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* Sen. Michael Frerichs has pulled his treasurer campaign announcement video off YouTube and replaced it with a new one.
The embarrassing move had to be made because Frerichs claimed in the original video that he had “led by example” by “ending free lifetime healthcare for legislators.”
Actually, Frerichs voted against that bill.
* Here’s the relevant clip from the original video…
* I asked Sen. Frerichs about his vote yesterday, and he got back to me today saying there’d obviously been a mistake.
He said he supported getting rid of free health insurance for elected officials, but the final bill, he said, “included everyone,” including university employees, so he couldn’t support it.
“My media team and I were talking about various reforms I had supported,” Frerichs said, “I think what happened is we saw the bill and saw the first version, which I had voted for.”
He did vote for the initial version, which was basically just an empty vehicle bill.
“We definitely misspoke, we messed up, we’re moving forward,” Frerichs said.
Oops.
* Making matters far worse, the legislation which Frerichs voted against was co-sponsored by none other than Tom Cross, Frerichs’ likely GOP rival. So, expect a Tom Cross press release in 3… 2… 1…
But, really, the goofiest thing about this mistake is that Frerichs has been running for treasurer for a year now. He’s had all this time to prepare the “perfect” official rollout and he blew it. That’s a seriously amateur mistake for a guy who claims to be running a top-notch campaign. There’s just no excuse for this stuff.
*** UPDATE *** Cross’ tracker was tossed out of Frerichs’ Chicago announcement event yesterday, but not before this video was taken of Frerichs taking credit for eliminating free lifetime health insurance for legislators…
Apparently, Frerichs dropped that particular line when he reached Peoria, which would be after I’d sent him an e-mail asking about the vote.
* Not everything else went smoothly for Frerichs on his big day, either. For instance, when asked yesterday about Senate President John Cullerton’s recent comments that Chicago pension reform is the session’s number one priority, Frerichs contradicted himself…
“There are many priorities out there, that is one of his,” Frerichs said.
Is it one of yours?
“In the treasurer’s office? No, the treasurer’s office is not in charge of pension reform. I think the things we need to focus on are making investments in our communities here in Illinois…” […]
Asked about Bruce Rauner’s criticism of Rutherford for not stepping up and taking a more central role in helping solve pension crisis, Frerichs said:
“The treasurer should be offering advice. We’ve seen the state going in the wrong direction”
Um, OK.
* Related…
* Ill. treasurer candidate hits incumbent on travel: Rutherford’s campaign spokesman Brian Sterling dismissed the criticism Wednesday, saying the treasurer is “very careful about mixing state and political business together.”
* Mike Frerichs kicks off Treasurer Campaign in Rock Island
* Candidate for state treasurer promises audit
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:17 pm
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@FakeMikeFrerichs - being at the Big Kid table is tough. I will get one of my hidden campaign staff to fix this #NotReadyForPrimeTime
@FakeMikeFrerichs - usually I just tweet how important I am in hope people look at me. Now, I guess people are watching #UtOhMisstakersAreBummers
@FakeMikeFrerichs - How about we all pretend I have been tweeting and announcing and touting for months and months and yesterday never happened #RebootKarmaForAttention
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:22 pm
It appeared something was up: https://capitolfax.com/2014/01/22/rate-the-frerichs-intro-video/#comment-11417869
Over-the-top press releases, desperate attempts to inject the campaign into any “hot” issue of the day, bungled roll outs…
This campaign is starting to resemble Sheila Simon’s. Without the banjo or “Loose Gravel”.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:23 pm
The Treasurer’s office is regularly audited by the Auditor General. The promise of an audit is as empty as the thought that the chief investment officer of the State should get involved in the pension issue by “offering advice”.
Comment by chad Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:24 pm
@FakeShielaSimon - thanks @FakeMikeFrerichs for your “rollout” yesterday. You gave my ego a boost. Lets hang together soon #MakingShielaLookCompetent
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:26 pm
Geez, dude, why should you be in charge of the bank accounts, again?
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:27 pm
#ForeheadSmack Hold on… so the narrative now becomes:
“I voted to give free lifetime health care to legislators. My opponent pushed to end that practice.”
