Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Top of the heap

Posted in:

Illinois
Polls

* As you already know, 17 Democrats and five Republicans filed to run for the 2nd Congressional District. In such a huge field, any extra votes Robin Kelly could get from getting the top of the ballot spot would be helpful…

Former state Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson will get the first spot on the ballot in special Democratic primary for the seat once held by former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.

The Illinois State Board of Elections conducted lotteries for the first and last spots on the Feb. 26 primary ballot.

Kelly won out among five candidates who submitted their petitions at the 8 a.m. opening of candidate filing at the elections board last week. In a separate lottery, management consultant Joyce Washington won the bottom spot on the Democratic ballot among five contenders who submitted candidacy petitions in the final hour before the filing deadline concluded at 5 p.m. on Monday.

* In other news, this is a very small buy, but still quite interesting…

U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock’s vote for last week’s fiscal cliff deal already is drawing heat.

A group called the Jobs and Progress Fund plans to spend more than $16,000 on television attack ads in Mr. Schock’s downstate district starting today, Crain’s has learned.

“Washington has a strange effect on politicians. Just four years in Congress, and Aaron Schock has voted for massive tax increases and mountains of debt,” according to a transcript of the ad. “It’s . . . well . . . shocking.”

According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website, a group called Ohio First for a Better Government registered as a nonprofit corporation in Dayton on March 8, 2011, and changed its name to Jobs and Progress Fund Inc. last month.

Ohio First is registered with the IRS but its annual tax return is not yet available, according to Guidestar.org, a website that tracks nonprofit data.

The group was incorporated by David R. Langdon, a prominent attorney in Cincinnati for several conservative nonprofit groups. He did not respond to a request for comment.

* Meanwhile, in LalaLand…

Tea Party favorite Joe Walsh says conservatives are losing the “war” for U.S. voters and encouraged his backers at a South Loop rally to engage in civil disobedience to defy the Affordable Care Act or new gun regulations.

At his most aggressive, he told dozens of supporters to “defy and or break the law and engage in civil disobedience” if faced with federal health care law restrictions or new gun laws.

He paraphrased Thomas Jefferson in saying, “We may have to shed blood every couple hundred years to preserve our freedoms.”

The one-term McHenry County congressman, who lost his re-election bid to Democrat Tammy Duckworth in November, openly contemplated breaking away from the Republican Party during a Wednesday rally at Blackie’s, 755 S. Clark St.

And in the end of the rally he began organizing a statewide movement he said would “scare Republicans and Democrats.”

A pic from the event…

Caption?

* And one has to wonder whether the father lobster would allow this…

As President Barack Obama tries to avoid fallout from his Cabinet and national security nominations, one potentially controversial post remains vacant.

Amid tension with America’s Roman Catholic leaders about a health care mandate that requires religious employers to provide insurance coverage of contraceptives for employees, Obama must find an ambassador to the Holy See who would please the pope as well as his own political supporters.

“Filling the slot tends to be a special headache for Democratic presidents,” Vatican expert and papal biographer John Allen wrote in a column this week for the National Catholic Reporter.

Allen said Vatican diplomats have their sights set on a number of Catholic scholars and politicians, including an Illinoisan: U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, a socially conservative Democrat who opposes abortion rights and the health care mandate.

In an interview, Lipinski told the Tribune he has not been offered the job but would welcome consideration.

* Other stuff…

* Poll: The Tea Party May be Over; Voters Sour on Movement: The new poll reveals only eight percent (8%) now say they are members of the Tea Party, down from a high of 24% in April 2010 just after passage of the national health care law.

* Freshman Rep. Duckworth hopes to be ‘calm voice’ on gun issues

* Bustos gets seat on House Agriculture Committee

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 1:23 pm

Comments

–He paraphrased Thomas Jefferson in saying, “We may have to shed blood every couple hundred years to preserve our freedoms.”–

Sounds like a volunteer. After you, loudmouth.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 1:35 pm
If Lipinski gets the ambassadorship to the Vatican will he also get a contract with a connected company and design some new vestments for the Pope and Cardinals. That’s Catholic Cardinals, guys. Not St. Louis Cardinals.

Comment by IrishPirate Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 1:38 pm
- would “scare Republicans and Democrats.” -

The Joe Walsh Party? It would scare me.

Caption? “I’m gonna stand like this til somebody, anybody pays attention to me.”

Comment by sal-says Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 1:43 pm
Caption - “Joe, If you want to make tongue in cheek comments, you gotta keep your mouth shut.”

Comment by Irish Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 1:48 pm
My take is that after establishing colonies based on religious freedom our forefathers formed a Government based on the belief in a God but allowing freedom from the control of any specific religion or the absence of such. Therefore the ambassador to the Pope should be able to comfortablly explain that to His Holiness. In other words if gay marriage and contraception are rights to be enjoyed by any one paying taxes then anyone accepting any part of those taxes must be also accepting of those rights.

