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* UPDATED x2 * Quinn campaign goes up with first TV ad of the season

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* I’m told the governor’s campaign is launching his first TV ad today. I’m also told it’s a positive spot. Stay tuned.

*** UPDATE *** The one-minute spot is called “Comeback.” It references his veto of legislator paychecks, among other things. Rate it…

…Adding… Script…

It’s in times of challenge,

when leaders are tested.

To do what’s right, no matter how hard.

Pat Quinn’s never backed down from a challenge…

even when it meant taking on the powerful.

As a young man Pat Quinn took on the giant utilities.

He stopped them from gouging families on their electric bills.

It’s who he is.

Pat Quinn sees problems, takes action, and gets the job done.

With an economy in meltdown, and a crisis of corruption,

Pat Quinn took over as governor…

and went to work.

He cut five billion dollars in spending. Created jobs.

And when legislators refused to fix the pension crisis,

Pat Quinn stopped their paychecks cold, and refused his own, until the job was done.

That’s the test of leadership.

Now, Illinois is making a comeback.

With so much more work to be done,

Pat Quinn’s the leader we need on our side.

Pat Quinn. Governor.

Because courage counts.

And character matters.

*** UPDATE *** Greg Hinz…

The Rauner campaign had a response within an hour — or as the campaign put it, “Pat Quinn’s reality check.”

Among other things, it notes that Mr. Quinn once handled patronage duties for then-Gov. Dan Walker, that the state’s bond rating has plummeted during the Quinn years, and reminds viewers that the state’s economic recovery has indeed been tepid at best, lagging the rebound in almost every other state.

The Rauner rejoinder also underlines that the Quinn administration is being scrutinized for alleged patronage abuses and says spending for education has dropped while the income tax has increased.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 8:50 am

Comments

Interesting that the ad doesn’t indicate he’s a Democrat. And he cut $5B in spending? Who is he trying to sound like?

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 8:59 am
I like it, good messages for him. I also like that he is building up Illinois.

I have had enough with this negative “we are the worst” attitude, let’s stop tearing our home state down and start talking about the great things we have done and are doing. I’m not ignorant of our problems - but when all you do is say “Illinois is the worst” people start to believe it - and it’s just not true.

Comment by siriusly Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:00 am
All fluff, no bite or zing…in other words, an ad nobody will pay attention to in July/early August

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:02 am
+++ “And when legislators refused to fix the pension crisis,
Pat Quinn stopped their paychecks cold, and refused his own, until the job was done.” +++

The job is done? And he led the work?

Comment by titan Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:08 am
Some may miss the point of this ad. It is about contrasts. Remember, “Don’t compare me to the almighty, just to the alternative”? Courage counts, character matters. If this resonates (and we’ll see if it does), Quinn will go after Rauner’s courage and character. Solid B.

Comment by Try-4-Truth Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:09 am
it is early, but I can’t quibble with the assertions stated…
How would Rauner have handled the post Blago era?

Comment by LCP45 Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:10 am
the non-leader wants us to believe he leads. yawn.

Comment by Tequila Mockingbird Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:10 am
Slightly off topic, but last night I saw a ton of anti-Quinn ads on Hulu Plus. This is the first I’ve seen of political ads on Netflix/Hulu.

Comment by Just Observing Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:12 am
A-, I think a very good ad for him. Whether people believe it or not is a real question.

Comment by downstate hack Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:13 am
They got the right voice talent. He’s the Voice of God in all your favorite docs.

There’s a spot there in the concept, because Quinn has made some tough decision in tough times, and he’s not afraid to scrap.

But this is unfocused. It’s all over the place. The visuals are just a random collage.

What’s with the paychecks and “pension reform,” anyway? Is that for the Tribbies? They ain’t going to go for Quinn no matter what. Quinn should be running against that establishment clown show anyway.

