* JB Pritzker’s campaign has a ton of different TV ads running at the same time. One Republican operative told me he counted 8 different Pritzker spots last week. Pritzker can obviously afford to run multiple message tracks and he’s undoubtedly targeting various voters on cable. Here’s a new positive ad called “Make a Difference”…
I’m JB Pritzker, and throughout my life I’ve tried to make a difference. In Illinois, I founded the world’s #1 small business incubator that’s created over 7,000 jobs. I led the effort to build a museum dedicated to fighting bigotry and hatred. And I’ve been a national leader in early childhood education, advocating for universal preschool and quality childcare. We’ve got a lot of challenges in Illinois, but I know we can get big things done.
It’s something you don’t hear much about, but across Illinois, businesses like this one have good paying jobs waiting to be filled, but struggle to find trained workers needed to fill them. We need to do more to help high school students get vocational training, technical training for transitioning workers at community colleges, and connect businesses to the workers they are looking for. I know we can create the jobs Illinois needs now.
What could Illinois get with a billion dollars? Buy 6,000 books for every public school in the state, begin to fix our roads and bridges, or provide Meals on Wheels to 375,000 seniors. But what did Bruce Rauner get for a billion dollars? Nothing. That’s right, Rauner wasted a billion dollars and got nothing for it, because that’s how much Rauner lost on interest penalties by refusing to pass a budget. Bruce Rauner, four years of failure is enough.
Great ad for the small minority of Illinois voters who pin the budget crisis on the Governor exclusively and not the co equal legislature
We could have saved 1 billion a year for the past three years if Senator Cullerton’s bipartisan pension bill was passed but he Speaker torpedoed that.
Crickets from JB about fixing the reason for the budget cirisis
- I Miss Bentohs - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:13 am:
The billion dollar ad was a hit with my wife and with me so I must rate as an A because we never agree on anything in politics.
She pointed out how Rauner could care about children instead of having a selfish ego.
I pointed out he could have saved us money instead of playing failed politics.
Have seen the jobs ad and the nothing ad. Both are good but the nothing spot is much better in that it hits right on target as to why even Republicans should reject Rauner.
I’ve started to see the negative over the past few days on WGN. I think it is one of Pritzker’s better ads to date.
It’s part of the failure theme but shows that Rauner’s failure ending up wasting a lot of taxpayers’ money. How much more could have gone to CPS if they had passed the budget? I’m betting way more than had Pritzker not ripped out his toilets.
The Billion dollars ad is solid. B+, Would have rated higher but the examples of what could have been bought could have been better and shorter. Wasting a billion is a lot better than any Trump issue, or toilets for that matter. Didn’t CapFax tell the Pritzger team to use these real failures months ago?
The negative ad might be the best one I’ve seen yet from JB. One other thing, the media can’t attack it for being mostly false, it’s an accurate ad. Rauner created a budget crisis which lasted over 2 years. Rauner’s explanation was that he intended on using the crisis he created as leverage to get some of his agenda passed. He ended up not getting any of his agenda passed but he did create a huge stack of bills and a billion dollars of incurred interest on those bills. He really did waste a ton of money for no good reason.
The jobs at 1871 is in total contrast to Rauner the hedge funder, raider… and it helps define Pritzker and who he is.
Where the Pritzker Crew is letting him down in the messaging is not letting Pritzker just make a case on his own.
Arguably, the best ad in the primary was JB talking about his mom. I can’t think of a better ad. Pritzker was allowing himself to be seen, and be himself, and be likable and relatable, and look like someone wanting to help others.
In this same type of thought, this is the Pritzker wheelhouse, because Rauner is unlikable. This ad plays somewhat off that, and someone who has shown he can get things done.
- Dance Band on the Titanic - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:29 am:
Saw the billion dollar ad last night. Both my wife and I found the messaging about what the money could have gone for to be very effective.
Outside of giving a very small portion of his vast inheritance to different groups, did JB actually DO anything to help the groups? Any hands on experience?
===Great ad for the small minority of Illinois voters who pin the budget crisis on the Governor exclusively and not the co equal legislature===
You keep forgetting…
66 of 67 failed veto overrides…
… Ken Dunkin… Franks and Drury…
Rauner purposely made sure this state for an entire General Assembly could not have a budget.
Rauner felt it was more important to have a budget stalemate because Rauner wanted reforms… and getting 60 and 30… like ANY governor… is how policy and legislation gets passed
LP wrong on all points as usual. Clearly by the responses already, many people blame Rauner exclusively or primarily. I do. Similarly, Cullerton’s plan will save very little because it helps almost no pensioner and most are wise steer clear. And there is no real solution for the pensions other than pay Tier 1 while Tier 2 takes effect. 0 for 3.
