* Sen. Bailey’s responses on the debate topic are here. Please pardon all transcription errors. What follows is not in order, but is grouped by topic. First up, party unity…
Q: Did you ask Jim Durkin for an endorsement?
A: Nope. I haven’t talked to Jim recently. […]
Q: Several of the leading Republicans, Dan Brady and Jim Durkin as well, when asked if they are supporting you, they’re deferring, saying ‘We’re supporting the ticket.’ Do you feel that you still have some work to do to really unify the party around you?
A: The Illinois Republican Party needs leadership. I’m bringing that leadership. We will unify the party. That doesn’t bother me one bit. I will support them. I love them all the same. So everything’s good. We’re going to take back Illinois. We’re going to fire JB Pritzker and we’re going to restore Illinois.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin was standing just a few feet away from Bailey for several minutes before Durkin spoke. So, he had ample opportunities. Here’s a clip of Durkin walking up to the stage and then another of him leaving after he finished his speech…
* Crime and Chicago…
Q: What’s your plan to address gun violence in the state? I know you’ve talked about a lot, but what is your concrete plan?
A: Well, it would be nice if we would start obeying and following the laws that we have. Illinois all ready has the most extensive gun laws in the nation. So when we don’t follow them, and we don’t obey them, then there’s certainly no need for more laws. […]
Q: Do you think most Chicagoans feel like they live in hell?
A: Pardon?
Q: Do you think most Chicagoans feel like they live in a hellhole?
A: Actually, I believe they do. Because it’s an unsafe. It’s going to change. Chicagoans deserve better. I call it out, friends. And you know that. You realize the first time that I made that statement on the debate stage, that very night, the homeless man, the Walking Man in the loop, he was set on fire. When’s the last time? When is the last time? When is the last time that Chicago experienced a night without a shooting? Do you know it’s been a while. It’s been a long time. And it’s time to restore sanity and common sense and integrity and safety on the streets. That’s what that’s all about.
Yeah, it would be great if people followed the laws. Many don’t. So, what’s the plan?
The hellhole question was likely prompted by what he said during his speech…
Q: Your spokesman said Pence did his job, Biden is the duly elected president. Now, what do you say? In your words.
A: The constitutional process was followed. And that’s exactly what happened. So President Biden is president because the constitutional process was followed. Other than that, I’m not a constitutional scholar. I trust in this constitutional republic and this free land in this document that we have, and it was followed.
Yeah. Major pivot.
* Capital construction projects…
Q: Senator just last week, Gov. Pritzker was Downstate and said if you get your plan to cancel or repeal his gas tax through, it would kill the capital bill, kill jobs, freeze construction projects Downstate on roads and bridges. Have you considered what that would do if you remove that funding from all of those projects that are already underway?
A: Have you considered the fact for the last six months that if the legislator would have met and we would have addressed just the sales tax? I think a lot of people in Illinois forget that gas is taxed twice. We have the price of gas, we have the gas tax, and then we have sales tax. I think the people of Illinois need to know that in the first half of 2022 that all of the gas tax was collected that was anticipated on being collected because the price of gasoline was doubled. So if we would have cut the price of the sales tax in half, then we would have saved Illinoisans 25 cents, and still the anticipated tax would have been collected. Our governor is not telling people the truth. Our governor is ripping people off. Our governor is pushing small business and the people out of the state and that’s got to change.
* His faith…
Q: how do you reach out to people with your faith based campaigning? How do you reach out to people or voters who don’t believe in Jesus Christ?
A: The same as I do all of my life. We get along with everyone, we’re seeking unity amongst the diversity here in Illinois, and I’m not pushing anything on anyone. I’m a devout Christian. I’m a conservative American. And I look to appeal to everyone.
Q: What if people are offended by what they view as proselytizing?
A: Now I don’t think that [reporters interrupt with their own questions]
* His Holocaust comments…
listen, the Holocaust is no doubt an atrocity beyond parallel. No doubt about it. I have issued a statement and if anyone out here hasn’t seen or received that statement, talk to my comms director, Joe DeBose. And we will get that statement to you again.
Trouble is, after he released the statement, he complained more than once that reporters had taken his remarks out of context.
If by “Conservative” Daryn means limited government. There is nothing “Conservative” about government regulation of a woman’s body. The only truly Conservative organization in this country that is consistently conservative is the ACLU.
=it would be nice if we would start obeying and following the laws that we have=
I guess some laws, and law enforcement agencies, are more important than others. Or it maybe it depends on who’s breaking the law?
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:57 pm:
–then we would have saved Illinoisans 25 cents–
This guy has a campaign staff he presumably pays money to, to come up with this stuff.
- 47th and Lake Park - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:02 pm:
Over/under on when he drops out? Someone has to put an end to this madness. It’s like watching someone having a bad dream about not studying for an exam. When will he/we wake up (not to say, get woke…)?
