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Ron Gidwitz is reportedly running a negative TV ad. Go check out his site. More later.
UPDATE: Charges are iffy, to say the least. Topinka demanding that the ad be withdrawn.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 3:04 pm
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That would be sad. Ron Gidwitz has has such respect in the GOP, and a great reputation, but he won’t for long if he goes down this road.
Comment by Bubs Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 3:35 pm
It took me a bit to get to the “commercial” ad. Judy must be a real menace to him to play this game. Nice mudslinging, Gidwitz. He’s a real asset to the Republican party.
Comment by Walking Wounded Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 3:42 pm
The link is to Urqmedia, so what do you expect besides a hatchet job? I guess these guys will do to Ron what they did to Steve.
It’s amazing what they will do with only 35 days ’till they’re out of work.
Comment by D-bags United Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 3:52 pm
Ron has always been a joke and has a terrible reputaation. Nothing he does would suprise even the casual observer.
He makes Obie look like a statesman.
Comment by Bill Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 3:53 pm
Shouldn’t you all get back to work in Judy’s campaign?
Are you saying that it’s not fair to criticize Judy on her record as Treasurer? No one yet has even tried to dispute what Gidwitz claimed in that ad. It’s just been met with immediately dismissal. To me, that says no one can refute it. Probably because it’s all true.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 3:56 pm
I don’t work for Judy. She’s a bigger joke than Gidwitz.
Comment by Bill Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 3:58 pm
I’ve noticed that the FTN websites and affiliates have laid off of JBT in the past two weeks. It probably was a calculated move to allow Oberweis to look “reaganesque” during the early debates. Look for them to revert to form and start spewing vitriol in the weeks ahead.
But the idea that a person like Ron Gidwitz would join in is appalling for what it says about the Illinois GOP.
Comment by Bubs Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 3:58 pm
And what exactly does that say about the ILGOP, Bubs?
That they won’t tollerate Judy Baar Blagojevich-lite?
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:11 pm
It’s not surprising Gidwitz was the first to uncork on Topinka (he has the most to gain), and it’s not a bad ad. It should have been led by some earned media backing up the accusations, and I would have probably either gone straight negative or left a bigger gap between acts, but the message seems right.
The second ad should show Topinka and Ryan arm in arm and talk about the ongoing corruption probe into Topinka’s office, although that’s a bit tricky until Gidwitz is ready to completely distance himself from Ryan. He was asked recently in an interview about his ties to Ryan and he bobbled the ball.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:12 pm
And so…Rauschenberger/Proft have taken over the Gidwitz campaign…it was only a matter of time.
Comment by Krenzler Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:13 pm
“S/He who goes negative first, ends up last on election day”
Proft go negative? Please. Who had Valentine’s Day in the “pool”?
Comment by In the Land of Silos and Cows Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:15 pm
Clearly, you’ve spent too much time in the land of silos and cows.
Peter Fitzgerald ran nearly identical ads against Didrickson — first — and buried her.
The factor to watch is if and how Topinka responds, and how soon Oberweis starts his downstate t.v. ads saying Topinka doesn’t have “the Right values”.
Topinka must be dealt a serious one-two punch if any of the contenders hopes to win.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:35 pm
YDD’s right on this. If Topinka is really calling for the ad to be pulled this quicky, she’s dooming herself.
Politicans need to have a much thicker skin than JBT.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:39 pm
The only things these ads do is push me to Brady.
Gidwitz and his gutter team disgust me.
Comment by enough mud Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:44 pm
The only thing this ads does is push me to Brady.
Gidwitz and his gutter team disgust me.
Comment by enough mud Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:44 pm
I don’t mind the attack ads. It’s good practice for the general election - unless you think Blago will be running a warm & fuzzy campaign in the fall.
The charge of the treasurer’s budget doubling sounds bad, but is it really? A doubling over 15 years in office comes out roughly 4.7% growth per year. That’s not too crazy.
Fact of the matter is, if Gidwitz wants to win (and of course he does), he’s gonna have to directly contrast/attack the front-runner. Otherwise he’s on the high-road to 20% and an 8pm concession speech on 3/21/06. I personally wonder what took him so long. He’s got 35 days to catchup. That’s practically a point per day!
Comment by Maroon Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:47 pm
Oops - regarding my post above, JBT has been office for 11 years (duh) - that comes out to about 6.5% increases per year in the treasurer’s budget if it indeed doubled during her tenure.
