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New McKenna ad, new McKenna documents top the GOP roundup

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* As I told subscribers this morning, Andy McKenna has a new ad whacking Kirk Dillard over Dillard’s appearance in a Barack Obama campaign ad. Rate it…

* Meanwhile, the State Journal-Register got ahold of the complete internal Illinois Republican Party report on McKenna’s use of party funds to finance a poll…

An internal state Republican Party ethics inquiry found that Andy McKenna — former state Republican chairman and now a candidate for governor — “compounded one ethical misstep with another” by commissioning a poll including his own name using party money, and then not telling committee members that the poll could benefit him.

The four-page report, obtained by The State Journal-Register, was submitted by the ethics committee of the Illinois Republican Party.

The report adds background to a joint news release that was issued Jan. 8 by McKenna’s campaign and current party chairman Pat Brady. That statement said McKenna “had no intent to violate the spirit or the intent of the Party’s by-laws and he sincerely apologizes for having done so.”

The internal report said McKenna never told the Republican State Central Committee the poll was being commissioned, that his name was included in the poll or that “information in the poll could benefit him personally.”

You can read the full report by clicking here.

* And GOP gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewsk has a new Internet video. Watch…

* Related…

* Ryan accuses “‘Me’Kenna” of ducking debates

* GOP governor candidates: No need to raise taxes

* Hultgren apologizes after ad rips Hastert

* In Illinois, Republicans fight election déjà vu

* Birkett endoses Cole for Lt. Gov.

* Plummer gets Naperville Township GOP endorsement

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:21 am

Comments

Andrzejewski ad is creative & kinda cool - except that you would have no idea it’s meant to promote Andrzejewski unless you watched till the very last second. There’s no visual connection to Adam’s campaign - I wanted to cut it off when it said “it’s a new day for Illinois” and had I done so, I would have had no idea it was an ad for Adam.

Comment by Indy Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:28 am
Finally McKenna has a great ad with the Dillard supporting Obama ad. Very nice touch using the socialist propaganda tool of children singing to the chief executive and Dillard’s own words. How can you have faith in Dillard after what he says in behalf as Obama. None of it has come to pass.

The Adam ad just stinks.

About time someone does some real investigation into McKenna’s lack of ethics at the State Party. Even more disturbing the cover up by the SCC.

Comment by A matter of trust Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:30 am
Jim Ryan accusing Andy Mckenna of “ducking debates” and “candidate forums.” Now that’s a good laugh! Clever ad from the AA for Governor crew. I am not sure if ripping off the Iphone ad is legal though. I am not sure if that is a violation of intellectual property and copyright law. Maybe someone could be kind and enlighten me about how that works. Thanks.

Comment by Big Policy Nerd Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:31 am
Little Richie Rich’s (McKenna) family can pump in enough money to insure his win and the GOP blowing a great chance to win in November.

Comment by Madame Defarge Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:33 am
Obama won big in Illinois.
So a majority of voters have a vested interest in him. They are unwilling to admit they made a bad choice. They do not hold it against Dillard for making his endorsement two years ago.

There is a real problem with the GOP voters who hold this against Dillard. They are poking out their right eye at a time when they will need both.

But then, when has McKenna ever understood what the party he chaired so poorly had to do to win?

Advice from McKenna regarding how to win an election is like following advice from Bill Clinton on how to make a happy home.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:47 am
If all it takes is money to win a campaign we would have seen Oberweis elected. I don’t know if a McKenna win in the primary guarantees a Dem win in November but it is not likely to insure a change in BAU in Springfield if he gets into the mansion. McKenna seems to have the ethics of RodB, if not the sparkling personality.

Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:48 am
There is no way I could ever vote for McKenna. This wasn’t a simple mistake. Not only did he commission the poll in violation of the party’s rules, he tailored it to benefit himself. He also tried to hide his inclusion from the rest of the party.

Comment by Pelon Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:56 am
VM, my sentiments exactly. McKenna needs to be careful. If he thinks he can win a general election in the fall by tearing into Illinois’ current favorite son, he is sorely mistaken.

Then again, that’s the way a lot of Illinois GOP faithful feel. So I shouldn’t be surprised that a guy who screwed up our party is also willing to throw away a great chance to regain power for the GOP. I don’t think McKenna is the type, either, who will make a moderate turn in the general. He will keep his primary mode in full gear and people who love Obama will be turned off.

Comment by Team Sleep Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:58 am
Vanilla Man, I could not have said it better myself.

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 10:01 am
I never really understood why Dillard felt the need to publicly endorse Obama–or any one. It’s not as though Dillard was a revered household name in Illinois and that people were lined up begging to know who he would endorse. I always suspected that he was even then planning to run for governor and wagered that his support of Obama would later earn him some votes and cred among Democrats and independents who were fed up with the Blago regime and state Dems. In Nov. 2008 even a considerable number of Illinois Republicans voted for Obama so I suppose Dillard’s gesture may not have seemed quite so aberrant at the time.

Of course he, and almost no one could have predicted then how rapidly Obama’s star would fall, how independents especially would desert Obama in polls and in the voting booth, and that this endorsement could become quite such a liability for Dillard. I imagine Dillard now wishes that he had simply voted for Obama in the privacy of the voting booth (if that’s where his sentiments lay) rather than making his views so public.

