Illinois Senate

Keynote Confirmed! Barack to Speak on Tuesday July 27th!

ArchPundit July 14, 2004 No Comments

In other Senate News—Barack Obama will be the Keynote Speaker at the Democratic National Convention!

From the campaign:

Obama to Speak Tuesday Evening, July 27

Washington, DC- The Kerry-Edwards campaign announced today that Barack Obama, Illinois state senator and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, will deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, July 27.

?Barack is an optimistic voice for America and a leader who knows that together we can build an America that is stronger at home and respected in the world,? said Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry. ?He understands the importance of building an economy that lifts up families and expands opportunity, and I?m honored that he has accepted the invitation to deliver the keynote address.?

?I am honored and humbled to deliver the keynote address at this year?s Democratic National Convention and look forward to sharing with America the hopes and dreams of so many people throughout Illinois that I have met during this campaign,? said Obama. ?America is excited about the new direction our country can take under the leadership of John Kerry and John Edwards, and I am ready to work with them to make it happen.?

Obama will talk about his hope for America and the new direction for this country the Kerry-Edwards ticket offers. He will speak to the need for a stronger America that puts jobs, families and communities first. He will also highlight the importance of Americans dedicating their lives to serving their community and their country.

?Barack Obama is an accomplished public servant and a leader in the Democratic Party,? said Alice Huffman, DNCC Chairwoman. ?He is addressing the most diverse convention in Democratic party history. The breadth and diversity of the delegates to this year?s national convention demonstrates the broad appeal of the Kerry-Edwards ticket.?

Like John Kerry, Barack Obama has spent a lifetime fighting for working families. As a civil rights attorney, community organizer, and leader in the Illinois State Senate he has served America as an innovative leader, bringing new solutions, shared values and an optimistic vision. Obama was the driving force behind a state Earned Income Tax Credit, which has provided over $100 million in tax cuts to working families, reformed welfare, extend health coverage to uninsured children and families, and brought down the cost of prescription drugs for seniors.

According to statistics compiled by the Democratic National Committee, 39.1 percent of the 4,341 delegates to this month?s Convention in Boston are minorities. More African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native-Americans, and Hispanics will attend the Convention than ever before.

The Story on the Morning

ArchPundit July 14, 2004 No Comments

Seems intriguing. Allen Hug and Dan Proft (of Illinois Leader infamy) were involved in setting up the ‘meeting’ at Ditka’s. Guess who was going to be there?

Jack!

Guess who wasn’t told about the whole deal. Ditka and his wife. But the press was and probably Drudge.

I’ll leave you to your own conclusions about what the motivation was.

UPDATE: and now the Leader is down from Drudge links. Clever marketing Mr. Proft.

Drudge Is Wrong

ArchPundit July 14, 2004 No Comments

Perhaps not a noteworthy bit, but there was no scheduled conference to announce his candidacy. The Leader is closer to the truth with the a scheduled meeting/conference call this morning. Word is that will still occur.

Cross will be having an event at Navy Pier early this evening at 6:30. The event has been planned for a while, but he will announce his support for a Ditka candidacy there. If there is any movement today expect it to be there, though Ditka may just show up without an announcement (notice this is the same story I’ve been telling for a couple days?)

And I have no idea if the guy is running. I think Mike Ditka might be the only guy with an idea of that.

CLARIFICATION: The meeting was a conference call just to be clear.

The Note Says….

ArchPundit July 14, 2004 No Comments

And what about the Draft Ditka folks’ claim that half the state central committee or more is willing to back him?

I have 11 public pronouncements and perhaps some more behind the scenes out of 19.

Fornek from the Sun-Times reports that Allen flew out to talk to him.

Illinois Senate Republican Nomination Cattle Call 7-14

ArchPundit July 14, 2004 4 Comments

I can say that at this point, this is the greatest amount of uncertainty in one of these since I started them over a year ago.

1. Ditka. He has the Central Committee votes, but is he really crazy enough to do this? I’m betting no.

2. Jack! If not Ditka, then who?

3. Oberweis. I mean, who the hell else is left? And he can do some self-funding. Probably the top goal of the NRSC right now. If Ditka says no, I can’t imagine the Central Committee doing much besides washing their hands of the whole damn thing and going home. In perhaps a note on how frighteningly low the ICFST has gone, he’s making noises about needing guarantees of money. Oberweis is making demands?!