Pat, instead of telling the folks what a Goliath you’ve been, tell them what a David you are, and how you still have a few rocks in your sling to take down the big bad boys. That’s been your brand from day one.

You’re most likeable when you’re an underdog, and dude, you’re an underdog now.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:15 am
Moves so slowly. He looks old and frumpy. Can’t tell who he’s trying to reach.

D at best.

Comment by Gus Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:15 am
The ad actually made me sad. To see the young idealistic crusader that was once Pat Quinn compared against the bungling and ineffective elected official that is today’s Pat Quinn, reminds how far he has regressed and/or been compromised by politics. I’ll give it a C+ because it’s positive, but using the words “Pat Quinn” and “Leader” in the same 60 seconds is a hard sell to most Illinoisans. To me the end message to voters was “if you’re happy with how things are going and you want more of the same that you’ve been seeing over the past 4 years, re-elect Pat Quinn.” Is that really what they see as the winning strategy for their campaign?

Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:16 am
Pat Quinn’s never backed down from a challenge…

even when it meant taking on the powerful.
_____________________________________________

Is it just me, or does anyone else have a vision of Madigan snickering when reading this line.

Comment by Pete Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:38 am
JO, what are you watching on Hulu+? I have yet to see any political ads there.

Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:44 am
Courage. Character. Cuts. What is he? A Republican.

Comment by Cabildero Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:54 am
It’s a pass. By far, his best yet. Even the people who like him, seriously doubt him. This one’s for them. A reminder of why they ever liked him. No conversions coming out of this one, but perhaps some mortar in the shaky bricks. Slinger’s right- it is all over the place, but it’s pointing out things many people who liked him, liked him for. Decent.

Comment by A guy... Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 9:58 am
ABOUT TIME!
He’s down 14!

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:01 am
This is not particularly good. It’s unfocused and the images aren’t really compelling. You should be able to do a lot more with a minute. Not impressed. C-

It’s really telling that they are going up with a full minute positive ad to start. My guess is that they’ll be doing the positive track and the unions will be on the negative.

Comment by Rahm'sMiddleFinger Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:01 am
Solid “B”.

Making the case of who Pat Quinn “is”.

Production quality was very good from VO to images.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:02 am
“C” Typical political pablum. He’s been defined by Raunervich and news reports so this ad will not put a dent in that perception.

Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:05 am
Rauner and the Kockhbrothers have been unscrupulously kicking Quinn, state employees and all Democrats in the groin for a year. Quinn. desperately needs to rebuild his positives. This is the beginning. B+

Comment by Tim Snopes Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:18 am
Starts with positive piece, so that he can bury Rauner in negatives later on. That will be what determines switchable votes. Not this.

Bravery and character against the odds is a good message. It could become his greatest vulnerability depending on the Feds.

Good in refuting false cheap shots about spending. Production good. Impact of this ad alone, minimal. C+/B-

Comment by walker Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:24 am
“Comeback” only resonates if the public feels it in their economy generally.

It is ever so slowly becoming felt by some, but isn’t strong enough now. I’m sticking with the economic indicators driving the outcome. If we stay at or above 17,000 on the Dow from now to E-Day, and unemployment and foreclosures don’t start climbing again, and no disasters seem on the horizon — Quinn’s in.

Provided of course, the Feds don’t torpedo him first.

Comment by walker Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:33 am
I actually think the ad is pretty good. I would give it a B+/ A-. It highlights his strengths- ie the paycheck fight and the “bc character counts” stuff.

However- what stuck out in my mind was the scrolling works like “cut $5 B in spending” and simply “created jobs.” Nothing was cited and it wasn’t concrete. I’m not sure how much it goes noticed, but that part seemed “snake-oily” to me.

Comment by Bring Back Boone's Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:52 am
Somebody would really have to have been living under a rock for the last 5 years to buy what that ad is selling.

Comment by Meanderthal Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 11:24 am
The ad Vanillaman has been begging for.