=== How do you reach out to people or voters who don’t believe in Jesus Christ? ===
Pritzker, despite being Jewish, never gets the reverse of that question. That’s because he regularly visits churches all over the state. Despite not being Christian, he’s willing to show up and show respect. The coverage after Bailey insulted Jewish history would have been much better if he had gone to a Shabbat service, listened, and apologized. Instead, he met privately with an unnamed rabbi.
When was the last time Bailey attended a non-Christian religious service? Has he ever?
Likely goes extreme with the campaign just for the attention, there is little else to accomplish here. He can’t shift center, can’t get a democratic vote in a state that is heavily democratic, he’s not even getting support from party leadership… so sadly, we are likely to see an extreme campaign for national attention and no cost coverage.
== We have the price of gas, we have the gas tax, and then we have sales tax. I think the people of Illinois need to know that in the first half of 2022 that all of the gas tax was collected that was anticipated on being collected because the price of gasoline was doubled. So if we would have cut the price of the sales tax in half, then we would have saved Illinoisans 25 cents, and still the anticipated tax would have been collected ==
What ? Can’t decide: nonsense or simply gobbledygook ?
“Well, it would be nice if we would start obeying and following the laws that we have. Illinois all ready has the most extensive gun laws in the nation. So when we don’t follow them, and we don’t obey them, then there’s certainly no need for more laws.”
This is a famous NRA talking point. With the election a little more than two months away, he can’t articulate even a basic plan when he harps on crime and violence?
The old “more cops on the street” notion is so tired it’s laughable.
===We get along with everyone, we’re seeking unity amongst the diversity here in Illinois, and I’m not pushing anything on anyone. ====
The answers are false, true (if that unity is to be Christian), and false. Personally insulting to me every time he piously inserts his beliefs into campaigning and governing.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:36 pm:
“The constitutional process was followed”
Can’t say Biden actually won and got more votes? That would be a terrible thing to say to today’s ILGOP base.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:37 pm:
“what’s the plan? commit a felony with a gun. 25 yrs no parole. fill thise prisons back up. and while your at it. reinstate the death penalty.”
Just yesterday you were here moaning about high taxes. I assume you found a ton of new revenue sources to pay for this expansion of the carceral state. Make sure you budget some extra hundreds of millions for all the BS workers’ comp claims you’re going to get from every single downstate prison guard after they’ve made it past the probationary period.
Does anyone know if there are other states with more restrictive gun laws? It seems like this is frequently asserted by some about Illinois but they don’t cite anything,
==fill thise prisons back up. and while your at it. reinstate the death penalty.==
As we all know as good students of history, this approach in the ’80s and ’90s ended crime forever, so I don’t even know what we’re arguing about here.
“The prison population is too low” is not a problem anywhere in this country unless you’re a prison contractor or the Kankakee County Sheriff, stuffing your jail with inmate transfers explicitly for revenue.
By no means am I a Bailey fan, but 5 minutes for reporters is 5 more minutes than what we would have had with Governor Elvis about 15 years ago. Before he slipped out to the restrooms.
=The coverage after Bailey insulted Jewish history would have been much better if he had gone to a Shabbat service, listened, and apologized. Instead, he met privately with an unnamed rabbi.=
Not to mention mother bailey’s attacks on our muslim citizens. They are a real UN these two.
A real candidate could give some articulate plan bailey can barely create a coherent sentence.
- Fivegreenleaves - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 6:57 pm:
I will be so glad when November 9th comes, Darren Bailey realizes he is not going to be governor, and goes back to his farm.
==You must’ve not been paying attention. He held a lot of pressers.==
Maybe early on but when everything began to become more unraveled (after the 2006 election) I start remembering the times he would flee to the john when reporters started asking questions.
Darren, how about instead of cutting the gasoline tax and sales tax on gasoline we let it function as it should and use the money to fix our crummy roads and apply to the higher prices that inflation is costing the state government. A lousy 25 cent per gallon savings on a trip to work wouldn’t be enough to buy a Mountain Dew. I would much rather have smooth highways to save my back and vehicle suspension than very small savings. That is why I didn’t support the suspension of the scheduled increase in the gas tax either.
But what? Bailey is a candidate. When Rod was a candidate he held pressers. Lots of them. So did JB. From literally his announcement scrum, he was always available. Bailey feels like he shouldn’t have to do that - he’s confused and thinks he’s still in the primary. He’s not. Time to put on the big boy pants, Darren.
==always available. Bailey feels like he shouldn’t have to do that==Darren’s thinking is why should I take questions I would rather not answer if I put so much effort into my Facebook page. All the press needs to do is look there. Oh, but don’t look back five or six years. That wouldn’t be fair.
