David Axelrod Like

ArchPundit February 7, 2005 4 Comments

You know except for the talent and judgment thing.

Leave it to a bunch of brainiacs to launch a company with a name like Urquhart Media, pronounced “Err-kit.”

Rhymes with … nothing.

The behind-the-scenes team of Dan Proft, Brian Timpone, Jeff Davis and Bill Pascoe formed a public affairs and consulting company they hope to grow into a David Axelrod-esque firm for Republicans. One of their specialties will be crisis communication, and they’ve certainly got experience there.

Two words: Alan Keyes.

Proft and Pascoe met while steering ? or shall I say rearing ? the self-destructive Keyes campaign.

The company is named after character Francis Urquhart, the loathsome but likable character in an early 1990s BBC series “House of Cards.”

“He’s a classic political figure,” Proft said.

No word if Axelrod has filed a defamation suit. I hear Proft likes to sue people. How is that John Kerry suit going by the way?

Pascoe is the king of bad press releases and oppo research that was nearly as bizarre as Keyes himself.

One of my favorites was this

“Alan Keyes does not need a prime time slot at the Republican National Convention to get his message across,” Pascoe said. “Barack Obama needed to be pumped up by Democrats in Illinois and nationally because he is just so much hot air.”

To which State Democrats just have to respond with

SCOREBOARD!

Pascoe seems to be distancing himself from Keyes scorched earth strategy, but the problem is that is Pascoe’s strategy too.

Actually, the Illinois Democrats ought to fund them. Both Pascoe and Proft believe going to the right to win a primary is the way go and it’s working great so far in both New Jersey, where Pascoe managed Bret Schundler and worked with Doug Forrester and in Illinois where Proft has suggested that Senate Minotity Leader Frank Watson isn’t conservative enough in the Illinois Leader.

Outing Republicans

ArchPundit February 4, 2005 6 Comments

The right wing threatened it in the Leader, Petey LaBarbera takes it a step further by ‘outing’ Dan Rutherford. Is Dan gay? Well, we don’t know though rumors have long held that he is. But don’t let that unconfirmed rumor stop you from using him in your attack on gays.

In November, I wrote Mr. Rutherford asking him to answer the widely assumed questions surrounding his sexuality, and he never responded. Here is the text of my e-mail letter to him, dated 11-18:

Dear Sen. Rutherford: There is an awful lot of speculation…

…about you being a homosexual. In the interest of full disclosure, I’d like to know if it’s true, so that your constituents and others in Illinois can be better informed about you.

I believe in this day and age, this issue should not be something that is relegated to secret discussions and gossip. Indeed, the other day I had a conversation with Mike Rogers, a homosexual activist in Washington, D.C., who is in the business of “outing” any perceived homosexuals who are NOT sufficiently supporting the “gay rights” agenda (e.g., opposing “gay marriage”). Interestingly, he and his friends seek to expose only those “homosexuals” who are voting or acting publicly IN OPPOSITION to “gay rights.” This strikes me as tantamount to political blackmail, but they are forcing the issue: “homosexual” legislators now know that they could be exposed if they speak out against homosexual agenda goals. Clearly, it is not fair to a legislator’s constituents if, unbeknownst to them, he or she could be subjected to such political pressures from liberal militants.

Even I disagree with the other side’s tactics, it seems that due to an array of factors the days of “closeted” homosexuality are coming to a close. Perhaps this is best given that so many on the “gay” side seem intent on making this such a public matter.

Some time ago, Dem operatives claimed they had footage of Dan coming out of a gay bar. Now, even if such footage existed, it doesn’t make him gay. I suggested that such a move to out him was against the values of the Democratic Party. At the time, I never expected idiots like LaBarbera to pull this kind of crap, but here you go.

Dan Rutherford is smart, ambitious and clean in terms of corruption. He’s more conservative on issues like choice than I prefer, but he’s a decent guy. He deserves every consideration for statewide office. Who he loves is absolutely irrelevant to any of those jobs.

As a side note, I have put off discussing this for some time because I think it’s irrelevant to Rutherford’s public career. Given this move by LaBarbera it seems the dam has been broken and I think the focus should stay squarely on the jackass who brought it up, not on a decent office holder.

The Weakly Joyce

ArchPundit February 3, 2005 No Comments

Apparently, environmentalists practice fear and I’ll demonstrate it by pointing out bad acts by

1) Local school administrators
2) Local Police
3) TSA
4) Border Patrol
5) FBI

But nothing about environmentalists.

Just say no to the stream of consciousness column.

And Syverson’s pic is creepy

ArchPundit January 25, 2005 4 Comments

Okay, look at it and notice that as you move your head, his eyes seem to follow you

The Illinois Chump Awards

ArchPundit January 25, 2005 1 Comment

Go to Dave Syverson, Steve Rauschenberger and Don Manzullo for unleashing this idiot on the good people of Illinois

In the article there is some hysterical background:

State Rep. Angelo “Skip” Saviano was mad.