In this environment? Right after those same legislators just cut voter’s pensions?
Yeah. People will love that.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:27 pm
whether he voted for or against makes no difference — vote for Frerichs. whatever you think, he’s for.
Comment by jim Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:30 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - I know what I voted for and against, I usually never fact-check stuff about me and blame others as often as possible #PreviewsAreForChickens
@FakeMikeFrerichs - yeah, my media people, I blame them, I mean, am I really suppose to know ALL the bills and stuff I voted for too? #SoundLikeBrokenUnknownRecord
@FakeMikeFrerichs - when can I tweet something snarky again about others to feel smug? I miss that. #LookAtMeJustNotWhenItsBad
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:32 pm
WOW! That is incredible. How delusional are you when your number one claim of things you have accomplished is fake!
Standing Tall for Illinois is a play on the fact that Mike’s oversized head is one of the largest in Illinois.
Comment by Purple Foxx Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:36 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - yeah, I said it. It’s real cool to get email on your phone too! #GettingCaughtSayingStuffAintTooKool
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:37 pm
Aaaaand now we know why he doesn’t want trackers in the room with him.
“How can I be all things to all people if you’re actually going to keep track of what I say?”
#NotFair #FrownyFace #ThisIsHard
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:39 pm
Rutherford is “very careful about mixing state and political business together. ?
Except for that $25,000 state mailer to “inform” high level GOP donors about the services the Treasurer’s office provides. yeah, except for that one little thing.
Comment by Siriusly Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:42 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - can we fast-forward to the part I win yet? I thought I was gonna just say smug stuff and get sworn in? #FunnyThingsHappen
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:44 pm
Maybe this has come up somewhere, but I thought Frerichs had a good looking wife who is notably absent here. Is he divorced now? Can’t tell if he’s got a ring or not. Not a huge deal, other than I thought she’d be an asset for him.
Comment by Wifey Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:47 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - Cross’ campaign needs to stop with the trackers. The only thing I am tracking are the curtains I measured for the Treasurer’s Office. #Entitled #Smug
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:48 pm
Everyone knows Rutherford IS “very careful about mixing state and political business together.” He tries whenever he can, see e.g. statewide Cash Dash tours, etc. Problem is, he shouldn’t do it, whether he’s “careful” or not
As for Frerichs — wow, amateur hour.
Comment by Whatever Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:49 pm
“This is my proudest achievement!
What’s that? Ahem, excuse me folks, just a minor correction.
This is bad, so I voted against it! Even though I would be proud to be for it!”
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:50 pm
Doesn’t Robin Kelly have better things to do when she’s back in Illinois than be a photo-op-prop for Freirichs?
Comment by Brendan Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:52 pm
Frerichs is divorced Wifey. Happened last year IIRC.
Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:53 pm
No harm, no foul! For real live voters this is a non-issue. While this kind of story lathers up the “gotcha crowd”, by election day, it won’t amount to a hill of beans.
Comment by Drallid Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:53 pm
@FakeJasonPlummer - I have a set of curtains laying around that should fit your Treasurer’s office in Capitol. Dad says you remind him of someone #TallIOrder
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:55 pm
It looks like the Republican Party is running his race for Treasurer. Might I suggest that Mike hire Dan Proft as his press secretary. Dan is renown for his campaigns, especially Alan Keyes.
Comment by SonofSuperAbe2014 Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:55 pm
Anyone who thinks that Dan Proft’s or Alan Keyes’s runs for office have been about anything other than keeping their names/faces in circulation so they can generate business from speaking/consulting/books, needs a reality check.
Comment by Brendan Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 12:58 pm
Has anyone confirmed Mr. Frerichs is running for Treasurer in 2014?
Or is the past year all part of his 2018 campaign? He could be ready then.
