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* From a press release…
With Republican billionaire Bruce Rauner set to emerge today from a luxurious vacation spent at his Montana ranch, Quinn for Illinois released a new Web video raising a few of the many questions voters have for Rauner about his secret accounts in the Cayman Islands. A report from the Chicago Sun-Times recently revealed Rauner was personally stashing millions of dollars in the Cayman Islands, an elite and secretive tax haven used by individuals and corporations to avoid paying Illinois and United States taxes.
With the Cayman Islands national anthem playing in the background, the new video includes a clip of a U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing in which Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa points out how the only reason someone would personally invest in the Cayman Islands is to avoid paying taxes:
“The only real difference that I hear between investing in the Cayman Islands and investing in the United States, or the only way the Cayman invetsments are superior, is the possibility of avoiding U.S. tax.”
* It’s a much shorter video than yesterday’s effort and boils the issue down very quickly. Watch it…
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 9:39 am
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rauner is lucky this popped up in august. if the issue has staying power, and can make it into fall, then it could be the turning point of the election. but the real question is, will pat quinn the candidate (and campaign) have the (message) discipline to sustain it until then…
Comment by bored now Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 9:48 am
That is a good “Class Warfare” political ad…..
Comment by I B Strapped Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 9:54 am
Quotes a GOP senator too. Much much better.
Comment by Chi Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 9:56 am
1000 times better.
1000 times!
If it became an Ad…yikes.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 9:58 am
It’s a pass and shows improvement from the previous Quinn efforts, but I’m not sure showing Bruce Rauner over and over again stating his love for Illinois is how I would go here. The Cayman Anthem (I’d never know that unless I was told) bears a melodic resemblance to My Country Tis of Thee. It’s much tighter than previous efforts, but I don’t think it’s punishing in any dramatic way. Aside from the very obvious efforts in parts to paint Rauner poorly, Rauner mostly looks very good in this spot. We’ll see.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 9:58 am
Why the Yikes Willy?
Comment by Wally Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 9:59 am
need a follow up with a cayman island puppet hot on rauner`s trail
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 9:59 am
Don’t hate him for the rocks he’s got, he’s still Brucie from the block
Everyone has to make a living, yo.
Comment by Yo! Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:01 am
Yikes for Rauner. The message is under a minute, the Grassley (R) quote, the idea of a simple question…
But it seems - A Guy… - is not worried…
“We’ll see”
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:02 am
Am I supposed to hate Rauner because he has more money than I? Am I supposed to believe that a rich man can’t be a good governor? Am I supposed to be angry that Rauner put his millions into the Caymans to avoid taxes?
I just not jealous. Its either him or Quinn and we know that Quinn has been governor since Blagojevich was impeached. Good times, eh? How are we doing Illinois?
It looks like the Caymans is a better place to be than Illinois. Thanks Quinn for pointing that out.
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:03 am
==but I’m not sure showing Bruce Rauner over and over again stating his love for Illinois is how I would go here.==
I agree.
Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:03 am
What I got from that is that Rauner is successful (& does what I imagine most wealthy people do) and that he loves Illinois.
Comment by Fan Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:05 am
A lot of heavy mouth breathing from the usual suspects.
Comment by Magic Merv Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:07 am
Immensely better than yesterday’s cartoon, but still meaningless until it’s an ad. What are they teaching these yahoos (pun intended) in campaign school?
Comment by Norseman Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:07 am
Nice
Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:07 am
And that Rauner broke the law. No, wait……….
Comment by Jechislo Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:10 am
It will do what Quinn needs to do. Avoid why he is a failure and give the 60% of the people in this state who would vote for Hitler if he was a democrat the excuse they need. The reason Quinn keeps pulling it out is not because he is competent, likeable, or has a plan. He keeps pulling it out because an overwhelming majority of people in this state will never, ever vote for a republican. All Quinn has to do is give them the talking points to justify the vote they were always going to make. Worked against Brady, worked for Obama against Romney.
I still think it would be a good question for Quinn how he would invest 2 billion dollars in IL without hitting non clean energy companies, no foreign investments, no big banks or real estate brokers, no medical providers that will get you sued.
Good ad for Quinn. But you are an idiot if you have 2 billion dollars and don’t invest some over seas.