Comment by Irish Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 1:54 pm
Caption -
“Anyone seen a frozen pipe around here…?”

Comment by Carpe Diem Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:06 pm
I’d love to see Lipinski go if he were to be replaced by an actual democrat, but I’m not confident the seat wouldn’t flip. So I’m torn.

Comment by ChicagoR Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:07 pm
Carpe Diem - LOL

Caption - “I double Dog dare you”

Comment by Irish Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:08 pm
So Robin Kelly has raised the most money, won the top ballot spot, is one of only two candidates who’ve appeared on a ballot in every part of the district and has been the most visible in earned media (unless you want to count the OMG Mel Reynolds stories). Nothing guarantees a win but the underlying mechanics are trending in her favor.

Comment by The Captain Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:13 pm
As I have lamented in the past, where are the Jane Fondas when we need them. Right now we got all the goofs on our side.

Comment by steve schnorf Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:14 pm
would “scare Republicans and Democrats.”

Not sure if scaring a large portion of the electorate is a winning idea Joe…

Comment by OneMan Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:17 pm
Walsh can be counted on to run to the right of his GOP opponents, no doubt reminding primary voters that three of them — Brady, Dillard and Murphy — voted for the driver’s license bill.

Comment by reformer Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:32 pm
So Joe Walsh said conservatives are losing the war for voters, yet he wants to be even more radical and includes the possibility of a violent revolution. That is a surefire strategy to win more voters.

Walsh and his supporters also need to know that Obama supporters are not lazy government dependents. Training for an Obama-led U.N. takeover of America is very hard work. Gun confiscation training is very rigorous and dangerous. Building Christian detention camps is no picnic either.

But seriously, I’m so glad Illinois voters sent Walsh packing. We don’t need this type of politician in our state.

Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:43 pm
“defy and or break the law and engage in civil disobedience”

Isn’t encouraging mob violence against the law?
Because he’s almost there…

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:47 pm
Two hundred years? Walsh is off by a factor of ten:

“God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion.” — Thomas Jefferson, letter to William S. Smith, Paris, Nov. 13, 1787.

Images of the letter may be viewed at http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mtj1&fileName=mtj1page008.db&recNum=514

A transcription of the letter may be found at http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/thomas-jefferson/letters-of-thomas-jefferson/jefl64.php

(And the full context of the letter is pretty, um, strident, too.)

I’m outta here.

Comment by Third Reading Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 2:49 pm
–The group was incorporated by David R. Langdon, a prominent attorney in Cincinnati for several conservative nonprofit groups. He did not respond to a request for comment.–

I wonder if Rep. Schock got on the wrong side of a certain moneybags constituent of former Rep. Walsh, as they both start exploring statewide runs.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 3:10 pm
Caption:
“Oww…I bit my tongue while I was ranting and raving….”

Comment by D.P. Gumby Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 3:21 pm
Caption: Former U.S. Representative Joe Walsh offers some advice to his successor U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth.

Caption: Former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh re-enacts his election night concession speech.

Comment by anon sequitor Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 4:07 pm
Caption

I lost my bet about the election. Now I’ve got to get my tongue pierced.

Comment by AFSCME Steward Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 4:24 pm
Heh, Lipinski nominated to the Vatican. Joe Walsh continues his quest, moves further south and files to run in Lipinski’s district under the Bloody Tree of Liberty party.

Comment by ZC Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 4:31 pm
Walsh is the physical expression of what is so ineffective about the hard-core conservative movement in Illinois. Saying no and obstructing does not work in our State’s culture. Compromise and practicality is what creates achievement. Walsh will remind voters of how goofy the conservative approach has been in Illinois, and will hopefully diminish the very unfortunate run this movement has had. It has devastated what was left of the admittedly pathetic Illinois GOP. And, Walsh is one of those folks who shows his colors by not paying his debts. At different times it has been reported that he has not paid his campaigners, lawyers, and I guess even his kids.

Comment by Chad Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 4:46 pm
“No that’s not my tin foil hat..pffft!”

Comment by WazUp Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 4:51 pm
Please Joe, break from the REpublican Party.

Comment by G'Kar Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 5:46 pm
i’ll do my ranting with no 9 to 5
i lost my office and now i could cry

Comment by hawksfan Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 6:22 pm
This is the first I’ve heard of this potential Lipinski appointment, but as someone whose permanent residence is in the 3rd district, I’d welcome this opportunity just to get a race for Congress, even if it was only the Democratic primary. Dan Lipinski is basically a disgrace as a congressman, although that term might be a little much considering folks like Joe Walsh and Alan Grayson.

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 7:25 pm
A little boy didn’t listen to his mother and his face did indeed get stuck like that.

Comment by Boone Logan Square Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 8:31 pm
The Tea Party we hardly knew you.

Comment by mokenavince Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 10:21 pm
The Schock ad buy may be small but they are airing during the dinner/news hours. It showed up on Peoria TV tonight not very long after the local news did a puff piece on some appearance Schock put in at a high school today.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Jan 10, 13 @ 11:47 pm