#TrickedYou
Please don’t put this man in charge of our money.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:00 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - yes, I have a mouse in my pocket. #RoyalWe #HighSchoolMusical #AllInThisTogether #CantJustBlameMe
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:02 pm
For all: Please review Mike’s revised announcementhttp://youtu.be/pvn-tBeLpCk
Comment by SonofSuperAbe2014 Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:04 pm
Oops I did a Mike. Here it is http://youtu.be/pvn-tBeLpCk
Comment by SonofSuperAbe2014 Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:06 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - ok, I redid the video, and corrected everything. It’s now only 17 seconds. #DoYouKnowWhoIAm #LearningAboutTheRealMeToo
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:07 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - I want everyone to know, the next piece I rollout will be as accurate as possible #TallTales
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:16 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - Cross can’t misrepresent my record. Only I can misrepresent my record! #Boone #Otter
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:26 pm
He ‘messed up’ by not realizing he’s now going to be held to a higher standard than when he had cakewalk re elections against tea parties in a pretty democratic district. He also says in the video that he’s the first person in his family to go to a ‘university’ which is a cute way of misleading voters into thinking he’s the first person in his family to go to college, since his older brother went to a ‘college’ not a university.
Comment by Frerichs watcher Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:27 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - what is good about hiding my payrolled staff is that no one will know who got fired for making “We” look bad! #NewbieStatewideProblems
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:29 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - I like to mix up my speeches at one location to another. That way, no matter what I say, one of those should be accurate. #StumpSpeechesAreBoringEnough
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:46 pm
“50% of the time, I’m right every time!”
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 1:59 pm
If the University thing is true, that’s really annoying. Does he really need to claim that? How much value does it add?
Playing fast and loose with the truth is rarely a one time mistake. It’s generally a character flaw.
Comment by Rahm'sMiddleFinger Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:03 pm
=== No, the treasurer’s office is not in charge of pension reform. ===
“At least it wasn’t until I saw the chance to reverse myself and try taking some shots at a guy I’m not even running against.
He’s in the other party, you know.”
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:03 pm
Oy. Maybe this time pull an R primary just to vote for the guy who only misspells his name…
Comment by Toure's Latte Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:08 pm
=== which is a cute way of misleading voters into thinking he’s the first person in his family ===
“Vote Frerichs: Serious semantics for serious times.”
“Vote Frerichs: Are you impressed yet?”
5 cannoli says Frerichs goes mostly negative the rest of the way.
When candidates continue shooting themselves in the foot even on their “good” days and have nothing much positive of their own to “sell”, it can get ugly.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:16 pm
Not sure what is going on here, but this isn’t the Frerichs that I know. Time to shuffle the deck.
Comment by Mittuns Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:35 pm
Rutherford hasn’t leveraged the office and directly used its resources for personal political gain?
You’ve got to be kidding! That’s his number one problem, followed by badmouthing the state publicly, impacting the rating agencies, for political gain. That’s not what a Treasurer does, and why I have trouble supporting him.
At least he’s no worse than Alexi. I’ll give him that.
Comment by walker Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:37 pm
Frerichs is the smartest guy in the room….
…only if the room is a closet.
Comment by truth hurts sometimes Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:38 pm
OW laying it on thick with the fake tweets. I guess the former Cross critic is now his caddy.
Comment by Mittuns Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:41 pm
Nope.
Sen. Frerichs brought this on himself with Dopey press releases based on spotlight hogging and not the issues at hand, even messing up his own stances to get they pesky press release out.
Cross’ Crew won’t be inviting me to any golf outings any time soon.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 2:55 pm
When the choice is between mediocre and bad, mediocre suddenly looks a whole lot better.
In this case, Frerichs practically makes “the Duffer” look like a wise, sincere, steady leader. Even Grogan looks better by virtue of simply not being Frerichs.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:05 pm
Have to agree with OW, at this rate Cross can golf all he wants in the spring, summer, and fall. Frerichs is inflicting more damage on himself than to Cross with almost every move he makes.
Maybe Frerichs should follow the lead of the Governor, keep his head down and let the GOP do what it does best. Tear itself apart until someone is left standing.
Comment by Almost the Weekend Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:09 pm
AA thinks OW’s Tweetering was more deftly rolled out than the campaign.
The tall man shoulda hired a Con$ulting Firm.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:10 pm
–That’s his number one problem, followed by badmouthing the state publicly, impacting the rating agencies, for political gain. –
He did do that. Bad form indeed.