You can draw a straight line between “what did Bruce Rauner get for $1B” and his 26% approval rating. Anytime you can make that clear connection it’s effective. Have to give it an “A”.
I’ve started seeing the negative spot on WGN the past few days. I think it is one of Pritzker’s best ads to date.
It continues the failure theme, but shows that Rauner’s failure wasted a lot of taxpayers’ money. How many more dollars could have gone to CPS had Rauner signed a budget? I’m guessing a whole lot more than had Pritzker not ripped out his toilets.
I would give it an A.
- I Miss Bentohs - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:43 am:
“Worse than Blagojevich.”
Can I assume this is a (bad) joke?
(Sorry as I do know you are a regular on this site but I am not sure if this is snark or if you are one of the crazies)
=====Great ad for the small minority of Illinois voters who pin the budget crisis on the Governor exclusively and not the co equal legislature===
You keep forgetting…
66 of 67 failed veto overrides…==
That statement also presupposes that Illinois voters regularly place the same level of blame on members of a general assembly come election time as they do a governor. They never have before - the buck always stops with the chief executive. See “Pat Quinn failed”
“Outside of giving a very small portion of his vast inheritance to different groups, did JB actually DO anything to help the groups? Any hands on experience?”
I going to say that these groups are more than happy to get a portion of his money and do the good work they are set up to do without JB providing “hands on experience”. Seems like the right division of labor to me.
Tried to post a comment before but I think it got eaten by a bad connection. Anyway, the attack is everything Pritzker’s attacks should have been and haven’t been. Hard-hitting, concise and to the point.
It’s great. What’s so great about it… it’s Illinois centric to where Pritzker can show where and why he stands with trades and with blue collar conservatives concerned about what a billionaire from “Chicago” means to voters who work with their hands, and those students and parents looking for leadership in helping trades and those looking for training can meet.
When this Crew keeps their eye on the Illinois ball and work with where Rauner is a failure to Illinois, it makes hay. This is in that sweet spot.
===Outside of giving a very small portion of his vast inheritance to different groups, did JB actually DO anything to help the groups?===
Do yourself a solid, ask The Ounce or Diana Rauner about that. They both seemed to appreciate that $5 million the Pritzker family trusts gave… when Bruce was refusing to pay social services.
While the “nothing” ad will be effective it is inaccurate. The governor does not pass a budget. The GA does. The governor signs a budget. It is the GA’s job to pass a budget.
To the post, I’ve seen the two positives as well as the Champaign ad here downstate. Haven’t seen the new one yet.
I think all of the ads as a whole represent a good strategy this early. Instead of running the same two commercials over and over and over, forcing voters to tune out the moment it starts- mix it up with several different positive ads along with a couple of different negative ads. Pritzker has more than enough money to continue this until the home stretch when you want to hammer home the message.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:56 am:
The “Make a Difference” ad is Rauner’s unedited Blago opus. I started watching it and noticed the fake robo-voice narrator that was the same voice on my old CD player cleaning disc. Clicking the link gets us to the Pritzker ad.
The ads are nice. Give people reasons to vote, with the positive spots. Pritzker is a job creator (couldn’t resist). I’d like to see an ad in which Rauner could not name one job he created.
The negative spot is the right stuff, beginning to put Rauner’s fiscal damage in perspective. The tripling of the bill backlog, stiffing providers and doubling the deficit will hopefully be included in a future ad.
The hit ad is one of JB’s best so far. It focuses on the state’s abysmal finances which I believe is a key consideration and shared concern for most sentient Illinois voters. So that’s good. I give it a B.
None of JB’s ads that I have seen however, (positive or negative) have come close to addressing any material ways in which JB believes he has the actual answers and ability to attack and start to fix this sorry state’s financial problems. I think voters are hoping to hear something much more concrete from him and this is why there are apparently still so very many undecided voters.
=The governor signs a budget. It is the GA’s job to pass a budget.=
And it’s the governor’s job to get the votes (D’s and R’s) to pass that budget. If you don’t believe me ask Christine Radogno.
And at no point in time did I hear the GA saying that the pain of not having a budget was worth the long term benefits. That’s entirely on the governor.
When the Pritzker Crew decides to focus on what it needs to do to win in messaging, you get an ad like this that allows them to seemingly engaged in what’s at play… Bruce Rauber failed.
Where am I going with this?
You look at the attack ad which is now discredited and phony, even with the doubling down. You look at this ad. What do you see?
You see sheer laziness and a lacking of knowing what people of Illinois know. Rauner has hurt Illinois. Purposely. You make an attack ad ignoring the obvious in July, you are doing it wrong.
In this ad, it’s a perfect play to what voters know, or need to know, and seem to accept that Rauner has failed.
