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* Today is the end of the quarter, so my inbox is flooded with candidate pleas to give last-minute money. Republican Bobby Schilling went for the dramatic angle…
This is bigger than us. This is about saving this great nation. This is about standing up for our children and our grandchildren.
* But my favorite appeal so far is from gazillionaire Bruce Rauner, whose campaign coffers are over-flowing with money, including a recent $2.5 million contribution from Illinois’ wealthiest man…
On Friday we learned the national Democratic Governors Association had transferred about $1 million to Pat Quinn’s campaign.
On Thursday, we discovered that the special interests that spent millions trying to defeat us in March had transferred another $1 million dollars to the same front group they used to attack me in the Primary.
No doubt: here they come.
We hold a lead in the polls. And our victory will mean the end of politics as usual in Springfield. So of course Pat Quinn and his special interest allies are going to come for me with a multi-million dollar ad blitz.
On top of that tomorrow – June 30 – marks the end of the second quarter. This is the most important financial deadline of the campaign. Campaigns will release their fundraising reports to the public, and pundits and the media will review our financial report to gauge our strength.
Will you help with a contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50, $25, or even $5?
Your donation does two things. First, it helps us ready a counteroffensive to what Pat Quinn and the special interests are planning. We’re building the largest grassroots team in America. And we’ll combine our ground troops with an advertising blitz.
Second, your contribution helps bolster this critical financial report. With special interest allies and national groups refueling Pat Quinn’s campaign with millions in just the last few days we know his special interest-funded campaign will show a strong report.
Will you contribute $500, $250, $100, $50, $25, or even $5? Heck, if you can do more like $1,000 or $2,500 it will send a message to Springfield and the special interests propping up a failing Quinn campaign.
Any amount helps. Is $5 or $25 too much?
Let’s not take Quinn’s coming multi-million dollar ad blitz lying down. We’re all-in to win.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 11:44 am
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Hilarious. We have officially entered the Twilight Zone.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 11:48 am
And by “hilarious”, I mean “not funny at all”.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 11:49 am
Bobby Schilling has quite the Messiah complex.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 11:52 am
What, no Pledge to Match contributions?
Comment by WhoKnew Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 11:56 am
Unbelievable chutzpah, except coming from Rainer it is believable. What a piece of work he is.
Comment by Mighty M. Mouse Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 11:59 am
Maybe folks should donate the difference in their wages from what they make now until they end up in one of Rauner’s “right to work zones.” In the same way, minimum wage employees should donate that extra $1 per hour they earn over the federal minimum wage to Rauner. That should help ya Bruce!
Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:02 pm
Wow. My first response was “Hilarious.” So Rauner has put FKA and me on the same side.
Comment by Soccermom Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:04 pm
I wonder if anyone actually believes what they write these pieces.
Comment by train111 Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:04 pm
“Will you help with a contribution of $500, $250, $100, $50, $25, or even $5?”
For those of you who can contribute a little more, how about another $2.5 million?
Comment by Wensicia Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:05 pm
===Let’s not take Quinn’s coming multi-million dollar ad blitz lying down.===
I am sure Bruce has Ads in the can already, and the money to get them out there.
===We’re all-in to win.===
Let that fester.
Why do I think, immediately, to Ken Griffin when I read …
“We’re all-in to win.”
It’s all about having “one of their own” and cutting out the middlemen.
Lemmings will give cash to Rauner, Raunerites of “means”, they will be giving the “real money”.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:15 pm
Poor Bobby Schilling. He must really miss his free franking priveleges from his two years in the House when he sent out “newsletters” to all the residents in his district. As I recall, he was the #1 franker in the House, using those carefully hoarded taxpayer dollars.
Those “newsletters” sure read like campaign literature. Maybe he could ask voters to dig those out and read them again. One of my favorites was the survey where he asked readers if they supported passing a particular piece of job killing legislation. Very carefully worded “newsletter” that was, indeed.
Comment by Aldyth Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:17 pm
Rich, I think Rauner mistakenly cc’d you on an email to Ken Griffin.
Comment by Nonplussed Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:21 pm
So now he’s moonlighting as a performance artist.
Comment by Cheryl44 Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:25 pm
“Will you contribute $500, $250, $100, $50, $25, or even $5?”
Rauner is doing this for the same reason the wears his blue vest (only $40 from his on-line store) in some of his campaign ads. Rauner wants to show that he is a ‘candidate of the people’. True, he has no actual need for the money but he needs to appear to be closer to the voters. I think that from a political point of view this is a good move on his part.
Comment by Hit or Miss Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:40 pm
Perfectly reasonable for a candidate, no matter how well funded or from whom, to want a broad base of financial support. I recall Barack Obama, who enjoyed big $ support, did this “grassroots” fundraising to great effect in 2008 and 2012. It gets more buy-in when people have skin in the game.
Comment by phocion Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:49 pm
No, $5 is not too much to ask from me. but can you have Ken Griffin pay the $5 for me? is that too much to ask? heck make it $15. I feel much more comfortable with you using the term “grass roots” if Griffin pays my share…
Comment by PoolGuy Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 12:56 pm
Are they mailing to the names and addresses on the “Term Limits” petition?
