Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Pritzker unleashes the hounds on Kennedy with new ad
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax      Advertise Here      About     Exclusive Subscriber Content     Updated Posts    Contact Rich Miller
CapitolFax.com
To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here.
Pritzker unleashes the hounds on Kennedy with new ad

Tuesday, Mar 13, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Lots of chatter this week that undecideds are leaning Chris Kennedy’s way

Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker in a new TV ad continues to hound rival Chris Kennedy for once praising Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner — as Kennedy in his own ad highlights his father and his “ideals.” […]

Kennedy, in January, opined that Rauner “should be applauded” for running attack ads against Pritzker before the Democratic primary. But then he took a step further in his praise for the embattled governor. […]

“We are running a positive campaign while J.B. Pritzker continues to run a negative campaign,” Kennedy spokeswoman Rebecca Evans said on Tuesday. “Chris has said repeatedly that Bruce Rauner threw a million people out of social services. That means he is inhumane. He went two years without a budget. That means he’s incompetent. He is running to defeat Bruce Rauner and his awful leadership.”

* And here it is

* Script…

Narrator: Listen to what Chris Kennedy recently had to say about Bruce Rauner:

Chris Kennedy: Bruce Rauner is trying to do what he thinks is best for the state of Illinois.

Narrator: What?

Chris Kennedy: His willingness to speak truth to power to take on the powers that have been strangling our economy for decades in the state, is something that I think he should be applauded for.

Narrator: Don’t we need a Democrat who can stand up to Bruce Rauner?

Chris Kennedy: That I think he should be applauded for.

       

34 Comments
  1. - Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 12:57 pm:

    Great ad and good for Pritzker to try to check any late momentum. Those Kennedy words sting.


  2. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:00 pm:

    Good ad. It’s not too hard to find clumsy soundbites from Kennedy. Had Kennedy been more articulate, organized and dynamic, he might have been able to catch up with Pritzker, despite the deficit of cash.


  3. - TKMH - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:01 pm:

    This is about as good a finisher you can have on an opponent in the week leading up to election day. Good on the Pritzker team.


  4. - Anonish - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:02 pm:

    Solid hit.

    All depends on how you define “recently”


  5. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:08 pm:

    ===We are running a positive campaign while J.B. Pritzker continues to run a negative campaign,”===

    Which campaign is she referring to? Kennedy has called Pritzker corrupt and racist. That’s positive?


  6. - fly - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:09 pm:

    First, I don’t believe that undecided are breaking Kennedy’s way. Second, this is probably the most devastating ad I have seen in a primary. For unions, progressives, people that don’t like Trump, people that don’t like Rauner, hearing Kennedy say this will be intolerable. I think Kennedy’s chances ended after the fiasco at the Convention. They have gotten worse since. This is devastating.


  7. - hisgirlfriday - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:11 pm:

    Better the ad runs in the primary, Team Kennedy. You’d get the same ad from Bruce in the fall.


  8. - 360 Degree TurnAround - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:11 pm:

    Kennedy is starting to circle the drain a little bit.


  9. - former southerner - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:14 pm:

    Although they aren’t in lockstep on policy Kennedy reminds me too much of Quinn with his stumbling and bumbling routine that would set the stage for a loss in the general.

    If Rauner didn’t have the Ives problem he could have been well served by supporting Kennedy via dark money along with a concerted effort to get GOP voters to pull a democratic ballot for Kennedy in the primary.


  10. - ILDemVoter - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:15 pm:

    Pritzker and his whack a mole strategy….certainly not making any friends or building coalitions come the general, should he be the nominee. Regardless of what anyone thinks, both Kennedy & Biss have lots of strong, unwavering supporters who aren’t going to be so quick to jump on #TeamJB, or put in the work they do for either of those candidates. (and I know, they started it first, JB can pay people yada yada- I’m just being observant here).


  11. - Shytown - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:17 pm:

    Kennedy spokeswoman claims they’re running a positive campaign? I’ve heard it all now. March 20 can’t come soon enough.


  12. - Responsa - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:18 pm:

    That ad is not good. What is JB thinking? Airing an ad where his likely general election opponent is actually being praised on the airwaves for at least trying to fix things? I’m stunned at how bassakwards this feels at this critical time with only a week left and so many Dem undecideds. JB should have let this one lie. For JB it’s a C-. For Kennedy it’s a B+ on JB’s dime. You don’t have to like Rauner in the slightest to understand that one of the reasons he won last time was because voters were sick of the status quo. That’s what many viewers who see this ad will understand that Kennedy was recognizing, saying, and vaguely applauding while implying he gets it and he’ll not be status quo either. Chris has never remotely suggested he thought Rauner was doing a good job, has he?


  13. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:19 pm:

    ===have lots of strong, unwavering supporters who aren’t going to be so quick to jump on #TeamJB===

    You don’t aim ads at people like that. You aim ads at undecideds and leaners.


  14. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:28 pm:

    If this were running March 1st, it would have my attention.

    Six days out tells me the media guy is adding rooms to the house s/he is building off the monies made… and doing it now also allows many to say, “wadda mean we didn’t go flat out against them?”

    Boy, March 1st… this woulda been crushing. Now it’s hedging a bet, as crushing as it still is.


  15. - walker - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:30 pm:

    Nice finisher, that doesn’t make you look nasty.


  16. - Henry Francis - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:31 pm:

    Kennedy seems more and more like PQ (just with a whole lot more privilege)


  17. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:32 pm:

    ===Chris has never remotely suggested he thought Rauner was doing a good job, has he? ===

    He’s Mr. Nuance. So, yes, he has, even though he says he hasn’t.


  18. - Soccermom - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:33 pm:

    I can’t imagine any Biss supporters who would back Rauner over Pritzker in the general. (I don’t really know any Kennedy supporters, so I can’t say what they’ll do.)

