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There are actually two new ads running. One is the ad described in the Daily Herald piece below. The other (also in the DH story but way down) slams the guv as a guy who promised to stop the budget games but “raided $2.3 billion from pension funds” and now the state has the “biggest deficit in the nation.”
The tagline for both 15 second ads is “Had enough?” Ironically, Newt Gingrich suggested that the national Democrats use that line to seize control of Congress from the Republicans.
Republican governor candidate Judy Baar Topinka unleashed a hard-hitting TV assault Monday against Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, comparing him to his convicted predecessor George Ryan.The quick hit, 15-second ad rips Blagojevich for accepting a $1,500 check from a man whose wife his administration awarded a state job the same month — a move that’s now the subject of a federal probe.
“Isn’t our last governor going to jail over this?†a grave-voiced male announcer says as a subtle photo of Ryan flashes on screen. “Rod Blagojevich. Had enough?â€
With just seven weeks until the Nov. 7 election, the new ad marks the first time Topinka is attacking Blagojevich via the airwaves. It also follows several months of Blagojevich ads criticizing her views and two weeks of Topinka’s own mostly positive ads introducing herself to voters.
I’ll upload at least one of the ads in a few minutes.
OK, hopefully, this won’t chew up all my available bandwidth. I’m uploading only one ad to see how it goes. You can help by not viewing it multiple times. Just download it if you want to see it more than once.
This is the ad that the DH wrote about. It’s called “The Check.” [YouTube]
Click here for the budget ad [YouTube].
[Gordy Hulten at IlliniPundit did what I should have done and uploaded the ads to YouTube. The links have been changed.]
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 8:38 am
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Governor is a hypocritical, pork peddling, power hungry crook? No problem. Just elect a different one.
The new one will not have any of those problems.
Comment by Leroy Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 8:49 am
About time….
At this point it can’t hurt Judy.
Comment by OneMan Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 8:55 am
It isn’t a negitive add it is the truth.Hey how about the gov saying that closing vandalia Prison was a mistake.How many people in Vandalia think the gov. is telling the truth?
Comment by DOWNSTATE Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:13 am
They are short, to the point, and reaffirms feelings among the voters.
Check Ad = B
Budget Ad = C
Voters don’t care so much about the budget disaster. So that ad is weaker. The Check ad is right on, but not visually memorable.
More, please.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:19 am
Go Judy!!!!!!!!!!! Keep it up!
Comment by Bottom Line Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:19 am
Light buys wont have any effect. Blago will just double her up and bury her with George Ryan. Remember, the poll showed that voters by 2-1 feel that he is better suited to end corruption than she is. When he increases his buy linking her to Ryan, she will die by the “sword” that she hoped to live by. I have to believe that Blago has some great ads linking her to George Ryan — they have showed time after time that they are the best at this. Ads with Judy and George together will trump ads with a faint photo of Ryan behind Blago.
I’m getting good feedback on the phones. Voters that we’re calling don’t like her, and we’re calling independents, not hard D’s. I cant wait for early voting — we will be moving Blago supporters to the polls in large numbers. She is in big trouble.
Comment by Hammerin' Hank Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:21 am
The Governor’s office’s response to the ad was that Mrs. Ascaridis was hired illegally, by the two midlevel employees that were let go. Can you believe he is blaming this on them? He didn’t know his life-long best friends wife got the job. Come on, who buys that? Of course those people hired her, he told them to. Will he ever accept the blame for anything?
Comment by Hard Working Taxpayer Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:24 am
The commeriacls are not nearly as concise and well done as the “What’s She Thinking?†commercials. They do not grab your attention. It also does not help that all her commercials are sandwiched between two commercials slamming her!
In regard to content… One word for Topinka: HYPOCRITE.
Topinka voted to shortchange pensions when she was in the House and Senate. Multiple times. She and her republican cronies are the real reason we are in this mess.
Topinka’s own office was under federal investigation for forcing her state workers to do campaign work on state time.
And the biggest of all! Topinka and Ryan were tied at the hip. They were bosom buddies trying to become rich off the taxpayers dollars whether it was sweet state leases or forcing both their own employees to donate to their own campaign fund.
Comment by anonymous Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:29 am
How big was the buy? It couldn’t have been that much… No one I have talked to even saw it this morning.
Comment by anonymous Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:31 am
How about an Ad, using the Gov standing in his soy bean field touting Ethanol plants…(Ethanol comes from corn)…and the tag line JBT uses is “Doesn’t know his beans from corn…had enough?”
