MSNBC got hold of a memo they claim came from the DSCC that was sent to former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, in a clear attempt to capitalize on the request for support from Palin that was made by Mark Kirk's campaign. Full story here.
The text of the memo, as posted at the MSNBC site is as follows:
To: Governor Sarah Palin
Cc: Congressman Mark Kirk
Cc: Fred Malek
From: Kathleen Strand, Senior Advisor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Dear Governor Palin,
Yesterday, following the purge of a moderate Republican in upstate New York and the devastating special election in NY-23, it was revealed that Congressman Mark Kirk is actively seeking your endorsement of his candidacy in the U.S. Senate race in Illinois. However, Mark Kirk has not had kind words to say about you in the past. Faced with a difficult re-election race in 2008, Kirk told reporters he “would have picked someone else” for Vice-President and that frankly he “didn’t know whether you are qualified to be President.” Now that Kirk is facing a tough primary challenge from the anti-Washington, anti-establishment candidate Patrick Hughes, he is suddenly racing to embrace you. I’m not sure how familiar you are with Mark Kirk but he is a politician who has a history of putting politics above principals [SIC], something you surely look down upon. Whether the issue is cap and trade, extending unemployment benefits, or health care reform, Kirk has either flip-flopped, been AWOL, or motivated purely by politics. On the other hand, Patrick Hughes is comfortable in his own skin as an extreme right-winger. Unlike the pro-abortion Kirk, Hughes is firmly pro-life, anti-gay marriage, and pro-gun…sounds like your type of Republican. I know you are in Milwaukee tomorrow and will be in our great state of Illinois later this month, both would be a perfect setting to give your blessing to one of these two candidates. With so much at stake in the next election, everyone wants to know -- who will you endorse in our Senate race?
Hmm... let's see. The DSCC wants to drive a wedge between Mark Kirk and any support he might be able to get from conservative Republicans thinks that Patrick Hughes could use some exposure to help them meet this goal.
Might we ask why?
The simple answer being, of course, is that the Dems are so petrified of Kirk that they will do anything, including get in the middle of a GOP primary, to try to derail him.
I wonder if Pat intends to issue a press release thanking the DSCC for its support?
Let's consider which candidate Republican primary voters should choose in February - the one who has the Dems in full panic mode, or the one that the DSCC wants to win? Your choice, folks.
NOTE to the DSCC: It's "principle" not "principal". Better hire an English major to check your correspondence.
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Reminds me of a comment I posted on CapFax this AM:
(1) If Kirk reaches out to the "tea party" conservatives and Palin, he is wrong, and
(2) If Kirk does not reach out to the "tea party" conservatives and Palin, he is wrong.
Either way, Kirk is wrong using their logic. The old "Heads I win, Tails you lose" argument gone crazy.
What does Andy Martin have to say about all of this? Why are the Democrats promoting Hughes over Martin?
Curious!
Louis G. Atsaves
Great - will Pat Hughes claim endorsement by the DSCC? Will this cause Ditka to retract his on-off-on endorsement?
TA,
Have the Democrats completely lost their minds? This memo appears to have been written by a 16 year old girl tattling on a friend! OMG - they've stooped to a new low....
team,
this is severe desperation from them. a pathetic stunt. perhaps elisabeth smith-pup's old flack is back on the payroll after her 4th straight loss in new jersey (no eric elk, she). For those looking for senate side libations after the kirk swearing in, I suggest lounge 201 or the Irish Times or if you feel like a hike and want to get your winnetka on in a democrat free place, the capitol hill club.
I realize it's not our bailiwick but I'm looking forward to the debate tonight between the gubernatorial candidates to see the gloves come off. My old pal andy mckenna is deserving of a beating and I hope he'll get it. I am undecided right now.
FOKLAES
Agreed, FOKLAES. Meet you at the Capitol Hill Club, downstairs, in Jan. 2011.
I'll be at the Lake County Republican Federation Fall Dinner tonight so I won't be watching the debate, but I agree it'll be interesting, as I've been waiting for that race to start to evolve.
