* I’m pretty sure this CJ Baricevic TV ad, which is airing in Paducah, is the first Democratic congressional spot to make Gov. Rauner an issue. The governor is apparently not polling well down ‘yonder. Rate it…
* Script…
I worked at Granite City Steel with a crew of steamfitters to pay for school at SIU. It was hard work—a good job—and it taught me a lot. That’s why I fought against Governor Rauner’s devastating budget. But Washington’s forgotten how hard you work. Congress gives Wall Street billionaires tax cuts and trade deals that ship our jobs overseas and we get higher tax bills and pink slips. I’m CJ Baricevic and I approve this message because I’ll fight for working families—not Washington special interests.
* This is the Rauner budget thing they’re referring to…
The St. Clair County ruling stated workers could receive their entire paychecks without a state budget in place. Circuit Judge Robert LeChien issued that ruling. Attorney C.J. Baricevic argued on behalf of union workers.
…Adding… From a Rauner guy…
Baricevic ad makes no sense considering our attorneys were in court with him in support of paying the workers.
The rhetoric continued to escalate in the U.S. Senate race Wednesday, as Republican Sen. Mark Kirk accused Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth of mocking stroke victims when she characterized him as “unhinged” for likening President Barack Obama to the nation’s “drug dealer in chief” over the January Iran prisoner release deal. […]
On Tuesday, the Democrat appeared at the City Club of Chicago for a speech in which she characterized Kirk as “unhinged” for his comments on the Obama administration sending $400 million to Iran as U.S. hostages were being released as part of the multination agreement aimed at reducing the Middle Eastern country’s ability to build a nuclear weapon. Kirk likened Obama to the nation’s “drug dealer in chief” last week in an appearance before a Springfield newspaper editorial board.
Duckworth assigned to Kirk a term defined as “mentally deranged.” But Duckworth backed off when asked by reporters if voters should take into consideration any possible aftereffects of her opponent’s stroke. […]
“She is so desperate to run for office she would denigrate any stroke victim in America and make fun of them and that’s awful. You shouldn’t do that. For people who have strokes, they can make tremendous comebacks mentally and physically,” said Kirk, who also rejected Duckworth’s call for an apology to Obama.
This is at least the second time that the paper reported that Duckworth “backed off” her original comment. But that would only be the case if Duckworth had actually tried to connect Kirk’s stroke to the “unhinged” remark.
* Here’s what she said during her speech…
Senator Kirk has joined the rogue’s gallery of the President’s fiercest — and most unhinged — critics, and for that he should be ashamed. What he said is beneath the dignity of the office he now holds, and Senator Kirk should apologize immediately to the President, as well as to the people of Illinois.
Duckworth on Tuesday called Kirk “unhinged” for his comments and urged him to apologize.
“If you look at all of the things he’s said, I think he lacks the ability to control what he’s saying, and you can look at the numerous gaffes that he’s had over the years,” Duckworth said after a City Club of Chicago event.
The Democrat sidestepped reporters’ questions about whether she was suggesting Kirk was suffering after effects from his stroke.
Bill Cameron [WLS 890 AM radio]: You said [Senator Kirk] was unhinged. Is it that bad?
Cong. Duckworth: Well, if you look at all the things he has said, I think that [Senator Kirk] lacks the ability to control what he is saying. And, you can look at the numerous gaffes that he has had over the years.
Derrick Blakely [NBC-5 News]: Is that inability due to his stroke?
Mike Flannery [Fox 32 News] : Unhinged?
Cong. Duckworth: I do think [Senator Kirk] is unhinged. To call the Commander in Chief—basically comparing [the President] to a drug dealer. I think that is a significant thing for a United States Senator to say. I mean this is the same man who called one of his colleagues ‘a bro with no ho,’ it’s not befitting of a United States Senator.
* She was then asked: “Tammy, if that lack of ability is a result of the after-effects of the stroke, should voters take that into consideration?” Her response…
I think that is, uh, the furthest thing that people should look at. People should look at the fact that he’s been ineffective as a Senator.
It seems to me that the reporters really wanted her to talk about Kirk’s stroke and she wasn’t taking the bait. Maybe I’m wrong, though. Watch the video yourself and let us know what you think…
* What she most definitely side-stepped, however, was a question about her support for President Bush’s big tax cuts. She has blasted Kirk for voting for the tax cuts, but she backed those same cuts in her 2006 congressional campaign. Her excuse was that she never actually voted for the cuts.
