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* Press release…
Today, the JB for Governor campaign launched a new statewide mailer highlighting Bruce Rauner’s abdication of responsibility when it comes to protecting Illinoisans’ health care.
While five GOP senators and three GOP governors are actively working to stop TrumpCare because of its devastating impact on their states, Bruce Rauner has stayed silent and hasn’t lifted a finger to shield Illinoisans from this assault on their wellbeing.
Devastating is a mild description of the far-reaching damage that TrumpCare would have on Illinois:
* 5.5 million Illinoisans would lose protections for pre-existing conditions
* Millions of Illinoisans’ heath insurance coverage would be jeopardized
* Over 600,000 working Illinoisans would lose their MedicaidBut instead of doing his job and standing up for the people of Illinois, Bruce Rauner is standing by and doing nothing.
“Bruce Rauner should be fighting tooth and nail against this devastating bill — like five GOP senators and three GOP governors have been — but instead, he’s doing nothing,” said JB Pritzker. “TrumpCare is a disaster for our state. Millions of Illinoisans’ coverage could be jeopardized and over 600,000 working Illinoisans could lose their Medicaid. So I ask Bruce Rauner: What are you doing to stand up for the people of Illinois?”
* The mailer…
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 10:46 am
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Previous Post: The coming higher ed disaster
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I still find it hilarious that Donald Trump is the President of the United States. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at a picture of him and not start laughing. It’s genuinely funny to me.
Comment by Fax Machine Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 10:50 am
Team Superstars have to be wondering if they have jumped the shark with a guy who clearly is going to go toe to toe with them.
And, they better get comfortable with seeing the Ruaner name tied at the hip to Trump’s name. Before this is over voters may think Bruce and the Donald are brothers.
Comment by Give Me A Break Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 10:53 am
I give it an A. Look, Bruce Rauner even looks happy.
Comment by 360 Degree TurnAround Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 10:54 am
====360 Degree TurnAround - Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 10:54 am:
I give it an A. Look, Bruce Rauner even looks happy.===
Rauner has never been so happy. Just ask Diana. The rest of Illinois? Not so much.
Comment by Ratso Rizzo Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 10:56 am
To be honest, Pritzker should explicitly say that Democrats should vote for him because he’s a billionaire who will spend over a hundred million to beat Rauner. That’s far and away his main selling point, he shouldn’t rely on voters being informed or savvy enough to hear that on the news or put 2 and 2 together that because he spends all this money he’s crazy rich.
Comment by Fax Machine Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 10:57 am
I mean…four of the five Senators cited are opposing it because it doesn’t go far enough in repealing care and protections…
But he’s not wrong. Health care is one-sixth of the national economy, and significant changes will have a disproportionate effect not just on the people who lose coverage, but on the economy as a whole. That $770 billion that wouldn’t go to Medicaid through 2026 - it gets paid to states, which will have to make some of it up, and they then pass it along to insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, social services providers and the like. That bill could legitimately start a recession on top of throwing 22 million people to the wolves.
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:00 am
The animating factor for Democrats in this primary is who is best to defeat Rauner, and the candidates should tout themselves and trash their opponents through that lens
Comment by Fax Machine Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:01 am
Pritzker?
Isn’t he the guy who gamed the property tax system so as to pay 0.40% of his market value in property taxes?
Meanwhile, the struggling working-class family in one of Chicago’s forgotten neighborhoods has to pay 2.50% of market value in property taxes.
Property tax discounts for the billionaire. Property tax hikes for the middle-class.
Comment by FearTheTree Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:07 am
What happens if the House Bill stalks and the Senate Bill never gets called?
In the long game, it’s a head scratcher to be SO out front of things in real-time politics around.
If it’s laying a marker down, ok, they did that.
But they HAVE the money to sit on something when the Senate does act, when a conference committee sees what needs to be reconciled…
… this seems like, for a gubenitorial campaign, and the candidate not a current officeholder, a few days premature.
If the Senate pulls the bill, today, “now what?”
It’s June of 2017.
“Don’t wait for it to happen. Don’t even want it to happen. Just watch what does happen.”
Here endeth the lesson.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:08 am
It’s not immediately clear that those are boxing gloves. That’s a little weird. I’m not sure of the tack Pritzker is taking with communications. He’s got a primary to win first. If his focus stays on tying Rauner to Trump (which is still a pretty tough slog) he’s liable to get passed up before getting to a General.
Whatever.