Team,
good deal, with a bullfeathers post-game. The timing of these dinners has to get better. There was a new trier one the night of a big bear game (are trevians packer fans?), this one isn't well placed with the debate. It's hard to kick donkey ellens and rally the ground troops if you tie your shoelaces from different feet together. Perhaps someone could find the local republican organizations a calendar and the state party a phone number so that they could plan better. The last thing we want is a Kirk for senate GOTV rally in january the afternoon of a bears playoff game or to have 2 events at the same time. Perhaps lawlor could get on this.
As a side note, I'm absolutely loving the convulsions that the democrats are having over Palin's ties to mark. In the halcyon days it was always great sport to watch them complain and go nuts over all the things they hate Rummy's work with gitmo, abu ghraib, the patriot act, bush's support for israel and abandonment of Dan's BFF yassir arafat.
FOKLAES
I know, FOKLAES, but scheduling these things is a lot harder than you think, and coordinating them with respect to everything else going on is even tougher. Especially for dinner event, you have to deal with venue availability, which days of the week work, the availability of your speaker, etc. Dates that are set are often changed, as well, so a date that was clear a month ago can oftentimes present a conflict where none existed before. I'm just glad I don't plan events for a living.
Team,
I'm aware, and on the positive note it comes AFTER one of the best days in recent times.
As we move into battle, things like this can become an issue. Who is the speaker?
FOKLAES
And the Democrats grow ever wierder. Dan Seals is now marketing himself as a candidate "with an extensive background in economics and business."
TA and Louis,
I've written something similar to this post about 10 times now, but maybe the purging of the moderate Republican in NY-23 was the wakeup call that you needed. TA, your brand of moderate conservatism (I say that loosely considering you support Palin and crazies like her) is dying. The current Republican Party is now dominated by ultra-Conservative "Tea-Party" cooks who get their political theories from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly. As you both well know, Mark Kirk is nothing like them in terms of ideology. He is liberal enough to upset the majority of current Republicans, BUT conservative enough for Democrats and Independents to look elsewhere.
I will say it 100 more times before next November: based on current party trends and the breakdown of Illinois voters (without considering the Democratic field or political issues surrounding the Obama Administration) Mark Kirk CANNOT and WILL NOT win. Why? Illinois Republicans in the west and in the south will not vote for someone who is pro-abortions (in their eyes, pro-choice to the rest of us) or pro-clean energy. Chicago Democrats will not vote for someone tied closely with the Bush Administration who has a record of voting for Iraq, voting for the failed economic policies of the previous 8 years, and voting against Obama economic/social initiatives (outside of ACES--1 vote out of 10 key votes). Dems will be watching his healthcare vote VERY closely. If he wants any shot at winning IL, he will vote yes.
In any case, on demographics alone, Kirk will lose. It wouldn't shock me if Hughes stays in at the urging of GOP cooks down south and takes even more votes. Sorry boys, the end of Moderate Republicanism is here and we are more then happy to have their voices in the Democratic big tent.
Until Next Time,
A Concerned Colonial
To the Concerned Colonial:
Since when has believing in capitalism, lowering taxes, keeping healthcare between a doctor and patient, embracing pro-growth business policies and advocating against reckless spending become ultra-conservative?
Tea party activists are not rallying for repeal of roe v. wade,or advocating for everyone to own an ak-47, they are rallying against our government burdening our children with unsustainable debt and economic policies (Cap & Tax)that will kill business and job growth while raising taxes.
Take the blinders off buddy. NJ just elected a pro-choice Republican. Independents flocked to a pro-life, pro-gun Republican in Virginia. Republicans will be united in 2010 because they are the only ones that get the message. It's the economy and it's the spending stupid. And they'll rally against anyone whose actions or votes don't reflect that.
As a Senator, Kirk said he'd vote against Cap & Tax so the Conservatives will be with him and the independents don't like the bill either which is what he'll need to win Illinois.
