That’ll Hurt the Team

Okay, so let’s just say that you decide you are going to run for high office. You may have a thousand reasons for doing so, but you want to be Senator and an opening comes along. You jump in, make a lot of noise, position yourself interestingly and have a great shot of winning your party’s primary though you would face an uphill struggle a state that is increasingly leaning the other ideological direction.

But you have some embarrassing information in your background. What do you do?

Disclose it, getting it out early in the election cycle and avoiding being sandbagged with it in an election? No. Of course, not.

You get the records sealed and assume the information is safely tucked away. This is a dumb assumption given your name has been out there as a candidate for a while and people always get ready for a strong challenger. But then the press decides they should have access and sue for release. Do you fight it? Yes. Why? Because now you are in a box. Then you say that there is nothing embarrassing in the files. A dumb answer.

Because when the judge says he’s going to release a big section of the file. You say:

“Is there anything in there that might be embarrassing to me? Maybe. But that’s not the criterion.”

So now you have lied to the media that already is annoyed with a campaign tone that was at least clumsily negative and has been rather poorly run. You have apparently lied to the Speaker of the House of Reps, the Senate Majority Leader and other party leaders in the State.

So assume the best at this point and say you have some minor embarrassments in the file–who has your back? No one. You have to fight it off and have character whispered about for months. And you are still off message talking about things that only highlight one of the strengths of your opponent–a remarkably charming family.

Say it is more than just a little embarrassing? Be expecting a call from the Illinois GOP Leadership to step down from the ticket and essentially asking for your head. Of course with no direct law to replace you, they have to rely on the Courts to let them to replace you, further angering them and further making this campaign season a long one for them. Jack Ryan will be a curse word in the IL GOP under this scenario.

In bizarro world, a few court decisions could easily land the GOP without a Senate Candidate or a Presidential Candidate for the fall election–something that would devestate down ballot races–which is what they care about, because Jack, they’ve already written you off.