Illinois Democratic Senate Cattle Call Comment Period 3-11
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Illinois Senate
Ryan Rumors
Okay, please keep it out of comments. I won’t link to it, but go to the message boards at the Illinois Leader if you wish. I have no way of evaluating the content of the rumor and I won’t comment or allow it to stay on this site until someone gets something on record. Period. I don’t have the ability to do real time reporting and so I won’t provide a forum for character assassination without evidence.
What A Sense of Humor Will Do for You
In the Sun-Times backroom, why people like Rauschenberger is clear….
State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger has racked up a fair number of newspaper endorsements in his U.S. Senate bid — but the cash-strapped GOP Senate candidate is having a tough time capitalizing on the endorsements, which usually show up in television commercials.
“We’re hoping to run them on ham radio,” quipped Rauschenberger spokesman Charlie Stone.
That is the sort of cheekiness that runs throughout the operation
Borling Is Going Nuclear
Oddly appropriate for an Air Force General. It would appear he thinks he knows there is more to Jack Ryan’s divorce than we are being told. What is interesting is that the debate isn’t whether the son deserves privacy, but whether Ryan is being honest. Ryan is now in a pickle because fighting unspecific character charges doesn’t go away. It just makes people’s imagination go wild. If Ryan is telling the truth, Borling is commiting character assassination . If Ryan isn’t, don’t worry, it’ll come out by a 527 in the general election.
Let me be clear about comments. I will delete any comments that claim to know what Borling knows without specific documentation provided to me.
Rauschenberger Strategy
Is tied to direct mail to the party faithful. While I don’t think it will be enough, Jack!’s strategy is based on big media buys which are terribly inefficient in a low turnout primary. Expect Rauschenberger to do better than expected and be in-line to be a compromise candidate for Governor or the choice for Treasurer by the Republicans in 2006.
Who Will Be the Big Winner?
None of the candidates, Rich Miller is getting good press in the national publications as the disher of dirt on the race. The Hotline has picked up several pieces. This comes after Eric Zorn suggested he was in line to take the place of Steve Neal as the state’s best political columnist.
That said, there is another good analyst who is underrated because he writes for a Missouri paper.
Illinois Democratic Senate Cattle Call 3-10
1. Obama. Got a buzz now with the national press picking up his story. Hynes is attacking–and probably a fair attack about why Obama didn’t speak up about the profligate spending under George Ryan. That’s a clean hit as far as I’m concerned.
2. Hynes. Trying to find a way to take Obama down without going negative. It isn’t easy. Needs ground troops and probably rain.
3. Hull. Seems to have rebounded (and Glenn isn’t getting in for that Jeri Ryan troll), but not sure it is enough. As independent polls are coming to a close, the question is will his numbers jump up or just maintain a small increase? Hard to get in to the dialogue when Obama is dominating the free press.
4. Pappas. Her sense of humor is showing, but probably too late. While the debate performances are a problem, I think she just mistimed a bunch of the campaign and never got on track. She still has a future (that should bring some comments in)
5. Chico and the Ice Cream Man. Gives a little on Oberweis as do the other candidates. If Republicans see Democrats attacking Oberweis will they switch thinking he must be doing something right? We can only hope.
6. Skinner. Fading….
7. Washington. Now that is a dead political career.
Kenyan Press
Google News is pretty indispensable during this kind of race, but what is kind of cool about it is that I know the Kenyan press is covering the race because Obama’s father was from Kenya.
Let This One Die
Hull answers a question about whether he was treated for substance abuse.
Over. But I’m curious about the claim that he refused to tell the press where he would appear. I get his daily schedule from the campaign. It wasn’t hard to have it done, so what is Channel 7’s problem? This smacks of any unfair backhanded slap at him.
Zorn offers a very good take on the whole issue, but I’m still curious about why Channel 7 is having such a hard time figuring out where he would be. Am I to understand that a guy with an obsessive interest in Illinois politics who runs a web site narrowcast for others with similar interests is better able to track candidates than people who do this for a profession?
Illinois Republican Senate Nomination Cattle Call 3-10
1. Jack! Polls consistently have him up, but some sense that the support isn’t very deep.
2. Rauschenberger. Call me delusional, I don’t care. Anyone doing this well with newspaper editors–a notoriously cynical lot, should do better than 8 percent.
3. Oberweis. May push crazy Tancredo into the Colorado race given Salazar a good clean shot now that Udall backed out.
4. McKenna. I hope he is the one who starts slinging mud because he needs something to make him even the slightest bit interesting.
5. Borling. Bombing Jack!
6. Wright. Save any cash for the next race.
7. Kathuria. Circling the Drain
Rumors of an explosion of nastiness have been reported–frankly this race needs it.