And Chicago Dems will support whoever Daley wants them to support. And the inside scoop is he is no fan of Alexei. He'll throw a bone Alexei's way to show his Dem credentials, but the Machine will not have its engines in high gear for Mr. G. SEIU maybe, but the Machine is what matters and Alexei does not motivate them.
Without taking sides, people like Kirk just need to be careful about what they say. We are not in the 1600's when there weren't many media outlets, per se. What Kirk, who appears to have never met a (weekly) press conference he didn't like, seems to forget is that some Americans will not forget if you blame your constituents for how you vote after stating that you read the entire legislation and your vote the right thing to do. While its never right to blame one's constituents for how one votes, maybe there'd be a bit more understanding of and appreciation for Kirk if he stuck to one side of the issue or at least didn't change 'beliefs' so quickly. (We're not talking about what one is having for lunch!)
Many will also not forget how Kirk was whole-heartedly in favor of the war in Iraq from day one, based mostly on the WMD premise and despite the distraction it caused from the effort in Afghanistan when Kirk now claims to be an Intelligence expert (when not tweeting?).
Many will also recall that he asked others to 'Vote the person not the party' only now to seek the endorsement of someone who will never be considered as an independent, as terribly thoughtful, or as a moderate and when he has failed to support common sense solutions to the problems that have developed over the past few Presidencies.
Whether the DSCC should have written FORMER Governor Palin is questionable.
Of course, some of the things Republican-affiliated or Conservative-affiliated groups have done in previous elections would make this look like dust on yesterday's newspaper (i.e. irrelevant and/or pittance).
However, I do not believe that taking people at their word and pointing out when their word is contradictory is wrong, unpatriotic, or automatically of devious intent.
If one's Party is of fiscal conservativeness and superior morals, this should be true 24/7/365. It should not only appear when people who disagree with said Party receive attention.
Concerned,
Thank you for the treatisie on our party from someone who thinks the best kind of republicans are unelectable nuts you can scare glencoe soccer moms into avoiding or blago republicans like coulson who are democrats with elephant sized appetites for tax hikes. I never really bothered to understand your civil wars because it hurt my head too much to try and fathom the difference in thought between 2 sides of a girly man party.
As for your last 8 years nonsense, it's over and much as you may want to live in lalaland we have a new administration that is accountable. It's a new framework and frankly obama ain't doin all that well. Obama's failing misrebly in afghanistan and the middle east despite the fat ellen sized egos of douchebags like dick holbrooke and dennis ross. Israel hates him because he and tehran loving julie hamos and dan seals want to give tehran and hamas free reign. He's backpedaled so many times on Iraq withdrawal he maybe eligible for the tour de france. When a lot of americans were out of work he focused on blowing up health insurance which wasn't a priority and the guy spends all of his time playing golf, telling the world how great he is, and questioning himself and his generals. The only good thing he's done is kept michelle hidden away.
As for Illinois trending away from democrats, that happened after an era of 30 years of GOP dominance. that started 8 years ago and after 8 years of democrat failure the corner could turn.
the state flag of Illinois isn't a hammer and a sickle-yet.
FOKLAES
Concerned,
A lot of what you say at the present time is the truth. They are not being "lead" by Beck, Limbaugh and others, they have their own leaders, who have been on the fringes of politics for years, but to their credit, started something.
Many of the tea party types are not Republicans but want to use the Republican party to push their agenda. I stumbled into one tea party rally in Joliet (a tea party hot spot in Illinois) on the way to court a few months ago. In speaking with many in attendance, I discovered that they usually are 3rd party type of candidates or extremely casual Republicans.
I will say their anger is real and should be respected by both political parties. Whether you agree with their positions or not, they are a passionate and angry bunch. Several thousand just spent their own money to go to Washington yesterday to protest the health care bill and its inclusion of abortions. For many, it was their 3rd or 4th trip in just 2 months. The mainstream media continues to ignore them or simply tries to ridicule them. They are missing a big political story.
