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Rate the new anti Rauner/Trump TV ad

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The federal super political action committee running TV ads attempting to link controversial Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner has raised $5.7 million this month, federal campaign finance records show.

The super PAC is known as LIFT, an acronym for Leading Illinois For Tomorrow, and is headed by state Sen. Daniel Biss, an Evanston Democrat. It’s an attempt to counter Republican legislative ads backed by Rauner that try to link Democratic candidates to veteran Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The disclosure of money from Oct. 1-20 shows the group’s largest donors include $2.5 million from Michael Sacks, a wealthy asset management CEO and confidant of Mayor Rahm Emanuel; $1 million from veteran Democratic megadonor Fred Eychaner; and $950,000 from longtime Democratic contributor J.B. Pritzker and the Jabodon PT Co. he co-founded.

In addition, unions have given more than $1 million. That includes $400,000 from the Construction & General Laborers District Council of Chicago, $250,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, $200,000 from the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and $100,000 from the American Federation of Teachers Solidarity independent expenditure fund. The AFT is the umbrella organization for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, which includes the Chicago Teachers Union.

The full FEC filing is here.

* Here’s the latest spot…

What do you think?

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:42 am

Comments

I think all these ads are stretching. Its just too much right now. I watched WGN news this morning. My family wanted to see coverage of the Cubs and all the excitement around Wrigley. Each commercial break was wall to wall campaign ads. its just silly. I can’t wait for this election to be over, but will it ever really be over?

Comment by Anon Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:44 am
I think Biss is wasting Michael Sacks’ money.

Comment by so... Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:46 am
The metaphor of a stranded driver is kind of weak. The message of not being there to help you but to help themselves is good but needs more emphasis. The pilfering of the car does not do that.

Comment by My New Handle Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:47 am
—
I can’t wait for this election to be over, but will it ever really be over?
—

Well, Rauner hasn’t stopped campaigning for two years. I suspect it’s at least two more years — with the potential of 6 more years — of Rauner campaigning non-stop.

What I’d like to see is some actual leadership from Rauner. Thus far, all I see is whining.

Comment by Bobby Catalpa Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:48 am
Spot on.BigBrain’s attempt to escape Trump ain’t cuttin’it. Heck even David Graham’s list in the Atlantic of GOPies and Trump does not even list the BIgBrain who has spent $46 million trying to boost GOP turnout — but dodging Trump. What a dud.

Comment by Annonin' Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:50 am
We at least we they are honest about continuing President Obama’s policies. Record government spending and the huge deficits that go along with that

Comment by Lucky Pierre Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:51 am
Rauner does nothing but campaign. He hasn’t learned a thing about governing…and it shows.

Comment by Chucktownian Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:51 am
This isn’t changing anyone’s mind about anything. Corny. Poor quality. Overall bizarre. Bruce Rauner is not on the ballot. Agreed with the commenter above. Biss is wasting his time and other people’s money. Give it a rest.

Comment by Jack Kemp Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:51 am
The Carhartt jacket is kind of amusing.

Comment by Flynn's mom Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:52 am
The ad is good. I notice whenever Munger or Rauner release anti-Madigan ads you commenters give it glowing reviews. But when there is a anti Rauner ad you all nitpick.

Comment by Mal Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:52 am
Not sure who is getting swindled worse…Sacks by Biss or Biss by his ad agency.

Comment by Northside City Dweller Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:53 am
I really like the ad, but wonder if “Democrats have a real plan” is stretching it a bit.

Comment by Ole' Nelson Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:54 am
I don’t think humor is the way to go; it takes the edge off the message of being robbed.

Plus, who’s the dude supposed to appeal to? Slackers who slept it off in their clothes?

I thought the spot juxtaposing hateful Il Duce Trump rally comments with Rauner meekly endorsing him was much more effective. Use their own words against them. There’s a lot of material there.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:54 am
Mal - duh! Come on. This blog is as divided on politics as the SJ-R comment section.

