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2008

Illinois Congressional Races

Bill Foster’s Blue Plate Special

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Hiram says it as well as I can:

Today John “I’ve Embraced Bush” McCain will appear in Illinois’ 14th District at a $1,000 a plate fundraiser for GOP Congressional Candidate Jim “Bush has it Right” Oberweis. Jim Oberweis likes to talk about ‘common people’ – but it’s hard to imagine too many of his Oberweis ice cream store workers can fork over $1,000 for a plate of food. Maybe that’s part of the problem. Jim touts his businessman credentials – but his ice cream workers earn minimal wages, and other workers earn less than minimum wage in his stores. Most Oberweis jobs, even the legal ones, just don’t pay very much. Certainly not enough for a $1,000 meal.

Democrat Bill Foster is also a businessman. He co-founded and then ran a lighting manufacturing company that pays good wages and benefits right here in the Midwest – you can see some of the skilled jobs it offers, along with student internships, here. Right now Bill Foster is also holding a fundraiser – a virtual one that he’s calling a “Blue Plate Special” – asking you to donate $5 or more to help him raise funds for his campaign. As poorly paid as some of Jim Oberweis’ employees are, I’d guess some of them still might be able to scrounge up $5 for a better future.

Please donate $5 or more to Bill for a “Blue Plate Special.” Bill isn’t offering the same fare that Jim Oberweis gives his $1,000 contributors, but you’ll feel a lot better about it. Supporting Bill is a positive investment in our future.

Get a “Blue Plate Special” now. You’ll be happy you did.

Obama Presidential Race

Hawaii

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Trib on Hawaii Caucuses past:

This year, the GOP held its caucuses between Jan. 25 and Feb. 5, and turnout was about 1,700, four times the number in 2004, according to party Chairman Willes Lee.

The high water mark for Democratic caucus participation was 4,900 in 1988. But party officials say that Tuesday’s caucus participation could be triple or even quadruple that mark.

“The caucus turnout here is going to be huge,” Milner said, adding that Obama’s native son status adds to the excitement.

Hawai’i (29 delegates)

51% reporting
Barack Obama 11,691 76%
  Hillary Clinton 3584 23%

Now, we don’t know if the other 50% will have precincts as large as the first 50%, but it looks to be easily more than quadruple the previous high participation.  And it seems certain that the current 3 to 1 loser will have more votes than the entire high water mark of participation in 1988.

Obama Presidential Race

How Long Has This Campaign Been Going ON

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Long enough for Lynn Sweet to give Obama’s speech a satirical fisking

If you read her comments-first, it’s quite funny. Second, the 45 minute speech is what everyone else gets for saying he doesn’t know substance.

In the Illinois Senate he was a policy wonk. In the US Senate, he’s a policy wonk.  Now, you are all going to be subjected to hearing it until the meme that he doesn’t know policy is dead.  Congratulations. Maybe we can get Bill Clinton to deliver another State of the Union speech too.

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News at 11

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Tribune tries out another web site redesign.

What they seem to be missing is that everytime someone gets used to and comfortable with the new site design, they change it again. I’m guessing this whole thing is being evaluated by focus groups who sit there and give them a list of complaints about the organization and style and as the new layout is introduced they check them again ensuring great frustration ensues.

Here’s a hint.  Pick a style and leave it alone.

Of course, it does make it easier to decide to skip the endorsements and claim one cannot find them. I always wish I hadn’t found them after I read them.

Presidential Race

Competence not Ideology

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Given the Clinton campaign’s descent into bad 1988 Democratic campaigns, I’m finding some problems with their messaging.  Beyond the fact that it’s all about process at this point and not about what she would actually do other than adamantly talking about facts.

Let’s look at recent events…

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign failed to file a full slate of convention delegate candidates for Pennsylvania’s April 22 primary.

This despite the possibility the primary proves critical and despite Clinton owning the full-throated support of Gov. Rendell, state Democratic Party leadership, Mayor Nutter and, presumably, the organizational skill all that entails.

And despite a Rendell-ordered extension of the filing deadline that could be viewed as more than just coincidental.

Texas Incompetence:

Supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are worried that convoluted delegate rules in Texas could water down the impact of strong support for her among Hispanic voters there, creating a new obstacle for her in the must-win presidential primary contest.

Several top Clinton strategists and fundraisers became alarmed after learning of the state’s unusual provisions during a closed-door strategy meeting this month, according to one person who attended.

What Clinton aides discovered is that in certain targeted districts, such as Democratic state Sen. Juan Hinojosa’s heavily Hispanic Senate district in the Rio Grande Valley, Clinton could win an overwhelming majority of votes but gain only a small edge in delegates. At the same time, a win in the more urban districts in Dallas and Houston — where Sen. Barack Obama expects to receive significant support — could yield three or four times as many delegates.

The entire reaction from Clinton’s campaign seems to be of the same line of who could have thought this would happen thinking that brought us Iraq.  Who could have known the nomination would be messy? Who could of known that a nation divided on ethnic lines could lead to a long civil war.  Who needed to prepare for the primary season to go on this long? Who needed to prepare for the rebuilding of Iraq since we’ll win the the war in a few weeks?

And if you point out the incompetence, you are the problem, not the people actually screwing up.

Clinton had been growing on me as a candidate for a while.  Not that I’d switch allegiances, but I could have been comfortable with her being the nominee.

But I’ve seen this play before and I didn’t like it the first time.

Illinois Congressional Races

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And so the drama continues in IL-14

Both men took off the gloves in the month before the primary, sending out negative mail pieces and taking out mud-slinging radio ads. Lauzen accused Oberweis of trying to buy his way into office. Oberweis questioned Lauzen’s judgment and accused him of being a “career politician,” casting Lauzen’s 15 years in the General Assembly in a negative light.

In the end, Oberweis won both the regular and special primary elections decisively. But while Lauzen has called Oberweis to concede, he has not publicly offered his support in the special election. In fact, in a letter to supporters sent last week, Lauzen criticized Oberweis for being willing to “say or do anything to get elected … no matter how personally destructive or untrue.”

Waiting for apologyIt’s ordinarily expected that the losing candidate in a primary election will come out publicly and support the winner. Lauzen said he is willing to help Oberweis, but wants an apology first.

“All I ask of Jim is to correct the record,” Lauzen said. “I’m not corrupt; I don’t buy people off. I’m happy to help as soon as he repairs the damage he’s done to my reputation.”

Lauzen mentioned a couple of specifics. During the campaign, Oberweis accused Lauzen of poor judgment for taking money from a company under investigation by the Illinois attorney general’s office. The company, International Profit Associates of Buffalo Grove, is also at the center of a massive federal sexual harassment lawsuit.

In December, Lauzen returned nearly $100,000 in contributions to International Profit Associates and its owner, John Burgess, but the Oberweis camp questioned why Lauzen took the money in the first place and compared him to several Democrats who had also taken IPA money, including Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Additionally, the Oberweis camp was critical of Kane County Republican Chairman Dennis Wiggins for accepting a paid position with Lauzen’s campaign. Oberweis spokesman Bill Pascoe called for Wiggins’ resignation from the Kane Republicans, but Wiggins declined, choosing instead to take a leave of absence until after the primary election.

Pascoe accused Wiggins of “(selling) himself to the highest bidder,” a statement which upset both Lauzen and Wiggins.

“He attacked my integrity,” Wiggins said of Oberweis. “I’ve worked for the party for 45 years. He owes me a hell of an apology.”

SUE! SUE! SUE!

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