They’re now public record.
Comment by walker Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 1:13 pm
It isn’t about money. It isn’t about the candidate. It is about finding people willing to fund the stands on the issues the candidate favors.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 1:23 pm
VMan is right. Don’t bother “following the money”. Follow the money contributors. For $5 you can “be as mad as hell, not going to take it anymore, and actually do something about it”. Even a fin can be empowering.
Comment by A guy... Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 1:31 pm
A $5 donation is a mental commitment, not a monetary one. It is the first thing GOPAC teaches you. If someone offers up their last five dollars, take it. They will be committed to you forever, even though a $5 is nothing to the Rauner campaign, it is everything to somebody that doesn’t have anything.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 1:37 pm
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If Rauner used only his own fortune to run his campaign, critics would say that he was buying the election and that he lacked popular support. If he solicits campaign funds, he is a piker. It is easier to be Quinn and count on involuntary union dues deductions for political action being funneled to his campaign by labor and public employee unions, Obama dollars or anti-violence initiative walking around money. Okay, okay, the last comment was snarky.
Comment by Upon Further Review Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 1:47 pm
Rauner must be concerned that Quinn is going to report more contributors.
He’s got a lead, and he needs to protect it.
The perception that Quinn had more backers willing to write a check — any check — may get people to start thinking that just maybe those polls showing Rauner up are the same type that showed Romney up and Cantor up.
This is about the perception not of dollars but of backing, and about making sure that momentum doesn’t start to shift.
And to digress –
I have to admit that I like it when donors write huge checks. I’m still undecided in this race but I know I don’t have to write a check. Both candidates have enough people writing big checks such that the $250 check I might write is meaningless to them.
It is nice knowing I can keep that checkbook closed.
Comment by Goooner Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 2:03 pm
Sorry, Bruce. I’ll be spending my $5 on cupcakes. The Cupcake Girl needs the money more than you do.
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 2:17 pm
“Will you contribute $500, $250, $100, $50, $25, or even $5?”
If not, can Bruce’s campaign use your private jet?
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM (@MisterJayEm) Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 2:23 pm
Bruce is just making some space on the stage for everyone. What politician has not done similar ads regardless of how much campaign cash is in the bank? It is ‘The other group will outspend us unless you help’ sales pitch. I am sure I would get as much face time/support at a $5 donation as the person who gave $2.5 million. It’s not the amount, it is the commitment, right?
Comment by zatoichi Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 2:24 pm
I can’t vote for Quinn because I know he can’t fix the state and has no interest in complying with tedious little details the constitution.
But this type of nonsense is going to make it tough to stomach voting for Rauner. I think everyone wants to see the billionaire not take any money, much less ask me for $5.00. Spend your own money so there is not doubt you are not beholding to anyone.
It occurs to me that part of Rauner’s shake up Springfield plan may involve eliminating unemployment.
How can anyone say they can’t find a job when his campaign will obviously hire any idiot on the planet to come up with this stuff.
Comment by the Patriot Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 2:36 pm
==I can’t vote for Quinn because I know he can’t fix the state and has no interest in complying with tedious little details the constitution.==
You mean just like Bruce Rauner, chairman of the term limits committee who is also running for governor?
Comment by Precinct Captain Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 3:03 pm
===I can’t vote for Quinn because I know he can’t fix the state and has no interest in complying with tedious little details the constitution.===
“I can’t vote for Rauner because I know he can’t fix the state with no plan and no idea how state government works…and has no interest in complying with tedious little details of the constitution, and is willing to shut down state government to prove it.”
Better.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 3:06 pm
Bruces $53 mil earned last year is what, $1.60 per second (24/7). So he can cover my $5 in three seconds. So, no. None of my money for brucey.
Comment by Langhorne Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 3:56 pm
It actually doesn’t bother me that he’s asking for money–but to whine about large dollar donations to Quinn just makes him sound like a phony.
Comment by drew Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 5:09 pm
===The perception that Quinn had more backers willing to write a check — any check — may get people to start thinking that just maybe those polls showing Rauner up are the same type that showed Romney up and Cantor up.===
If you are referring to the one single poll, not polls, by the nominally unbiased but in reality very Republican leaning Illinois Manufacturers Association that showed Rauner up by 10 points, remember that all the other polls that preceded that poll which were not done by a Republican leaning organization all showed the race to be within the margin of error.
In reality, all of the nonsense spouted by the Rauner campaign, including their advertising, has shown no real evidence of moving the poll numbers in any statistically significant way whatsoever.
Comment by Mighty M. Mouse Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 5:38 pm
Sheez–the IRONY–such a brazen appeal, just so that he looks good, in effect, to people like the poor Widow who was thinking of giving her last dime to the Church, (like Scripture relates), and coming from somebody like RAUner, who’s self-funding and filthy rich alREADY, with filthy even RICHER BUDDies, like Kenneth Griffin droppin’ him $2 1/2 MILLion!! The NERVE of this guy knows no BOUNdaries apparently…!
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Monday, Jun 30, 14 @ 7:07 pm