30 seconds). The only problem with this strategy is everything Rauner puts up on social media nowadays gets an avalanche of negative responses, but you can correct for that if you pay attention.
- Ward Heeler - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:38 am:
Well made and much better than duct tape.
- Annonin' - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:43 am:
Did they admit BackPackin’ Bruce pitched his campin’ mattress at a suite in the Hyatt?
Just checking. Good to see they are gettin’ use out of the video they shot at the aldermnan’s pizza place by the fair.
add S*
- James Knell - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:48 am:
People who form opinions of candidates solely based on this type of ad must be extremely gullible. But I suppose I know a few of them even though I try not to.
- Shaggy Dog - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:48 am:
Must be nice t have time to make adds instead of governing and getting a budget passed. Bottom line is he may be a great businessman but he has been the worse Governor Illinois has ever had to deal with.
- Fax Machine - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:58 am:
“Like Donald Trump, Bruce Rauner was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and this video is just another attempt to draw a veil over a life of privilege.”
I think Pawar wants a couple other people to come to mind when we read this sentence.
- Free Set of Steak Knives - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:03 pm:
1) You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression
2) That said, for the base it’s a great ad because it reminds them of “the man they fell in love with four years ago,” even if he had been a pretty lousy life partner since then.
3) for everyone else: the ad sends an equally important and negative message. By talking about Rauner’s college days, the ad reminds us that Rauner is out of touch with us and the things that actually matter in our lives, and it reminds us he has zero accomplishments to show for the last theee years of misery and chaos he has created.
Great production. terrible, terrible concept.
- David - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:14 pm:
I am not sure where he got his facts. I can tell you there are 382 518 scorps and partnership returns. The top 101 830 average 206 617 per return. The rest are small business or investments Their income averages 1900 to 22000 per year. The highest earning passthrough 44000 averaging 257357 a year are located in downtown Chicago and a number of well off suburbs. Some of these may very well be the type Rauner uses …it we had his full tax return we could learn more…There is no industry breakdown but a huge percentage of income from these passthrough are from the financial sector and most of that income goes to the top 1 percent. Mon and Pop type industries that we think of as small business tend to have those 1900 a year profits
- illinoised - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:24 pm:
I hate sticking my finger down my throat. Instead, I can now watch this the next time I need to regurgitate.
- Shrek - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:27 pm:
Watch where you step
- Ghost - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:28 pm:
Like the small business owners Rauner didnt pay and put out of business?
or the families who cant get to work because of cuts to day car assistance while we pay contractors 30k a month to suuggest we rob pension funds and vilify workers
- Dome Gnome - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:32 pm:
Rauner was (proverbially) born on third base, but he thinks he’s hit a home run.
- Scamp640 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:33 pm:
@ Lech. So, just to be clear, you don’t think weakening unions is a form of class warfare?
You claim that criticizing Rauner IS class warfare, but Rauner trying to weaken unions and reduce pensions for people who worked hard and were promised those pensions is not class warfare.
See, by definition, a war has at least two sides. Rauner is part of the wealthy, powerful, elite. He is trying to balance the budget (and enrich himself) on the backs of working class and middle class families. He represents one side of the war.
I agree that it is class warfare. You should just be honest enough to admit that just as unions and other working class stakeholders are waging a war against Rauner, Rauner is waging a war against the working class. The working class is just trying to defend itself against predatory capitalists. And let’s be even more clear, he STARTED the war with his Turn Around Agenda. Just be honest and admit it. It’s okay to be honest. Try it.
- Honeybear - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:36 pm:
Brilliant ad. Great move. But it is as always perfidy
It is droppin’ G’s
It is trash can van
It is Carhardt jacket 2.0
Well done
Except
It’s so easy to prove that Rauner has
Never done a thing for small business
Closed all the small business centers
Gutted and starved DCEO
Gave away 100’s millions in EDGE
To only the big corporations!
But hey be thankful that he still
Uses you small business as a prop
- blue dog dem - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:53 pm:
Scamp640. I am a union guy. But I need to correct one comment you made….”he is trying to balance the budget on the backs of working class and middle class…” Democrats have been in charge for decades. A flat income tax increase, and high property taxes or aimed squarely at the working poor and middle classes. If we can’t find fault with Dems, and continue to place all the blame on Rauner, we will never,ever get a progressive income tax. It is ONLY when we get a progressive tax will we be able to reformulate the K-12 funding formula and curb ridiculously high property taxes.
- JS Mill - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:57 pm:
=with a growth agenda. =
His “agenda” is not new, it has been tried elsewhere with no demonstrable success (please see Kansas).
You may cite Indiana’s slightly higher economic growth percentage, but in reality Indiana continues to fall behind Illinois GDP at an increasing rate.
So, his agenda is not “pro-growth”, evidence abounds but none of that evidence supports the “pro-growth” theory.
Quality add, good production, very slick. No bruce message is a big deduct. Give it a “B”.
@AA- I respect your honesty and opinion! There is a lot of truth to what you said. I do not know if it applies to Rauner, but I applaud your integrity.
- A Parent - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:05 pm:
Yeah…Bruce Rauner struggled like every white person who grew up in a privileged Chicago suburb and had a father who was a Senior Vice President for Motorola. His “I’m just like you” shtick is so tiresome.
- blue dog dem - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:10 pm:
Bruce Rauner is white?????
- Man Please - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:22 pm:
Don’t Care — We Need a signed Budget😡
Not Happy with your term. Worst Gov. in history!!!
- Paul - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:29 pm:
The State tour he took those video at was billed as non-political. But they are appearing in political ads. I wonder if those people gave permission to be in a political ad??