Post NY23 election, many tea party types are defensive about causing the GOP to lose a seat they held for over a century to the Democrat who was unable to muster more than 50% of the vote. I believe on my conversations with several of them the past two days that they recognize that crippling the Illinois GOP from winning seats puts them in a worse position than they are in now. If they talk amongst themselves like this, then I pity the Democratic Party.
They feel that no one is listening to them (true) or their concerns about government (true) and are demanding the right to be heard and to be taken seriously.
Their candidate ran a horrible, amateurish, ugly campaign against the Republican in NY23. As they learn and get better at these things, they will become a formidable voice that cannot be ignored.
The big question: who will they focus their rage on? The party in control in Washington, Springfield and Cook County? Or will they just continue to rage against everyone?
The next few weeks in Illinois may reveal the answer.
Louis G. Atsaves
I think the lesson from NY 23 is this--when Republicans field 2 bad candidates, we definitely lose.
Remember, the only thing that made Hoffman remotely attractive to Republicans is that Dede had a voting record that mirrors Cong. Jesse Jackson.
Easy, that's the smartest thing you've said here yet.
BTW, if you happened to be at the Lake County Republican Federation fall dinner last night, and you are planning to support Cindy Hebda over Dangerous Dan Sugrue, you might want to keep Roger Byrne on a leash. Just sayin'.
November 6, 2009 9:16 AM
I was not there, but I understand it was quite spirited.
Perhaps there will be a surrogate debate at some point? Roger Byrne vs. Foklaes?
It was a great event, and the enthusiasm was high, especially Roger's. He made several spontaneous speeches from the floor in support of Hebda at various points, which I found somewhat amusing. You can't question his excitement, though. I hope if Hebda wins the primary everyone will still be as motivated to go get the Dems.
When are Rogers "Spirits" not high? I heard he even came to Ant Simonians defense buy telling people to treat the new exec director fairly.
Lake County would be much more stale without the Roger Byrnes of the World.
FOKLAES tends to take a more macro focus, for example cleaning the RINO barnacles off the ILGOP ship like beth coulson and andy mckenna. Local politics aren't my bailiwick unless it's something Team America supports or something I know something about.
The sun-times editorial this morning is pathetic and reads like it was written by a bunch of crunchy granola eating small liberal arts school (oberlin?) liberals. Mark talked to a conservative politician, HEAVENS! Run for the hills! Buy your kid a bullet proof vest before kirk puts an ak-47 in every man's hand, stock up on birth control while you can! I have a lot of friends who are in journalism, but it's hard to shed tears for their dying profession when we see the arrogance in the msm in chicago that frankly gets outworked by people like team america and backyard conservative and jeff berkowitz day in day out and doesn't have a clue. I often find myself getting stupider listening to them which is something that generally only happens when I hear liberals or fans of the whitesox/packers/yankees talk out of their ellens.
Mark needs to find out what John Kerry did in 2004 where the whackos dated dean but married Kerry, and then just get the tea party folks on board.
FOKLAES
Ant's a nice woman, but she and Tolbert have explaining to do for the party's piss poor performance lately. Once upon a time an old hag named gracy mary stern was the only ellennut in the land. Not anymore. These are not personal attacks but Tolbert oversees an area that was once blood red and has fallen into total democrat hands. He needs to step up this year or be pushed out.
On capitol fax the donkey's are up talking out of their ellens (they do that a lot) with new ads. Hamos looks like an old warn out carpet that's sat in a basement for 95 years collecting dust. Alexi is par for the course thinking all voters read at the 3rd grade reading level most chicago public school kids graduate from high school at thanks to coulson and her/blago teachers unions before students agenda.
Mark should have eric elk atone for his think with his ellen sins this week and go right back at Alexi hitting him for his petty partisan politics and distracting voters from the economy. The employment figures today show that apparently spending a trillion dollars to add beuracrats to the federal payroll doesn't create jobs.
Team, I prefer guinness or kriek.