Comment by the Patriot Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:13 am
It is evidently not so secret so I do not think that is the issue. The only issue I have is and I keep asking,”Is it illegal”? I am not too clear,but it looks like to me that he filed necessary papers.
Comment by Anon/ Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:13 am
- Norseman - is On It…
It’s all about the perception;
Grassley’s quote frames the idea, the perceived idea, and could reinforce the Romney comparison.
Reality? Not an illegal act, but are ya going to say, and say it in a debate, or get caught sayin’…
“I did nothing wrong, and I do it over and over again” like Rauner does when he doubles down.
- Norseman - is On It.
Until it’s an Ad, it a video 1000 times better than the last one, that not many people may see.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:15 am
“I never want to have to leave”, why would you when you don’t pay income tax here and you have 8 other homes to choose from throughout the country.
Comment by Obamas Puppy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:18 am
I’m pretty sure the Cayman Islands national anthem is (or originally was) actually God Save the Queen, which of course is the tune we stole for My Country ‘Tis of Thee. I’m not sure if that makes the soundtrack ineffective or even more deliciously ironic…
Comment by Commander Norton Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:18 am
Quinn has proven himself to be a real lowlife with his silly issues against Rauner. Whatever happened to the bright-eyed reformer?
Comment by Taxandspendfolly Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:18 am
It’s worlds better than the goofy cartoon. Quinn has to find a way to paint Rauner as a beast.
That being said Quinn refusing to release the fixes he supposedly took this spring to fix IDOT hiring kind of go against his i’m the honest credible gov. meme. I fixed the inappropriate hiring this spring but you don’t need to know how.
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20140806/NEWS/140809665
Comment by Mason born Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:21 am
I think it’s a good ad. The Republican senator’s comments about tax avoidance makes the Cayman investments seem more extreme, because it’s coming from a Republican.
I thought of other things when Rauner said he’s been successful in everything he’s done. I can imagine much more devastating ads coming out in the future, using Rauner’s success statement and showing the nursing home and long term care home victims.
The narrative that Rauner is not an everyday guy but a “one percenter” who was only interested in making money, and for whom the victims of nursing homes and long term care homes were collateral damage, could be devastating. It could also not work so well for the Quinn side. It depends on the mood of the voters. We’ll see.
Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:21 am
Class warfare outa Quinn. Shocking. Any investor knows money goes where it is treated best. Invest in Illinois you say? Why? We have a horrible record of budgeting and state finances and our burden on businesses is among the nations highest no matter how Quinn try’s to spin it.
Rauner is rich. Got it.
Quinn is painting success as a bad thing. Explains why Quinn hasn’t been successful in the private sector…
Comment by Big Muddy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:23 am
Considering the video of the whiteboard would have taken some time to put together, it would appear that they Quinnsters have been ready with this for a while (I suspect for months, based off of the location of the two people involved in it’s production) so either they have a lot more to toss at Bruce or wanted to stop what momentum he had now.
Again, the challenge is it’s August not sure how much this is going to register considering what may be coming at Pat in October via Safe Neighborhoods and some other stuff.
Also, with the Trib asking him about and not responding to his replies (if true) would have given the Rauner folks plenty of heads up this was coming, so it makes you wonder if they have more on this than the pension funds. Reguardless the pension stuff will make an interesting counter IMHO, enough to muddy the position a bit.
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:27 am
Class warfare, Republican bona fides, missing income tax returns…Check, check, and check and all in 30 seconds. Pretty effective
Comment by SAP Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:30 am
Looks like 2014 will be second time in a row GOP whiffed on what could have been an easy Dillard win over Quinn.
Comment by Noy Noy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:32 am
Wow, Godwin’s Law invoked in less than 30 minutes. Must be a good video!
Comment by Skeptic Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:34 am
Since when did “tax-avoiders” versus “tax-payers” become “Class Warfare?”
Good piece because it focuses on the only issue relevant to the Cayman accounts: paying taxes.
And not on jobs, the economy, companies leaving Illinois, state business environment, and all the other BS people want to associate with it.
No one needs to be prompted to associate this with Romney. When I heard months ago that the tax returns that Rauner previously provided had missing pages, my first thoughts were Cayman Islands accounts, and Mitt Romney.
My other initial impression was that Rauner had paid a good share of his taxes, at least relative to many of his peers.