Comment by Siyotanka Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:32 am
Topinka is already in a bind. She has very limited money and is being defined by the Blagojevich camp everyday. So does she go negative or try to define herself, its a tough choice. Normally, with an unpopular governor you would say go negative but polls show that, although people dont like Blagojevich, they dont trust/want/like Topinka and thus arent ready to let her be governor. She is in a tough situation and will not win.
Comment by HANKSTER Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:33 am
The Check ad is great, the Budget ad less memorable.
Anyone know how much money she has behind these ads?
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:38 am
Nice ad and it had to be put together rather quickly.
Good idea about the ethanol ad, but say “He doesn’t know corn from a ‘hill of beans’.”
Comment by Shelbyville Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:46 am
Great Ads. I’ve heard from people who saw them broadcast this a.m., so the buy must be decent.
Also, these ads can run all the way through the election because the issues aren’t going to go away. So, there is plenty of time to burn the message in.
Love the ghost of George Ryan over Rod’s shoulders.
Comment by Old Elephant Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 9:50 am
Before commenting on “ads”, one more comment on “outlier” (CS-T poll) is merited.
With Judy’s loss of important union/association endorsements and the CS-T treatment of a 400 sample poll, it is now clear that our state’s elites have handicapped this race and called it for Blago. Accordingly, publicizing an arguably unfair poll and pulling back on endorsements are ways of telegraphing to Blago “Hey, we really do like you and we’re really on your side. Be nice to us after November.” So the elites have decided its over for Judy.
Judy’s team has gotten that message loud and clear, and going negative is geared toward halting the downward slide. Since they know that more negative press will be coming their way soon, might as well suffer the depridations of being called “negative campaigners”.
It won’t work for the same reasons mentioned by me and many others before. Blago has already won the negative image-branding campaign and Judy doesn’t have the dough to give good ads (these are so-so) enough saturation. All things being equal, Judy is, and will remain, in second place in the “opposition bashing” game.
Comment by Conservative Republican Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:03 am
Gee… haven’t I heard that “Had Enough?” slogan coming from some other campaign for about a year now? Bet the Peraica people are teed-off about this.
Comment by Thom Yorke Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:14 am
Democrats have in fact been using the “Had Enough? Vote Democratic!” theme with respect to the Bush Administration/Republican control of congress.
Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:25 am
Rich,
Not to steal your thunder, but to save you some bandwidth, I uploaded these spots to YouTube here
Comment by Gordy Hulten Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:35 am
If the two midlevel employees hired the wife of Blogo’s good friend, when why didn’t THEY get the check for $1,500? Blogo is a pathological liar. He has lied so much that it has become a way of life for him. I’m not sure where he lives, but it sure must be a happy place.
Comment by Little Egypt Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:36 am
I wonder how long until the Topinka/Ryan Polka tape makes the air again.
Comment by HANKSTER Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:38 am
A nasty woman runs nasty adds to look even nastier in voters’ minds. Maybe she’ll be down by 40 in the next poll.
Comment by RealClear Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:39 am
[…] (Hat tip: Capitol Fax Blog) […]
Pingback by IlliniPundit.com » Blog Archive » Topinka Negative Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:40 am
The ad must being doing some good with all the Blagoettes on here whining.More bad news 2 weeks ago no JBT signs in this town today it looks like a sea of JBT especially like those big 4×8.And then there is this read the new posting by Rich and that will show you how he will lose.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 11:09 am
I think it’s great that JBT is finally putting something out there but I’m afraid it’s too little, too late. For every one of her ads, I see 3 of Rod’s. One can only hope that her message about the biggest deficit in the NATION will encourage some undecideds to start looking at what’s happening with the politics in this state and try and make a change.
Comment by State Worker given up Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 11:12 am
I agree with Real Clear. Too little, too nasty, too late….
Comment by Punley Deiter Finn Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 11:56 am
One word on “The Check”: BURN!!!
Comment by Walking Wounded Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 12:10 pm
On behalf on all dog lover, I find it sad that Judy Bore omits, both Brichead & Barney from the laaaest ad. Bad choice May cost the election
Opps forgot she was -30 . Maybe Brick and Barney split the state!
Comment by Reddbyrd Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 12:19 pm
Check spot could have been sharper still, and when you’re doing fifteeners, you have to be more blatantly obvious, the ghost of George was okay but too subtle.
