In response to the misleading TV attack ad that the DCCC is running that tries to fool 10th District voters into thinking that the Daily Herald and other print media are down on Mark Kirk, Kirk fires back with this sharp new TV ad making sure every voter knows who really won the endorsements of every major newspaper in the district (hint: it sure as heck ain't The Pup).
UPDATED: A longer version of the "endorsed" ad is available at Kirk's website. I hope and assume that we'll see both versions of the endorsement ad in heavy rotation on TV over the weekend and up til the election.
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20 comments:
This is a nice ad, but remains a campaign that should never have been competitive, but is because of a lack of sound communications and political strategy.
There are deep fundamental political issues here locally that Mark has refused to address and which deeply threaten his ability to retain this seat if he wins or to get it back if he does not.
As the local party leader he owes it to the Republicans here who fight hard for him to show some skin and get re-engaged.
I love this ad!! Team Kirk nails it again!!!
I'm only going to say this once.
This is a Kerry +4 District and hasn't gotten any more conservative since 2006. The DCCC has poured $2 mil into this race, and Seals has raised $2 mil or so on his own, I believe. And there's the little matter of the Anointed One from our own backyard to contend with.
The fact that Mark Kirk is doing as well as he is, is a credit to his outstanding qualities as a Congressman and a work ethic that puts 99.99% of other politicians to absolute shame.
So, Anon 5:42, you want to improve leadership among the local GOP, show up to the Central Committee meetings (4th Monday every month at GOP Headquarters in Libertyville, 7:00 p.m.) and we'll put you to work.
Quit ragging on Kirk on my blog 5 days before the election.
'Nuf 'Sed.
I love you too TA!!!
Thanks, but don't let Mr. Middle find out... ;-)
Look TA, I've spent several decades working my tail off for ogilvie and rumsfeld and percy and kathy parker and porter and edgar and thompson and now Mark and gone to the conventions and done the whole bit with coffees, fundraisers ect. No one is going to tell me, that I can't be pissed off that here we are dealing with a nut with a cat and an intern without a job to protect our congressman who's better than 99% of the people in d.c. and should have been in leadership 4 years ago over those flakes putnam and granger.
This Republican Party in this state is in a serious period of neglect and we, the yard sign planters are owed better by the people we elect who have the influence and power to get things done, chief among them Mark Kirk.
When Mark doesn't go full throttle for the party, he is hurt, people like Tim Stratton and Brenden Appel are hurt and the state suffers, and yeah that's how we get to a point where crackpot also rans like Terry Link and Lauren Beth Gash, and Jan actually influence things.
Shutting up isn't worth continuing to put up with this.
Anon 5:42/7:34- Look, I commend you and thank you for your dedication and service to the party.
But there's a time to gripe, and this ain't it. If you have problems with Team Kirk's members, or the Lake County GOP, there will be plenty of time to work at improving things after the election. We can start on Nov. 5th if you like, although I wouldn't mind a few days off. But the first order of business is to send Mark back to Congress and win as many local races as we can.
Once we get that little item out of the way, I'll be happy to help you in a GOP-improvement program.
Good deal TA, we will go into 72 Hours mode and beat the snot out of Karen May and Elaine Nekritz, and Daniel Biss and the pup and comrade gash and the rest of the economy destroying corruption enabling goons.
That said, I'm still deeply disappointed with where things stand. At our pay grade you can not come up with the new ideas, rapid response units, political strategy and corporate coalitions to start kicking out the legs that stand up the heinous democratic group that runs our state.
We can not have leaders who hide from their Republican identity are afraid to take on the democrats. You can win win as a vocally proud moderate Republican.
VICTORY!!!
Looks like Creamer will go to jail again...
i will say the kirk campaign has done the best job it's ever done on rapid response communications...seems like the pup has never been able to get anything going -- that fact check page is always one step ahead.
Are you serious? All I see on tv is Kirk=Bush. How is Kirk spending his money to counter the implication that he is responsible for Iraq (which he is, rather you agree with it or not)? Nobody cares about the newspaper endorsements. The papers' decisions are political and more or less predictable.
Hey Anon 11:37, if newspaper endorsements don't mean a thing, why would Seals and his team have bastardized every endorsement that Mark Kirk received in his slimy tv piece? He wants everyone to think that he receieved them. And as for Mark being responsible for Iraq. Get a grip. He and most in the House and Senate voted that way. I think you belong over there with the vicious catwoman and her ever-loving cat. We're not buying what you're selling. We're damn proud of Mark Kirk, we also understand that it is not predictable that he gets the endorsements of every major paper and the most influential organizations. In short, Mark Kirk is a winner, a leader we all support. Stop tearing down our guy and go where you belong.
TA,
Our anonymous friend does have a point which will need to be placed on our agendas after this election. I hope our anonymous friend steps up and brings his issues to the table because they do need to be discussed and acted upon.