Comment by A guy Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:17 am
This stuff really displays Gov”Happy”Junk’s total incompetence. Can’t get a budget, too big a P* to back a tax hike and actin’ like a scared 3rd grader over all items Trump.
Comment by Annonin' Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:26 am
Might be early in the gubernatorial election cycle, but it does portray JBP as Rauner’s opponent on the national issue of the day.
Biss is attacking billionaires. Kennedy is attacking the machine. Pritzker is attacking Rauner. At least those are the messages getting through.
Comment by walker Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:29 am
When will the piece come out with Bruce Rauner as a puppet of donald trump?
Comment by 360 Degree TurnAround Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:40 am
Tough to tie Rauner to Trump, Baghdad Bob?
Could you give some historical examples of off-prez elections where it was tough to tie incumbents to the underwater president of the same party?
Examples from Planet Earth, preferably.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:48 am
===Whatever.===
And you never liked Jim Edgar either, lol.
I’ll try to help you out. What Pritzker is attempting to do, effectively so far in my opinion, is to build his own name recognition while positioning himself as the top challenger to a failed Governor.
Pritzker is also tying a failed Governor to a toxic President for no extra charge. It’s what we call a two-fer, and I think it works on both levels.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:49 am
=It’s not immediately clear that those are boxing gloves=
Wait a minute! Those aren’t a pair of lungs?
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 11:53 am
==It’s what we call a two-fer, and I think it works on both levels.==
Also, “Trump sucks” *is* a message for the primary.
Comment by Arsenal Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 12:01 pm
– It’s what we call a two-fer, and I think it works on both levels. –
47th Ward:
I hear ya. I hear ya.
Comment by Streator Curmudgeon Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 12:11 pm
It amazes me that people miss this key point. Primaries are auditions to see who would be the best standard bearer for your party in the upcoming general. Pritzker gets this in spades and this is the latest example. Other Dems clearly are missing the point. Is it too much? Who cares. It hits the mark right between the eyes.
Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 12:11 pm
Bruce Rauner has kept Trump at arm’s length since the 2016 primaries. The only “Republican” candidate who avoided Trump more was former US Senator Mark Kirk.
Has Pritzker’s brain trust considered the possible unintended consequences of linking Rauner to Trump? Could such messaging strengthen Rauner with the right wing of the GOP that painted most of Downstate Illinois red for Trump?
Comment by Mixed Messages? Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 12:22 pm
LOL, MM, I think Pritzker will concede the Downstate right-wing GOP vote to Rauner.
Trump lost Illinois by 17 points and 900,000 votes. What don’t you get, again?
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 12:31 pm
It’s definitely going to be a smart campaign strategy to tie Rauner to Trump.
Comment by Chicagonk Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 12:34 pm
“It’s definitely going to be a smart campaign strategy to tie Rauner to Trump”
As it will be for Rauner to tie Pritzker to soaring property tax rates on the working and middle-class, while Pritzker was able to avail himself of a 50% property tax discount on his mansion.
The ad writes itself.
Comment by FearTheTree Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 12:39 pm
===As it will be for Rauner to tie Pritzker to soaring property tax rates on the working and middle-class, while Pritzker was able to avail himself of a 50% property tax discount on his mansion.===
… or Rauner’s multiple homeowner exemptions… or the clouting of Rauner’s denied, Winnetka-living daughter.
I can’t recall, did Rauner’s tax returns have the Chicago address on them during that time?
Rauner has his own homeowner/tax/Chicago schools issues.
Pritzker can really highlight all that, “smartly” with serious monies behind it.
Chicago residents who pay those property taxes for their kids’ public schools and chances to go to Payton Prep.
Rauner took multiple exemptions, clouded his own daughter over a worth Chicago student and what address did those tax returns have, while the clouted child went to a Chicago school?
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 12:44 pm
The part of JB’s apparent strategy that I do not get is that after he becomes the Dem standard bearer he is still going to need to get a fair number of Rauner’s 2014 voters to come aboard his train. It is likely that some Rauner voters will indeed be persuadable. But in many cases it will be because they are disappointed in his governing– not because they hate and loathe him, or tie him to the president, or that they have completely given up their ideas of what reforms and policies are needed to fix this state.
There is a deepening poisoning the well aspect to JB’s candidacy and communications so far that I did not expect and that I think will prove to be wrong-headed.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 1:00 pm
I get the sense that fearthetree fears far more than the tree. The constant need to bring up the Pritzker property tax story reminds me of the Mark Kirk enthusiasts who insisted he was going to beat Duckworth because of Duckworth’s employment lawsuit.