His face red and his nerves frayed, Saviano glared incredulously at the political creme de la creme of the Illinois Republican Party arrayed around the horseshoe-shaped table in the Union League Club, Chicago’s posh and historic rendezvous for the rich and powerful.

The Illinois Republican State Central Committee once seemed as well suited to the Union League as the painting by Monet that accents the club’s wood and leather sitting rooms.

On Aug. 4, though, Saviano and the other leaders of the Illinois Republican Party seemed out of place in the rarefied atmosphere of a club dedicated to ideals like honesty and efficiency in government. The Republicans were engaged in a political scavenger hunt, desperately searching for someone to run for the U.S. Senate after their primary winner, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race after embarrassing details from his divorce file became public.

“We need a name, we need a name,” state Sen. Dave Syverson, a Rockford conservative and the state GOP treasurer, chanted to his colleagues, urging them to select Alan Keyes, the controversial Maryland talk show host, to embark on the party’s “Mission Impossible”–running for the U.S. Senate against Democrat Barack Obama, who was seen as unbeatable.

But Saviano, an Elmwood Park lawmaker and one of the party’s moderates, would have none of it.

“If you had only recruited better candidates, you wouldn’t need any help,” Saviano yelled as he rose to his feet and leaned across the table. “It’s too late to worry,” he snapped as he stalked from the room.

Saviano gave Syverson the Daniels Treatment. When Daniels was the House Leader he wasn’t terribly popular with the troops, but they feared him because he had the cash. Skip didn’t because his support is pretty strong and localized and whenever Daniels would go to far, Skip would scream at him in front of the House Caucus and Daniels did what? Stood there like a doofus.

Sort of like Syverson.

The weird part of the story is that conservative candidates weren’t hurt by Keyes much–but helped by Bush. Keyes alienated a record number of Illinois voters in both raw numbers and percentages, but the grassroots conservative support for the President seems to have stopped the Illinois GOP from imploding. With the broad effort to turn out votes decentralized to conservative evangelicals, any drop off that might have happened with that loon running around the state was staved off.

But don’t worry, Keyes decided to stay so there will be plenty of time for him to screw up more elections.

Interested in being Governor, Alan?

It’s Olgivie’s Fault

ArchPundit January 25, 2005 No Comments

The Republican Party’s problem in Illinois is traced back to Richard Olgivie by Pearson and Chase.

Errr…sort of, but not really. The article is good overall and it mentions most of the important issues for the Republican’s problems, but I think the focus of the story is too forced into a historical narrative.

The problems isn’t Olgivie losing patronage as much as the interests of city dwellers and suburbanites diverging from the national Republican Party and those groups gaining in relative import. The authors mention this, but it’s far less emphasized than it deserves in comparison to Olgivie.

As Republicans moved rightward on social issues more space opened up between Republican statewide candidates and national candidates. Slowly, the grassroots organizations that mobilized socially conservative voters moved the State Party rightward starting as early at 1990 with challenges to the establishment.

The Republican Party saw an opportunity to attack Democratic majorities through social conservatism and as time went on–the activists spread to all of the states. In a socially moderate state like Illinois, this led to a split within the Party between powerful social moderates and grassroots social conservatives that continues to this day. I put my money on the conservatives. Ultimately, it is hard for moderates like Beth Coulson to run as a Republican and not be tied to an agenda that isn’t right wing in an area that is socially liberal.

The same happens in reverse in rural areas, but there are more people in urban and suburban areas.

Grunlohed? Uh, no.

ArchPundit January 11, 2005 5 Comments

The Rhodester suggests that the passage of SB 3186 will lead to Blagorgeous getting hit hard down state.

Problem with that? Yeah, since nationally 68% of Americans support job discrimination protection and 66% support housing discrimination protection, I’d say The Governor is on the right side of the public on this issue (and Illinois is more of a blue state afterall). That’s a 2000 poll, but not much has changed.

Gay marriage is a different story, but Americans tend to favor equal civil rights for all.

From the Sun-Times:

Within Illinois, Cook County and 15 cities have similar provisions: Bloomington, Carbondale, Champaign, Chicago, Decatur, DeKalb, Evanston, LaGrange, Moline, Naperville, Normal, Oak Park, Peoria, Springfield, and Urbana.

When Decatur, Moline, and Normal for goodness sakes pass such ordinances, it’s not a big deal to the general public.

And, you know Rhodes, Skip voted for it! Of course, that might just be to annoy Daniels. It’s too bad Cross didn’t.

He’s Still Heeeerrrre…….

ArchPundit December 15, 2004 3 Comments

Giving speeches around the state.

Remember to thank Steve and Dave

What Do You Mean By We, White Man

ArchPundit November 8, 2004 1 Comment

Kevin McCullough just can’t get why those black people aren’t more like whites.

Rich points out the end:

In the election that redefined the debate over morality and biblical virtues in our time – by and large – the African American church could no longer count itself among the community of values.

McCullough is a smelly toad.

The Keyes For Governor Thread is too funny

ArchPundit November 8, 2004 1 Comment

I love the Leader Loopers. When I’m not feeling anything particularly interesting to post, they come through for me.