The Democrats have religiously stayed on a message (Kirk-Bush, McCain-Bush) which includes "no more continuation of Bush policies." They are running against George W. Bush and trying to take down as many Republicans as they can, including the fine ones like Kirk. Cynical? Yes. Effective? Seems to be.
To them, it doesn't matter that Kirk is more independent than the average congressman. It wouldn't matter to them if Kirk won the Nobel Peace Prize. Even during debates and interviews, the pup repeated his message in a robotic fashion. Neither the pup, the catwoman, or any Democrat will credit Kirk for anything. Credit is not part of their message.
For all the talk of rebuilding the GOP party, the State GOP offered no leadership on Con-Con (they took no position on it) and other than a few of us grass root types individually trying to revive or rebuild township organizations on a volunteer basis, throwing a few hours in a week for that purpose, little support has been forthcoming, from regional GOP offices, phone banking, offering internships to local college kids, or any type of coordination. They are probably struggling for money.
Voter vault is a nice tool, but bodies and money to use that tool effectively are still missing. I have to compliment some of my elected township committeemen for their efforts in spite of the lack of resources. But when you feel like the 300 Spartans who fought the thousands of Persians invading Greece during antiquity, and you find yourself in the same situation or fight over and over again during several recent election cycles, then something has to change.
Our candidates further down the ballot are underfunded, poorly assisted and must be completely frustrated. Some big time fund raisers were held for McCain in our backyard and serious money was donated to him. McCain raised several million $$$ in Illinois, but McCain signs and literature have been scarce and he didn't bother to campaign in Illinois. That money should have been invested in our local candidates and would have been put to a better use.
Obama has been running ads unopposed on Chicago TV and radio and McCain hasn't. The ads may be designed for Northern Indiana and Southern Wisconsin. The message? "McCain-Bush. End the Bush policies. McCain doesn't support you!"
While McCain got the big bucks from our area and then vanished, Tim Stratton is a phenomenal candidate who has been mostly neglected and underfunded. Two years earlier, William Griffin was a phenomenal candidate who was mostly neglected and underfunded. The result? Karen May. We have other excellent candidates for office in Keith Gray, Anderson and Daniel Segrue to send to Springfield. All struggle for cash and attention to get their message out.
The Democrat candidates all were given seed money and cash from established Democrats already holding office. Ours weren't. Ours do get newspaper endorsements and pats on the back. But pats on the back do not win elections.
In parades, the Democrats march together in one large group. We don't.
Our countywide candidates are also struggling for cash and really do not seem to be campaigning as a slate. The only coordinated effort I see are from our county board candidates who are mostly outside the 10th Congressional District, who are also outgunned financially.
After 11/5, some more changes will be needed. And a different attitude needs to be put in place.
Our State Party, our county central committees, our GOP clubs and organizations all need to remember that all politics is local. Keep the money local. Fund and support your local candidates. And if we don't rebuild locally, we will continue to frustrate ourselves each election cycle.
So let's get out there and make our final push for the good guys this weekend.
And after this election, we have some serious issues to take on and solve.
Louis G. Atsaves
All good points, Lou. The fact is that the GOP, at least on a national level, is a somewhat tarnished brand, so much so that it overwhelms to a great extent the tarnished brand of the state Dems, and limits our candidates ability to get behind the elephant and run on Republican 'principles'.
Once the novelty of the BarackStar is out of the way, for better or worse, we will all need to regroup and place greater emphasis on teamwork.
Don't forget, though, that the local GOP has made some great strides forward with the quality of many of our new candidates- Dan Duffy, Keith Gray, Dan Sugure, our judicial candidates, and numerous others. These people are the future of the party and we need to get behind them to help us rebuild.
Just moved to the Wilmette from Chicago and came across this blog. One more vote for Kirk. I paid extra to be north of Lake Avenue so I could have finally have representation (Republican) in Congress! The fact this race is considered a tossup is very concerning. IMO, Mark needs to go negative on Seals in at least one place. I liked the mailer linking Seals to Rangel. I would extend that to include Chicago Democratic operatives who are driving his push into the 10th. No one likes a carpetbagger - so that theme should resonate. Because if I was strictly going on mailers, Mark comes across as just neutral nice guy (i.e. trying to avoid losing), while Seals is on offense. Need to show there is a downside to Seals. JMHO
Lou,
I don't think the local GOP would be very receptive to my opinions yet, but that might change if this election cycle turns out as poorly for the Republican Party as many people predict.
The GOP needs a full blown overhaul--an ideological purge. Organizing to deliver a message more effectively won't help if the message is wrong. The GOP needs to take responsibility for the last 8 years, admit that backing Bush has equated to abandoning most things that should rightfully/rationally be considered "conservative," apologize, and regroup.