In baseball parlance, the immigration ad is like making the first out in an inning at 3rd, a cardinal sin. This ad is like a lead off hitter getting on first, stealing second, being sacrificed over to third, and scoring on a sac fly, manufacturing a run with solid fundamentals, using and maximizing advantages and controlling their own offense.
It’s negative ads like these, thru October’s first week tyst will make the hay to messaging.
See me that first week of October if you want to gin up phony national talking points.
Bruce Rauner failed. Rauner is underwater, “everywhere”, and is both the most vulnerable and worst Republican governor in America. “Stay here”, for now. Show the talent to stay here and give no quarter, no aid, no comfort.
It’s a “B+”… stay here, be talented to the baseball in front of you.
The problem JB has on the economy and jobs is he is all in on the Madigan way which is a tax and spend policy that we have sufficiently established is bad for jobs and the economy.
Patroit - got it all dems are tax and spenders. Bruce just signed a budget with the tax increase and he is going to spend every penny of it. He must be a Madigan lackey as well.
The problem both sides have is the State’s expenses exceed the revenues. If the State can’t cut expenses, then higher revenue (taxes) is needed. That’s math.
Pritzker is more or less honest about it with his support of a graduated income tax.
Since taxes can’t really be cut, about all the candidates can propose for job growth is some targeted intervention, less red tape and regulation.
What has JB or the Democrats proposed to lessen regulation and red tape and reform our legal and workers com environment?
Nothing because the power base of the Democratic party is trial lawyers and unions.
Democrats are hostile to businesses with high property taxes, higher minimum wages and regulations and our higher unemployment and record outmigration is the end result for a lot of middle class families
As to the billion dollar ad, I give it a B. I thought it would have been better to point out explicitly to the viewer that Rauner wasted a billion dollars of YOUR money.
JB finally! All the ads were great. The positive spots are fantastic, the negative is demonstrably true, and I’m with Willy. Bring back the Mom spot, send the CCS one to the trash. These three are solid hits. Now the bases are loaded…Time for the first grand slam to break the game wide open and send Rauner (and team Koch Brothers) to the showers. Rinse and repeat. It’s always darkest before the dawn, and I see the sun arisen.
JB is finally in the game. All the ads were great. The positive spots are fantastic, the negative is demonstrably true, and I’m with Willy. Bring back the Mom spot, send the CCS one to the trash. These three are solid hits. Now the bases are loaded…Time for the first grand slam to break the game wide open and send Rauner (and team Koch Brothers) to the showers. Rinse and repeat. It’s always darkest before the dawn, and I see the sun arisen.
The next candidate that gets elected on the promise of raising taxes will be the first. Rauner and Pritzker both know this. Quinn made a feeble attempt at this by saying we shouldn’t roll back the “temporary” tax increase and lost.
There’s simply no way to cut our way out of this and anyone suggesting otherwise is lying. Rauner’s downfall was that his plan wasn’t as much about helping the economy as it was taking away worker protections. None of that should come as a surprise. There was nothing in his history to suggest that he was a “job creator.” His calling card was acquiring distressed assets and busting them out. He had the same vision for Illinois.
The attack ad is very strong as I see it, and as others are observing, will resonate in living rooms and kitchens all over the State. My only quibble, like a couple other folks, is with the examples of what we could have done with the money. I would have had a tax relief or a higher ed example. Very solid B+.
== The next candidate that gets elected on the promise of raising taxes will be the first. ==
Ah, but the graduated income tax will be sold as a cut for most people while soaking the rich to make up the difference. Depending on how you define rich, it could happen that way.
Regardless, it will play on class divisions and that could work this year.
It’s interesting how passive the language about the money is - where it comes from. It’s obviously taxpayer dollars wasted, so my instinct would have been to say “your” or “our” money. But I bet they tested it, and people didn’t like thinking about paying that much in taxes. The ad is good though; I’d go B+.
- The Most Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 2:10 pm:
A+ on the “Make a Difference” ad. Love it. Pritzker is showing us that he won’t let Rauner explain to voters “who JB is” and “what JB’s done” and he’s recalibrating the intro to general election voters. Informative and focused.
Jibba a lot of Capital Fax commenters blame Rauner exclusively for the budget impasse, that is the point.
Somehow they let the Speaker and the Democrats off the hook for leaving town after failing to reconcile the House and Senate budgets that did not solve Illinois problems and were billions in the red.
As mentioned above, JB has no solutions for the budget crisis and does not acknowledge high taxes are the primary reason we lead the nation in out migration
JB and Democrats are pretending passing the graduated income tax is a lead pipe cinch that is the only thing we need to fix Illinois while ignoring the fact it failed by 10 votes a few months back
===Capital Fax commenters blame Rauner exclusively for the budget impasse, that is the point.===
“Pat Quinn failed”
Governors own. Ask Candidate Rauner.