Comment by walker Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:35 am
===Skeptic - Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:34 am:
Wow, Godwin’s Law invoked in less than 30 minutes. Must be a good video!===
Yeah dude, go with that.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:35 am
So, is Rauner liking the comparisons to Romney or not…
The Grassley quote is right.
“Exactly right.”
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:38 am
All you posters who took the mortgage deduction or the charitable deduction or any property tax credit must also be ‘tax avoiders’ too!
Comment by Taxandspendfolly Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:41 am
With all the straw men being raised, Rich might want to put up a No Smoking sign.
Comment by jocko Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:46 am
The people who already hate Rauner will hate him more. The people who like Rauner will say “no big deal I’d do the same thing.” The rest of the state is saying “why should I vote for either one of these clowns?”
Some of you may say “what about the people who really like Quinn?” They are jumping in a VW bug and heading down to the state fair next week.
Comment by Jaded Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:46 am
Good. Now follow up with a comparison to Walgreens.
Comment by A Jack Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:48 am
Can’t wait for the Rauner response: “Why under Governor Pat Quinn has Illinois invested BILLIONS in broken State Pension funds in the Cayman Islands?”
Uglier and uglier and uglier. 74 days until election day. Count them down.
Comment by Louis G Atsaves Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 10:50 am
Louis: LOL. Uglier and uglier indeed.
and GTCR wasn’t managing/advising some of those same pension fund investments? No way Rauner’s campaign can go in that risky direction.
Best just to leave it all behind this week.
Comment by walker Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:06 am
It was classy to show an ACTUAL headline rather than one made up out of whole cloth. When Rauner counters and calls it false or misleading, Quinn can say at least they used a real headline.
Comment by Jimbo Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:14 am
==and GTCR wasn’t managing/advising some of those same pension fund investments? No way Rauner’s campaign can go in that risky direction.==
It was detailed yesterday who is managing those funds, and it’s not GTCR
Comment by Anonymoiis Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:16 am
However, elsewhere on the feed today we’re reading that Headlines don’t make something “actual”. Oy.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:17 am
Anytime a politician is linked with “offshore bank accounts” and “Cayman Island accounts” — it raises red flags for me. I realize lots of folks could care less. I realize that.
But what this ad does is notch up the “something fishy” factor about Rauner. The fact that we’re even talking about Rauner for governor of Illinois is amazing to me. It’s unreal.
But now that he’s a contender, I’d like to see more of these kinds of ads. For normal people — working people — these ads are effective. The class warfare is effective. (And BTW — why is it folks that defend Rauner are most likely the folks that will be hurt by a Rauner win? It’s like working folks getting angry at unions. It makes no sense.)
But here we are. As I say: unreal.
Comment by Frenchie Mendoza Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:24 am
Someone is looking as bad as a Wall Street banker.
Comment by Enviros-Anon Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:29 am
A fairly effective ad, but still will not overcome Quinn’s failure to lead this State.
Comment by downstate hack Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:32 am
For most voters todays ad is much more effective. The faster pace and the lack of too many economic terms will resound much better. I also think that the addition of the patriotic music will help get the message across better. Yesterdays ad might work with a MBA but todays ad will work better with the average man on the street.
Comment by Hit or Miss Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:43 am
1. This will have low impact due to:
A. Limited distribution
B. Not that simple a message and it will be lost on most voters.
2. The ad appeals only to the class-warfare fanatics on the left, not the voters at large.
3. Tax avoidance is legal. All the very wealthy do it.
4. The money isn’t “invested” in the Caymans — it’s basically parked there. Rauner has significantly helped the American economy throughout his business career, and he has done a good job of projecting that message.
Comment by Conservative Republican Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:53 am
Dear Mr/Ms TaxandSpendFolly:
“All you posters who took the mortgage deduction or the charitable deduction or any property tax credit must also be ‘tax avoiders’ too!”
No smart guy/gal…the posters are reporting income in the US, taking deductions allowed under the tax code. Flip/Mitt Rauner is stashing cash and not telling anyone what the CaymanCoins are buying.
So not taking deductions just dodging.
2 totally different events. BTW lets ring up the real Mitt and see how much this matter BTW-2 he is finally ahead in the 2012 election!