Kirk ran an awful lot of ads distorting that issue and a whole of good that did him. Rauner will hit Pritzker (assuming he wins the primary) with the property tax story and everything else under the sun and it’s not going to change the reality this is a deeply blue state and Rauner doesn’t have Pat Quinn to kick around anymore.
Comment by slow down Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 1:02 pm
As I said yesterday, tying Rainer to Trump is ridiculously easy as long as he stays silent on national issues. Without a record of opposing POTUS, then POTUS gets hung around his neck quite convincingly, actually.
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 1:16 pm
It’s easy and it’s fair. That there are GOP governors in more conservative states speaking out against a monstrous health care bill while Bruce stays silent tells you a ton about who Bruce is and what he genuinely cares about.
Comment by slow down Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 1:20 pm
I think there is ample evidence that persuadable Rauner-voters are not turned-off by negative campaigning.
– MrJM
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 1:37 pm
So does J.B. get to utilized the time honored trick of delaying the release of Cook County property tax bills until after the primary so as to avoid a reminder of a delicate issue until after the polling is done?
Comment by Walter Concrete Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 1:42 pm
Count me among those who are wondering (though without the polling data, I’m guessing) if this property-assessment hit on JB can be taken too far.
I mean I’m not denying it’s a hit. But I’m wondering if general fatigue and cynicism work against Rauner here, that IL voters are gonna be a bit like, “Oh, a billionaire worked the property tax system to his favor … shocker!” It’s the kind of thing in other words where “I would do that, if I were him, too.” Republican primary voters are gonna jump all over this like red meat, of course (and Democrats would do likewise, were everything reversed). But I’m not convinced this is the killer hit against JB in a general, not among actually persuadable voters. Again, without good benchmark polls, it’s all guesswork.
Comment by ZC Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 2:23 pm
What a crock- Pritzker’s buddy responsible for his campaign A/k/A Mike Madigan has been asking Illinois taxpayers to pay more for less of all State services do the public sector retains its benefits for years. We get less healthcare, less school funding less infrastructure less subsidies for transit all the while we keep paying for pensions and retiree healthcare. When will we wake up and see it’s the Dems driving the State off the cliff and not Rauner
Comment by Sue Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 3:19 pm
==Count me among those who are wondering (though without the polling data, I’m guessing) if this property-assessment hit on JB can be taken too far.==
Well, sure, any hand can be overplayed, and similarly, any candidate can come up with a killer response to it (you hint at a good one yourself- “Like everyone else, I want to pay as little taxes as possible…”). But it’s impossible to predict, right now, how it’ll go. If anything, I think the story is underplayed right now, if only because Pritzker himself is the only one pushing a Pritzker story. That’ll change, though.
Comment by Arsenal Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 3:28 pm
So many polls and mailers. Just had a poll call last night. Maybe they could make a law to limit them to within 6 months of elections or voting day. My mailbox is full.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 3:37 pm
I am no expert on healthcare, but almost half of Illinoisans having a pre-existing condition for which they would lose coverage strikes me as oddly high. Can anyone clarify?
Comment by Sugar Daddy MJM Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 3:39 pm
- Mixed Messages? I was thinking the same thing. With the exception of cook county, Trump won or was close in every other county, loosing by 900,000 votes shows you how much power Chicago, and Cook County, have in the state. Pritzker’s plan could work, or could backfire. Depending on the turnout, conceding downstate might be good, or not.
Responsa makes a good point. JB will need to bring over some Rauner voters, but also not loose any Quinn voters to Rauner either. Its early in the race but a first impression is lasting.
Comment by jwsports Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 4:02 pm
===Depending on the turnout, conceding downstate might be good, or not.===
Nearly 900,000 more people turned out for 2016 than 2014.
It will be about increasing Dem turnout. Ask Mendoza. It was the turnout, Labor and Dems, that overran Munger where the horrible Mendoza campaign failed.
High turnout, bad for Rauner.
Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 4:05 pm
Actually, J.B., my monthly health insurance premiums increased substantially AFTER Obamacare was enacted. There were no promised savings, but the sales pitch for the Affordable Care Act was designed to mislead the public to sell a bad piece of legislation.
Comment by Ahem! Tuesday, Jun 27, 17 @ 5:27 pm