4. Dr. Andrea Grubb Barthwell. Just a few days ago, she was ahead of Ditka. If it falls down this low, you might as well role the dice and shoot for the historic showdown between two African-Americans.

5. Corrinne Wood. Did she even apply? Does anyone know the whole list?

6. Borling. Hell, why not.

7. Wright. Will he insist on money?

8. Norm!

9. Kathuria. Resume being torn apart by Ty Fahner.

10. And it may be reached sooner than this–the abyss. The deep abyss.

Ditka Has the Central Committee Votes

ArchPundit July 14, 2004 No Comments

Just updated the original post.

I still doubt he’ll do it. And what about Buddy Ryan (shamelessly stolen from a great comment)

If It Feels Good…

ArchPundit July 14, 2004 No Comments

Blame the Trib. Pop Quiz, what maybe former Illinois Senate Candidate could learn from this:

Bush gave a powerful speech in York, Pa., last week describing his “values.” He declared: “The culture of America is changing from one that has said ‘If it feels good, do it, and if you’ve got a problem, blame somebody else’ to a culture in which each of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life.”

Heh.

Thanks to the anonymous reader..

Most Interesting Is the Buzz from Jeff Berkowitz

ArchPundit July 13, 2004 6 Comments

While much of what is going around is speculation, I think Jeff makes an interesting point about what George Allen is doing (Allen is the head of the National Republican Senate Campaign-NRSC). Jeff says he is hearing that Allen has told Jack! not to file the paperwork until he sees the replacement.

Sweet! Dueling Drafts! Draft Ditka vs the Bring Back Jack Draft that I won’t link to unless they reign in the damn spammer in my comments.

It truly can get weirder.

My guess is Allen would easily go with Ditka, but Ditka might not go with Ditka.

But Will He Do It?

ArchPundit July 13, 2004 No Comments

Just in case anyone is wondering, no, I wouldn’t support Ditka for Senate. I just like a good story.

But will Mike take the spot? While I’m not going to predict anything too strongly, for good reason, I tend to think not. While the initial flattery of the idea has to be appealling to anyone, the reality of running for the United States Senate means your life is an open book and you are on all of the time. Being Mike Ditka in Chicago doesn’t mean a whole lot of privacy, but it doesn’t involve people looking at every aspect of your life and for little in return.

From the Trib:

His membership in the men-only Bob O’Link Golf Club in Highland Park could create some concerns among women voters, some Republicans said privately.

On top of that he doesn’t seem to have voted since at least 2000. He’d have to give up his announcer gigs for the season and we all can remember our favorite hysterical Ditka moment which is funny in relation to a legendary football coach, but not so conducive to being a candidate for the US Senate. While I’d never say that Ditka wasn’t up to the challenge, he has a nice life right now and giving that up at age 64 would be a lot to do. He couldn’t stand the sports press attacking his play calling, I don’t think he’ll want to answer indepth questions about his past.

But damn would that be a funny campaign.

Ditka Probably Has the Central Committee Votes

ArchPundit July 13, 2004 1 Comment

This does not mean Ditka has decided, but the push to get him over the process hurdle of a majority of the Central Committeeman seems to be a done deal to me. This is not a prediction that he will take it, and certainly a powerful member of the Republican Party could step in and pressure some folks to back down, but here are the numbers I have and those announced in support of Ditka.

CD. Name Number of Votes
16. Syverson 68,827
15. Jerry Clarke. 59,768
8. Dr. William Dam 55,485
19. Bob Winchester 43,402
12. Steve McGlynn 23,229
3. George Preski 22152
9. Dorgan 22,122
5. Skip Saviano 13,502

Total votes 308,487
Needed 351,329
Difference 42,842

I hear that there may be as many as 100,000 votes that are safe bets, but not declared. Ditka hasn’t even tried for committments yet either.

So unless there is push from on high to dump the idea, this is probably Ditka’s choice. That still leaves a lot of questions though.

(I was able to do this because of Nathaniel Zimmer’s article on the Central Committee vote totals).

UPDATE: According to Draft Ditka Perez and Meyer have signed off giving them another 14,078 and a total of 322,565

UPDATE 2: From comments, sixth district committeeman Ron Smith jumps on board with 57,348. It’s Ditka’s for the taking. If he is crazy enough to run for Senate, it looks like he’s got the GOP nomination waiting for him.