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*** UPDATED x5 - $451,000 *** New DGA ads bash Jeanne Ives, Bruce Rauner

Thursday, Mar 15, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Interesting move…

* Script…

When is a conservative leader too conservative for Illinois? Meet Jeanne Ives. She’s been rated as one of the most conservative in the state. Ives wants to ban abortions, she has an ‘A’ rating from the NRA, pushing to arm teachers and stop new gun laws.

And on immigration, Ives marches in lockstep with President Trump, trying to eliminate protections for undocumented immigrants.

Tell Jeanne Ives, her conservative policies are just too conservative for Illinois.

That’s pretty darned good. Devious, but good.

Gets her conservative message out there in the waning days. She should be happy with that.

* Same goes for this ad bashing Rauner…

* Script…

Worst. It’s not a word we like to hear in Illinois. But worst is where Gov. Rauner has taken Illinois since he took office.

Today, our state has the worst unemployment rate in the Midwest and the worst credit rating of any state in the country.

What’s worse? Rauner racked up billions in unpaid bills, leaving Illinois taxpayers on the hook. Tell Gov. Rauner, his record is a lack of leadership in the worst way.

Classic Claire McCaskill play. Probably shoulda started earlier, though.

…Adding… From Wordslinger in comments…

Those are both great spots for Ives.

Notice how in the first one there is no standard, b&w scowling shots? Ives is in full color and smiling. That’s some serious concern-trolling.

Surprisingly good strategy and execution from a DC committee.

…Adding… I just realized one of the news references in the “anti” Jeanne Ives ad is Prairie State Wire - a Dan Proft paper.

That spot is pure trolling gold.

And, as a commenter pointed out, the anti-Rauner ad quotes the Illinois Policy Institute. Just ginning up that circular firing squad a wee bit more.

*** UPDATE 1 *** Check out this new Rauner ad bashing Ives. Harshest one yet…

*** UPDATE 2 *** Heh…

Tomorrow, the Democratic Governors Association will launch two new television ads holding Governor Bruce Rauner and state Representative Jeanne Ives accountable for their failed policy agendas.

The ad titled ‘Worst’ focuses on how Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership has made Illinois worse economically and fiscally. Rauner’s two-year budget crisis led to more debt, a lower credit rating, and the worst unemployment rate in the Midwest.

The ad titled ‘Most’ lays out how Jeanne Ives’s policies are too conservative for Illinois. Ives supports banning abortion, overturning needed protections for immigrants, and would bring the failed policies of President Donald Trump to Illinois.

“Jeanne Ives and Bruce Rauner’s failed policies are a disaster for middle-class Illinois families,” said DGA Spokesman Sam Salustro. “Jeanne Ives’ positions are just too conservative for Illinois. And Rauner’s refusal to show leadership has made Illinois worse off fiscally and economically. It’s time for both leaders to start working for Illinois families, and not themselves.”

It would’ve been better if they’d tied Rauner to Madigan. /s

*** UPDATE 3 *** Money…

According to Advertising Analytics, as of Thursday evening the DGA is set to spend at least $451,000 to air the ads from Friday through Tuesday, the date of the GOP primary.

Each ad is going to be running in “significant rotation,” said a DGA official who declined to specify whether one ad would run more often than the other.

It’s unclear how much impact the DGA’s ad will have at at time when it’s competing on incredibly congested airwaves. The governor’s race alone has seen more than $55 million in TV ad spending. For his part, Rauner himself has poured millions of dollars into meddling in the Democratic primary, financing attack ads hitting Democratic front-runner J.B. Pritzker.

*** UPDATE 4 *** Lynn Sweet last July…

Illinois Democratic governor hopeful J.B. Pritzker donated $2 million in June to the Democratic Governors Association, the organization that’s officially neutral in the contested primary.

I reported on June 25 that the wealthy Pritzker, who has already poured millions of his own dollars into his bid, attended a major Democratic Governors Association fundraising event in Nantucket — and that all the Democratic contenders from Illinois were not invited.

*** UPDATE 5 *** Ives campaign…

Of course Socialists are attacking Jeanne Ives for being conservative. Democrat congressman Dan Lipinski is too conservative for the Democrat Party. Jeanne Ives wears attacks from the radical Left as badges of honor whether they come from Leftists at the DGA or the Leftist, fake Republican Bruce Rauner. The DGA is correct that Illinois is worse off than we were when Rauner was elected but that’s because Rauner pursued the big government, tax-borrow-and-spend policies combined with extreme Leftist social policies that the DGA otherwise supports. On policy, Rauner and the DGA are two sides of the same counterfeit bill.

48 Comments

Kennedy’s #BissPlease moment

Thursday, Mar 15, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* My favorite moment of last night’s debate…

18 Comments

Fact-checking Kennedy on retirement income tax and legalizing marijuana

Thursday, Mar 15, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WTTW…

The three candidates agreed on their insistence that the state should not tax retirement income to help balance the budget, although Pritzker has run ads accusing both Biss and Kennedy of supporting efforts to do so.

“Look me in the eye and tell me that you’ll stop running those ads,” Kennedy said.