===Somehow they let the Speaker and the Democrats off the hook for leaving town after failing to reconcile the House and Senate budgets that did not solve Illinois problems and were billions in the red.===
… and yet, it was the Brave 15, the Perfect 10, that made a bipartisan override possible.
===…high taxes are the primary reason we lead the nation in out migration===
You should be blaming Bruce Rauner.
With the stroke of his own pen, Bruce Rauner certified and verified that the massive 32% tax increase was needed and required. Rauner made that 32% tax increase something he too is now responsible for with his signed balanced budget.
=Jibba a lot of Capital Fax commenters blame Rauner exclusively for the budget impasse, that is the point.=
You conveniently forget statements like “crisis creates leverage” and Sandack telling us that forgoing a budget was necessary. There was also the matter of sabotaging the grand bargain that you selectively overlook.
Before you criticize JB for having no solutions to the “budget crisis” perhaps you might want to reflect a bit more on who created it. Although I will agree with the larger point you seem to be conceding. It will be dependent on Pritzker to clean up Rauner’s mess. It remains to be seen if the progressive tax will be the answer but we certainly know that the status quo of the last 4 years doesn’t work. That is unless you’re suggesting that Bruce Rauner actually did get something for the $1B he caused us to spend.
The ads about waste and mismanagement are overdue. People may have been getting tired being told to take care of the needy and most vulnerable in ad after ad. This ad covers both the waste and mismanagement and the opportunity costs that came with such mismanagement. I’m guessing most folks don’t want to turn thier backs on the needy and most vulnerable, but they understand that you can’t squander away billions of dollars without hurting the state’s ability to take care of the needy.
,,Jibba a lot of Capital Fax commenters blame Rauner exclusively for the budget impasse, that is the point,,,
Actually, LP, your point was that only a “small minority” blame Rauner exclusively, and you have been presented with lots of reasons to the contrary, especially “governors own,” straight from Rauner’s playbook of 2014. And of the two gubernatorial candidates, only one had any part whatsoever in the mess, despite dishonest attempts to somehow impugn Pritzker. Therefore, I suspect many undecideds might want to give someone else a chance, rather than keep Rauner, even if you try to blame the Dems, who could not stop the Rauner-induced economic meltdown by themselves.
Willy’s answer to my question on what has JB actually DONE other than open his checkbook was woefully off base. When you inherit billions you can walk around, smoking a cigar, and write a few checks. Does not point to one bit of compentency or leadership capabilities.
But similar to Rauner vs Quinn in 2014, would you rather continue with a known failure or try someone new, even if that person is untested? In a blue state, Quinn lost to an unknown political neophyte due to his bumbling, even if it was a squeaker. That political calculus will likely be present in 2018 as well, so braying about Pritzker’s lack of qualifications has an easy answer…Rauner failed and needs to go.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:11 am:
I’ve seen both the positive ones on cable. They hit the right notes.
Haven’t seen the negative one yet. But I don’t watch a lot of TV.
- Lucky Pierre - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:12 am:
Great ad for the small minority of Illinois voters who pin the budget crisis on the Governor exclusively and not the co equal legislature
We could have saved 1 billion a year for the past three years if Senator Cullerton’s bipartisan pension bill was passed but he Speaker torpedoed that.
Crickets from JB about fixing the reason for the budget cirisis
- I Miss Bentohs - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:13 am:
The billion dollar ad was a hit with my wife and with me so I must rate as an A because we never agree on anything in politics.
She pointed out how Rauner could care about children instead of having a selfish ego.
I pointed out he could have saved us money instead of playing failed politics.
- SOIL M - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:14 am:
Have seen the jobs ad and the nothing ad. Both are good but the nothing spot is much better in that it hits right on target as to why even Republicans should reject Rauner.
- CLB - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:14 am:
The negative ad is effective. What did republican voters get for a two year impasse? Billions of dollars of debt.
- Roman - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:15 am:
The negative ad is JB’s best hit piece yet. Simple and to the point. “Rauner failed.”
Though, I would have added a billion dollars could have equaled a $150 tax rebate for every household in Illinois (or whatever the math works out to.)
- BlueDogDem - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:19 am:
The ad. A+. Why? Because it’s true.
- DRH - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:21 am:
I’ve started to see the negative over the past few days on WGN. I think it is one of Pritzker’s better ads to date.
It’s part of the failure theme but shows that Rauner’s failure ending up wasting a lot of taxpayers’ money. How much more could have gone to CPS if they had passed the budget? I’m betting way more than had Pritzker not ripped out his toilets.
