* The Fix is not the most credible pundit ranker, mainly because the author is a political journalist and not a “real” analyst. But it may be worth noting that the Halvorson vs. Ozinga congressional race has been moved down slighty from 6th most likely district to flip parties to 8th…
8. Illinois’s 11th (Open seat, R): The rocky road for state Sen. Debbie Halvorson (D) continues, as in recent week she has come under fire from some fellow Democrats — including Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. — for a bill she introduced that would give Will County officials operating control over a proposed airport south of Chicago. Democrats insist the fight is actually good news for Halvorson, since it shows voters in the sprawling 11th District that she is standing up for them and not caving to Chicago’s political power brokers. Maybe, but a public, internecine feud is almost never good for business. Republicans acknowledge that concrete magnate Martin Ozinga got a very late start but insist he is a surprisingly strong candidate. (Previous ranking: 6)
* The Republicans, meanwhile, have posted some raw audio of Halvorson reacting last year to Gov. Blagojevich’s gross receipts tax proposal…
…Adding… I should’ve been more clear with the setup to that video. Halvorson ended up voting for the GRT in Senate Executive Committee after Sen. Lou Viverito unexpectedly voted “No,” leaving her little choice.
It’s going to get ugly. Getting spin-free truth out of these camps will be downright exhausting.
So it was refreshing Wednesday to meet Jason Wallace, of Normal, the Green Party candidate in the 11th District. From Heritage Park in Crete - Halvorson’s hometown - Wallace met with reporters and made a few points worth repeating.
Oberweis said gas prices are the result of a supply problem that could be solved with increased offshore drilling in the U.S. and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also supports exploration of alternative energy sources like nuclear, coal and wind energy - but noted that the government shouldn’t continuously subsidize those energy industries.
At a similar appearance in Elgin last month, Democrat Foster said he was “mystified” at why fuel companies are reporting record profits at a time when crude oil is so high.
“I think the Democrats making that argument don’t understand how business works,” he said. “It’s the same as saying farmers receiving $7.50 for a bushel of corn and making a profit are doing something bad. I would expect farmers to have record profits when prices are high and lower profits when prices are low, and I would expect oil companies to have high profits when prices are high and low profits when prices are low.”
Except because of the high fuel prices and the floods, I doubt farmers will have “record” profits this year. This is not even close to an accurate comparison.
* Progress Illinois has been taking Congresscritter Mark Kirk to task. Here’s the latest…
Another day, another instance of Rep. Mark Kirk twisting the facts.
Last week, we noted his falsehoods about the uninsured population in America. Yesterday, we thoroughly debunked his bogus claim that the federal unemployment insurance benefit extension he voted against would lead people to cash in after two weeks of work.
Then, during an appearance on WLS’ Don Wade & Roma Morning Show today, Kirk falsely asserted that the Chinese are drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba.