I’ve been leaning to voting for Rutherford as the most moderate candidate in the primary (Rauner is not an option).
But I might vote for Brady. We’re not goombatica, politically, but he’s real. You know what you’re getting.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:10 pm
And we are surprised because…? After all, this is the same Frerichs who has had political blunders throughout his time in the GA.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:18 pm
- AA -, isn’t being on one hidden campaign payroll enough. I can remember any more code names at this point.
(- AA -, that was a cover, get Frerichs the Firm’s info, and have them use the ’side entrance’ for the meeting, like Rauner’s Crew)
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:18 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - I went to a University. I was first. It’s true. #TruthfullyParsed?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:44 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - those who know me best, my senate dem. colleagues are so supportive to me leaving the senate to be the next Treasurer! #TheyKnowSomethingOthersAreLearningQuick
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 3:49 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - I plan another rollout, with all my staff out in the open, and all the facts accurate. #ThirdTimeTheCharm #RollingOutRightTheFirstTimeIsOverrated
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:10 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - I plan on running on my record, and on all the stuff I like about Tom Cross’ record, but tell you it’s my record too. #RunningFromToAtOnWhateverSoundsGoodThatDay
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:19 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - what is the tallest recorded “shrinking violet”? #HeightJokesAreNotSoFunNow
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:23 pm
@FakeMikeFrerichs - if I had another 3 months or so, you would have seen a “rollout” that would have beat the drum #InsteadOfBlowingTheWhistleOnMyself #12MonthsNotLongEnoughToPrepare
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:27 pm
@FakeSheilaSimon - between us, I can’t believe I was afraid to primary @FakeMikeFrerichs. #PaperTiger #DoOverFrerichs
#TakeTwoCampaign
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 4:39 pm
“Vote Frerichs: It’s Just A Flesh Wound”
Comment by Judgment Day Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 5:08 pm
RahmsMiddleFinger- Frerichs represents the University of Illinois, so I’d say it’s relevant
Comment by K3 Thursday, Jan 23, 14 @ 9:37 pm
Wifey, I don’t know why you’d want to bring up Frerichs’ divorce. It’s not like he put out a press release and gave media interviews to announce that, yes ladies, he’s single again.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-09-08/tom-kacich-good-timing-new-business.html
Frerichs divorce.
The divorce of state Sen. Mike Frerichs and Laura Frerichs was finalized last week in Champaign County Circuit Court.
Laura Appenzeller Frerichs is director of the research park at University of Illinois. Mike Frerichs is the state senator whose district includes Champaign, Urbana and Danville.
He also is an unannounced candidate for state treasurer. He said last week that the divorce would not affect his campaign nor his Senate service.
“Michael and Laura Frerichs have been married for more than 10 years. They have respect for each other and continue to be close, but have decided to go their separate ways through an amicable agreement,” Mike Frerichs said in a prepared statement. “They ask for the media to respect their privacy during this personal decision for the sake of their 4-year-old daughter. They both care deeply about her happiness and plan to actively coparent her on continued basis. Mike and Laura will continue to live in Champaign-Urbana.”
Comment by Wow Friday, Jan 24, 14 @ 12:27 am
Who cares? He’s still going to win. Regular people don’t care about this BS!
Comment by Up and Adam Friday, Jan 24, 14 @ 8:46 am
@FakeMikeFrerichs - yeah, no one cares I am clueless, an amateur, annoyingly brazen, and unapologetically gadfly-ish #ShrinkingVioletForIllinois
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jan 24, 14 @ 8:54 am
Thanks for the answer Wow. Sorry I don’t have a google news feed for Mike Frerichs. I asked, you answered.
Sensitive much?
Comment by Wifey Friday, Jan 24, 14 @ 9:05 am
@FakeMikeFrerichs - I am excited that today is a “new day”. I am hoping people will forget that I don’t know much about my own record #CliffsNotes #FairyTales #TallTales
@FakeTomCross - Couldn’t sleep last night, so read some fiction. Works every time #FrerichsRollout #TallTales #Pinocchio
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jan 24, 14 @ 9:13 am