Production is great. I would tweak the script a bit and either say “five years ago, with the economy …. pat Quinn took over…” Or flip it with “Pat Quinn took over….” Less poetic, but avoids reminding folks how bad things are today.

That said, I have not seen internal polling.

But based on the Three P’s: Partisanship (very Democratic), Projected turnout (very low) and Polling (very poor among independents, women, and downstate), I really expected a more partisan ad.

Rauner wants to make this a referendum on Quinn.

Quinn appears to be making this race a choice between Pat Quinn the man and Bruce Rauner the billionaire.

But Quinn is probably best served by making this a straight-up progressive Democrat v. Tea Party Republican race.

Like I said, I have not seen the polling, just a gut feeling.

Anyone who disagrees, I am all ears.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 11:57 am
here’s the prob. better than 70% of the voters believe il moving in the wrong direction. he’s pushing an ad that says we are moving in the right direction. Spending a huge chunk to swim upstream doesn’t seem to make sense.

Comment by Barney Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 11:58 am
This is the positive message voters want to hear. It is so much better than the mud slinging that turns voters off. I plan to vote for Quinn.

Comment by Enviros-Anon Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 11:58 am
Really, @Tim Snopes?!? The Koch Brothers? Spares us the Daily Kos and DNC Talking Points. Not a fan, but Rauner is hardly a Koch Brothers stooge.

Comment by LincolnLounger Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 12:01 pm
@LincolnLounger-

Rauner contributes to the Koch Brothers PAC. Stooge maybe is the wrong word. How about “birds of a feather”?

TO THE UPDATE #2:

Yep. Saw this coming. You throw personal mud, he throws personal mud. rinse and repeat.

Accuse Rauner of being a Republican. Remind voters you not only cut spending by $5 billion and created jobs, you did it while Republicans refused to lift a finger to help…in fact, largely were sabotaging our state.

Accuse Rauner of being the worst kind of Republican. Call yourself the best kind of Democrat. That is a fight you can win.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 12:20 pm
As an ad, a solid “B.” He’s positioning to the center, which is interesting. Must think his base is with him and has to reach out to the middle who have abandoned him for Rauner. I like his “You know me” ad from the 2010 primary better. But this one is a good positive ad that he needs to overcome his negatives.

Comment by phocion Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 12:22 pm
I wish this ad mentioned something about how Illinois’ unemployment rate is at the lowest point in 6 years and how the bill backlog has been cut

Comment by JC Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 12:25 pm
@JC -

Agreed.

Just always be careful to say, “while we still have a long way to go.”

Schrimpf could have had a little fun by accusing Quinn of taking a victory lap while there are nearly half a million unemployed in Illinois.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 12:58 pm
As long as you are prepared to ignore reality, it is a pretty good ad.

Overall the message was good. Production was solid.

I give it a B+. Best we’ve seen so far from Quinn by a long shot.

That being said, I do agree with Responsa. Those old photos of Quinn were sort of depressing, when you factor in reality.

He may well have been a hack when working for Walker, but in the early days of CUB, he seemed to show some drive and possibly even some competence.

That’s in contrast to the depressing scene of any Quinn event now, where he walks in sort of hunched over and the crowd listens to him like they would a street preacher, almost hoping he will say something more strange than usual. What weird digression will that old man follow this time?

Comment by Gooner Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 2:05 pm
It’s nice but low-key…like they’re just biding their time until they run ads about Rauner killing grannies and being a tax dodger.

Comment by anonymous Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 2:37 pm
=== JO, what are you watching on Hulu+? I have yet to see any political ads there. ===

I think it was Dirty Sexy Money. My wife was watching, I was just in the room. I swear!

Comment by Just Observing Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 2:38 pm
2little 2late

Comment by election Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:09 pm
Vetoing legislator salaries served its purpose: it made the populist Governor look popular. That was the only reason.

Comment by Just Me Tuesday, Jul 29, 14 @ 10:31 pm