That said, I do not think this ad is all that well done by the McKenna people. If it plays in the background you just hear lot of cute happy children singing and some very nice words about Obama. The information and hard charges about the endorsement are printed on the screen–which many people may not see at all.

Grade for Topic relevance: A
Grade for execution and effectiveness: C-

Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 10:05 am
Proft should drop out and tell his people to vote for Adam Andrezjewski. That would put Adam A over the top. They are the only 2 candidates with new ideas and the drive to change IL politics.

Comment by jaded voter Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 10:06 am
The Andrzejewski ad was clever, but I agree, there should’ve been name ID for his candidacy earlier in the ad. The Dillard late surge might be just what the GOP needs to win. McKenna or Brady will get carved up come November.

Not sure why Birkett endorsing Cole is “breaking news”. Didn’t Birkett endorse him like 8 months ago, when no one else was in the race? I guess it’s Cole trying to scratch and claw his way to 5% and seem relevant?

The Naperville endorsement is a big deal for a downstater like Plummer.

Comment by Steve-O Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 10:22 am
While I personally like Adam Andrzejewski, his ideas on taxation and corruption are disconnected from reality.

Andrzejewski thinks he can reduce Illinois spending and corruption by cutting state money to local government.

Do you think that Todd Stroger, Richard Daley or any other local official is going to cut the jobs and contracts necessary to hold power? In a contracting economy with high unemployment, the local government jobs become even more valuable.

I’d say Andrzejewski has spent too much time in business and not enough in government, but his ideas are disconnected from reality for businesses too. I assume there’s more to making a company more profitable than simply telling each division to spending 5% less and the company will be 5% more profitable. If that’s all it takes to run a business, CEOs are definitely overpaid.

Comment by Carl Nyberg Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 10:26 am
The McKenna ad hitting Dillard over helping Obama really does summarize in a nutshell just what an unprincipled double dealer Dillard has always been.

Just sad it’s coming from McKenna, a guy I would consider much worse even than Dillard.

I like the Adam ad, very clever. Maybe too clever for a GOP primary in Illinois.

Comment by just sayin' Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 10:27 am
The McKenna ad is obnoxious. Content aside, the song is just irritating.

The ad presumes that people can figure out what it’s about. I’m not so sure. It should have a voiceover saying “Is Kirk Dillard a Republican? Here’s what he had to say about Barack Obama during the presidential race…”

I have no idea why Dillard did what he did, but I give him points for civility, just as I’ll whack him for playing footsie with the loony right this primary season.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 11:00 am
Both ads are affective, how is Adam able to use the I-phone? Doesnt he have to get permission?

Comment by Obamas' Puppy Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 11:12 am
To say I’m a hard D is an understatement. But I thought the Andrzewksy ad was very clever and memorable. Something different than the usual campaign ad.

Comment by soccermom Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 12:50 pm
I like the Adam a. internet ad. He should run for a smaller office and work his way up; he’s still young enough. In 12-16 years he should take another stab at the guv’s office. given all the problems in illinois, this is no time to send in a rookie

Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 2:05 pm
I think Dillard saw an opportunity to help himself and took it. Just like everything else he does he does it in the moment. Like Tax increases he says he won’t raise them but won’t sign a pledge not too just incase he changes his mind. This is not someone to put in charge of Public Policy one that is indecisive like Obama.
Many of the people who voted for Obama are not Democrats but Independents and really just want Government run properly there is no reason they won’t vote for Brady in the general after years of very bad government.

Comment by DnstateAnon Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 2:28 pm
Given all the problems in Illinois government, this is no time to send in the same people who created the problem in the first place and who intend to perpetuate the problem with the same antics that got us here.

Comment by John Bambenek Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 2:35 pm
John, I hear you, I understand and I want to agree with you. But, I cannot. We’re talking playoffs/Superbowl and we’re talking crisis in this state. You don’t send in rookies, you go with your veterans because they have experience and understand how things work.

adam a has no practical experience dealing with mike madigan or john cullteron or any of the other lawmakers. he’s an unknown quantity, which makes going with him too risky. Besides, we do not know that Adam a. can pick up independents and mod dems because he is untried and untested. The GOP nominee is going to have to be able to do that.

I’m open to inclusiveness and compromise. If a republican wins in November, he should reach out to Adam a., dan proft and the others and bring them onboard with his administration. It will be on that republican governor to help rebuild the state’s GOP. That governor will need to make sure that he has a little bit of something for everybody in the GOP base.

Comment by Will County Woman Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 3:00 pm
Regardless of good or bad, fair or unfair, smart or dumb, or any other juxtaposition of conditions anyone can come up with, AA isn’t going to win, and that’s just fine with me. Neither would Proft dropping out propel AA to victory, and I find that OK, too. Proft is almost the only breath of fresh air in this campaign, but he can’t win in Feb, and he couldn’t in Nov either. No great criticism of him. Neither could more than 12,000,000 Illinois citizens.

Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Jan 26, 10 @ 9:41 pm