==Darren, how about instead of cutting the gasoline tax and sales tax on gasoline we let it function as it should and use the money to fix our crummy roads and apply to the higher prices that inflation is costing the state government.==
Which is what should have happened as of July 1. Should have kept the scheduled gas tax increase and perhaps we could have had a hope of getting a few more Springfield-area roads fixed sooner (rather than later or not at all).
1) Chicago has a violence problem, fueled by (illegal) guns.
2) Bailey is a pro-gun candidate.
3) Bailey does not want more gun laws.
4) Bailey wants Chicago to have less of a violence problem?
5) Everyone just needs to follow the laws in place.
- MisterJayEm - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:43 pm:
Actually, he doesn’t believe they do.
– MrJM
- Steve Rogers - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:45 pm:
=it would be nice if we would start obeying and following the laws that we have=
So, his plan is “just comply.”
- Pundent - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:47 pm:
The amazing thing is that he got all of this in and in less than 5 minutes. And no, he didn’t help himself.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:49 pm:
===listen, the Holocaust is no doubt an atrocity beyond parallel. No doubt about it.===
I am listening, with a parallel to the Holocaust… you compared.
- MisterJayEm - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:51 pm:
“We get along with everyone”
Facebook alone provides ample evidence to the contrary.
– MrJM
- Jerry - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:53 pm:
If by “Conservative” Daryn means limited government. There is nothing “Conservative” about government regulation of a woman’s body. The only truly Conservative organization in this country that is consistently conservative is the ACLU.
- Pundent - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:54 pm:
=it would be nice if we would start obeying and following the laws that we have=
I guess some laws, and law enforcement agencies, are more important than others. Or it maybe it depends on who’s breaking the law?
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 3:57 pm:
–then we would have saved Illinoisans 25 cents–
This guy has a campaign staff he presumably pays money to, to come up with this stuff.
- 47th and Lake Park - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:02 pm:
Over/under on when he drops out? Someone has to put an end to this madness. It’s like watching someone having a bad dream about not studying for an exam. When will he/we wake up (not to say, get woke…)?
- vern - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:03 pm:
=== How do you reach out to people or voters who don’t believe in Jesus Christ? ===
Pritzker, despite being Jewish, never gets the reverse of that question. That’s because he regularly visits churches all over the state. Despite not being Christian, he’s willing to show up and show respect. The coverage after Bailey insulted Jewish history would have been much better if he had gone to a Shabbat service, listened, and apologized. Instead, he met privately with an unnamed rabbi.
When was the last time Bailey attended a non-Christian religious service? Has he ever?
- Lincoln Lad - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:04 pm:
Likely goes extreme with the campaign just for the attention, there is little else to accomplish here. He can’t shift center, can’t get a democratic vote in a state that is heavily democratic, he’s not even getting support from party leadership… so sadly, we are likely to see an extreme campaign for national attention and no cost coverage.
- sal-says - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:09 pm:
== We have the price of gas, we have the gas tax, and then we have sales tax. I think the people of Illinois need to know that in the first half of 2022 that all of the gas tax was collected that was anticipated on being collected because the price of gasoline was doubled. So if we would have cut the price of the sales tax in half, then we would have saved Illinoisans 25 cents, and still the anticipated tax would have been collected ==
What ? Can’t decide: nonsense or simply gobbledygook ?
- PublicServant - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:11 pm:
I am so looking forward to the Bailey trouncing that will occur come November.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:19 pm:
“Well, it would be nice if we would start obeying and following the laws that we have. Illinois all ready has the most extensive gun laws in the nation. So when we don’t follow them, and we don’t obey them, then there’s certainly no need for more laws.”
This is a famous NRA talking point. With the election a little more than two months away, he can’t articulate even a basic plan when he harps on crime and violence?
The old “more cops on the street” notion is so tired it’s laughable.
- Rudy’s teeth - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:20 pm:
Candidate Bailey talks, talks, and talks about crime but he offers no concrete solutions.
Step one, step two, step three to address the gun violence crisis…crickets.
- Blue Dog - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:26 pm:
what’s the plan? commit a felony with a gun. 25 yrs no parole. fill thise prisons back up. and while your at it. reinstate the death penalty.
- Jibba - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:26 pm:
===We get along with everyone, we’re seeking unity amongst the diversity here in Illinois, and I’m not pushing anything on anyone. ====
The answers are false, true (if that unity is to be Christian), and false. Personally insulting to me every time he piously inserts his beliefs into campaigning and governing.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:36 pm:
“The constitutional process was followed”
Can’t say Biden actually won and got more votes? That would be a terrible thing to say to today’s ILGOP base.
- Larry Bowa Jr. - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:37 pm:
“what’s the plan? commit a felony with a gun. 25 yrs no parole. fill thise prisons back up. and while your at it. reinstate the death penalty.”