    If you love Illinois, you’ll vote against Rauner.


  19. - Anon - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:46 pm:

    @Soccermom It’s all about Trump. If you’re fired up enough to care about gubernatorial primary, then you’re voting in November. And those people are voting Republicans out. Lots of melodrama but big picture isn’t changing.


  20. - Thomas Paine - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:47 pm:

    I think this ad has one simple purpose: sending a message to Chris Kennedy and the rest of his inner circle for going after Pritzker’s dead parents.

    Let the brain trust explain how they took Kennedy from 40 percent to a third place finish. Let Kennedy try to position himself for another run for office after finishing behind Daniel Biss.

    As Rich pointed out, this ad was not a political necessity, it was something they have been avoiding. But things have gotten exremely personal.

    You don’t attack a guy’s dead parents. Particularly when they were not even public figures.


  21. - OurMagician - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:51 pm:

    If Kennedy had money, the response ad would write itself but he doesn’t so he can’t.


  22. - Anon324 - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:55 pm:

    I get what he’s doing here (Kennedy isn’t really on our side), and it’s effective in that regard. But I can’t help thinking it cuts both ways–there are a lot of blue collar Dems out there (or at least there used to be) who have watched their jobs go to other states. Maybe there aren’t enough of them left to matter in the primary, but if this airs in places like Peoria, the Quad Cities, Carbondale, etc., doesn’t this make Kennedy look like a reasonable person who recognizes that the way things have gone for the past 20 years in this state hasn’t been all that great for some people? You don’t have to like Rauner to understand that the economy in this state is circling the drain, especially outside of metro Chicago.


  23. - Anon0091 - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 1:56 pm:

    Kennedy said this. He said lots of other Rauner talking points. I don’t know why and I don’t care. But he said it and the question the ad ask is whether this is the guy you want as your standard bearer. Imagine the Rauner ads with this. It’s a totally fair and deserved hit.


  24. - Retired Educator - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 2:17 pm:

    Seeing how the Governor’s approval rating is south of 26%, an ad where Kennedy praises him is devastating. The Pritzker team finally got it right. WE are a week out. It is time to target both viable opponents. I think a new attack on Biss is coming. Attack until election day, take a breath, then start the assault on Rauner. Ad is a solid A-.


  25. - Soccermom - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 2:23 pm:

    Anon324

    No it does not.


  26. - a drop in - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 2:52 pm:

    I know of at least one person who will vote for Rauner over Pritzker. That said, I don’t think he has the “Hillary” problem where so many would oppose him over the Republican.


  27. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 3:18 pm:

    If Kennedy wins there is no way Rauner will use this to attack him, because if he does then Rauner because he is basically saying Kennedy praised the bad guy, and that bad person is Rauner. That won’t promote Rauner vision


  28. - Arsenal - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 3:31 pm:

    ==That ad is not good. ==

    This is some motivated reasoning right here.

    Bruce Rauner has a 26% approval rating. That’s not going to improve because someone polling in the teens praises him. That’s just gonna make sure the guy in the teens stays there.


  29. - Arsenal - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 3:46 pm:

    ==because if he does then Rauner because he is basically saying Kennedy praised the bad guy, and that bad person is Rauner==

    Nah, see, he frames it like, “Even my opponent knows I’m right, and he even said I should be applauded. Here, let me show you the clip.”


  30. - Anon0091 - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 4:03 pm:

    Arsenal has it exactly right. It’s not an attack ad. It’s a validation by his opponent ad and it would work.

    “Kennedy: Bruce Rauner is doing what he thinks is best for the State of Illinois.

    Rauner: Thanks Chris. And that’s why I’ve been fightin’ Mike Madigan since I got here.

    Kennedy: His willingness to speak truth to power to take on the powers that have been strangling our economy for decades in the state, is something that I think he should be applauded for.

    Rauner: Ya got that right Chris and thanks for your applause. But why you doin’ Mike Madigan’s bidding?

    VO: Even Chris Kennedy says we need to stand up to Madigan but only Bruce Rauner can be counted on to do it. Re-Elect Governor Rauner.”


  31. - Lil Lebowski Urban Achiever - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 4:06 pm:

    Arsenal and 0091 agreeing with each other… surprising from our two most prominent JB-Bots.


  32. - WizzardOfOzzie - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 4:07 pm:

    Kennedy knew this was coming. I think the emphasis on his family may have been to help minimize the damage this would do.

    Robert Kennedy’s son supports Rauner… that’s dumb.


  33. - Anon324 - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 4:08 pm:

    Soccermom

    Well if you say so, then it must be true.


  34. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 13, 18 @ 4:13 pm:

    Chris Kennedy applauds Bruce Rauner.

    That should give a voting Dem pause.

    Besides Ken Dunkin, no Dem applauded Bruce Rauner, or that I could think of… now Chris Kennedy.


Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.


* Reader comments closed for the holidays
* And the winners are…
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Update to previous editions
* Isabel’s afternoon roundup
* Report: Far-right Illinois billionaires may have skirted immigration rules
* Question of the day: Golden Horseshoe Awards (Updated)
* Energy Storage Brings Cheaper Electricity, Greater Reliability
* Open thread
* Isabel’s morning briefing
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Live coverage
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Yesterday's stories

Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............


Loading


Main Menu
Home
Illinois
YouTube
Pundit rankings
Obama
Subscriber Content
Durbin
Burris
Blagojevich Trial
Advertising
Updated Posts
Polls

Archives
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004

Blog*Spot Archives
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005

Syndication

RSS Feed 2.0
Comments RSS 2.0




Hosted by MCS SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax Advertise Here Mobile Version Contact Rich Miller