Halloween is coming, do a :15 spot with a cartoon image of Rod, his face falls away like a Halloween mask to reveal Ryan underneath. Tag line: These guys have gotten enough goodies out of the state of Illinois. We’ve had enough tricks and treats for pay to play. Don’t be scared to vote Topinka for governor.
I’d like to see a spot start with:
“We’re going to list all the investigations, reports of malfeasance, and scandals involving Governor Blagojevich…. (Sound FX: a low announcer voice in background lists every scandal and screwup) graphics: rapidly stacking newspaper headlines of scandals and screwups)…. better find a comfy chair, this is going to take a while….”
(other commercial break)
(return to part 2 of Topinka spot, the stack is still building, the announcer in the background still listing the mistakes and malfeasance)
Narrator: “…we could go on like this all day, listing the scnadals and screwups from just four years of Blagojevich in charge, helping himself and his best friends to Ilinois tax money… or we can get Illinois back on track… vote Topinka for OUR governor.”
Comment by Gregor Samsa Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 12:47 pm
I thought the ads are exactly what JBT needed to do months ago. The point is simple Rod=Crook
Comment by leigh Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 1:12 pm
$1500 check add great, budget add good if it is shown in the same time frame. KEEP IT UP!
Comment by EmbarrassedNillinois Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 2:32 pm
The check one is good with Ryan’s image floating out there in back.
…but, what may really count, is what YDD has been telling us… JBT’s disapproval tracks exactly with Bush’s. If Bush is up to 44% now, it may be that that eventually turns here around.
Comment by Bill Baar Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 2:57 pm
Bush is up to 44% nationwide, but how’s he doing in IL? Judy has to appeal to IL voters, so I don’t think even acknowledging that he’s the president is in her favor.
Judy’s in pickle. She’s pretty much in a state where she has to try to convince people who disapprove of her to vote for her.
Comment by cermak_rd Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 3:21 pm
kind of weird if Bush gets a bounce, R’s hang onto the house, and JBT continues to sink with Ryan’s legacy despite all this stuff on the Guff… she’s in a real picle for sure.
Comment by Bill Baar Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 3:28 pm
Guff i.e. Gov, picl i.e. pickle
Comment by Bill Baar Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 3:29 pm
I’ve watched that ad four or five times now, and maybe it’s because of the small inset screen on my ‘puter, but that image of george ryan looks a lot like jim thompson to my eyes. weird
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 3:49 pm
Judy, get out the (symbolic)sword of justice and cut him to pieces!
What do you have to lose?
Comment by Establishment Republican Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 3:53 pm
It is definitely George Ryan in the ad.
She needs to go further though and show him morphing into Blagojevich via technology.
And pre-empt the polka stuff by saying something like, “Yes, I did dance the polka with George Ryan several years ago at the Illinois State Fair, but the way things are looking now, Blagojevich and George Ryan might soon be dancing together to the Jailhouse Rock.”
Feel free to steal that from me Topinka campaign people.
Comment by Establishment Republican Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 4:01 pm
Establishment Republican and Gregor Samsa. Great ideas for the commercials. Too bad you guys aren’t on JBT’s campaign. Is there someone out there to pass these ideas on to JBT’s people, pretty, pretty, please????
GO JBT!!!!!!!
Comment by maggiemae Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 4:09 pm
Good job on those ads! About time, too.
If they would just unleash the ammo of the Sister Claudette tie to Louis Farrakhan while we’ve got the national media covering the blather coming from the Iranian leader, whose name I can’t spell without going to Google for a second, she would make up the points she needs to kick Rod’s tailfeathers.
So far, she’s showing fiscal discipline by waiting until close to the election when she has to go after the undecideds to get them to make up their minds already. Short, sweet, and hard-hitting close to election day. I like it!
Meanwhile, he’s blown millions from his campaign war chest just because he HAS the money to burn? What a waste! Typical liberal!
The way the two candidates have run their campaign war rooms, as it relates to the cash-on-hand situation, is very telling. Topinka can do more with less; Rod blows it left and right, then hides behind Amy at the State Fair when his slick ads aren’t enough to throw the press off his trail.
I’m still waiting for those video clips of Louis Farrakhan spewing forth some nuggets of vicious and vile vitriol to really help bury Rod, though. That’s what I’d do if I were running her campaign, just pull out all the stops. I mean, what are they gonna do, LOSE the Jewish vote for being over-the-top? No way. They’ll get a round of applause from columnists like Neil Steinberg and others is more like it.
