February 2008

Super Tuesday: IL-11

Three Republicans. Throw them up in the air and mix and match and they are all pretty much worthless. Balderman as Weller’s pick probably has the advantage and should win, but then the real fun begins when he runs against Illinois Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson who isn’t going to fall for the usual Weller type say anything campaign and hope the other person isn’t as nasty.  She’s not nasty, but she is tough. This will be a marque match-up in the fall and as soon as we get past this primary and IL-14’s Special, this is a race to watch.

Super Tuesday: IL-18

Three Republicans.  Two sane. One the frontrunner.

Aaron Schocklove is running nasty having sent out a preventative the other guys are low down slimey negative campaigners letter, but errr…ummm…the other two didn’t go negative.

Schocklove is on his way to a pretty easy primary win and while Republicans shouldn’t care much what I think, the other two seem like  central Illinois Republicans with a healthy dose of let’s not get excited now, while Schock is an egotistical dork who is a movement conservative. He is the anti-Bob Michel.

Democrats will choose their nominee by meeting after the primary and have a decent recruit, but the only action tomorrow will be if one of the two others in the race put up a strong challenge.  And that’s not likely.

Romney’s a Moron

He’s getting his ass kicked with the moderate GOP or at least what’s left of it and so he lumps McCain in with Obama. The thing is–Obama’s approval ratings with Republicans aren’t all that bad.  The last crosstab I can find had him at 41% approval by Republicans back in 2006 and I don’t think his overall rating has changed very much.

So Romney may do well with conservatives with that tactic, but he already is–he needs to capture the less ideological Republicans who generally find Obama to be a decent guy.

From the Bennett Campaign

Triple Play and Election Day: A message from Jerry Bennett

I am so pleased to announce we earned our THIRD newspaper endorsement today!

“The best bet”.  .  . “an impressive record” . . . “a genuine leader” . . . these are just a few of the accolades the editors of the Southtown Star put in Friday’s endorsement of our campaign.

In less than one week, we have racked up three crucial newspaper endorsements: the Chicago Sun Times, the Riverside/Brookfield Landmark, and now the Southtown Star.

In pulling off this “triple play,” we have the momentum going into the pivotal last weekend of the campaign and Election Day.

The netroots know why we need change in the Third District, and we’re asking your help to finish strong.  Show your support for our triple endorsement with a $33 contribution – you can mark that your contribution is based on this post by donating $33.33.  You can donate through Act Blue or through a secure online transaction on my website by clicking here.

Even if you can’t contribute, please remember to vote on February 5.

Add to that Kristin McQueary’s column today

Illinois NOW Tries to Lie It’s Way Out

Here’s Gay Bruhn’s claim about the present votes:

Sorry — That’s not record for the bills we are questioning. Look up SB1094, SB1095, and SB1096 also known as the born alive bills.

This is quite funny given Illinois NOW had this up on their web site.:

Obama Was Present, But He Was Not There On Issues That Mattered to Illinois Women

In celebration of Women’s History Month, March 28, 2007, the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee, NOW PAC, announced its endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President (see article below).

Illinois NOW PAC supported the endorsement of Senator Clinton. “She is, after all, our native sister,” said Bonnie Grabenhofer, president of Illinois NOW. “We know from her record and in her heart she will be there for us.”

Senator Clinton has a long history of support for women’s empowerment, and her public record is a testimony to her leadership on issues important to women in the U.S. and around the globe. She has eloquently articulated the need for full economic, political and social equality for women in every institution of society, taking action throughout her career — as a lawyer, community leader, First Lady, Senator and candidate for the presidency — to advance the civil and human rights of women and girls.

After looking at his record, Grabenhofer does not feel the same way about Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

During Senator Obamas 2004 senate campaign, the Illinois NOW PAC did not recommend the endorsement of Obama for U.S. Senate because he refused to stand up for a woman’s right to choose and repeatedly voted ‘present’ on important legislation.

As a State Senator, Barack Obama voted ‘present’ on seven abortion bills, including a ban on ‘partial birth abortion,’ two parental notification laws and three ‘born alive’ bills. In each case, the right vote was clear, but Senator Obama chose political cover over standing and fighting for his convictions.

“When we needed someone to take a stand, Senator Obama took a pass,” said Grabenhofer. “He wasn’t there for us then and we don’t expect him to be now.”

For more information on the endorsement go to www.nowpac.org ++

So Bruhn identified three Born Alive Protection Act votes, but didn’t mention the two parental notification bills and 2 late term abortion bills. Perhaps she’d like to explain what the parental notification bills Illinois NOW identified in the press release are different from SB 562 in which Lisa Madigan voted present as well.

Of course, the entire response did not respond to Lisa Madigan who agreed the strategy was used and supported it.

It also ignores that Obama refused to even call the Born Alive Protection Act while he was Committee Chair after 2002 and so effectively killed the bill by himself.

Seriously, you have tried this canard for 4 years. And you still cannot get the story straight.