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A mail storm - Updated x1

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6th District Democratic congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth’s people estimate that the Republican National Congressional Committee has dumped 600,000 pieces of mail into the district so far. The national Democrats, meanwhile, are not keeping pace.

What follows are just a few of GOP mailers. If you click on the images you’ll get pdf files of the complete mailers.

The first one below is made to look similar to a letter from the Social Security department.

*** UPDATE *** Things aren’t gonna get any saner in this election, that’s for sure. From a Roskam press release:

Sixth District Congressional candidate Senator Peter Roskam calls on his opponent, Tammy Duckworth, to return all campaign contributions and repudiate the anti-Christian comments of one of Hollywood’s most liberal entertainers and Duckworth supporter, Rosie O’Donnell. Duckworth received a maximum contribution of $2,100 from O’Donnell who co-hosts ABC’s “The View” talk show.

During the September 13th broadcast, O’Donnell compared Christians to Islamic terrorists saying “radical Christianity is as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America.”

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 12:51 pm

Comments

She is an attractive candidate. She fought in the war, was wounded and has an impressive background that no one seems to highlight. I do not know her real positions, outside of what Rahmmel orders her to say. This is simply part of Rahmmels battleplan, get a vet, run them for office in a red district, hope they can hide what the dems will do and win. Anyone who questions the d candidate, call it an attack on their service however valid the question is and who cares if it was no such attack. If Roskam’s people ran an effective campaign, this race would be no worries (I still say he will win it handily).

Comment by Wumpus Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 1:06 pm
A quarter of a million dollars in direct mail and polls still show Duckworth with a lead over Roskam in a GOP district? The National GOP is sucking wind.

I can’t wait for those t.v. ads linking Roskam directly to George W. Bush and talking about how he is a rubber stamp for Bush’s war policies.

Duckworth’s lead will open up like a can of soup.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 1:16 pm
Its interesting that they include a picture of her on the immigration one (Duckworth Zone). Why include a picture of the opponent? Makes you wonder what they are implying.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 1:18 pm
Um, Anon 1:18, I’m actually wondering what YOU are implying.

Including a picture of your opponent in an ad attacking them is pretty standard fare.

Comment by grand old partisan Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 1:29 pm
We’re getting out butts handed to us 5-1 on immigration. That’s got to be a problem.

That said, this District isn’t deep red, it’s about a 53-47 Republican lean.

Comment by ArchPundit Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 1:30 pm
Dems are getting their butts handed to them by about 5-1 on immigration.

As another note, people need to start paying attention to the actual partisan breakdown in 6. It isn’t as conservative as 8 with about a 53-47 split

Comment by ArchPundit Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 1:32 pm
I wonder where illegal immigration ranks in issue polls in the 6th? The GOp is really riding this issue. Isn’t there anything else they can get her on?

Comment by Dawson's Trumpet Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 1:38 pm
So this is how they plan to “swift boat” Duckworth - distortions and blatant lies about social security, the estate tax and immigration? Wumpus, who says he/she doesn’t know Duckworth’s “real positions,” should ask her. He would get some of the clearest answers a candidate has made in a long time. To even suggest she is some sort of puppet is a joke. Hopefully the intelligent voters of the 6th district will throw this junk mail in the garbage where it belongs.

Comment by Crow Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 1:39 pm
Welcome to America? Geeze, IL has it’s very own version of George Allen.

Seriously, that’s offensive, Tammy fought for this country, she doesn’t need Roskam putting out some “welcome to America” mat for her, regardless of her heritage. After you shed a drop of blood for this country, then you can talk.

Comment by Cook Dem Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 2:19 pm
Looks like the Dem National Committee is asleep at the switch! Really shrewd moves by the national GOP.

Comment by Out West Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 2:19 pm
Cook Dem - I’m pretty sure that the “Welcome to America” sign is directed towards the illegal immigrants that Duckworth wants to give Social Security benefits to, not Duckworth herself.

Comment by grand old partisan Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 2:24 pm
5-1 on Immigration…

Despite much of the RNCC’s mail on behalf of Roskam being truly atrocious, a candidate cannot just respond once to a theme of the other campaign when she has been hit five times on immigration. Hit back people and hit……

Trackback by ArchPundit Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 2:29 pm
GOP: The article they use on the social security mailing does not once say anything about social secuirty benifits for illegal workers…it says in the first paragraph that these costs are for LEGAL workers.

Comment by HANKSTER Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 2:31 pm
Anybody else think it’s strange that the GOP is hammering home this quote from the Las Vegas paper? That’s a pretty long way from Wheaton.

Comment by Weird Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 2:37 pm
RIP sure must be out of touch. I thought Death and Taxes were the only sure things in this world.