I’d give it an A.
- Langhorne - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:21 am:
A. For the billion dollar nothing ad. Easy to understand.
Whats rauners rebuttal? Madigan, of course. And, it woulda been worth it, if we got right to work?
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:23 am:
Good stuff.
Voters need to be reminded that deliberately sabotaging government isn’t governing, isn’t smart and isn’t what conservative Republicans do.
Rauner wrecked whatever was left of ILGOP governing credibility, just for his own personal political gain.
Worse than Blagojevich.
- BIR R. PH - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:23 am:
I saw the ad and thought it effective. But I agree that different analogies would have been better.
- Jibba - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:25 am:
The Billion dollars ad is solid. B+, Would have rated higher but the examples of what could have been bought could have been better and shorter. Wasting a billion is a lot better than any Trump issue, or toilets for that matter. Didn’t CapFax tell the Pritzger team to use these real failures months ago?
- The Dude Abides - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:27 am:
The negative ad might be the best one I’ve seen yet from JB. One other thing, the media can’t attack it for being mostly false, it’s an accurate ad. Rauner created a budget crisis which lasted over 2 years. Rauner’s explanation was that he intended on using the crisis he created as leverage to get some of his agenda passed. He ended up not getting any of his agenda passed but he did create a huge stack of bills and a billion dollars of incurred interest on those bills. He really did waste a ton of money for no good reason.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:28 am:
Lots to unpack… to the top ad…
This is where they need to be.
The jobs at 1871 is in total contrast to Rauner the hedge funder, raider… and it helps define Pritzker and who he is.
Where the Pritzker Crew is letting him down in the messaging is not letting Pritzker just make a case on his own.
Arguably, the best ad in the primary was JB talking about his mom. I can’t think of a better ad. Pritzker was allowing himself to be seen, and be himself, and be likable and relatable, and look like someone wanting to help others.
In this same type of thought, this is the Pritzker wheelhouse, because Rauner is unlikable. This ad plays somewhat off that, and someone who has shown he can get things done.
- Dance Band on the Titanic - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:29 am:
Saw the billion dollar ad last night. Both my wife and I found the messaging about what the money could have gone for to be very effective.
- ugh - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:30 am:
$1,000,0000,000 equals ~4,400 of JB’s property tax cuts due to toilets
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:30 am:
Outside of giving a very small portion of his vast inheritance to different groups, did JB actually DO anything to help the groups? Any hands on experience?
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:34 am:
===Great ad for the small minority of Illinois voters who pin the budget crisis on the Governor exclusively and not the co equal legislature===
You keep forgetting…
66 of 67 failed veto overrides…
… Ken Dunkin… Franks and Drury…
Rauner purposely made sure this state for an entire General Assembly could not have a budget.
Rauner felt it was more important to have a budget stalemate because Rauner wanted reforms… and getting 60 and 30… like ANY governor… is how policy and legislation gets passed
Rauner chose to peel 3, than get 60.
That’s who Rauner is.
- Jibba - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:35 am:
LP wrong on all points as usual. Clearly by the responses already, many people blame Rauner exclusively or primarily. I do. Similarly, Cullerton’s plan will save very little because it helps almost no pensioner and most are wise steer clear. And there is no real solution for the pensions other than pay Tier 1 while Tier 2 takes effect. 0 for 3.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:36 am:
You can draw a straight line between “what did Bruce Rauner get for $1B” and his 26% approval rating. Anytime you can make that clear connection it’s effective. Have to give it an “A”.
- DRH - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:37 am:
I’ve started seeing the negative spot on WGN the past few days. I think it is one of Pritzker’s best ads to date.
It continues the failure theme, but shows that Rauner’s failure wasted a lot of taxpayers’ money. How many more dollars could have gone to CPS had Rauner signed a budget? I’m guessing a whole lot more than had Pritzker not ripped out his toilets.
I would give it an A.
- I Miss Bentohs - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:43 am:
“Worse than Blagojevich.”
Can I assume this is a (bad) joke?
(Sorry as I do know you are a regular on this site but I am not sure if this is snark or if you are one of the crazies)
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:43 am:
=====Great ad for the small minority of Illinois voters who pin the budget crisis on the Governor exclusively and not the co equal legislature===
You keep forgetting…
66 of 67 failed veto overrides…==
That statement also presupposes that Illinois voters regularly place the same level of blame on members of a general assembly come election time as they do a governor. They never have before - the buck always stops with the chief executive. See “Pat Quinn failed”
- Montrose - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:45 am:
“Outside of giving a very small portion of his vast inheritance to different groups, did JB actually DO anything to help the groups? Any hands on experience?”
I going to say that these groups are more than happy to get a portion of his money and do the good work they are set up to do without JB providing “hands on experience”. Seems like the right division of labor to me.
