Durbin on The Al Franken Show
ArchPundit
Click on Air America Radio on the left hand side blog roll.
I’m sure with an Illinois Senator on, Al will be doing his Alan Keyes impersonation.
October 2004
Madigan Vs. Crossfire
Not even comparable. He thinks that John Stewart’s broadside against Crossfire is the same as the whining about bias on both sides (I reserve the right to work the ref).
To me, and I’m probably not typical, it is not even close. Charles Madigan and most of the writers at papers do a decent job under the constraints of the business of journalism and in many ways I think it is getting better. Frequent updating on-line improves the context of stories and the information people can get. But more importantly the attack on Crossfire is an attack on mass media become a postmodern wasteland of claim versus claim. That’s a far more sophisticated complaint that too much of news is simply repeating assertions.
I love to make fun of Chris Mathews, and for good reason, but I have to admire that when he catches a clear problem, he calls the speaker on it–he’s done it to Kucinich, he’s done it to some of the Bush people and to Michelle Malkin. That’s what the ref should be doing–not making sure all points are even by the ‘team.’
Madigan and the written press are better about this. The problem is that fewer and fewer citizens are bothering to read them.
The post above this by Madigan is very good as well.
Much of the blogosphere likes to blast the press for a bunch of different things. Some of that is deserved–certainly there is a lot of group think like with any profession and much of the TV media is just horrible anymore, but ultimately, journalists are the only ones with the ability to track down stories. I’m not sure how many bloggers have actually tried reporting, but it is really hard. Try and sort through a complicated budget matter with competing claims is extremely difficult. It takes time that on a beat, many journalists can’t master. That is a flaw in the system, but it doesn’t make them incompetent.
Let Me Offer a Suggestion
To any GOPers who might be thinking about challenging lots of black voters. (note I don’t think most Republicans engage in some behavior)
Spend a couple days in black neighborhoods first. Or you are in for a very rude surprise in their response to you. Actually, you are in for a very rude surprise either way, but doing the first may force you to rethink your strategy.
Promotions as Tired as the Candidate
Bean’s campaign has handed out seat cushions labeled with Crane’s name, suggesting he has done little over the last 3-1/2 decades besides warm a chair in Congress. She’s blasted him for taking frequent trips — with expenses usually picked up by special interest groups — to vacation resorts in the United States and overseas. A series of postcards sent by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee label Crane the “junket king” and feature caricatures of him in Scotland, Antigua and Costa Rica.
Crane has returned fire, with his campaign recently handing out flip-flops to highlight what Crane says is Bean’s waffling on her support for tax cuts. He has blasted her for living just outside the district — thanks to the 2000 remap that changed the district’s boundaries — suggesting “that’s why she’s out of touch with the voters here.”
The best the Crane team could do was flip flops?That’s about as tired as Crane
Cegelis Sample Ballot Update
The ballot, produced by the county election commission, was distributed to more than 40 local newspapers. Mogge says the ballot reaches thousands of potential voters in the 6th District.
Now the Cegelis camp wants the state election board to determine whether the DuPage commission might have omitted her name intentionally or because of gross negligence. If her name was left off purposely by an election board employee, that person could face a felony charge, Mogge said.
The Weak Democratic Party Site
Rich Miller picks up on what Rick Klau and I complain about on a regular basis, the absolute shoddiness of the State Democratic Party’s on-line outreach efforts.
The response to Miller is telling:
UPDATE: Someone over at the House Democrats (the people who run the state party) reminded me that when they were in the minority, they had lots of time to publish their own faxed newsletter. Yes, I remember that well. They’re a little busy these days. No time to invent computer games.
So from 1995-1997 they had a fax. That’s the response?
Second, does anyone notice the problem here? The House Democratic Caucus isn’t the State Party. I respect Madigan though I have a love hate relationship with his brand of machine driven politics. I don’t trust him on a lot of issues, but I respect him. That said, the fortunes of the Illinois House are not the fortunes of the Illinois Democratic Party.
The Republicans are moving forward with a series of initiatives to attract younger and more connected voters. Despite my straying from the reservation when it comes to issues like school funding and attacking Pangle, I want the Democratic Party to win in Illinois because for the most part the Democratic Party is more concerned with investment in education and infrastructure. Certainly there are good folks in the House GOP, but look at Alan Keyes and those who put him in power and forgive me if I don’t trust that party.
The Democrats are missing an opportunity to utilize the netroots for campaigns where it could matter. In the short term, it doesn’t matter, but in the long term, it certainly will. Obama’s campaign was suited to developing this strategy, but the wave took them in a different direction. I don’t begrudge that at all given the way the race has gone, but the Party needs to think about the long term and I can tell you that many electeds could benefit including Senator Durbin who is popular in the blogosphere and I think it’s safe to say that Bean, Renner and Cegelis have outpeformed at least partially due to online efforts. I’m not a triumphalist in saying that all three are doing better than expected only because of the internet because that isn’t true, but it does add a small crucial help to the system.
If nothing else, you could take shots at me for making fun of the Governor.
Oh, wait, the Speaker does that too.
Weller Poll
We now have two partisan polls fighting it out
A Public Opinion Stratgies (R) poll; conducted 10/20-21 and 23 for Rep. Jerry Weller (R); surveyed 400 likely voters; margin of error +/-4.9% (release, 10/25). Tested: Weller and professor Tari Renner (D).
General Election Matchup
Now
Weller 55%
Renner 27
Undec. 15
It’s impossible to gauge such polls, but the hard part to believe in this one is that Renner hasn’t moved in the past two months. That’s not right. Does it mean that Renner was as close as his last poll? Not necessarily, but Weller is at 49% favorability-just barely under 50%. Renner has to run the table, so help him out.
Obama – Keyes Polls
Real Clear Politics has the summary of the polls on the Senate and Presidential race in Illinois.
Since August 6th the entire reported movement including the ABC poll tonight for Obama is from 64 % to 70 %.
Keyes has moved between 28 % and 17 % with, get this, Keyes highest number to date coming before and as he announced on a poll that was done from 8/6 – 8/7. Familiarity has not bred fondness.
Given Keyes’ past behavior it is hard to imagine he’ll beat 25% and may not crack 20% if GOP turnout is depressed.
Normally, I wouldn’t want to rub it in, but the first question a reporter needs to ask him after his historic drubbing is what he thinks of polls now.
I’m sure he’ll rant about how everyone was out to get him, but it should be a fun explosion to watch.
Well, that’s Different
John Cox is apparently a fan of when sci-fi based on unknown political officers in a Midwestern City take over the world.
Check out his new commercial which is strange in a sort of Trekker meets the X-Files meets Blade Runner paranoid way. For a moment, skip over the url that should make you giggle too and see a bit of political advertising that is most likely to result in people wondering if the Onion is running satirical commercials tihs cycle.