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Posted by Barton Lorimor (@bartonlorimor)

* Mayor Emanuel made an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. During the interview, he quickly dismissed any suggestion that he might miss being President Obama’s Chief of Staff. Being Mayor is the best job he’s had in the public sector, Emanuel said.

Embed codes were not available, but clips of the interview are available here.

* BlueRoomStream was in Gibson City this weekend with the four Republican gubernatorial hopefuls. The video is over 90 minutes long, but it’s a great overview of the talking points these men are using in the opening rounds…

I’m making my way through it in chunks, too. Please share your takeaways in comments.

* Related…

* Jesse Jackson Jr. campaign treasurer resigns

* Is Winning Illinois Secretary of State Hopeless for the GOP?

* The evolution of Pat Quinn

* Marriage defense appears on downstate billboards

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 1:54 am

Comments

GOP primary needs more candidates. #zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Comment by too obvious Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 7:54 am
Regarding the Illinois Family Institute billboards:

I don’t think Adam and Eve are the best role models for 21st Century secular marriage law.

Those two were trouble-makers: running around naked in the garden, hanging with dodgy serpents, stealing apples — even their father evicted them from a swell rent-free spread.

And their kids — what a mess. That Cain was bad news. I don’t know how that boy ever found a woman to marry him (seriously, where did she come from?).

Those who wish to take their literal interpretations of ancient oral legends — first written down in the 10th Century B.C. in Aramaic and translated to Greek to Latin to English — as unalterable secular law are the same as the Islamic fundamentalists who seek to institute Sharia law.

Those Muslim children of Abraham are informed by many of the same stories as Christians and Jews.

You can use the Old Testament, the Koran and the Torah to justify slavery and all manner of barbarous conduct. It’s no way to govern those who were blessed by their creator with reason and the ability to evolve in their thinking.

It rejects The Enlightenment. Plus, for Christians, it completely ignores the Gospels. Consider them the original New Deal.

If you believe in your heart gay marriage is a sin, well, you’re a sinner, too, as are we all. Adam and Eve were the original ones. Judge not that you be judged.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 8:22 am
That was pretty uninspiring, Brady and Dillard have the same stuff as 4 years ago which didn’t sell, rauner is romney awkward without the gravitas and I’m not really sure who Rutherford sits with.

Disappointing someone like Matt Murphy didn’t step up.

Comment by shore Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 11:52 am
Re: Billboards. It always annoys me when the owners of public accommodation businesses want to choose their customers. If you don’t want to provide your good or service to the general public, then you shouldn’t have opened a business that provides a good or service to the general public.

Don’t provide a good or service to the general public, and then be surprised when the general public wants to purchase your good or service, and then feels discriminated against when you deny it to them.

Comment by Just Me Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 12:03 pm
D-Lard is sounding better, but too much reference to Edgar and Thompson. It is kinda of like hearing Newt Gingrich talk about the past.
Rauner’s money spent on messaging and speaking has paid off. Much better than he was 2 months ago.
Brady has no message, and Rutherford seemed asleep.
If Rauner picks a DuPage running mate that is fresh and hungry, whatch out D-Lard!

Comment by DuPage Rep Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 1:11 pm
Agree that Rauner better campaign speaker then in the beginning. But, can anyone (Word, Oswego) explain how it is that Dillard was hammered over the Obama Iowa ad in 2010 and Rauner’s close relationships and donations to Democrats is apparently ignored by the base in 2013.

Comment by Samurai Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 1:35 pm
@DuPage Rep

I think Rauner needs to worry more about downstate and needs a downstate Lt Gov. Weakening Dillard in Du Page would likely help Rutherford more than Rauner.

Rauner’s term limit proposal cuts back the state senate in ways that disenfranchises large swathes of southern Illinois.

Comment by Bill White Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 1:51 pm
- Samurai -,

There are a few reasons, the most important, and taking the Lion’s share of the reason is Cash.

Rutherford needs his Cash for after December through March for TV and building on the groundwork Rutherford has put down as his base.

It is what it is, so, I will just say it. Dillard and Brady are just “broke”. Compared to Rauner and Rutherford, Brady and Dillard are broke.

Now, I have tried to give them “outs” for the lack of funds to take Payton Prep Clouter Bruce Rauner on, and that is usinjg the prism of all that Clouter Rauner is, and use that to define their campaigns, because, in reality, the 11th Commandment works in this instance, because hundreds of thousands of Dollars to Rahm Emanuel, and Rich Daley, does not an Outsider, Reformer, Conservative, Republican make, no matter how many pictures with stuffed dogs and hunting Carhartt Jackets are used in still photography.

All that being said, the last 20% is really simple; Dillard is spending time convincing people he can do it, even though he lost to Brady …Brady is spending time convincing people HE can do it, even though he lost to Quinn.