- Scamp640 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:54 pm:
@ Blue Dog. I don’t disagree with you. But I also stand by my comments. Democrats are certainly not blameless here. Not by a long shot. But an earlier poster was trying to defend Rauner’s efforts and pretend that the Turn Around Agenda was not class warfare. It is absolutely class warfare.
Again, the centrist / corporate Democrats have been at the helm when pension payments should have been made and funding to higher education was incrementally cut, among a range of other actions that hurt working class and middle class families.
But please do not imply that the Democrats are as culpable as Rauner. He brings a whole new level of anti-family and anti-worker antipathy to the battle.
- City Zen - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:03 pm:
==He is trying to balance the budget (and enrich himself) on the backs of working class and middle class families.==
When Quinn hiked the income tax rate to 5%, he attempted to balance the budget (and enrich himself) on the back of my middle class family.
Both sides are back breakers.
- Scamp640 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:19 pm:
@ City Zen. I think you are comparing apples and kumquats here. The tax increase applied to both you and Gov. Quinn.
With Rauner, he gives tax breaks to the rich, and is trying to lower wages for workers by breaking the unions, while reducing pension benefits for people who were promised those benefits. When Quinn raised the tax rate, he was also subjected to the same tax increase.
Again, I do not hold Democrats blameless. They have a great deal to answer for. But Rauner is a mission-driven ideologue who is on record stating he wants to ruin the unionized working class (i.e. the blue-collar middle class). You cannot honestly say the same about Quinn.
- Whatever - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:30 pm:
If he really wants small business owners to vote for him, his ads would say, “Re-elect me or I’ll have to go back to buying up, breaking up and selling off the pieces of your businesses.”
- walker - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:51 pm:
Good political ad. Right out of Saul Alinsky.
He called it “co-opting your opponent’s strongest message.”
- A guy - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:57 pm:
These guys have mastered the art of making create video. Whatever else anyone thinks, much of it legitimate disagreement, these guys are owning the message.
- Carhartt Union Negotiating Team - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 3:18 pm:
Gawd that ad makes me feel good about our “risk taker pioneer in chief!”
It paints a narrative that may or may not be as phony as he is. But, it paints a good picture.
The guy has been delivering an Oscar-worthy performance in his self-paid and self-approved scripts.
And, I must admit, he’s a contender.
Problem is, Governing - the work of government - ain’t hedge fund management. It ain’t a script. It ain’t simply “big ideas.”
And, I’m fairly certain everyone in and around this bubble of make believe known as Springfield now knows that the pull-yourself up by the off-the-rack, dollar shoe bin governor is far from a volunteer. He’s a hobbyist. This is a fun exercise. He has no attention to detail. He’s got no real interest in making any positive change in the way positive change gets done - small but real victories, and then a little bit bigger victories and then momentum and even bigger victories…
I really like this ad. But, my mind was made up in the last GOP primary. He’s reckless, dangerous, small-minded, petty and out-of-touch.
Campaigns need ads. Governing needs sincerity, flexibility, reality. He’s got ads.
- Loop Lady - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:01 pm:
These types of ads are more of the same pablum from a man who only cares about himself…
Please tout one positive thing you have accomplished as Gov…
Stick a fork in him, he’s done…
- blue dog dem - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:02 pm:
Scamp640. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Union membership as a % of the labor force in Illinois was 16.6% In 2009. In 2015 it was down to 15.2%.this coincides with Quinns terms. Lucky for us he lost, we couldnt keep that trend up(down?) I say it often here, we have met the enemy, he is us.
- wordslinger - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 6:27 pm:
–These guys have mastered the art of making create video. Whatever else anyone thinks, much of it legitimate disagreement, these guys are owning the message.–
Almost a coherent statement from someone who doesn’t get paid, for obvious reasons.
- Scamp640 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 6:32 pm:
@ Blue Dog. Well, you’re not wrong. The enemy is at least a little bit us.
I can’t deny that Democrats have some serious issues to resolve. I was a Bernie fan. Ignoring working class issues to focus on cultural and identity issues was (and continues to be) a miscalculation. So, yes, folks on the Left have significant internal problems that need to be resolved. And they won’t increase their competitiveness until they face those problems head on.
But at the same time we need to be pushing back against Rauner (and Trump, and the Koch Brothers), who are the real enemy. They have figured out how to play working class voters off against other voters who should be their allies. And that goes to your point. People on the left and center-left (and swing voters) have been effectively fragmented by the Right. The Democrats haven’t figured out how to counteract the effective messaging coming from the Republicans as can be found in the video above.
So, your exhortation for Democrats to reevaluate what they’re doing is 100% correct. But while that inward evaluation is occurring, Democrats need to be outwardly focused to counter the relentless onslaught from the Right. Thanks for your engagement.
- Pothole - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 7:48 pm:
Every Rauner commercial makes me think of Dan Aykroyd in Tommy Boy - “you sure are a lot different in your commercials.” https://youtu.be/5v87OifFQNM
- Leo - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 8:47 pm:
It’s a good ad…unless of course you grew up in Deerfield, the son of a millionaire…then of course, it’s a joke…A realistic ad would have Bruce saying–Sure I grew up rich…but I didn’t turn out like Eric or Donald jr….
- Rabid - Friday, May 5, 17 @ 5:34 am:
Govenor is one in a million. Is this a trailer for the new IPI movie
- A guy - Friday, May 5, 17 @ 8:38 am:
==Almost a coherent statement from someone who doesn’t get paid, for obvious reasons.===
Wow, Sling, that’s as generous a statement as I believe you’re capable of making. Think I’ll light a candle for you in thanksgiving.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Friday, May 5, 17 @ 8:56 am:
So if BVR is a self made man, term limits didn’t stop him from making his millions now did it?