The main problem right now for Mark Kirk is that all the things the Seals campaign is saying about him are generally true. He has voted for all of Bush's ridiculous budgets, he has voted to dump hundreds of billions into Iraq, and he has voted with Bush on every major issue. He's done good things too, but people tend to remember the bad (especially when your opponent is all over the television and in the mail).
Kirk's defense is to state that he is considered one of the most independent members in congress, but those things are not mutually exclusive. When most people are voting 98% along party lines, voting 90% makes you RELATIVELY independent. In the absolute sense, he is as off base as the rest of the 20% approval rate having federal legislature.
Of course, all the things the Kirk campaign is saying about the dishonest idiot carpetbagger who is Dan Seals are also true, but it doesn't matter.
If local Republicans want the GOP to return to prominence, local Republicans need to advance a winning platform, and the Bush agenda that Mark Kirk has supported is a proven loser.
The good news is that 2010 might be like 1994. We're about to have two years of Democratic freespending and incompetence, and that bring traditional conservatives back into office next cycle. But the neo-cons are out. I say, "Good riddance."
Anon 10/30 5:42: you really need to keep your pants on!
Hey Lou - maybe you didn't notice the state party mail in lake county and other collar counties or the 7 phone banks they funded around the state - it's easy to miss because it's easy to point fingers when things are tough. And btw, these are things that have NEVER happened before... And a position on Con Con? What were you looking for? A coordinated campaign that took the focus off the dozens of candidates in competitive races. Sounds great but that's not the job of the state party nor is it the job of the state party to solve everyone's problems. If Mark Kirk waited for a state party to help him win elections we'd be dealing with congressman dan seals a long time ago. But in conjunction with a well oiled machine (which is what the kirk campaign is) the state party can effectively compliment candidates who are willing and able to do the heavy lifting themselves. J.C. Watts was famous for saying that "the only helping hand is at the end of your wrist". You have a reputation as a hard working dude but you might take a moment and think about what we all need to do to help rebuild this party. Because personally, I plan on building this place from the ground up - I'm not going to wait to get my marching orders from the top down.
Cheers.
To the two Anons,
Not taking any position on con-con makes us look silly. The Edgar commercials being anti con-con and urging voters to vote the bums out that caused the mess in Springfield is a MESSAGE! And it's actually a good one for us. Why aren't we using it?
A position pro con-con saying the state needs to be fixed is a MESSAGE! And it is also a good one.
The last second radio spot by the House Republicans telling folks if they want change in Springfield, then vote the Democrats who control it out is a MESSAGE! And it is a good one!
The State party message? Silence. When asked, McKenna bluntly said they had no position. I'm not anti-McKenna, but really! Silence?
Giving candidates some seed money would help at the start of a campaign. Coordinating their websites the way the Democrats coordinate theirs is a good idea. Some basic nuts and bolts assistance to them is only sporadically given right now. There is no state party mail in my part of Lake County.
I'm a grass roots guy but I also recognize that the ditch diggers of any organization need a foreman to tell them where to dig, a planner to show them the way and an idea man who dreamed it all up. If you are going to put up a building with a strong foundation, you need an architect or a group of architects to draw up some plans, otherwise you are just digging aimlessly and erecting something that may not be inhabitable.
Are we a party with a bunch of ditch digging shovelers shoveling in no particular direction? When did that happen?
And sorry. Blowing up the party apparatus and starting over sounds nice, but isn't very practical.
Kirk will win this thing in my opinion. I'm not knocking the Kirk campaign. It is extremely well organized, focused and funded.
My complaints go towards the lack of support that a bunch of fine candidates should have received for Springfield and county wide races. Drives me crazy that folks will attend a presidential candidate fundraiser and drop $5,000 and $10,000 per fundraiser, then give the local guy running for State Representative $50.00. Something is wrong with that picture.
I've tossed out a couple of ideas that I feel can be solutions. There are more out there.
Louis G. Atsaves
Lou,
Wow - you need to talk to the state party more because you need to get caught up on what they've been doing.
First, the lake county website was designed and hosted by the state party - so have a bunch of others around the state - free of charge.
Second, I'm not the biggest fan of McKenna, but he was the FIRST person to even mention Con Con during their reform tour over a year ago. This same reform tour included the first mention of Recall, first mention of tax reform and the first discussion of ethics bill before any new spending. But whatever...
And a radio ad with NO money behind it ONE WEEK before an election in the Chicago media market is similar to shooting an elephant with a pellet gun.
I agree with you though...the anti-rod, springfield is broken message is good... and it has been employed by smart campaigns months and months ago.
But putting out a hail mary pass like a radio ad ONE WEEK before the election is Cross trying to hide the fact that he was a close ally of Blago. Just look at Madigan coming after him as proof... Madigan looks further from Rod than Cross does and it has hurt incumbant Republicans as a result.
Finally, just because you didn't get the mail doesn't mean it didn't happen... I got mine. Just go check it out.
Like I said. You are really respected but you have to take a closer look at what's going on...
Regards.
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