- Nacho - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:46 am:
Tried to post a comment before but I think it got eaten by a bad connection. Anyway, the attack is everything Pritzker’s attacks should have been and haven’t been. Hard-hitting, concise and to the point.
I give it an A.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:49 am:
To the trades ad,
It’s great. What’s so great about it… it’s Illinois centric to where Pritzker can show where and why he stands with trades and with blue collar conservatives concerned about what a billionaire from “Chicago” means to voters who work with their hands, and those students and parents looking for leadership in helping trades and those looking for training can meet.
When this Crew keeps their eye on the Illinois ball and work with where Rauner is a failure to Illinois, it makes hay. This is in that sweet spot.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:51 am:
===Outside of giving a very small portion of his vast inheritance to different groups, did JB actually DO anything to help the groups?===
Do yourself a solid, ask The Ounce or Diana Rauner about that. They both seemed to appreciate that $5 million the Pritzker family trusts gave… when Bruce was refusing to pay social services.
Let us all know how The Ounce responds.
- Stan - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:51 am:
While the “nothing” ad will be effective it is inaccurate. The governor does not pass a budget. The GA does. The governor signs a budget. It is the GA’s job to pass a budget.
- Lester Holt’s Mustache - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:52 am:
To the post, I’ve seen the two positives as well as the Champaign ad here downstate. Haven’t seen the new one yet.
I think all of the ads as a whole represent a good strategy this early. Instead of running the same two commercials over and over and over, forcing voters to tune out the moment it starts- mix it up with several different positive ads along with a couple of different negative ads. Pritzker has more than enough money to continue this until the home stretch when you want to hammer home the message.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 11:56 am:
The “Make a Difference” ad is Rauner’s unedited Blago opus. I started watching it and noticed the fake robo-voice narrator that was the same voice on my old CD player cleaning disc. Clicking the link gets us to the Pritzker ad.
The ads are nice. Give people reasons to vote, with the positive spots. Pritzker is a job creator (couldn’t resist). I’d like to see an ad in which Rauner could not name one job he created.
The negative spot is the right stuff, beginning to put Rauner’s fiscal damage in perspective. The tripling of the bill backlog, stiffing providers and doubling the deficit will hopefully be included in a future ad.
Great job.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 12:01 pm:
1) They heavily workshopped that “What could we do with $1 billion?” message on social media, digital advertising, etc.
2) That jobs ad was a hit in my in-laws house this weekend, but I’ve got a bro-in-lo struggling to find meaningful work, so it hit home.
- Responsa - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 12:03 pm:
The hit ad is one of JB’s best so far. It focuses on the state’s abysmal finances which I believe is a key consideration and shared concern for most sentient Illinois voters. So that’s good. I give it a B.
None of JB’s ads that I have seen however, (positive or negative) have come close to addressing any material ways in which JB believes he has the actual answers and ability to attack and start to fix this sorry state’s financial problems. I think voters are hoping to hear something much more concrete from him and this is why there are apparently still so very many undecided voters.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 12:11 pm:
=The governor signs a budget. It is the GA’s job to pass a budget.=
And it’s the governor’s job to get the votes (D’s and R’s) to pass that budget. If you don’t believe me ask Christine Radogno.
And at no point in time did I hear the GA saying that the pain of not having a budget was worth the long term benefits. That’s entirely on the governor.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 12:33 pm:
To the attack ad,
When the Pritzker Crew decides to focus on what it needs to do to win in messaging, you get an ad like this that allows them to seemingly engaged in what’s at play… Bruce Rauber failed.
Where am I going with this?
You look at the attack ad which is now discredited and phony, even with the doubling down. You look at this ad. What do you see?
You see sheer laziness and a lacking of knowing what people of Illinois know. Rauner has hurt Illinois. Purposely. You make an attack ad ignoring the obvious in July, you are doing it wrong.
In this ad, it’s a perfect play to what voters know, or need to know, and seem to accept that Rauner has failed.
In baseball parlance, the immigration ad is like making the first out in an inning at 3rd, a cardinal sin. This ad is like a lead off hitter getting on first, stealing second, being sacrificed over to third, and scoring on a sac fly, manufacturing a run with solid fundamentals, using and maximizing advantages and controlling their own offense.
It’s negative ads like these, thru October’s first week tyst will make the hay to messaging.
See me that first week of October if you want to gin up phony national talking points.
Bruce Rauner failed. Rauner is underwater, “everywhere”, and is both the most vulnerable and worst Republican governor in America. “Stay here”, for now. Show the talent to stay here and give no quarter, no aid, no comfort.
