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Leading with the spin, stating the obvious and keeping up the push-back

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Illinois

* WBBM Radio is leading with the Quinn spin…

Comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Dan Hynes says he has no plans to pull a racially charged TV ad where the late Mayor Harold Washington is criticizing Governor Pat Quinn after serving as the city’s revenue director under the leadership of Washington.

Critics of the ad say it’s a desperate attempt on the part of Hynes’ campaign. Dan Hynes disagrees.

So far, the only complaining we’ve seen about this Harold Washington ad is from people who are already backing Quinn. If one of Hynes’ African-American or white liberal backers spoke up in anger, I’d be a whole lot more impressed. For instance, here’s a new Quinn video featuring politicians who’ve already endorsed the governor complaining about the Harold Washington ad…

A longer version is here.

* Statehouse columnist Kurt Erickson says the ad just states the obvious…

Comptroller Dan Hynes launched an ad last week showing the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington trash-talking Pat Quinn.

“Pat Quinn is a totally and completely undisciplined individual,” Washington says in the 1987 interview.

Not surprisingly, the ad triggered a massive amount of spin control from the Quinn camp. For example, spokeswoman Elizabeth Austin said Washington was “spinning in his grave.”

But really, folks. Take a deep breath here. Did the dead ex-mayor really say anything we didn’t already know?

Last spring, Quinn sat next to House Speaker Michael Madigan in a House committee room and testified in favor of an ethics package that was awaiting final passage in the House. Three months later, after reform groups panned the legislation, Quinn reversed his early support of the measure and vetoed the bill. In 2006, while he was Rod Blagojevich’s lieutenant governor, Quinn sent a letter to former Illinois State Police Director Larry Trent, calling on Trent to lift a gag order the director had placed on his employees. Four years later, as governor, Quinn now supports a nearly identical gag order his own prison chief issued to employees of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Then there was Quinn’s 73-minute State of the State speech this month, described by many as “rambling.”

The question isn’t over Quinn’s consistency. The question is whether Hynes can beat a sitting governor Feb. 2 by using a dead guy to point out the obvious.

* The governor continues to ask African-American churches to lash back at Hynes. From a press release…

Standing up against the outdated politics of division, Governor Pat Quinn Sunday will bring a message of reconciliation and unity to African-American congregations throughout the Chicago area.

“We have had enough of the politics of division,” Governor Quinn said. “In these difficult times, when so many families are struggling to make ends meet, it’s more important than ever for all of us to work together to put Illinois back on track.

“We simply don’t have the time to revisit the past,” Governor Quinn added. “Over the past 25 years, we have succeeded in building a progressive coalition that is finally reforming Illinois government. Today, I believe that Democratic voters are focused on building a new and prosperous future, not in dwelling on the past. I believe we can move forward together to bring economic growth and honest government to Illinois.”

* And the Belleville News-Democrat has endorsed Quinn for governor…

Quinn never became part of the Democratic inner power circle, despite years of holding statewide offices. We feel confident he would retain that independent streak if elected.

The same paper also endorsed Dan Proft for governor…

Proft offers many bold ideas. He not only wants to hold the line on taxes but cut them to encourage investment and job creation. He favors school choice for low- and moderate-income students in failing schools. He proposes statutory caps on state spending.
Proft has not previously held office, but he has helped run campaigns and is a keen observer of state government. His outsider perspective would serve him well as the governor in charge of change.

* More weekend coverage of this exploding controversy can be found here, here and here.

posted by Rich Miller
Sunday, Jan 24, 10 @ 1:32 pm

Comments

…and the truth shall set you free. I’m glad someone can set the record straight. Zorn sets it straight as well here…
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2010/01/from-the-archives-washington-insisted-that-quinn-was-not-fired-the-mayor-said-he-asked-for-quinns-re.html

Comment by The Shadow Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 6:38 am
**If one of Hynes’ African-American or white liberal backers spoke up in anger, I’d be a whole lot more impressed. **

Serious question. What prominent African-American is “white liberals” have endorsed Hynes?

Comment by dave Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 6:54 am
If anyone is desperate, it’s Quinn. His reformer image, arguably his strongest general election appeal, is now in tatters because of loans from Emil Jones, Ed Burke, and other Chicago insiders. His strategy to bring out his African American and liberal supporters to play the race card then claim Harold Washington really liked Quinn doesn’t make any sense given the Hynes video. Quinn campaign is on life support.

Comment by Louis Howe Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 7:20 am
From what I understand, the Hynes/Washington ad isn’t playing outside of Chicago. If the Hynes ad isn’t about race, why isn’t it playing all around the state?