“You have a different position today than you did yesterday,” Pritzker responded.

Kennedy also said Pritzker was lying about his stance on legalizing marijuana.

I’ve already told you that Kennedy did, indeed, say he could favor a tax on retirement income. And just yesterday we talked about how Kennedy had shifted his stance on legalizing marijuana.

* I was planning to do yet another fact check on Kennedy today, but then this landed in my in-box…

Today, the JB Pritzker campaign released a new video highlighting Chris Kennedy’s hypocrisy at the final Democratic debate last night.

The new video features Kennedy’s line, “you should never hire someone who lies to you during a job interview” followed by Kennedy’s lies about where he stands on critical issues such as legalizing marijuana and taxing retirement income.

* The accompanying video…

25 Comments

Pritzker campaign tries to put best face on last night’s debate

Thursday, Mar 15, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Last night at the final Democratic primary debate, JB Pritzker demonstrated why he is the best candidate to beat Bruce Rauner, holding the failed governor accountable for his damage to the state and highlighting his own plans to take charge as governor.

JB blasted Bruce Rauner for decimating Illinois’ finances and skyrocketing state debt:

WATCH:

He then highlighted his plans to pass a progressive income tax while holding Dan Biss and Chris Kennedy accountable for their plans to tax retirement income:

WATCH:

JB continued by emphasizing his plans to put Illinois on a path to 100% renewable energy:

WATCH:

And finished the debate with a personal story reflecting on his mother and the social justice values she taught him:

WATCH:

* The Sun-Times has more on that last question…

The three took on a more personal question to round out the hour-long debate. Asked for an example of a formative life experience, Pritzker spoke of losing his mother at 17 and her struggles with alcoholism: “I watched her struggle with addiction. And I don’t want others to have to go through that. And I want to live up to her values, the things that she set for us about fighting for social and economic justice, equality and inclusion.”

Kennedy spoke of the pain of losing his father, former U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

“I think about my father’s death at an early age, and I know that the bullet that kills the father wounds the child,” Kennedy said, adding his siblings have struggled with substance abuse and mental illness. “Somewhere in all of that there’s empathy that comes from people who are not going to be able to make it on their own and we have a role as a big family and as a government to reach out to folks who are suffering.”

Biss spoke of a more lighthearted moment — meeting his wife Karen in 2005 at a Texas airport: “It changed my life completely.”

13 Comments

Pritzker launches closing ad

Thursday, Mar 15, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Press release…

Today, the JB Pritzker campaign released a new statewide TV ad: “Together.” The ad highlights Bruce Rauner’s failures as governor and JB’s plans to take charge, unite the state, and bring real change to Illinois.

“From manufacturing a 736-day budget crisis, to conducting corrupt business deals out of the governor’s mansion and fatally mismanaging the Quincy Veterans’ home, it’s clear that Bruce Rauner has failed Illinois,” said JB Pritzker. “From day one of this campaign, I’ve focused on holding Rauner accountable for his damage done and fighting for the issues that matter to working families. Illinoisans deserve a leader in Springfield who will take charge to create jobs, expand quality healthcare, and invest in education across the board. I am the only candidate in this race with the vision and leadership to defeat Bruce Rauner and move this state forward.”

* The ad…

* Script…

Anchor: Tumultuous first term for Governor Rauner.

Anchor: 700 days without a budget.

Anchor: Meetings about private investments at the executive mansion.

Anchor: Lowest credit rating of any state in American history.

Anchor: Fatal outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease.

Rauner: I am not in charge.

Pritzker: Bruce Rauner is a failure and the communities he’s hurt most are the ones who can least afford it. I’ll work hard every day to earn you trust, and when we beat Bruce Ruaner, together, we’ll bring real change to Illinois.

Thoughts?

23 Comments

JB Pritzker played defense most of the night

Thursday, Mar 15, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From the Tribune’s “Pritzker called ‘liar,’ ‘fraud’ during final Democratic governor debate”…

Rival Daniel Biss called Pritzker’s explanation an “unbelievable mess of word salad” in contending the Hyatt Hotel fortune heir was trying to “avoid taxes” through the offshore companies “and spent the last year lying about it.”

“This is just exposing the fraud that is the J.B. campaign for governor,” said Biss, a state senator from Evanston.

And another contender, Kenilworth developer Chris Kennedy, said voters should consider Pritzker’s words as if they were conducting a job interview for governor.

“I’ve hired a lot of people and I can tell you just one piece of advice to the voters of this state: You should never hire someone who lies to you during a job interview. If they’ll lie to you to get the job, they’ll lie to you to keep the job. And you do not want a liar as the governor of the state of Illinois,” said Kennedy, a member of the iconic Massachusetts political family.

* CBS 2…

“There’s nothing new in that story in the Tribune,” [Pritzker] said, commenting on a story that claims Pritzker has an interest in 11 offshore companies that were set up within the last decade.

“J.B. Pritzker set up these companies offshore probably to avoid taxes and spent the entire last year lying about it,” said Daniel Biss, candidate for governor.