It’s a “B+”… stay here, be talented to the baseball in front of you.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 12:43 pm:
==Great ad for the small minority of Illinois voters who pin the budget crisis on the Governor exclusively and not the co equal legislature==
Is that minority bigger or small than the minority of people who approve of Bruce Rauner’s job?
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 12:44 pm:
Good stuff all around from JB
- the Patriot - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 12:45 pm:
The problem JB has on the economy and jobs is he is all in on the Madigan way which is a tax and spend policy that we have sufficiently established is bad for jobs and the economy.
Saying Rauner Bad-ok
Saying Rauner incompent-ok
Saying JB better than Rauner, leaning likely.
But saying you are going to help the economy when 40 years of Madigan tells us otherwise is foolishness.
- Ike - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 12:59 pm:
Patroit - got it all dems are tax and spenders. Bruce just signed a budget with the tax increase and he is going to spend every penny of it. He must be a Madigan lackey as well.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:01 pm:
The problem both sides have is the State’s expenses exceed the revenues. If the State can’t cut expenses, then higher revenue (taxes) is needed. That’s math.
Pritzker is more or less honest about it with his support of a graduated income tax.
Since taxes can’t really be cut, about all the candidates can propose for job growth is some targeted intervention, less red tape and regulation.
- Lucky Pierre - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:09 pm:
What has JB or the Democrats proposed to lessen regulation and red tape and reform our legal and workers com environment?
Nothing because the power base of the Democratic party is trial lawyers and unions.
Democrats are hostile to businesses with high property taxes, higher minimum wages and regulations and our higher unemployment and record outmigration is the end result for a lot of middle class families
- Original Rambler - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:14 pm:
As to the billion dollar ad, I give it a B. I thought it would have been better to point out explicitly to the viewer that Rauner wasted a billion dollars of YOUR money.
- BlueDogDem - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:15 pm:
RNUG. I haven’t seen enough of Pritzkers progressive tax plan to actually determine if it raises revenue. Where can i find details?
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:16 pm:
JB finally! All the ads were great. The positive spots are fantastic, the negative is demonstrably true, and I’m with Willy. Bring back the Mom spot, send the CCS one to the trash. These three are solid hits. Now the bases are loaded…Time for the first grand slam to break the game wide open and send Rauner (and team Koch Brothers) to the showers. Rinse and repeat. It’s always darkest before the dawn, and I see the sun arisen.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:17 pm:
JB is finally in the game. All the ads were great. The positive spots are fantastic, the negative is demonstrably true, and I’m with Willy. Bring back the Mom spot, send the CCS one to the trash. These three are solid hits. Now the bases are loaded…Time for the first grand slam to break the game wide open and send Rauner (and team Koch Brothers) to the showers. Rinse and repeat. It’s always darkest before the dawn, and I see the sun arisen.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:20 pm:
The next candidate that gets elected on the promise of raising taxes will be the first. Rauner and Pritzker both know this. Quinn made a feeble attempt at this by saying we shouldn’t roll back the “temporary” tax increase and lost.
There’s simply no way to cut our way out of this and anyone suggesting otherwise is lying. Rauner’s downfall was that his plan wasn’t as much about helping the economy as it was taking away worker protections. None of that should come as a surprise. There was nothing in his history to suggest that he was a “job creator.” His calling card was acquiring distressed assets and busting them out. He had the same vision for Illinois.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:24 pm:
-bkuedogdem-,
He’s stayed away from getting very specific so far, which is a politically smart move.
Using the past practice from when the income tax was implemented, I’m assuming the GA will pad it some compared to current revenues.
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:32 pm:
The attack ad is very strong as I see it, and as others are observing, will resonate in living rooms and kitchens all over the State. My only quibble, like a couple other folks, is with the examples of what we could have done with the money. I would have had a tax relief or a higher ed example. Very solid B+.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:33 pm:
== The next candidate that gets elected on the promise of raising taxes will be the first. ==
Ah, but the graduated income tax will be sold as a cut for most people while soaking the rich to make up the difference. Depending on how you define rich, it could happen that way.
Regardless, it will play on class divisions and that could work this year.
- lakeside - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 1:42 pm:
It’s interesting how passive the language about the money is - where it comes from. It’s obviously taxpayer dollars wasted, so my instinct would have been to say “your” or “our” money. But I bet they tested it, and people didn’t like thinking about paying that much in taxes. The ad is good though; I’d go B+.
- The Most Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 2:10 pm:
A+ on the “Make a Difference” ad. Love it. Pritzker is showing us that he won’t let Rauner explain to voters “who JB is” and “what JB’s done” and he’s recalibrating the intro to general election voters. Informative and focused.
- Lucky Pierre - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 2:59 pm:
Jibba a lot of Capital Fax commenters blame Rauner exclusively for the budget impasse, that is the point.