Convincing people to think a possible negative does not exist eats up alot of time you can spend using the prism of Payton Prep Clouter Bruce Rauner to make a better case to be the nominee.

And …

Dan Rutherford, be it Tweeting … or The Facebook… or gimmick “annoucement” guessing games … Rutherford is on his own timetable, and attacking Rauner is on the timetable, just not seen until the money is “ripe” like in January.

Hope that helped…

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 2:04 pm
@ Bill White
I think your logic has merit, but a large majority of the Republican voters are in Cook Lake Kane Will and DuPage. Why waste a chance to enhance your support were most of the voters are? Rutherford’s biggest competition is going to be Brady for the downstate vote and Rauner for the Chicago vote. Dillard is counting on DuPage in a big way, and Jil Tracy is not a household name outside of her small area. I think Rauner should focus on the Chicagoland area with his ticket, and money and messaging downstate. A few months ago, I thought Rauner was just another rich McKenna. He can actually do this, maybe…

Comment by DuPage Rep Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 2:14 pm
Thanks for the reply Oswego.

Comment by Samurai Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 2:24 pm
- Samurai -,

Just my take, I am sure there are other theories out there too. If it helps on that level, you are welcome.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 3:56 pm
–If Rauner picks a DuPage running mate that is fresh and hungry, whatch out D-Lard!–

I’m not sure that running mates are going to matter, unless someone picks a real bad one that causes problems.

Rauner is running the table right now; he’s raising a lot of money and spending a lot of money defining himself. No one is countering that.

If push comes to shove, he’s a billionaire who can self-fund, like Bloomberg.

Rutherford is raising money. But how are Brady and Dillard going to get on TV? They’re raising oogats.

Gidwitz was quoted the other day that Rauner and Daley were his dream matchup — he wins either way.

Yeah, buddy. Not so much for me. Or you.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 4:34 pm
@Just Me:

Exactly.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 5:29 pm
–Dillard is counting on DuPage in a big way,–

There is no DuPage big way. not so much that they could put you over the top in a GOP primary.

You’d be better off running as a Lake-Cook Road Republican. That’s where the votes are.

Last time out, DuPage cast 94,000 out of 750,000 GOP ballots. Dillard got 21,500 in the county.

If you want to engage in the fantasy that too many DuPage candidates robbed Dillard, be my guest. I had no idea that the DuPage GOP was so tribal.

But the facts are, when folks who made the effort to pull a GOP ballot had the opportunity to vote for Dillard, they did so at a clip of 20%.

And 20% doesn’t scare anyone, or make anyone an obvious choice.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 6:01 pm
After all this is said and done, and who is more Republican, and who ran the best ads, and who looked good speaking and answering questions in the debates, and who had the Best running mate, and who had the Worst running mate … and we talk it out until we are blue in the face…

The bottom line in this 4 way race for the GOP Nomination for Governor is going to come down to TWO factors that none of the campaigns can deny as the “end of the day” Factors:

Who can identify their voters best, and who can get all those identified voters to actually VOTE for them on election day at the highest clip and VOTE the highest percentage of the “found” Pluses - (75% of our found “Pluses” made it to the polls, we know this, we voted them)

That is that.

Can Rauner identify all his supporters, and get them, systematically to the Polls to VOTE Rauner?

Can Brady get out of his comfort zone of who he thinks were/are his voters from 2010, find his NOW Pluses, and get those to the Polls, especially in his base to offset Rutherford.

Can Rutherford harness all the Cook/Chicago energy he hopes to get with Kim as his running mate, identify the voters in Vote-Rich Chicago and Cook, get them to pull a Republican ballot, then VOTE for Rutherford/Kim, all the while keeping home base from gettting away by actually having GOTV in McLean and voting his Actual Known Pluses in his base to counter Brady.

Can Dillard … who felt the sting of 193 votes short …can Dillard find, secure, GOTV and actually get his Pluses to the Polls at a clip greater than before, and roll up totals in DuPage of ACTUAL Pluses, by having an actual GOTV that …exists. Getting Jil Tracy to cover Dillard’s flank by being alone in her region, and FINDING and VOTING Dillard Pluses there is the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd priority for Tracy. Tracy needs to hold service and beyond in the Quincy region… with actual finding and delivering … votes.

These are all BIG ASKS.

Being the Republican Nominee for governor demands big asks from its winner.

This is not going to be easy, or “phoned in” for a win, or a”golf on election day” lock for any of the four.

Those are the simplist I can make it challenges that the 4 have. Everything… tone, message, policy positions, history … everything is going to come down to WHO can find their Pluses, WHO can have the best election day, and WHO, with a solid GOTV, can get THEIR actual identified Pluses … voting.

The rest is just hoping, and yelling, and posturing, and posing…and that leads to losing.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Sep 10, 13 @ 6:25 pm