I wonder how this compares to the state budget overall? Anyone?
Comment by Maroon Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:50 pm
If the facts are in despute, unlike Peter’s against Loilta “I only got plants once for $225,000, not a TOTAL of $225,000!” Didrickson, then going negative is a campaign killer.
“Willie Horton” worked because it had truth, but when you run ads, just to be negative, you are on the downslope to a loss.
Comment by In the Land of Silos and Cows Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 4:50 pm
We’ll see what happens. I am happy to see the ad, having an obvious bias toward Gidwitz. Topinka should be mad because this might hurt her overall numbers against Rod… but from my point of view, she basically would be Rod except that patronage would go to Republicans instead of Democrats…
Comment by Lovie's Leather Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:01 pm
“Rod’s reign of terror†is acceptable, but if someone criticizes pretty little Judy, or throws a couple of rocks her way, it’s wrong. Please!
This is Judy’s problem, she’s too thin skinned. She’ll self destruct, it’s just a matter of time.
Comment by B Hicks Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:02 pm
Pretty clever ad–it actually looks like two ads. One pointing out JBT’s foibles, the other highlighting Gidwitz education credentials.
If I had JBT’s limited resources and couldn’t do a response ad, I might call for it to be taken off the air too.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:07 pm
Bubs and Co: you all say the ad is “sad”, but you don’t debunk the ad’s claims. That’s because they’re true.
Lovie: don’t you get it? If Topinka becomes governor, a share of her patronage (perhaps a LARGE share) will go to the DEMOCRATS!
Comment by Never Judy Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:16 pm
1. It tells me that the only way to win in the Illinois Republican Party is to hate, and to attack. Just ask Fitz. Just ask Roeser.
2. It tells me that Ron Gidwitz has failed, but he won’t admit it, even to himself. Despite spending $5 million, he still can’t sell himself, so he has to attack a fellow Republican candidate.
3. It tells me that Blago’s chances of winning the general just went a lot higher, as the Republicans other than JBT, like midgets frantically jumping to get into the TV picture, are going to attack her for five weeks straight, all screaming “ME!” ME!” “ME!” By the end of it, this party will be a shambles again, its best chance to rebound from 2002 destroyed by the insatiable egos of a few rich men, and their “consultants.”
Comment by Bubs Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:17 pm
As I noted this morning, the ad ran on ABC 7 Chicago at around 8:50 am CST.
Comment by Never Judy Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:18 pm
I guess Giddy is getting that sinking feeling that he is starting to drown. Better throw that desperate boy a life preserver.
Comment by Papa Legba Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:37 pm
By the way, D, where is the link to Urqmedia? It does not appear on the Gidwitz site this afternoon. Have you started a false rumor?
Comment by Never Judy Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:46 pm
Bubs
What do you think Topinka was going to do to Rod if she wins the primary? And what do you think Rod will do to any of the candidates? Do you think the film of JBT and Ryan dancing won’t be used? Or the slum lord thing against Gidwitz? Or the Illegal thing on Oby? Or the religous nut thing on Brady? Wake up.
Comment by Reagan Democrat Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:47 pm
You wake up. This is a primary.
Comment by Bubs Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:53 pm
Bubs, according to you, any criticism of Judy is “hate”. How is “hate” embedded in a commercial that points to Judy’s pro-tax, pro-spending record? Keep up the “hate” line. It means you can’t meet the argument with facts. Let’s see where your “our opponents are haters” strategy gets you; it’s rarely succeeded for other players.
Comment by Never Judy Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 5:59 pm
Yellow Dog – your comment about Gidwitz having the most to gain from a negative attack on (and, presumably, supporters withdrawing from) Topinka is debatable. It’s really a question of what Judy’s higher numbers are based on – name recognition? social issues? endorsements? experience? I haven’t seen any polling that can answer that question. Presumably it’s at least a combination of all in varying amounts. Gidwitz is certainly not a close second to Judy in any of those areas of electoral strength.
Comment by grand old partisan Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 6:04 pm
It’s about time one of the GOP gubernatorial hopefuls decided to get some stiffness in his spine and speak out. This “playing nice” with Judy as she “plays nice” with them is a well-calculated political strategy. Rod Blagojevich is using the same strategy against Edwin Eisendrath.
Pretty hard to defeat an opponent in the ring if he keeps doing the Ali Shuffle with you and plays “rope-a-dope” while you wear yourself out chasing him around the ring.