The ad is okay but it so…bland. And, in typical Biss fashion, it meanders into a “lecture”.

Comment by Team Sleep Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:55 am
Bruce Rauner supports Donald Trump for President of the United States.

Why hide that?

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:55 am
Nicely done. But… when you say Illinois Democrats have a real plan, be ready to start sharing the details. Yes, the LIFT website is shown, but very briefly. Many people will probably miss the HOW do we find out about the LIFT plans.

Comment by Anon221 Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:55 am
Flat income tax in Illinois make the $1,000,000 earner pay the same rate as the $50,000 earner. Are they calling for a graduated income tax? Not sure again since it’s the stretching “Trump/Rauner Republican” that the Dems are trotting out since all the Republican ads are becoming increasingly “Because Madigan!” Both are silly and Illinois loses again.

Comment by OurMagician Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:57 am
I guess my short response is…

Where was this clever plan 2 year ago?

Comment by Oneman Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:59 am
Lucky Pierre,

Lots of Freudian we/they mixups in your comment.

Comment by LizPhairTax Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:59 am
Dem’s have a plan! They sure do. Higher taxes, more corruption at all levels, politics over policy, self-enrichment at the expense of the voters, more debt while never paying for all their hollow promises. Same *stuff* they have been doing for decades.

Comment by Big Muddy Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:00 am
pardon, 9:54 was me.

mal, TS, you reach those conclusions based on the comments posted here? How?

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:01 am
I’ll give it a B. Thankful for some Rauner pushback but doubtful that the Dems “have a plan.” No one’s gonna believe that.

Comment by Politix Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:02 am
B the spokes guy is kinda off-putting/too urban for the setting and that makes it less a success than it could be.

Comment by Amalia Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:04 am
Yawn.

“Democrats have a real plan…” Real plan = Dan Biss desperately looking for a soapbox to propel his run for statewide office and having fun with Windows Movie Maker.

Comment by Chairman McBroom Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:04 am
Also at this point isn’t there so much of the political stuff that these are getting tuned out in general?

Comment by Oneman Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:05 am
Kinda at the same level as Proft’s ads and the following is true for both sides:

# This isn’t changing anyone’s mind about anything. Corny. Poor quality. Overall bizarre. Bruce Rauner is not on the ballot.

and

# This isn’t changing anyone’s mind about anything. Corny. Poor quality. Overall bizarre. Michael Madigan is running uncontested.

Comment by Hamlet's Ghost Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:06 am
After nearly $2 million in spending, my local state rep race can be summed up as follows;

Candidate A is Madigan’s lackey.
Candidate B is Rauner’s lackey.
Candidate A is pro-choice.
Candidate B is pro-life.

But hey, I already knew that before dime one was spent.

Comment by Hamlet's Ghost Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:08 am
The ad is fine but at lacks one thing, an explanation of what the Democratic plan for the future is. It reminds me of thee slogan by Rauner to shake up Springfield, both are short on specifics until well after the ad is over.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:11 am
Word - that has always been my contention. I am talking about the commenters/posters as a whole and not necessarily on this specific post and commercial reaction. We have always been a divided blog. You and I have disagreed over the years. I have agreed with others over the years. This is nothing new.

This is what happens when the ILGOP actually has cash to make good ads. In the past this ad would be looked at as pretty decent and potentially impactful. But look at the ads now. We are catching up in actual quality. Bill Brady’s ads in 2010 were pretty bad, and a lot of the HRO ads have been awful as well.

Comment by Team Sleep Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:20 am
Too many ads at this point. I would hold off on these ads for until people might be able to pay a little bit more attention.

Comment by The Muse Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:22 am
I remember reading this from a commenter here on capfax a while back and it really has stuck in my mind about Rauner’s narrative and motives for the past 2 years. A better commercial would be Rauner, a union worker and a non-union worker sitting at a restaurant table. The waitress brings a plate of cookies. Rauner quickly grabs for himself, all the cookies but one. Rauner then turns to the non-union worker, jestures toward the union worker and says. “See he’s trying to steal your cookie”.

