Cornelia Grumman had a great column the other day.Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
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Cornelia Grumman had a great column the other day.
Many Illinois citizens will enter the voting booth today only to confront a raft of candidates they’ve never heard of, particularly as they travel south down the ballot, where they’ll find the races for state representatives, county commissioners and judges.They’ll feel clueless.
I have the opposite problem. I know too much.
I coordinate the Tribune’s political endorsements for the editorial board. I’m the one who sends detailed questionnaires to the candidates. Nearly 80 percent of the 275 candidates on various ballots in the six-county Chicago-area responded. Together with my colleagues on the board, we read through their answers. We do some reporting on each of them and background checks on many. Since February, we’ve interviewed more than 110 candidates.
Then she went on to list some handy pointers for candidates. Buried way down was this.
Sex sells–sometimes. In 2004, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. faced Libertarian Stephanie Sailor in the general election. Sailor released a campaign photo of herself brandishing a handgun while wearing a skin-tight T-shirt and high-heeled boots. Surprisingly, she lost.
Either I’ve completely erased that candidate’s memory from my mind, or I never heard about this photo.
Whatever the case, if you ever plan to run for office you need to read Grumman’s column.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 11:14 am
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That’s a great article Rich. I had never really thought about whose job it is to conduct those endorsement sessions. They have to be a riot though and I think someone or a group of people could make a very successful book on the subject. Mix in some of the more absurd stories with essays on Democracy and wholla, you may not have a best seller, but you would at least have a book for that all the politicos out here would eat up.
Comment by Tweed Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 11:43 am
What Rich, no comment on Rep. Collins spelling?
Comment by Stavros Popodopolis Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 11:46 am
After the Trib endorsed Chris Welch over Karen Yarbrough (Illinois Seventh Leg District) I wrote Grumman and Bruce Dold an email. I requested that if they were going to ignore Proviso Township 364 days a year, could they please do us a favor and ignore us on endorsement day too.
Grumman is a pompous ass if she claims she “knows too much”. The failure to use information readily available through Google is unacceptable.
Grumman told one disatisfied Proviso resident that she read about Welch on Proviso Probe (a blog I maintain) but the information couldn’t be trusted because it was on a blog.
Grumman obviously didn’t trust the local media covering the issues either. Both Pioneer Press and Forest Park Review are available online and have documented Welch’s misdeeds. Most Proviso Probe posts on Welch were linked to articles in Forest Park Review (the paper is over 100 years old) and Pioneer Press.
But if Grumman and the Tribune took local journalism seriously they could actually pull up court cases Welch has been involved in. But that would involve putting time and research into local journalism and the Trib doesn’t do this.
So Cornelia Grumman can put a sock in it as far as I’m concerned.
You know what the election results showed? The election results showed the Trib endorsement doesn’t mean boo. Yarbrough wumped Welch about 3:1 even though Welch did 8-11 direct mail pieces, bought significant amounts of radio and had more yardsigns than votes he actually received.
BTW, the Trib endorsed Yarbrough in ‘98, the only cycle she’s lost running for Illinois’ Seventh House District.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 11:47 am
As for Grumman’s comments on Martin: what an arrogant witch. The Tribune ignore Martin and doesn’t even include him in the polls they do. He litigated and got coverage. And Grumman whines about Martin coloring outside the lines.
I used to read the Trib regularly. I’m glad I stopped wasting my time.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 11:51 am
stephanie … yowza ! she’s got my vote .
Comment by illinois insider Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 11:52 am
Cornelia Grumman is sanctimonious even by Tribune editorial board standards. And the editorial page has become absolutely unreadable — and apparently unread — over the last ten years as a result of all that sanctimony. Why candidates torture themselves before Her Royal Highness is the real question. (Ask Governor Gidwitz just how valuable that Tribune endorsement has become).
They should put on their collective pointy hats and start editorializing about the ways to fix The Tribune Company and its languishing stock or they’ll all rightfully be unemployed soon enough.
Comment by Anon Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 12:15 pm
Hey Cornelia is a lot of fun
They allow her to take those shots every two years after all candidates have been in ti genuflect, promise to buy lots of CUB and never read the Daily Herald.
At least the Tribune spends the time and resources to loor into the races. Most of the media just ignore the races or make the stuff up.
Comment by Reddbyrd Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 12:23 pm
Hey Grumman, who cares? The Tribs endorsement doesn’t mean much these days. That means that the work you do on its behalf does not mean much either. Enough of the whiny articles about how hard you work. I don’t know her, but she sounds like a sanctimonious, east coast, lib-dib with an Ivy League degree. Am I correct?
Comment by happy with the election results Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 12:59 pm
Good point about Gidwitz. Didn’t the Trib endorse Rauschenberger a few times?
Why bother participating in the Trib endorsement process? To get the chance to be ridiculed by Grumman on some minor detail?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 1:16 pm
That column is a strong argument for returning to the practice of having legislative staffers complete all important candidate questionnaires.
Comment by Mike's Used Sport's Section Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 1:18 pm
When Peter Fitzgerald ran against Carol Moseley-Braun, Fitz refused to answer candidate questionnaires from non-GOP aligned organizations. The Trib didn’t have a problem with endorsed Republicans ignoring Project Vote-Smart. It was a non-issue.