Come Round 12 the judges always call the fight in favor of the champ if nobody has been exchanging punches.
Gidwitz, Oberweis, and Brady had better quit blowing kisses at Judy because they will all get a chance to kiss her one last time on March 22nd at a location that ain’t in Springfield. The clock is running out of time and they have wasted too much time already. They should have been doing this several weeks ago.
As long as they are telling the truth with their accusations, they are doing the correct thing. A Democrat political friend said that Rod’s camp has boatloads of Judy dirt that they are ready to use on her.
McKenna and Kjellander have been oh so wrong on their choices for the GOP “annointed one”. It is as if Larry, Curly, and Moe have been leading the GOP around in the darkness and have been unable to detect where the light is coming from. Former “annointed ones” chosen by the three stooges can be found at the Federal Building in Chicago standing by Patrick Fitzgerald and the FBI agents.
Judy means four more years of walking through the desert looking for the Promised Land. Get your camels packed and ready to leave on March 22nd. And boys, get ready to pucker up and give Judy your final kiss.
Comment by Beowulf Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 6:25 pm
I wonder what Jan Schakowshy, Alex Armour and Bill Marovitz have to say about this whack in the face.
Comment by Foul Smell Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 6:34 pm
Beowulf, correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t you say on Feb. 9 that you were voting for Gidwitz, then on Feb. 10 say that you were voting for Oberweis? Now you have “Democratic friends” who know about “boatloads of dirt” on JBT that somehow never came out in her previous statewides, and you believe that all the other GOP contenders need to attack JBT strongly.
Why don’t you tell us who you really are voting for, if not working for. I suspect he is not running in the Republican primary.
Comment by Bubs Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 6:43 pm
Gidwitz will barely top 10% primary day. Pathetic.
Comment by Prediction Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 7:33 pm
desperate times call for desperate measures. The others will follow soon, and it won’t matter. I mean this might be more Steve (my career is over) Rauschenberger then Gidwitz. But, like I said, it won’t matter.
Comment by scoot Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 7:47 pm
Why would you sling bald faced lies about the first 3 - term woman constitutional officer in state history and popular beyond belief on VALENTINE’S DAY? And you call yourself big boys? Certainly not gentlemanly.
Comment by Mr. Manners Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 7:50 pm
yellow dog almost had it right. it’s not so important “who starts it,” but the fitzgerald-didrickson example isn’t a good analogy because the governor’s race is a multi-candidate race. in multi-candidate races, when two parties go negative, votes tend to move towards the remaining candidates (the 2004 iowa caucuses are a good example, where the gephardt-dean slugfest sent voters to kerry and edwards). i agree that the it is critical how the attacked party counter-attacks.
and i did like his idea about a second ad!
Comment by bored now Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 7:51 pm
That team won Jack Ryan the primary election. So why couldn’t they win it for Gidwitz?
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 8:04 pm
Judy is on a roll. AFSCME support is building. If she keeps Bush and Cheney out of Illinois she runs the table.
Comment by Stone Hack Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 8:10 pm
Dear Ron Gidwitz:
Put that damned spot back on the air, Sissy! It’s about time someone took Judy to task for her questionable record in state government…she’s gotten a free pass from sub-par opponents for 3 terms without having to answer a single charge leveled against her…Bravo, Gidwitz - you’re ready to make that big TV budget work for you, FOR A CHANGE. Don’t falter!
In Illinois we expect our politicians to earn the office. Unfortunately, in addition to communicating your vision to the electorate, it also involves enduring a few rounds in the ring.
If you can’t handle the task of defending your record and prevailing in bloodsport - move to Calfornia.
Gidwitz, don’t be intimidated or walk away from a sound strategy - make sure the ad is factually correct, get it back on the air and pound away - you’ve wasted millions of dollars running crappy, fluff positive ads and your poll numbers are flat.
Want to move some numbers quick, stay on the offensive.
Comment by Tom DeLay's Mom Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 8:30 pm
This one is waist high and over the plate. When Judy took the office, her unclaimed property division was at the Office of Banks and Real Estate, and the Illinois Public Treasurer’s Investment Pool was at Comptrollers. Both of these programs were transferred to the Treasurer’s office *after* she took over as Treasurer, tripling her office size and staff- and they claim she only doubled spending? Sounds like damn good fiscal management to me.
With products like this, I suspect Proft is doing to Ron what he did to Jack!, Alan, and Steve. What a track record.