Somehow they let the Speaker and the Democrats off the hook for leaving town after failing to reconcile the House and Senate budgets that did not solve Illinois problems and were billions in the red.
As mentioned above, JB has no solutions for the budget crisis and does not acknowledge high taxes are the primary reason we lead the nation in out migration
JB and Democrats are pretending passing the graduated income tax is a lead pipe cinch that is the only thing we need to fix Illinois while ignoring the fact it failed by 10 votes a few months back
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 3:15 pm:
==does not acknowledge high taxes are the primary reason we lead the nation in out migration==
I should hope that they don’t acknowledge things that aren’t true!
We cut taxes in 2015. There was no observable effect on outmigration.
That Democrats aren’t, so far, biting on your unsubstantiated hysteria is a sign in their favor.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 3:20 pm:
===Capital Fax commenters blame Rauner exclusively for the budget impasse, that is the point.===
“Pat Quinn failed”
Governors own. Ask Candidate Rauner.
===Somehow they let the Speaker and the Democrats off the hook for leaving town after failing to reconcile the House and Senate budgets that did not solve Illinois problems and were billions in the red.===
… and yet, it was the Brave 15, the Perfect 10, that made a bipartisan override possible.
===…high taxes are the primary reason we lead the nation in out migration===
You should be blaming Bruce Rauner.
With the stroke of his own pen, Bruce Rauner certified and verified that the massive 32% tax increase was needed and required. Rauner made that 32% tax increase something he too is now responsible for with his signed balanced budget.
- Not fair - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 3:25 pm:
Stop it JB. Bruce has been able to greatly out spend every opponent he has run against. It I totally unfair to Bruce that he can’t outspend you JB.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 3:26 pm:
=Jibba a lot of Capital Fax commenters blame Rauner exclusively for the budget impasse, that is the point.=
You conveniently forget statements like “crisis creates leverage” and Sandack telling us that forgoing a budget was necessary. There was also the matter of sabotaging the grand bargain that you selectively overlook.
Before you criticize JB for having no solutions to the “budget crisis” perhaps you might want to reflect a bit more on who created it. Although I will agree with the larger point you seem to be conceding. It will be dependent on Pritzker to clean up Rauner’s mess. It remains to be seen if the progressive tax will be the answer but we certainly know that the status quo of the last 4 years doesn’t work. That is unless you’re suggesting that Bruce Rauner actually did get something for the $1B he caused us to spend.
- Deadbeat Conservative - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 3:41 pm:
The ads about waste and mismanagement are overdue. People may have been getting tired being told to take care of the needy and most vulnerable in ad after ad. This ad covers both the waste and mismanagement and the opportunity costs that came with such mismanagement. I’m guessing most folks don’t want to turn thier backs on the needy and most vulnerable, but they understand that you can’t squander away billions of dollars without hurting the state’s ability to take care of the needy.
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 4:06 pm:
“JB has no solutions for the budget crisis” Ok then, show us how the TA will solve it.
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 4:07 pm:
“high taxes are the primary reason we lead the nation in out migration” Citation needed
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 4:29 pm:
,,Jibba a lot of Capital Fax commenters blame Rauner exclusively for the budget impasse, that is the point,,,
Actually, LP, your point was that only a “small minority” blame Rauner exclusively, and you have been presented with lots of reasons to the contrary, especially “governors own,” straight from Rauner’s playbook of 2014. And of the two gubernatorial candidates, only one had any part whatsoever in the mess, despite dishonest attempts to somehow impugn Pritzker. Therefore, I suspect many undecideds might want to give someone else a chance, rather than keep Rauner, even if you try to blame the Dems, who could not stop the Rauner-induced economic meltdown by themselves.
- Jibba - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 4:30 pm:
Anonymous 4:29 was me…
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 6:38 pm:
Willy’s answer to my question on what has JB actually DONE other than open his checkbook was woefully off base. When you inherit billions you can walk around, smoking a cigar, and write a few checks. Does not point to one bit of compentency or leadership capabilities.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 6:41 pm:
===…answer to my question on what has JB actually DONE other than open his checkbook was woefully off base.===
… but accurate.
The Rauners themselves boast of their millions they donated. Look back at 2014.
K? K.
- Jibba - Wednesday, Jul 18, 18 @ 7:12 pm:
Anonymous 6:38…
But similar to Rauner vs Quinn in 2014, would you rather continue with a known failure or try someone new, even if that person is untested? In a blue state, Quinn lost to an unknown political neophyte due to his bumbling, even if it was a squeaker. That political calculus will likely be present in 2018 as well, so braying about Pritzker’s lack of qualifications has an easy answer…Rauner failed and needs to go.