The next logical step for campaigns would be to ignore newspapers. If campaigns can get away with ignoring neutral organizations like Project Vote-Smart, why couldn’t they get away with ignoring newspapers?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 1:20 pm
Didn’t help out Mangieri very much this year either. Kind of a b/s, well we really want to endorse rodogno, but… we have to put someone down for the dems. Granted the Giannoulias campaign didn’t handle the questions as well as they should have about the “ethics” questions, but… anyone that really looked at the stuff knows it has nothing to do with Alexi.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 1:22 pm
Corinne Wood — one endorsement, Tribune: last place
Gidwitz — one endorsement, Tribune: last place
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 1:23 pm
Rich, pick some experts and ask them what they think the Trib endorsement is worth.
It would be more interesting than what Grumman has to say.
In fact, expand it. How valuable are various institutional endorsements? Are there any institutional endorsements that have value if they don’t come with money or troops?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 1:49 pm
Cornelia’s column was brilliant, and a cautionary tale for all the legends-in-their-own-mind who are considering putting their name on a ballot.
Based on the responses, there are no shortage of mushrooms qualified to pull up a back bench in one of our great deliberative bodies and serve as mushrooms to be kept in the dark in between raising our taxes and feathering their beds.
As Governors Gidwitz and Wood and Cook County Board President Forrest Claypool will tell you, the impact of a Tribune endorsement is slightly less than a moth hitting a patio light. None of that matters though, Cornelia’s outing of the best and the brightest candidates for office we can muster was worth all of that.
Comment by ChicagoCynic Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 1:53 pm
Agree Illinois Insider…
Where is Stephanie now?
Comment by nice suit Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 2:20 pm
Speaking of Corinne Wood… How is she doing??? Anyone know? Rich?
Comment by Lovie's Leather Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 3:11 pm
This was a good column.
Comment by Levois Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 3:27 pm
“I know too much.”
Well, that just about sums up the arrogant, out-of-touch attitude at the Tribune Editorial Board.
First, the Trib. Ed. Board has completely lost its relevance, especially among its core constituency — suburban GOP voters. The distastrous preformances by Trib. endorsees Gidwitz in ‘06 (4th place), Rauschenberger in ‘04 (3rd place), and Wood in ‘02 (3rd place) illustrate the Ed. Board’s tin ear and the increasingly growing disconnect between its endorsement choices and the concerns of rank-and-file GOP primary voters
One might even be tempted to suggest that, at least in the cases of Gidwitz and Wood, the Trib. is looking for bored millionaires to spend lavishly on TV ads featuring the Trib. endorsement as part of a conspiracy to help boost their lagging circulation numbers. (Could this be a future topic for a Kass column ?!?!)
After making these ill-informed choices, the Ed. Board then condescendingly tells the public that these decisions are part of an effort to promote “reform”. Talk about out-of-touch — these self-appointed experts in IL political nuances should be the first to see through the phoniness and unmask Gidwitz for his close ties to G. Ryan and Daley, and take Rauschy to task for double-dipping as a lobbyist for clients with business before the State Senate and selling out his political career for a campaign account to keep his brother on the payroll.
Second, instead of giving candidates the courtesy of a one-on-one interview, so both sides can discuss important issues in depth and with a productive give-and-take, the Tribune now herds all the cattle in at once for a forced and stilted “debate”.
These dog-and-pony shows yield little new information or sightful comments, but instead encourage candidates to pander and posture, just so the Trib. gets to print a “news” story the next day about their exclusive debate.
While they claim to “know too much”, the Ed. Board is actually lapping up the same pre-packaged sloganeering that they criticize the great unwashed masses for consuming through endless 30-second campaign commercials. So much for the vaunted Ed. Board trying to actually move beyond the sound-bites and explore the serious issues with the candidates. Apparently, Grumman is the biggest proponent of this new format.
But, I guess since the Trib. “knows too much” as compared with the average voter, why should we expect the Ed. Board to try and distill information and examine the candidates in an exhaustive way — something most voters don’t have access too ?
It seems like Grumman and the Trib. don’t know as much about their readership as they should. But given their intellectually superior attitude, they appear more interested in lecturing readers than in pursuing an informed and sober process for endorsing candidates.
Comment by Ivory Tower Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 3:28 pm
Rich,
Love the gratuitous photo. Reminds me of the Quick Hits section in the Sun Times Sports where they never miss a chance to put in a nice Maria Sharapova photo.
Keep up the good work
Comment by ET Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 4:37 pm
How did you miss that. What side do you bat for?
Comment by Schiznitz Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 5:09 pm
Her web site is still up at http://www.sailorvsthemachine.com/
and the reader did a story on her about in 2004 online at http://www.boomershoot.org/2004/ChicagoReader10-15-04.htm
her current site is http://www.kennedysailor.com/LoveLettersHateMail.htm
I once saw her on TV shooting a gun, and I was deeply moved.
Is it wrong to dig chicks & Guns ?
Comment by James T Kirk Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 8:38 pm
The problam with a campaign photo like that is that at first, it makes me want to vote for her. But after a little consideration, I realize that voting for her does not significantly increase the chance that we’ll go to bed, and then I lose interest.
Comment by OAD Thursday, Mar 23, 06 @ 11:02 pm
God you mean if Blago gets behind in the polls Scofield will run a picture of him in his bvds.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Friday, Mar 24, 06 @ 5:57 am
Give Stephanie Sailor a break. *Any* shirt she wears will be tight on her. She has big breasts. Period.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Feb 28, 07 @ 8:09 pm