Comment by Depressed Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 2:45 pm
Hankster â€“ fair enough. Iâ€™ll rephrase that:

Iâ€™m pretty sure that the â€œWelcome to Americaâ€ sign is directed towards the illegal immigrants who â€“ under the plan Duckworth supports â€“ would be eligible to receive social benefits for work done while here illegal after they complete the â€œpathway to citizenship.â€

Personally, thatâ€™s really my only problem with this plan. Iâ€™m all for giving a way for illegal immigrants to become legal and brought into the system â€“ as long as they donâ€™t get to skip ahead of anyone doing the process the right way now, or receive any back benefits for work done while here illegally. Any plan that doesnâ€™t include those two things is simply a reward for illegal behavior, something that is even worse than â€œamnesty.â€

Comment by grand old partisan Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 3:04 pm
The Rosie O’Donnell thing cracks me up. If all else fails for Republicans, blame Hollywood. It doesn’t work. Roskam had better work on his strategy.

Besides, is what O’Donnell said wrong? No. Find an issue with substance and move on.

Comment by Left Leaner Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 3:36 pm
During the September 13th broadcast, Oâ€™Donnell compared Christians to Islamic terrorists saying â€œradical Christianity is as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America.â€

It is. Roskam’s wrong.

Just ask the Patriot Guard Riders why there’s even a need for their fine group to exist. I’m sure Illinois’ State Capt. Chris Brocksmith — a good guy — would be happy to tell you what he thinks of “radical Christians”.

O’Donnell’s only apparent fault there was not making it clear to complete idiots that she was talking about “radical Christians” instead of the Wheaton, Illinois variety of Christians…

Oh wait. She did say “radical Christians”.

Comment by NW burbs Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 3:43 pm
I don’t think Rosie thinks there is a difference. To many on the left, anyone who attends church regularly is radical. The radical “christians” referred to by the patriot guard are idiots, but haven’t beheaded anyone..that I know of or blown up any restaurants…that I know of.

Comment by Wumpus Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 4:09 pm
PS: Dawson’s Trumpet asks, “I wonder where illegal immigration ranks in issue polls in the 6th? The GOp is really riding this issue. Isnâ€™t there anything else they can get her on?”

Considering the GOP is the party holding up the legislation by refusing to work nicely amongst themselves it seems the GOP has no one to blame for the immigration imbraglio but themselves (the House and Senate GOPs are at war with each other over immigration, and even Bush is frustrated by it).

Come to think of it, the GOP has no one to blame for pretty much anything considering Republicans are in control of all 3 branches of government.

But that doesn’t stop conservatives from whining, does it? Buy stock in Tums — the cons’ belly-aching is going to get that much worse over the next 50-some days.

Comment by NW burbs Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 4:19 pm
NW Burbs…You’re a class act, truly.

Comment by Roger Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 4:20 pm
I guess it’s easy for people like NW and Rosie to mock Christians, that way they can excuse their pathetic lives…put others down, and make themselves feel better. What a sad way to go through life…I’ll pray for you.

Comment by Roger Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 4:22 pm
I live in this district and I’m amazed at this blitz of campaign crap coming to my house. They’re wasting their money…it goes in the garbage. Somehow, it all looks more attractive with egg shells and coffee grounds on it…

Comment by Dazzler Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 4:33 pm
NW Burbs - fair enough, as long as you are willing to concede that when it comes to Illinois issues, the Democrats have no one to blame anymore since they control all 3 branches of government.

In fact, while it’s a stretch to say that the Republicans actually “control” the SCOTUS, you can definately say the Dems control the Illinois high court. And the Dems control the Illinois legislature by a greater margin than the GOP controls Congress. So why has the Legislature gone into overtime on budgets for the past 3 years?

I really don’t get you, NW burbs. When the GOP acts in a unified fashion, you attack them as sheep who march in lock-step. Now, when they have an internal disagreement, you call it an imbraglio. Make up your mind!

Comment by grand old partisan Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 4:34 pm
Timothy McVeigh and Matt Hale were radical Christians.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 4:54 pm
What don’t you get G.O. Partisan? (Or, more likely, what part of this are choosing to ignore?)

When various GOP candidates and incumbents can’t be bothered to think on their own and instead use the exact same talking points as each other … they are acting like sheep, or (if you prefer) marching in lock-step. It’s worked wonders for the election rates, but to independent-minded Americans it’s highly unimpressive (only conservatives would consider the epithet “Dittohead” a compliment).

Same goes for Dems, though clearly Dems tend to make their independent thinking known more readily even as they in general agree on the bigger picture.

Regarding the immigration issue in particular due to the fact conservatives are in control of both Congressional chambers and the White House it’s obvious that when they have a disagreement the ensuing imbraglio is all their own. And this is a purely conservative issue: Sensenbrenner and friends are the ones who brought the topic up to the foreground, not the Dems.

In fact, the Dems aren’t blocking any sort of immigration reform at all, they can’t. It is the GOP and the GOP alone.

Moreover, Roskam’s mailers are laughable considering most Americans agree with the Duckworth plan (essentially it’s McCain’s plan). The only thing is the NRCC mailers don’t exactly say what Duckworth’s plan actually is.

But I’ll say one thing for Republicans, they’re adept at getting people to vote against the things they actually agree with. Hollow mailers which distort an opponent’s positions by using over-the-top exaggerations are a big part of that.

Comment by NW burbs Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 4:59 pm
YDD - they’re also conservative.

Comment by NW burbs Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 5:00 pm
Roger —

How was I mocking Christians?

I am Christian.