Candidate Chris Kennedy also chimed in, saying, “What he’s done is he’s avoid paying taxes in the U.S. Every taxpayer in the U.S. now pays more in income tax because he paid less.”

* Patch…

“You’re not who you say you are,” Pritzker told Biss.

“I’m not going to sit here and be lectured about who’s a progressive by the guy who’s storing money offshore to avoid taxes and profiting off the Dakota Access Pipeline,” Biss responded. […]

Biss sought to link Pritzker and Kennedy, who he called “two guys that are experts in helping the wealthy evade taxes” to President Donald Trump and Gov. Bruce Rauner – elected executives who parlayed their wealthy backgrounds into elected office promising to reform a broken system.

“Throughout all of 2016, all Democrats were saying, ‘Dude, Donald Trump should release his tax returns.’ And now here we are in 2018, and two of the three leading candidates for governor won’t do it. It’s just not OK.”

* AP…

Pritzker also attacked Kennedy for raising tuition five times when he was chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Pritzker said that led to a drop in minority enrollment at the state’s flagship university.

Kennedy responded that the decrease was due to the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and questioned whether Pritzker — whose net worth Forbes puts at $3.5 billion — was aware that the economic crisis had happened.

* ABC 7…

“When you can’t win by telling the truth about yourself, sometimes you have to tell lies about competitors in order to win. That’s what he’s doing,” Kennedy countered.

* Sun-Times…

Biss blasted both Kennedy and Pritzker for tax breaks the two received. His campaign has been running a digital campaign called “The Billionaire Playbook” that targets Pritzker, Rauner, Kennedy and President Trump for allegedly “putting profits over people.”

“We should let these two guys keep arguing until 8 o’clock about who is scamming the tax system worse,” Biss said about halfway through the hour-long debate.

* NBC 5…

“What we don’t know is what Mr. Pritzker is hiding,” [Kennedy] said. […]

Clearly it was not Pritzker’s best night, especially when peppered with questions by reporters after the debate on his off shore investments. He walked away without answering.

* WTTW…

At a press conference after the forum, Pritzker left reporters scratching their heads even more when he insisted that offshore trusts were founded generations ago by family members, even though the Tribune reports the trusts helped finance companies that were set up by Pritzker in the last 10 years.

Video of that press conference is here.

10 Comments

Chris Kennedy was on fire last night

Thursday, Mar 15, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a commenter earlier today…

Kennedy came off as the alpha male last night, he straight up emasculated Biss.

Pritzker just looked like he did not want to be there and said his rehearsed lines running out the clock (on the debate & the election).

Agreed.

* Tribune…

Pritzker interjected, “These two went on the attack.”

The prompted Kennedy to respond: “Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie.”

Kennedy also lashed out at Biss, who is seeking support from backers of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ unsuccessful presidential campaign. Biss sponsored 2013 legislation to cut benefits for public pensioners — a law later ruled unconstitutional. Biss has acknowledged the move was a mistake.

But Kennedy said Biss “fell” under Springfield’s spell as a state lawmaker in pushing the legislation.

“There’s nothing that a Democrat can do that’s worse than what you did,” said Kennedy, calling Biss’ move “disqualifying” for governor.

* AP…

“You do not want a liar as the governor of the state of Illinois,” Kennedy said. […]

Kennedy added Biss was “part of a failed system” in Springfield and said it was time to bring change to Illinois.

* WTTW…

Kennedy likened the primary process to interviewing candidates for a job.

“You should never hire someone who lies to you during a job interview,” Kennedy said. “If they’ll lie to you to get the job, they’ll lie to you to keep the job.” […]

Biss said that he supports a tax on financial transactions, like the ones that occur on the trading floors of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Mercantile Exchange. But Kennedy said the idea was pie in the sky.

“This is the worst form of political pandering,” Kennedy said. “To say that nobody has to worry about a thing because we’re going to tax financial transactions, it gives everyone false hope. We ought to bring people into the complexities and subtleties of government policy and not offer a solution that can’t be had.”

* Patch…

Ponce later asked whether the candidates supported Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, whose office has been found to operate a regressive tax system favoring wealthier and well-connected property owners at the expensive of poorer homeowners.

Pritzker took issue with the question before the other candidates had a chance to answer.

“I’m not revealing who I voted for or who I’m supporting in that race because I don’t think we should be getting involved in Democratic primaries – we’re running one ourselves,” he said.

“Oh my Gosh, if you can’t take a position on whether Joe Berrios should be reelected…if you can’t take the courage to take a position on that race you shouldn’t be the governor of the state of Illinois,” said Kennedy, who has focused on the property tax appeals system in the campaign. He called Pritzker a “property tax cheat.”

* NBC 5…

The debate winner was Chris Kennedy, but with only five days to go, the question is: will it make a difference?

That’s the question, alright.

* I took this pic of my TV last night. It’s the moment after Sen. Biss said he was proud of his legislative record…

Heh.

* And the Pritzker campaign put together some highlights of Kennedy whacking Biss. It didn’t include the Kennedy attacks on Pritzker, of course. But it’s still worth a watch…

* Related…

* Chris Kennedy, who’s not that into politics, is carrying his family’s legacy into governor’s race

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