FOKLAES
Technically, Ant's responsibility was not party-building in the sense that she was ED of the Federation, which is a fundraising/support organization, and the Central Committee is the official party that, with the County Chairman, Township Chairmen and Precinct Committeemen, are supposed to be in charge of grass roots activism and organizing. Over the years, Ant stepped in to fill a vaccum at various points when direction and leadership in the party was lacking, but as the Central Committee would vehemently tell you today, they are in officially in charge of party building, candidate recruitment, etc., so they get the credit (or the blame) as appropriate.
If memory serves me correctly the last two Republican Leaders in this county were Dan Venturi and JoAnne Osmond. Are you saying that Ant stepped in because they were not leading? That leads me to beleive that Ant gets the blame for the Republican failures of the last few years and not the Central Committee. So they fired her to go in a new direction? Was there a power struggle?
You may want to explain what you mean because it sounds like you are throwing Ant under the bus. She is a pretty hard worker bee and good for the party.
Gold Fish, you misunderstand. We have a bit of a weird system here in Lake County, where really the only full-time paid employee of the Party is the ED of the Federation. The Federation supports the Central Committee but in the past (and we're talking over the past 45 years, mind you), the CC has not always done what was needed and from time to time, the Federation has taken on tasks and responsibilties that some people believe strongly ought to be done by the CC. With some County Chairman, such help is welcome, with others, less so. When there have been strong County Chairmen, less help is needed (or wanted, sometimes). It's not necessarily a poor reflection on the County Chairman that the ED is asked to do a lot, since some chairmen have more time than others. But everyone agrees the County Chairman is the leader of the party, not the ED of the Federation. Sometimes by trying to be helpful, some see that as a threat or going beyond the proper bounds. And as you might expect, there's two sides to every story. I think we just need to move on, and turn a new page with a new ED. Everyone agrees that the Party overall is strongest when the CC and the Federation is working together towards the betterment of the Party.
And, rest assured, TA will never throw Ant under the bus!
TA:
Got it, odd, but got it. So there was a power struggle and Ant lost. Too bad.
Yes, it's an odd, often dysfunctional, and altogether weird system, but it's the one we have, so we try to make it work. It's not entirely screwed up - Lake County has been, and still is, mostly red.
I consider myself a facebook fan of reagan's 11 commandment that thou shall not speak ill of a fellow republican, but Dan Venturi gets moron of the century for endorsing Andy McKenna.
McKenna, you'll recall ran off peter fitzgerald, the only good senator we've had in decades here so that he could come in 4th place. That then opened the door for some dude named barack obama. If fitzgerald was still in the senate democrats would not have the cover they do here next year and we'd be primed for a huge gop year. His accomplice with that was a guy named lahood who now sits in the obama administration where he has targeted republicans like jon kyl.
McKenna therefore is responsible for a democrat u.s.senate seat, no gop wins of any significance of any meaning under his wing as party chief and a total breakdown in the party. No republican should ever, ever,ever endorse a thug like McKenna and the fact that this party chair endorsed him should immediately mean that he is fired.
I hope venturi got lifelong tickets for the cubs and bears and free burgers at mcdonalds from mckenna because there's no way a sane republican would ever do something this awful which goes so against principles, common sense, and reality.
with leadership like this no wonder we get our brains beat in.
FOKLAES
If McKenna could run off Fitzgerald, then perhaps Fitzgerald wasn't quite as strong as you may remember.
Andy Mckenna and the thug ray lahood who now earns a living serving pork for the obama administration threatened to cut off Fitzgerald's fundraising which he needed. I take a republican who goes down fighting on principles over 2 republicans who make their names screwing the party.
Hughes was on fox news this morning, he looked like a 12 year old and sounded like a right wing version of catwoman-uninformed and out of his league.
I'm sure Team has a much better analysis but it was an underwhelming performance. I don't think we're out of the woods yet, but time is running short.
FOKLAES
I know Ant well and quite frankly, I think she won. She made the decision to get out and despite offers to join several campaigns - she refuses.
I saw her last week and she's looking terrific. I asked her if she missed her job, and with a broad smile, gave a convincing "No, not at all".
Maybe she wasn't the "Chairman" but she was a hell of a leader! The GOP lost a good one.
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