Comment by dave Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 7:31 am
The knee-jerk writing by WBBM is very sad. How is the Harold ad “racially charged?” Because Harold was black? The content has nothing to do with race.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 7:37 am
If the polls are correct and Hynes was already polling between 40 & 50% in the black community, why did he open this can of worms? It seems like a risk not worth taking.

I’ll bet, if he would have hammered Quinn with the Blago stuff-it would have been Quinn who started bringing up the old days and then Hynes could have taken the high road and said, those were different times, ect. He might have even been able to bring out the Harold Washington stuff without a problem.

Hynes’s dad said some pretty mean stuff about Washington-back in the day- which I’m sure will be circulated this week.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 8:16 am
@Wordslinger - –How is the Harold ad “racially charged?”– Hynes needs the support of the African American Community in Chicago to even have a shot at winning. The Ad is an attempt to appeal African American voters - simple. If the ad is only airing in Chicago/Cook County, then I find WBBM’s reporting quite adequate. Hynes should have thought long and hard before allowing the ad to air. He has awoken the sleeping giant.

Comment by GetOverIt Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 8:56 am
GetOverIt, I’ll ask again, how is the ad “racially charged?” It speaks to Quinn’s competency. The ad resonates with all voters — white, black, Hispanic, Asian, whatever — who see it.

Harold’s black. His memory appeals to many black voters. I get it. But the message is not racially charged whatsoever.

I’ve been through a few races that had “racially charged” commentary. Here’s a couple of examples from 1983.

Fast Eddie: “Don’t kid yourself. It’s a racial thing. We’re fighting to keep this city the way it is.”

Gene Pincham: “Any man south of Madison Street who doesn’t vote for Harold Washington should be hung.”

Those are racially charged.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 9:13 am
Word, here’s the thing I don’t get.

Back in the Washington era, Tom Hynes said some pretty rough stuff about Washington’s abilities and integrity. Dan Hynes supported his father back then. Does he agree with his father’s assessment. (no pun intended)

If so, then he should be praising Quinn for being fired by a guy who he percieves as being such an bad Mayor. I don’t think it is as much racial as it may be viewed as disrespectful or hypocritical. It might help if Dan Hynes’s views on Harold Washington were better known.

However, I do understand the footage is an almost impossible temptation for a politician to resist.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 9:37 am
Re: dave

Why isn’t playing all around the state? Because neither Harold Washington nor any other mayor of Chicago means anything to most people outside of Chicagoland.

Comment by Old Shepherd Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 9:53 am
Is the old saying “do unto others as you’d have them to unto you” applicable here?

LOL! the hypocrisy over this past weekend.

Jesse Jackson Jr.’s dad was overheard on an
open microphone saying how he wanted to cut off parts of then-U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama’s body. J.J. Jr. not only had to publicly rebuke his father’s disgusting comments, but he spent a good part of his time throughout his political career asking that people not judge him by his “contoversial” father. He wanted everyone to judge him on his own merits as a lawmaker and man. prior to the Dec. arrest of Blago, people were allowing him such consideration, which was totally just and fair.

Similarly there was this memorable statement from Bobby Rush on the appointment of Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate by then-embattled governor Blagojevich:

“I would ask you not to hang or lynch the appointee as you try to casitgate the appointor,” Rush added. “Separate, if you will, the appointee from the appointor. Roland Burris is worthy.”

So, let’s not hang or lynch Dan Hynes as we recall the political animosity of Tom Hynes toward Mayor Washington 25 years ago. Let’s separate the son from the father. Dan Hynes is perfectly entitled to use the video of Mayor Washington as he did.

Would Harold Washington object to the use of the taped statements? Possibly. Then again it’s not his property, it’s the public’s and he knew that when he agreed to the interview, and that he’d have no personal control over its later usuage. Also, how do we know that if he were still living, he and Tom would not have put aside their past by now? Quinn’s black pol/preacher supporter are not entitled to speak for Harold Washington today just because they are black and “knew” him when he was alive. If he had a widow and she were alive to object, then that would certainly give cause to pause on the usage of the video as a matter of repsect to her.

If Quinn manages to win the primary and the republicans use the tape against him, which they should, what will he complain about then? None of their dads were political enemies of Washington’s. Quinn’s argument is that Tom Hynes is Dan Hynes’ father, and that because Tom Hynes was a polticial enemy of Washington’s Dan’s use of the video is wrong.

Quinn’s positions on so many things (administration and political campaign) are utterly impossible to defend, and his “going there” this past weekend is just another example.

