Renner
ArchPundit
Not bad $58328.79 quarter $120363.92 cycle
He’d be better against Tim Johnson, but he’s going to be able to go radio and mail. He still needs more cash for TV probably–though Central Illinois is relatively cheap.
$81789.44 on hand
April 2004
Crane-Bean Money Race
IL 08 Raised Spent 1Q Pacs Debt Cash On Hand
CRANE (R)* 172,120 57,190 147,000 0 313,916
Bean (D)* 171,024 120,610 61,000 12,800 155,136
Tying a senior member of Congress for money raised? Impressive. Donate now
Hate Sites
Besides my fascination with Illinois Politics, I dabble in following hate sites and the such. This was true even before the infamous Earl Holt post, but one of the things that has boggled my mind is the respect that Little Green Footballs gets from a large number of other bloggers.
Go look around in comments for a bit and I think you’ll see what I mean. Pretty nasty stuff. Now someone has come up with a quiz comparing statements on LGF to late German Fascists. I was able to figure out the correct source of hatred 64% of the time. To see some other results check out Tim Lambert’s quiz score thingy. I did better than Brad DeLong and Tim, but I don’t know whether that is good or not.
Apparently the whole deal has caused some sort of uproar and in a twist of bizarreness, Matt Yglesias has been accused of anti-semitism. The irony here is that Matt is, in fact, Jewish.
Now, in no way am I comparing the low-lifes at LGF to Nazis. Nazis were actually effective evildoers, not dorks pretending to be tough guys on the web.
Berkowitz on Booze and Republicans
He has a rather amusing take on the Cook County Chair Election.
Just Want to Throw Your Arms Up
Rich Miller’s weekly column from last weekend delves into the deep end of Illinois corruption and it is too depressing to add on to.
G-Rod Picks the Wrong Fight
Dan Hynes and Da Speaker pick the right one.
“What I find interesting is that many of the voices who are raising questions about some of the borrowing that has been done in this administration were a party to the biggest borrowing binge that ever occurred in Illinois state history, called Illinois FIRST,” Blagojevich said, referring to the state’s road-building and infrastructure repair program.
While one can criticize Madigan for this, Hynes was almost the sole voice expressing concern over the extent of the borrowing.
And if Blagojevich thinks the Speaker is going to back down because Little Rod decided he might just have the guts to argue with him, hahahahahahha
In Carbondale, Madigan said Tuesday he had “great concerns about the level of borrowing, and I think everybody should have concerns about the level of borrowing.”
He cautioned this spring’s budget solution will be “difficult, very difficult,” but he said he has not taken a “position against the governor.”
Madigan also noted the governor’s bond proposal for transportation would be paid off with future road-fund revenues, money used for such things as regular maintenance and construction. Under Illinois FIRST, Ryan and lawmakers specifically approved higher liquor taxes and license plate fees to help pay for the bonds.
But the best is this quote
“A year ago, I was very diligent in being cooperative with Blagojevich,” Madigan said. “I thought that [he is in his] first year in office, first Democrat since the ’70s, we’re all Democrats. … Well, now we’re in the second year, and we’re going to do some things a little differently.”
Skoien wins, but The Fight Continues
Circle up and fire over at the Leader.
Bad Strategy
Robert Shaw is claiming dead people voted in the March primary. What he isn’t saying is that they probably voted for him.
Someone Slap Joyce with Hardin
It isn’t as if even most conservatives don’t understand the Tragedy of the Commons. Apparently Joyce doesn’t understand that private property rights don’t alway provide incentives to conserve nor do they necessarily protect intergenerational resources.
I defy anyone to find a thesis to the article.
Finally, does anyone actually know anyone who worships GAIA? I certainly don’t and I’ll put money down that my circle of acquaintences and friends is a bit broader than Joyce’s.
ArchPundit In the Leader
I knew I’d get under someone’s skin sooner or later…but alas, it was just a reprint of Michael Van Winkle’s response to the Obama Poll.
Where I think Michael makes a good point, and I may have been unclear, is when he says:
Archie goes on to claim that Ryan shouldn’t be criticizing Obama as “left,” but rather posturing himself as “center.”
While I theoretically agree, in practice the two strategies are concomitant. In order to open up a space in the center, you have to demonstrate that your opponent doesn’t belong there. This is what Phiel is trying to do.
The strategy can work so long as she remembers where, precisely, the middle is. Perhaps her only mistake was not being quite selective enough on her points of attack. After all, it isn?t the primaries anymore; Ryan doesn?t have to worry so much about his base.
The Ryan camp might be more successful if they focus the media spotlight away from “conservative” issues like abortion and gay marriage, and on to more centrist issues like taxes and education.
Painting Obama as left is good strategy, but you have to move yourself ot the middle. There is nothing mutually exclusive about doing both, but Phiel didn’t do that and that was supposed to be my point.
But Michael–Ryan is behind no matter how you cut it. He might be able to catch up with a smart campaign, but clearly, Obama is ahead.
And what the hell is with the Archie thing? (this isn’t just Michael).