Comment by Johnnie F. Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:23 am
While I am certainly biased towards the Illinois Democrats, I have to admit that I think this ad is not very good, for 2 main reasons.

1. I think the narrator, same guy from the diner commercial, if I’m not mistaken, has an air of smarminess to him. I think he is precisely the type of “liberal” that Republicans loathe, and that’s no way to draw in new members.

2. The “real plan” to continue “President Obama’s priorities” is vague to the point of being somewhat insulting. “Phewf, thank God, they’ve got A REAL PLAN. All is well!” I need more.

Comment by AlfondoGonz Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:24 am
Dems need to stop using humor to point out the Rauner aged as being a really bad idea because I believe it is overlooked as factual when it is done as comedy

Comment by Publius Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:25 am
Not bad, but there are much better ways to tie Rauner to Trump, like their first ad did so well.

Why not string together a bunch of side-by-side clips of both Trump and Rauner saying the system is “rigged?”

Comment by Roman Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:26 am
Another spot should show the substandard schools in rural Illinois that were almost ready to shut their doors due to the Rauner-Springfield mess. Add a blizzard of social service agencies that have shut their doors in every region for the same reason.

Comment by quad city democrat Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:30 am
I’d be surprised if this ad changes the mind of a single 2016 voter. I really think Biss is making a mistake and running ahead of his headlights by adding even one more ad into the mix during the exhausting final weeks of the 2016 election. But it’s not my money he’s spending.

Comment by Responsa Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:36 am
It seems to me the part of this everyone always misses is Rauner supports Trump…Trump is unpopular…Rauner is unpopular…Illinois is still as deep a blue as there is. The question is not are the spots good or not, it does not matter because the message works. The question becomes, is there enough $$$ behind the buy in a heavily saturated market? I am not sure it is possible for that to happen.

Comment by Downstate GOP Faithless Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:40 am
B+

Very good. The Carhart jacket and pompador hair are great visual cues for Rauner and Trump. The tone for all the LIFT ads are light, bright, smiling and humorous. The theme remains consistent throughout the ads: Trump, Rauner and other GOP leaders are trying to snatch away stuff from families while the families aren’t looking, so keep your eyes open, Illinoisans.

Comment by Scott Cross for President Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:45 am
I like the restaurant ad better, but it’s better than the dark music and smeary guy saying almost the same thing about Dem state candidates and then photoshopping the candidate’s head and Madigan’s head with the same background…or the ad with “Kathleen”, the single mother who lives in Deb Conroy’s, Bertino-Tarrant’s and Greg Hose’s districts…all 3 districts…at the same time. All of these ads are from Liberty Principles, Profft’s PAC. Ya think they could at least find 3 actors to pretend to live in 3 different districts! I also find it interesting that we are supposed to be hysterical about Unions funding a PAC(which cannot be done with union dues, public employees fund a PAC with donations), but just shrug our shoulders about the millions that 3 men have given to IL GOP? Really???

Comment by Union Thug Gramma Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 10:57 am
==It seems to me the part of this everyone always misses is Rauner supports Trump…Trump is unpopular…==

No. That’s not being missed in the least. In fact, your statement is the very reason the ad and its message, sponsored by a Federal PAC, is a waste of money and does NOT work in this state. I can’t imagine that a single voter who hates/dislikes Rauner was ever planning to vote for Trump in the first place. So, how is reinforcing that shaky association going to affect this particular election cycle in IL? Ask yourself whose vote is it going to change? Who is this ad trying to influence? The answer is that Biss is going after Rauner, not Trump, and Rauner is not on the ballot. Grade D.

Comment by Responsa Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:01 am
It’s not funny or clever. It’s just dumb. The message gets lost in the dumbness. It’s the worst one I’ve seen here. Expensively made. Money wasted. This is what a fail looks like. They went for cute and missed badly.