You don’t think standing outside the funerals of dead soldiers and yelling disgusting chants that favor the killing of our brave soldiers is radical? It is conservative Christians who are doing that.

If you agree, maybe then to you it’s not so radical. (Maybe you should join Kansas’ Westboro Baptist Church.)

You don’t think bombing women’s clinics and Federal buildings, killing dozens upon dozens of Americans, is radical? It is conservative Christians who did those things.

If you agree, maybe then to you it’s not so radical. (Maybe you would be right at home next to Timothy McVeigh and Eric Rudolph.)

You don’t think advocating racism and “white supremacy” is radical? It is conservative Christians who are doing these things.

If you agree, maybe then to you it’s not so radical. (Maybe you would be comfortable attending Matthew Hale’s “World Church of the Creator”.)

Grow up Roger, and try to actually think about the things you read (even if you disagree with them).

Comment by NW burbs Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 5:07 pm
Lets face it: Republicans hate Tammy Duckworth. Even more, they hate ANY veteran that runs for Congress that does not have a “R” after their name. What gets Republicans even more angry is that they have to spend money in this district which they should have wrapped up months ago.

Expect more hate mail and ads as the election draws closer.

Comment by Minion Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 5:30 pm
Minion, have a cocktail and relax a little, OK? You’re getting a little bit strident.

Actually, everyone’s getting a bit strident. This is gonna be a long election.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 5:35 pm
Rich,

Strident? Maybe. Assertive? Certainly.

I’d rather be defending progressive values and the candidates who believe in them than simply let the “strident” conservatives’ malarkey go unchallenged. Someone’s got to do it in the face of the onslaught of conservative distortions (whether sent via postal mail or blog postings)…

A majority of Americans consider McCain’s plan NOT to be amnesty, ergo Duckworth’s plan would not be considered amnesty.

Yet what word is prominent in the NRCC immigration mailings?

Distort-and-Lie only works as a campaign strategy when it goes unchallenged.

Comment by NW burbs Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 6:24 pm
I live in the district and the volume of mail is astonishing- I haven’t seen anything like this in 22 years here. We used to get one mailer from Henry Hyde per election and a couple for whoever was running for governor. The immigration issue won’t work here. There are tons of east Asian and south Asian residents who are generally conservative but don’t buy any of the Republican’s hate agenda. The number of Latino voters has also grown quite a bit in the last 5 years and this approach won’t work with them.

The person commenting on the picture of Duckworth is alluding to her non-white ethnicity, and yes, I believe that’s why the picture is there. Tammy may be a war hero, but she’s not white, which is the point. That approach might work in Georgia or Indiana, but it won’t work in this district.

Comment by Max Maxwell Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 6:34 pm
well, I don’t drink anymore Rich, so maybe another suggestion would be better…

as far as strident, you should look up the PA-06 race, Gerlach (R) vs. Lois Murphy (D). Gerlach stated that he could not wait to see what Lois would say about the President’s speech and Gerlach because “she has done nothing but hate Gerlach for two years now” (she ran also in 2004.)

Comment by Minion Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 6:47 pm
this is what I would call strident, Rich…

http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17150858&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6

Comment by Minion Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 6:57 pm
this is what I would call strident, Rich…

http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17150858&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6

Comment by Minion Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 6:57 pm
Jesus Christ was a radical Christian then too, based on the ill logic of those here.

Comment by Kim Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 7:47 pm
Oh….and you may think Republicans hate Duckworth…but that hate isn’t as strong as the hate liberals have for christians. Remember that.

Comment by Kim Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 7:48 pm
Kim,
Liberals don’t hate Christians.
They just hate numbskulls who try and use Christianity as means to espouse hatred.
So, basically, they hate people like you.

And next time, show some respect for the religion.

It is “Christian” and not “christian.”

Comment by Skeeter Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 8:30 pm
Isn’t this Rahm Emanuel’s big race–in his own backyard? Where is his firepower? The Republicans are running wild in this district. 600,000 pieces of negative mail before Labor Day! Wow! I thought the national Dems were matching the R’s in fundraising this year. Apparently not if they’re letting the GOP define the race this early.

Comment by Just Wondering Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 8:33 pm
We are at war agaist Islamo Fascists. Whlie Tammy Duckworth was chasing terrorists in Iraq, Pete Roskam was chasing clients as a very successful PI attorney (600K per annum) in Dupage county. Elections are about values.Every thing else is smoke and mirrors.

Comment by Charles Martel Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 9:49 pm
What I hate is Chicago machine politicians trying to pass of one of there minions on us there were two good democrats in the primary that actually live in the 6th dist but rahm emanuel and bill daley bought duckworth this nomination and are now trying to shove a handpicked outsider down the 6th districts throats. she will owe the Chicago machine her political future and that is who she will represent. I pulled a democratic ballot in the primary but this democrat will not get my vote.

Comment by 6th dist voter Thursday, Sep 14, 06 @ 10:00 pm
Kim - Jesus was actually a radical Jew. And I don’t remember any stories about him blowing things up in the name of God.

Comment by Left Leaner Friday, Sep 15, 06 @ 11:51 am