Comment by BS Cons Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 9:35 pm
Rich,
The commenter asking about the state budget, can you dig up some figures! If I had to guess the state budget has nearly doubled in the past decade. Currently, its near $55-56 bil. His ad hits and is very effective.
Comment by southernilrepub Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 10:10 pm
The Gidwitz ad is relatively mild compared to what’s to come from the Governor’s team. And you can bet whoever the Republican candidate is, there’s going to be some sharply honed attacks on the Blagojevich ethical problems and pay-to-play patterns. In the end, there will be so much negative noise from all the candidates, that voters will likely tune it out. I already have.
Given the party trends in Illinois, a progressive incumbent governor should be somewhere around 55-45%. But Blagojevich’s negatives are so great in his own party that I’d say JBT has a real chance to pull a shocker.
Comment by Former MC Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 10:39 pm
Judy is very important for patronage… the republican state workers definately want to see her elected. I should know… The party people want to see party people get elected. They don’t want to see an Oberweis or Gidwitz. They are outsiders. Who know what they will do to the patronage system if they are elected. With the party behind Judy, she will be tough to beat. Also, Judy’s patronage will go to the GOP. She is a tough, hardnosed gal. People might say she is thin skinned, but they aren’t looking at her overall record in office. She is a down and dirty politician, which suprisingly, is her best asset to win the election.
And by the way… the surveyusa.com governor polls are out… Gov. Hair’s approval=41, dissaproval=54… ripe for the plucking…
Comment by Lovie's Leather Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 11:21 pm
I agree that there are people in the GOP who seek to instigate amimousity for their own purposes. It appears that Never Judy is one of those people. When Rich Miller says the charges in the Gidwitz ad are “iffy at best” we are getting into a bad area, since it is only Feb 14.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Feb 14, 06 @ 11:42 pm
Well, once AGAIN, the majority of voters will be voting for the lesser of two evils at both the federal and state levels. This is a terrible way to decide who spends your tax dollar for four years. There are no statemen out there anymore, only politicians, both sides of the aisle.
Comment by Ex-Newfie Wednesday, Feb 15, 06 @ 4:40 am
This campaign had a choice to go positive or trash Judy. They chose the Pat O’Malley route. It really does not matter. Judy will dip a little but Gidwitz will remain at 9-12%.
Comment by Inside Wednesday, Feb 15, 06 @ 6:40 am
Anon 2/14 11:42: If I am instigating “animosity” for my “own purposes”, what would that be? Read the news reports linked by Miller, and you will see that the Gidwitz charges are far from “iffy”.
Speaking of “own purposes”, I have yet to see a prominent supporter of Judy who is neither liberal nor establishment. So apparently everyone has their “own purposes”. With the establishment, it is keeping their government jobs. That was the George Ryan M.O. too, and look what it did for us.
This is my agenda: a positive, bright, successful future for Illinois. As Judy has no plan, and is indeed “more of the same”, she doesn’t quite fit into that agenda.
Comment by Never Judy Wednesday, Feb 15, 06 @ 10:22 am
Honest Bubs, I am a Republican. As to who I am supporting for Governor, I truly have not yet made up my mind. I only know that Judy is not going to be my choice. She is probably a nice lady once she is away from politics, I have no idea. I only know that there is a better choice out there for the GOP candidate for Governor.
Whether it is Brady, Gidwitz, or Oberweis, I still am trying to figure that out. Gidwitz has shown some spine by being willing to take on Judy. For the GOP to win back the governor’s mansion, it is going to take a GOP candidate with some spine who isn’t afraid to mix it up with Blagojevich. Brady has been silent, Oberweis has decided to play the role of Silent Sam, and at least Gidwitz is getting the courage and passion to speak out on what he feels needs to be said.
I am in agreement with Tom Delay’s Mom’s comments.
Honest though Bubs, I am a Republican who wants to get rid of Blagojevich. We just have different views on how to go about it.
Comment by Beowulf Wednesday, Feb 15, 06 @ 10:42 am
idon’t know who originally stated it, but i saw the question asked about a false rumor, so just to clarify for anyone who wasn’t sure:
the link to the ad does point to urqmedia, by the way, just hover over the link and look … here it is>>
http://easylink.playstream.com/urqmedia/rg.bigspender.ad.wvx
Comment by YNM Wednesday, Feb 15, 06 @ 11:14 am