Wednesday, December 9, 2009

State Rep. Beth Coulson Gets High-Powered Endorsement from Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar

Former Illinois Governors that aren't in the slammer or headed there seem to be in short supply nowadays, but one notable exception is Jim Edgar, who enjoys a pretty much untarnished brand and reputation, especially among Republicans who remember better days in this state. Edgar has now officially come out for State Rep. Beth Coulson in the race to succeed Congressman Mark Kirk, who is running for U.S. Senate. Coulson's camp just now issued this press release:

STATE REP. COULSON SECURES GOV. EDGAR'S ENDORSEMENT
NORTHBROOK


(December 9) - Today, former two-term Republican Governor Jim Edgar announced his endorsement of Elizabeth Coulson for Congress in the 10thCongressional District.

"As governor, I worked closely with Beth Coulson," said Edgar. "I find her to be a person of tremendous talent, integrity and compassion. The same qualities that have made her an effective state legislator will make her an excellent member of Congress. The 10th District will be well served by electing Beth Coulson to Congress."

Edgar cited Coulson's experience as a State Representative, in the State Legislature she worked towards property tax relief and crafting the Patient's Bill of Rights health care legislation, as reasons to support Coulson's campaign. The 10th District is a critical race for the party in 2010, Edgar's endorsement underscores Coulson's ability to win the race in November for the Republicans. Her policy vision includes combating the federal government takeover of health care, fighting against destructive cap-and-trade taxation, and to extend tax relief for 10th district families and businesses to spur economic growth.

"I am honored and humbled by Governor Edgar's endorsement," said Coulson. "Governor Edgar's tenure was a model in fiscal responsibility, something we need to replicate at the federal level by resisting the temptation to spend money we do not have. We need to send a fiscal conservative to Congress with the policy knowledge and legislative experience to reign in runaway federal spending."

"I will serve our community in Congress the same way I did in state government which is by being honest, by being responsive to my constituents and by voting my district," Coulson added.

Gov. Edgar's endorsement follows on the heels of endorsements Coulson has received from the majority of Illinois Congressional Republicans - Reps. Judy Biggert, Timothy Johnson, Aaron Schock and John Shimkus - as well as virtually every Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly - including leaders State Rep. Tom Cross and State Sen. Chris Radogno - and local elected officials and civic leaders in the 10thCongressional District.

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36 comments:

Anonymous said...

yawn....

Anonymous said...

Yawn all you want, but this is a good break for Beth. It never hurts to have the backing of a well respected, ethically clearn former Governor of Il. How many of those guys still alive can lay claim to that these days. That's sure to help Beth in the campaign because I don't know if her campaign is out there raising the necessary money for this Primary.
I wish her well because I think she has the ability to pull this off. Sorry Foklaes.

Anonymous said...

Gov. Edgar is usually pretty judicious about his endorsements so this is quite the feather in the cap of Beth Coulson.

Affecting this region, Gov. Edgar also endorsed County Board #13 member Susan Loving Gravenhorst and Senator Kirk Dillard, who is running for Governor.

Louis G. Atsaves

Anonymous said...

I agree with you, Lou. Having Jim Edgar's endorsement is coveted by anyone who knows and appreciates how this man is respected and admired in Illinois. It can help Beth with fundraising, it shows that he has a lot of faith in her judgment and that can only help her going forward. Only time will tell, but I'm sure Beth is smiling from ear to ear today.

Anonymous said...

COULSON!

Anonymous said...

SEIU!

Anonymous said...

GET OVER IT!

Anonymous said...

Mark Kirk and Peter Roskam told me I shouldn't get over it--that the SEIU is a corrupt criminal enterprise. If Coulson thinks differently she should just say it.

Anonymous said...

This is great news for Beth! I am impressed by her campaign - one of her volunteers came to my door stating why she was supporting Beth. No negatives about any other candidate (and I asked), but she simply emphasized Beth's constituent services, follow up and tenacity and that is why she is volunteering for her.