Comment by Will County Woman Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 10:43 am
part 2

Sadly because Quinn ran with the Burr Oak ad, which was apparently made well in advance of the Harold Washington ad, as a counter-attack, Quinn can’t really play the moral high card here. He doesn’t exactly have clean hands here.

As far as i have seen, Quinn got no traction with blacks, and likely won’t. their attachment is to Mayor Washington, not him. This is not to suggest that blacks don’t like Quinn. Many do. But, they do not feel about him the way they do Mayor Washington. Maybe if Quinn had been black, there would’ve been more of an uproar beyond just his black pol supporters. He overplayed this and if he gains anything will be negligible at best. The Mayor Washington video is just too damning and hard to refute, particularly in light of MGT PUSH etc. If there was anyone on his campaign staff who tried to advise him against making a spectacle out the video the way he did on Friday and Saturday, he should have listened because it was sound advice. If no one tried to advise him against doing what he did on Friday and Saturday, everyone on his campaign staff ought to be ashamed, as well as fired!

From what I gather, the Jackson’s don’t have the political capital that they think they do, with most blacks. They are *radioactive with whites, and even in many black circles where they are viewed with suspicion and skepticism (e.g. they just want to get on t.v. etc.).

* The father always was radioactive generally speaking, and the son became so as a result of blago’s political downfall.

Of course we’ll see how this plays this week, if it all; there’s always good old political theater to try.

I could be over analyzing here but, I’m wondering if any of the following three recent things may factor against Quinn and garner him little sypmathy:

1.The lingering perception on the part of some that he scape-goated IDOC chief Mike Randle, who is black.

2.His role in the partial rollback of the penny tax in cook county, which some fear will be to the detriment of the county being able to provide services to the needy most of whom are black. On this he seemed to relish in doing this, citing the need to lessen burdens on taxpayers, with a slight smirk on his face.

3.Having William “Dock” Walls removed from the ballot to avoid losing black votes to him, despite the fact that throughout his political career quinn opposed the concept of peition challenges.

If Quinn’s concern is here truly about Washington, and not himself, would he give back the $100K campaign contribution from Alderman Burke that he got last week, as well as renounce their friendship considering the role that Burke played in trying to tear down and destroy Washington during Council Wars?

Comment by Will County Woman Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 10:55 am
==Dan Hynes supported his father back then.==
Actually, Phinnie, it was the other way around. Big Tom was supporting Danny while the 18 year old was living in South Bend and attending Notre Dame. It is pretty funny that Quinn is running around bragging about his friendship with Harold while accepting big money from Ed Burke and while the white machine committeemen like Dick Mell run around their wards trying to scare up votes for him.
If it were up to me I’d be playing Bobby Rush’s comments in commercials downstate. Every time he opens his mouth Quinn loses a few more votes.

Comment by Bill Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 11:04 am
@Phineas J. Whoopee - Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 8:16 am

I disagree with you. I think what dan hynes should have done MONTHS ago was introduce and target himself to black voters first by getting his message out to them via his connection to barack obama. in fact there’s a very nice picture on the internet of the two of them hugging each other from earlier last year.

Also, he could have and should have informed black voters that he was arguably the first white politician in this state to encourage and support obama’s run for the white house. having softened them up to him, he then could have hit with the very appropriate and fair Washington ad, amongst perhaps others.

had he done these first, he would have innoculated himself from any black pol/preacher push-back led by Quinn.

based on where he was by early december in terms of money spent and 23 percent poll rating, hynes’ campaign missed a lot of obvious things early-on. laziness or inexperience or just plain old not thinking? i dunno, but i’m sure most would agree that they just weren’t getting it.

Comment by Will County Woman Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 11:23 am
Dave, he doesn’t have any. And that’s actually a very good thing.

Comment by Will County Woman Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 11:49 am
dave, sorry I didn’t respond to your question before. One answer would be: DCN… https://capitolfax.com/2010/01/25/early-afternoon-campaign-roundup/

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 1:25 pm
Hynes runs an ad about Quinn’s competency and Quinn’s response is I resigned but does not address the competency question?

Then Quinn marches out a group of people who only outside of Jan and Jacky have no credibility?

Rush is famous for his lyncing comments i.e roland burris nomination and helped Tim Evans split the black community in 1989.
Danny Davis endorses Dorothy “blue jeans: brown and ran in 1989 against mayor sawyer.

Gutierrez ran away from the washington coalition the minute Harold died to support Daley.

Jesse Jr and Sr supported claypool over John Stroger until Stroger had a stroke.

Great ad Pat!!!

Comment by YEP Monday, Jan 25, 10 @ 3:36 pm