Rod Blagojevich wasn’t thinking when he appointed a top aide to the Nation of Islam’s Bigot-in-Chief. Had enough?
Comment by Angie Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 6:05 pm
Est. Repb. and Greg. great ideas. How about an ad
showing the “Illinois governors great wall of shame”. Have pictures of Walker, Kerner,Ryan(going) and (soon to be going) “Little Rodney”.
Remember, the last Democrat Governor that didn’t
go to jail was Adali Steveson, 1949.
“Little Rodney” were counting on you to keep up
that Democratic tradition.
Comment by Nostradamus Tuesday, Sep 19, 06 @ 10:34 pm
wow…corn and beans…computer face morphing…I danced with george but he’ll do the jailhouse rock…Sister Claudette…hall of shame including governors most of the state can’t recall…
it’s a wonder the lot of ya aren’t working for media firms.
Comment by JJSpringfield Wednesday, Sep 20, 06 @ 12:07 am
Maggie may wrote, “Is there someone out there to pass these ideas on to JBT’s people, pretty, pretty, please????”
Honey, if you email the campaign, they read their mail. I mentioned the Nation of Islam tie once, said to make hay out of it, and I got a response that they were working on that issue. I hope they work it soon! With the Iranian leader mouthing off on the global stage, this is the perfect time to remind voters that national security is of concern locally, too! We don’t need a governor who doesn’t THINK too long about researching who he put on a hate crimes panel. Sister Claudette? Top aide to the NOI leader? Get real!
But I love the sarcastic and deep male voice in the Topinka ads. Rod’s campaign was running a female voice to try to hoodwink female voters, so Judy’s got a guy doing the announcing in her ads. It works! The Rod ads sound like overkill coming from a nag, to be perfectly honest (he didn’t pick the right female to do the voice-over for his attack ads, in my opinion). With the Topinka approach, though, it is as if Rod has been wasting his energy (money) all summer long, and now here comes her campaign to knock him out near the very end (have read that both Rod and Birkett were boxers in the past, so I’m comparing this to boxing a little here).
Don’t you agree? The naggy Rod attack ads are just overkill while Judy has the short, sweet, and slightly sarcastic tone that just takes a moment to remind us all that Rod needs to go.
Comment by Angie Wednesday, Sep 20, 06 @ 3:00 am
Judy has the short, sweet, and slightly sarcastic…
Sarcastic is exactly the problem. When people are uneasy. When people sense it’s a time of great changes. Sarcasm doesn’t go over well.
This is why she needed to change some things with the Social Right in the Party. It would have centered her more.
Comment by Bill Baar Wednesday, Sep 20, 06 @ 7:46 am
i’m extremely disappointed in these ads. if she’s trying to rally republicans, ok. if she’s trying to steal whitney’s thunder, maybe. but other than appealing to her base, what’s the point? they won’t move her numbers much.
these ads aren’t sufficiently contrastive, if the polling is to be believed. given that (non-base) voters do not see her as a “clean” alternative to the guv, how does “had enough?” help her? do they think voters have forgotten about ryan? i can’t tell if they didn’t focus group or poll their message, or didn’t refine it, but republicans do MUCH BETTER at message than this outside illinois. (i know, i know, illinois is really a one-party state, and republicans here are too connected to the status quo to actually apply the advances in campaign techniques developed outside the state. what’d i expect?)
these ads should allow her to raise some money, so that’s good. but get her elected? i don’t see it. judy lacks every fundamental in campaigning: money, organization and message. she’s more like a democrat (in ignoring the fundamentals) than any republican campaign *i’ve* ever been connected with…
Comment by bored now Wednesday, Sep 20, 06 @ 8:30 am
Disagree with the critics. The ads are the strongest she’s done so far. Using newspaper headlines against Rod is really smart, because it just looks bad for him. Can’t accuse her of spin, because those ARE the headlines. And I like the sneering voice in those ads. It works! Short and sweet. “Had enough?” Love it.
Now, just hit harder. Claudettegate is the real ammo in the face of national security concerns. Yes, that woman was a top aide to a man who went out of the USA on a global tour to visit with the dictators of the world, she refused to denounce the views of the NOI leader, the panel fell apart with the loss of the multiple other members who stepped down in disgust, and yet Rod held onto her. Is he desperate for the radical sect of Islam vote, or something? I mean, what WAS he thinking?
I’ve had enough.
Comment by Angie Wednesday, Sep 20, 06 @ 12:51 pm