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 11:59 am
Looking back would Mitt Romney had been a worse president than Obama? Romney had the kiss of death back then. Maybe not so much now?
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 12:02 pm
Wow.
I was one of the few who liked yesterday’s (I found it interesting).
This, on the other hand, is a sledge hammer. Absolutely devastating.
The “I love this state” contrast was wonderful, and finding a GOP Senator to explain why it is bad was brilliant.
I give this an A+. It is one of the few ads that if it get play, can make a significant difference.
Comment by Gooner Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 12:39 pm
Dude you sound like you’re in a bath tub full of suds and toy boats posting that. Pat’s found his demographic here.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 12:48 pm
CFS, as I posted yesterday, anyone that is a US citizen and has accounts not in the US is required to complete a form annually with the IRS stating a high amount for the year, where the accounts are and the account number.
Many consider and classify mortgage interest deductions as a loophole, btw.
Comment by Wally Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 12:49 pm
I’m sure the Dillard crew is sick that they didn’t know about the Caymans angle.
You think they would have passed on it? Get real. You don’t get a silver medal for finishing second.
As for “class warfare,” both Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry campaigned across South Carolina calling Romney a “vulture capitalist.” Gingrich added that Romney’s practices at Bain “undermined capitalism.” Talk about class warfare.
Any political campaign operation that would pass on the Caymans angle would be guilty of gross incompetence. It’s good old-fashioned American politics. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 12:53 pm
Effective as this may be, who will see it unless it hits the airwaves?
Comment by Boone's is Back Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 1:10 pm
===I’m sure the Dillard crew is sick that they didn’t know about the Caymans angle.
You think they would have passed on it? Get real. You don’t get a silver medal for finishing second.===
They spect months trying to rub two nickels together. They had little time, or dough to find this sweet spot(?)
I also believe when the Unions backed off the airwaves, they had this in the back pocket and wanted to use it when it mattered, in the General Election.
A GOP Primary with the Caymans is nice. A General Election with a GOP Nominee and Caymans wins.
Dillard has Dillard to blame for a lot. The Unions held their powder for this when it matters.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 1:24 pm
The mouth breathing is starting to get real heavy now.
Comment by Magic Merv Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 1:46 pm
Do not feed trolls.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 1:47 pm
Dillard’s turned the page and he seems more at ease than in a long time. I doubt he’s playing woulda, coulda, shoulda. He has a private sector job with a lot of wealthy clients and a whole lot of wealthy benefactors who probably engage in every financial strategy rich folks engage in. We’ll never know if this woulda coulda backfired on him. One thing you know about Quinn…he doesn’t have any real dough to invest in anything.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 3:25 pm
==One thing you know about Quinn…he doesn’t have any real dough to invest in anything.==
People relate to that a lot more than to somebody who earned $50+ million in one year. Just sayin . . .
Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 4:02 pm
Maybe Demo. But I know and talk to a lot of people who are more comfortable voting for people they know are smarter than they are. Rich guys who didn’t win the lottery or inherit it are usually smart guys.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 4:08 pm
And I know and talk to a lot of people who aren’t too keen on some rich guy who likes to pretend he’s just one of the guys. And rich doesn’t equal smarter. That’s just asinine.
Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 4:12 pm
By the way, if I had my druthers I’d be part of a Brewster’s Millions “None of the Above” campaign as far as this race goes. It’s like going through the school cafeteria line and being told they have liver and liver for lunch.
Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 4:15 pm
Demo, I have no idea how suggesting a “self made” wealthy person being smart is asinine. I’m perplexed. Which stands to reason cause I’m not that rich.
Comment by A guy... Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 4:53 pm
Good stuff there. That’s a winner
Comment by Anon Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 6:41 pm
As I said yesterday, helps if you mention your opponent a few times in the attack ad.
Better than the footage of Rauner talking about how much he loves Illinois would be clips of all of the Cayman money laundering, tax avoiding schemes.
Throw Bruce Rauner up on the big board next to Bernie Madoff and company.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, Aug 7, 14 @ 7:11 pm
Yes, it IS better…much MUCH better. They say that Practice makes Perfect, but “much MUCH better” to get a big point across is usually good enough (and “Perfect” can take a whole LOT of precious time and re-tries anyway)…!
Comment by Just The Way It Is One Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 2:27 am