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Rasmussen: Kirk over Giannoulias 41-37, large majority concerned about violent react

Friday, Apr 9, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* No surprise here. Embattled Democratic US Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias is losing ground in the Rasmussen Reports poll. But Republican Mark Kirk is not gaining anything. Instead, voters appear to moving to undecided and “some other candidate.” That combined number has risen from 14 percent in February to 21 percent in the new poll. Here are the latest results, with two previous Rasmussen polls from March and February in parentheses…

Mark Kirk 41% (41%, 46%)
Alexi Giannoulias 37% (44%, 40%)
Some Other Candidate 8% (5%, 4%)
Not sure 13% (10%, 10%)

From the pollster…

Kirk holds a double-digit lead over his Democratic rival among male voters, but Giannoulias has a slight edge among women. Voters not affiliated with either party prefer the Republican by a four-to-one margin.

* Favorables…

Giannoulias is now viewed very favorably by just eight percent (8%) of Illinois voters and very unfavorably by 21%. This marks little change from last month.

Seventeen percent (17%) have a very favorable opinion of Kirk, while the identical number (17%) view him very unfavorably. Both findings are up from a month ago.

At this point in a campaign, Rasmussen Reports considers the number of people with strong opinions more significant than the total favorable/unfavorable numbers.

* Rasmussen actually has a slight majority for repeal of the new health care bill, with 51 percent favoring and 44 percent opposed. However, a plurality of 48 percent thinks the legislation will be “good for the country,” while 44 percent think it’ll be bad. 52 percent say they support requiring everyone to buy or obtain health insurance.

* Other questions…

When you think about the major issues facing the country, whose views are closest to your own President Barack Obama or the average tea party member?
50% President Barack Obama
38% The average Tea Party member
12% Not sure

How concerned are you that those opposed to President Obama’s policies will resort to violence?
27% Very concerned
29% Somewhat concerned
21% Not very concerned
20% Not at all concerned
3% Not sure

56 percent are concerned about violence? Fascinating.

…Adding… The more Republican you are, the less concerned about a violent reaction to Obama’s policies you may be, according to the crosstabs.

61 percent of Republicans were “Not very concerned” (33) or “Not at all concerned” (28) about the prospect of violence. Just 22 percent of Democrats weren’t concerned, while 65 percent of Dems were “Very concerned” (37) or “Somewhat concerned” (38) about violent reacts. 36 percent of Repubs were concerned.

* Related…

* ADDING: Preckwinkle’s campaign manager takes post with Cook Dems

* ADDING: Giannoulias Campaign Not Letting Kirk Off The Hook

* About 100 air frustrations with health care at Walsh forum: Walsh also has opposed the health care law and on Thursday repeated his promise to repeal the law if elected to the House. “It can be repealed,” he said. “It can be defunded.”

* No winners in America where citizens can’t talk to one another: Ultimately what’s troublesome here is the tone. One can certainly disagree with Hare on this or any issue; he’s a big boy who ought to be able to handle the heat. That said, we’ve known Hare for a few years now, he’s an amiable and well-intentioned sort, and he didn’t have this treatment coming. It’s quite a stretch to suggest this military veteran “doesn’t care” about the Constitution. Given his vote, nothing he could have said would have satisfied this crowd, which has every right to - and almost certainly will - express its displeasure with him at the ballot box. When Americans can’t talk to one another anymore, then it’s difficult to have a functioning democracy. Who would be surprised if Hare were far less eager to engage with such a group in the future?

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Feds want to force Quinlan to testify against Blagojevich

Thursday, Apr 8, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The US Attorney’s office filed a motion yesterday to force Rod Blagojevich’s former general counsel to testify at the upcoming trial. You can read the motion by clicking here. Bill Quinlan has refused to fully cooperate so far, citing concerns over attorney-client privilege…

Prosecutors said the discussions are relevant to the charges against Blagojevich and want the judge to decide if they are fair game for the trial. In a court filing Wednesday, the government cited a 2002 decision in which the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that the attorney-client privilege does not apply in conversations between a public official and a taxpayer-provided attorney, as Quinlan was at the time.

Prosecutors contend Blagojevich may already have waived the attorney-client privilege when he allowed the government’s trial team access to the undercover tapes last fall. Before that, a “filter team” in the U.S. attorney’s office had kept the recordings at arm’s length from the prosecution team that will put the former governor on trial beginning June 3.

A lawyer for Blagojevich, Sheldon Sorosky, maintained Wednesday that the former governor did not fully waive the privilege and said the defense will argue in court Friday that talks between Quinlan and Blagojevich should remain private.

Quinlan says he wants to cooperate, but can’t…

Quinlan’s attorney Jon King said the former counsel general is ready to cooperate with the government, but not until he gets a specific waiver of attorney-client privilege.

“Blagojevich’s counsel has told me repeatedly that there’s an applicable attorney-client issue here,” King said. He said Quinlan has no intention of hiding anything from the government but merely wants to make sure that he is in accord with fundamental legal ethics.

Quinlan was caught on federal wiretaps, including during a key conference call about the alleged selling of Barack Obama’s US Senate seat. A look back…

On Nov. 10, Blagojevich, his wife, Harris, the governor’s chief counsel William R. Quinlan and several Washington-based advisers conducted an extraordinary two-hour conference call.

Blagojevich conceded he probably wouldn’t get the HHS job or an ambassadorship because of so much negative publicity surrounding him.

Using several expletives, Blagojevich said he was reluctant to give Obama “his senator” without anything in return; he said he’d appoint a deputy governor before giving the job to Candidate 1. He also considered appointing himself to the job to avoid impeachment.

During the next 36 hours, the governor grew angry and suggested Obama’s camp was not interested in making a deal.

“They’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. (Expletive) them,” Blagojevich told Harris in an intercepted call Nov. 11.

For years, Quinlan helped Blagojevich build a brick wall around his administration. They denied FOIA after FOIA under the slimmest of pretenses. Eventually, some of those denials were overturned, including a raft of requests for copies of federal subpoenas. There ain’t much sympathy for Quinlan around here.

* In somewhat related news, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. said earlier this week he was “concerned” about what he wasn’t hearing from Gov. Pat Quinn and Democratic nominee for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle…

“I don’t see them speaking to the needs of taxpayers and fairness for taxpayers at all.”

The congressman made his criticisms during his endorsement of Forrest Claypool’s independent bid for assessor. Yesterday, he walked the comments back…

In a statement emailed from his government office, the congressman writes that he recognizes his “comments may have come across as being critical of the platform and message” of the Quinn and Preckwinkle campaigns. “Simply put,” Jackson writes. “I misspoke.”

The statement says both Democrats “have laid out visions and platforms that will restore the tax-payer’s trust in government, will root out corruption, and get our county and state governments working once again.” Jackson adds that he’s “stood alongside” Quinn and Preckwinkle his “entire career.”

Forget about the walk-back for a moment. Take notice, instead, that Jackson is once again using his federal government e-mail service to send out a campaign statement. You’d think he’d have learned a lesson by now, but nope.

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