* Vice…
The Republican nominee for Illinois governor has held multiple events involving the gun store where the alleged Highland Park shooter acquired the semi-automatic rifle he allegedly used during a Fourth of July shooting spree.
Illinois GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey held a January event at Red Dot Arms, a gun store in Villa Park that’s about a 45-minute drive northwest of Highland Park. And in April, the company was involved in a gun raffle to benefit Bailey’s campaign. […]
Bailey’s campaign held a gun raffle campaign fundraiser in late April and posted footage of it online, but later deleted it. Red Dot Arms was listed as a partner for the event on a campaign flyer, along with two other gun stores. […]
One of the guns Bailey auctioned off at the event was an AR-15, which he described as “a beautiful rifle, certainly one that emulates freedom here in our country.”
* Also from the story…
“The shooter is still at large, so let’s pray for justice to prevail and then let’s move on and let’s celebrate the independence of this nation,” Bailey said immediately after the Highland Park shooting occurred on July 4.
Bailey quickly apologized for those remarks.
Along those lines, here’s Politico today…
And there was the Facebook comment after the July 4th mass shooting in Highland Park, in which he said, “Let’s move on and celebrate.” To his credit, Bailey pulled back on the comment, issuing a statement: “I apologize if in any way we diminished the pain being felt across our state today.”
As I told subscribers last week, the news media is getting into the unfortunate habit of merely quoting Bailey’s initial apologies. As we know all too well, he has walked back two of those apologies, saying, in the case of Highland Park that the media took his remarks out of context and claimed he explained all this to a Highland Park Democrat. They’re only telling part of the story.
* WGN reporter…
* From Bradley’s story…
Trussell has used Facebook posts to mock Planned Parenthood.
“President Obama became the first sitting president ever to address Klanned Parenthood,” she posted. […]
Trussell is sharply critical of politicians that back the “gay agenda.”
“Since Bill Clinton was called the first black president can we call Barack Obama the first gay president?” she tweeted in 2015.
Political analyst Paul Lisnek says answering questions about social media posts is the last thing Bailey and Trussell want to be focused on as they ramp up for the general election.
“Crime is skyrocketing and jobs and families are fleeing under JB Pritzker’s watch. But his campaign and the media are making a big election about old social media posts. Darren Bailey and I are focused on making Illinois safer and more affordable for every Illinoisan,” [Trussell] said in a statement to WGN News.
* Meanwhile, Bailey has a new video…
“I challenge J.B. Pritzker to come down to my farm and spend a day planting, plowing, and harvesting. We’ll see how much energy he has at the end of an 18-hour work day to lob his pathetic attacks.”
I’d just like to see Bailey put the energy into holding a press conference more than once in a blue moon while answering questions on all topics.
* Politico…
Republican Darren Bailey’s campaign says he’s committed to debate Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker on Sept. 22 on NBC 5. Pritzker’s campaign hasn’t confirmed that face-off, though a spokeswoman for the campaign told Playbook that “yes,” Pritzker is planning to debate Bailey.
…Adding… Press release…
…Adding… Pritzker campaign…
Rudy Giuliani, a Bailey campaign ally, was informed yesterday that he is the target of a criminal investigation seeking answers related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Darren Bailey, a proud supporter of Donald Trump and his allies, has pushed the Big Lie, understated the January 6 insurrection, and questioned the integrity of the FBI and the Department of Justice during their probe into the former president’s misconduct.
Does Darren Bailey stand by Giuliani’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and keep Trump in power, even amid this criminal investigation?
In May, Bailey and Giuliani campaigned together on behalf of Scott Kaspar, a Republican Congressional candidate who, like Bailey, has downplayed the January 6 insurrection and stated that he would not have ratified Joe Biden’s presidency.
“Darren Bailey needs to disavow Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, and their attempts to undermine our democracy,” said JB for Governor Press Secretary Eliza Glezer. “Bailey continues to tie himself to individuals who threaten our free and fair elections. Any candidate who cannot stand up to election deniers and insurrection defenders is unfit for public office.”