Just yesterday you were here moaning about high taxes. I assume you found a ton of new revenue sources to pay for this expansion of the carceral state. Make sure you budget some extra hundreds of millions for all the BS workers’ comp claims you’re going to get from every single downstate prison guard after they’ve made it past the probationary period.
- Big Dipper - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 4:39 pm:
Following the Constitution is a good thing, so does that mean he approves of the result?
- Huh? - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 5:00 pm:
=it would be nice if we would start obeying and following the laws that we have=
The follow up question should have been “why didn’t you obey the governor’s executive orders regarding the covid pandemic?
- Big Dipper - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 5:41 pm:
Does anyone know if there are other states with more restrictive gun laws? It seems like this is frequently asserted by some about Illinois but they don’t cite anything,
- Roadrager - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 5:57 pm:
==fill thise prisons back up. and while your at it. reinstate the death penalty.==
As we all know as good students of history, this approach in the ’80s and ’90s ended crime forever, so I don’t even know what we’re arguing about here.
“The prison population is too low” is not a problem anywhere in this country unless you’re a prison contractor or the Kankakee County Sheriff, stuffing your jail with inmate transfers explicitly for revenue.
- Just Sayin - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 6:22 pm:
By no means am I a Bailey fan, but 5 minutes for reporters is 5 more minutes than what we would have had with Governor Elvis about 15 years ago. Before he slipped out to the restrooms.
- G'Kar - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 6:25 pm:
Every time Beetle says “friends” I just cringe and have flash backs to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8mhZdoC5qc
- JS Mill - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 6:44 pm:
=The coverage after Bailey insulted Jewish history would have been much better if he had gone to a Shabbat service, listened, and apologized. Instead, he met privately with an unnamed rabbi.=
Not to mention mother bailey’s attacks on our muslim citizens. They are a real UN these two.
A real candidate could give some articulate plan bailey can barely create a coherent sentence.
- Fivegreenleaves - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 6:57 pm:
I will be so glad when November 9th comes, Darren Bailey realizes he is not going to be governor, and goes back to his farm.
- Arsenal - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 7:02 pm:
== what’s the plan? commit a felony with a gun. 25 yrs no parole. fill thise prisons back up. and while your at it. reinstate the death penalty.==
Why are we writing Darren Bailey fanfics now?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 7:13 pm:
===5 more minutes than what we would have had with Governor Elvis===
You must’ve not been paying attention. He held a lot of pressers.
- Just Sayin - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 7:58 pm:
==You must’ve not been paying attention. He held a lot of pressers.==
Maybe early on but when everything began to become more unraveled (after the 2006 election) I start remembering the times he would flee to the john when reporters started asking questions.
- MoralMinority - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 8:28 pm:
Darren, how about instead of cutting the gasoline tax and sales tax on gasoline we let it function as it should and use the money to fix our crummy roads and apply to the higher prices that inflation is costing the state government. A lousy 25 cent per gallon savings on a trip to work wouldn’t be enough to buy a Mountain Dew. I would much rather have smooth highways to save my back and vehicle suspension than very small savings. That is why I didn’t support the suspension of the scheduled increase in the gas tax either.
- New Day - Thursday, Aug 18, 22 @ 9:36 pm:
“Maybe early on but…”
But what? Bailey is a candidate. When Rod was a candidate he held pressers. Lots of them. So did JB. From literally his announcement scrum, he was always available. Bailey feels like he shouldn’t have to do that - he’s confused and thinks he’s still in the primary. He’s not. Time to put on the big boy pants, Darren.
- MoralMinority - Friday, Aug 19, 22 @ 4:51 am:
==always available. Bailey feels like he shouldn’t have to do that==Darren’s thinking is why should I take questions I would rather not answer if I put so much effort into my Facebook page. All the press needs to do is look there. Oh, but don’t look back five or six years. That wouldn’t be fair.
- Just Sayin - Friday, Aug 19, 22 @ 7:56 am:
==Darren, how about instead of cutting the gasoline tax and sales tax on gasoline we let it function as it should and use the money to fix our crummy roads and apply to the higher prices that inflation is costing the state government.==
Which is what should have happened as of July 1. Should have kept the scheduled gas tax increase and perhaps we could have had a hope of getting a few more Springfield-area roads fixed sooner (rather than later or not at all).
- Elijah Snow - Friday, Aug 19, 22 @ 8:40 am:
1) Chicago has a violence problem, fueled by (illegal) guns.
2) Bailey is a pro-gun candidate.
3) Bailey does not want more gun laws.
4) Bailey wants Chicago to have less of a violence problem?
5) Everyone just needs to follow the laws in place.
That seems like weak sauce for a plan.