Comment by A guy Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:09 am
I liked the fact the ad included “Leslie Munger” and tied her to Rauner.

Comment by HRC2016 Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:10 am
I have not felt these ads are hitting the mark. Taking on Rauner early needs to be done but I would like to see them go after him over his over his wedge issue speech. Show the tie-in with what he proposed and what is going on in the state right now. Then put the Raunerites who are supporting him on notice.

Comment by Bemused Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:21 am
–We at least we they are honest about continuing President Obama’s policies. Record government spending and the huge deficits that go along with that–

Well put.

LP, you’re a laugh riot.

You spend every day asserting that one chief executive (Rauner) bears no responsibility for the record spending, deficits and unpaid bills that he created by refusing to engage on a real budget (FY 16) or supported, pushed through by bipartisan votes in the legislature and signed (FY17).

But another chief executive (Obama) bears sole responsibility, in your mind, for spending and debt that he signed after bipartisan passage in Congress.

By the way, on the national level, there’s still a couple of shooting wars in Asia being funded, plus increasing military strikes in Africa, plus a dominating military footprint all over the world.

What’s your excuse for the fiscal basket case on Rauner’s watch? Because Madigan….. Rauner signed off on all the spending and deficits?

I’m starting to question your credibility as an objective observer.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:31 am
The ads are above average in production. The message is a bit late for this cycle — but that’s not the point is it?

What’s Biss’ 2018 part to play?

Comment by walker Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:31 am
I’m really surprised these ads haven’t been better. They look like College Democrats produced them. Too broad and amateur to break through in this wall-to-wall environment.

Comment by Indochine Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:39 am
It’s a dumb ad following a dumb meme. And that spokesperson reminds me of a slightly tougher Obamacare pajamas-boy … totally ineffective to the point of helping the opposition.

Comment by Deft Wing Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:43 am
A-These are original. Will cut through the noise. Obama’s approval rating in Chicago media market is north of 55% so mentioning Obama is good.

Also, Biss’s play in 18 or future races is anyone’s guess. I would assume this is Pulaski’s brain child and Biss is a popular smart guy who when he answers the phone is able to stay on message.

Comment by Come on man! Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 11:59 am
From Hamlet’s Ghost:
Candidate A is Madigan’s lackey.
Candidate B is Rauner’s lackey.
Candidate A is pro-choice.
Candidate B is pro-life.

I don’t like in a competitive district, but I work in a true battleground district and I would add to Ghost’s list:

Candidate A is Madigan’s lackey.
Candidate B is Rauner’s lackey.
Candidate A is pro-choice.
Candidate B is pro-life.
Candidate A takes money from a sexual predator.
Candidate B takes money from a sexual predator.

Comment by G'Kar Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 12:53 pm
- Lucky Pierre - Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 9:51 am:

We at least we they are honest about continuing President Obama’s policies. Record government spending and the huge deficits that go along with that
Hey LP, last time I checked both houses of Congress are controlled by the GOP, so the spending and huge deficits can be attributed to them as well.

Comment by HRC2016 Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 12:54 pm
Didn’t I read that LIFT was going to use Eric Adelstein? Eric has a great reputation for these sorts of things, but this ad gets a C from me. I giggled at the carhart jacket and the trump pompadore, smiled at the munger character taking the sunglasses. I also didn’t like the dude at the end, as I don’t think he’s very relatable or credible. The longish hair and the suit along a country road didn’t make sense. The humorous tone is fine, but I too thought the message was muddled. I think the comments are too grumpy here, but that’s understandable with the avalanche of political ads. One thing for sure, it isn’t as good as the now infamous Travis County Commissioners ad.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 1:00 pm
I was wondering why Biss was hanging around Springfield on October 20….

Comment by Joe Schmoe Friday, Oct 28, 16 @ 1:47 pm