I had no idea Beth sponsored the Save Abandoned Babies legislation that allows women who do not want to keep their babies to bring them to police & fire departments as well as hospitals - that's a great piece of legislation resulting in saving many innocent lives.

I was as impressed with this volunteer as I am with Governor Edgar's endorsement. You go Beth!

Patrick Bateman said...

OMG! I had no idea Beth was endorsed by AFSCME, AFL-CIO, or SEIU. Nor did I know she was endorsed by Blago in 2006, or made a pretty mail-piece in 2008 with Barack Obama touting how they were going to bring "change we can believe to Springfield."

Check this out, it's so cool: http://tinyurl.com/yf3skt2

Nor did I know that she has a FAILING grade with the IL Chamber of Commerce. Remind me what are the three main issues in 2010? Jobs, Jobs, Jobs...

Remember kids (you too Team Coulson), when it comes to economic and small business interests, Beth Coulson is NO Republican. She would shame the proud legacies of John Porter and Mark Kirk if she were to represent us here in the 10th Congressional District.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Bateman,

I beg to differ - Beth demonstrated time and time again that she is a Republican. Please remember Reagan's philosophy that if you agree 80% of the time that's good enough.

She is in a heavy Democrat district and Mike Madigan NEVER gives her a free pass. Beth's constituent services are superior to many and that is why she continues to hold her seat.

I expect her opponents to launch everything including the kitchen sink at her - but she is a lady and I expect she'll win in the primary and most importantly she'll win in November.

Republicans need to remember the election in November determines if the 10th Congressional continues to have an independent thinking Republican or a rubber stamp Democrat.

Beth never was a rubber stamp to Madigan in Springfield and will not be a rubber stamp to Obama in D.C. She is opposed to Obamacare, Cap & Trade and expansion of the role of government. She supports stimulating the economy through job creation in the private sector.

Please remember - the victory is in November!

Anonymous said...

Hey Louis G. Atsaves,

I guess Edgar owed the endorsement to Sleepy Susan and Kirk Dullard - but hey, 1 out of 3 ain't bad - GO COULSON!

Anonymous said...

This is huge for Coulson. She is the only one to secure major endorsements. No other candidates have any major endorsements which have any pull in the 10th other than Coulson. Congressman Schock, the only congressional candidate in the 10th to meet with Steele, and now Edgar. Don't look now but I think Beth has this race wrapped up.

On a side note, I love Vernon Township GOP Chairman Don Castella. Comical. This is the guy who claims Beth was crushed. Funny, how many people voted in that endorsement session? What was it...oh right, 13. Give me a break Don. This is coming from the same guy who plans on running against Venturi for Lake County GOP Chair? What is he going to run on, a strong GOP organization? 13 people? Ha!

Before you go around saying your organization crushed Coulson, build some credibility behind the organization. You are THE laughing stock of GOP politics in Lake County.

Pssst...Did we all know that Dold is pro-choice. Ha, yeah. Don thinks he just endorsed a social conservative... Just plain ignorance.

Anonymous said...

1. are you better off today than you were 12 years ago when beth was first elected?

is the party better off?

is the state?

no.

2. Dold is a fool for failing to take the fight to beth.

3. this endorsement means nothing.

4. schock is a moron who tried to go to war with china.

5. bateman thanks for reading my old talking points. I said that 5 months ago.

FOKLAES

Anonymous said...

har-de-har-har FOKLIES. You said:

"1. are you better off today than you were 12 years ago when ____ was first elected?

is the party better off?

is the state?

no."

You (I support one moderate Republican ...therefore I am not a wingnut) can say that about every Republican including your fav Kirk. It's the Democrats, dude, the Democrats. Is the state better off since the DEMOCRATS took control of the entire state? Senate, House, every constitutional officer? DEMOCRATS. Say it with me - DEMOCRATS.

Anonymous said...

correction 'FOKLAES'

Anonymous said...

kirk was at the federal level, catlady lover.

his job was to protect us -we are safer thanks to garber, kirk, reed, doug, et al. he also backed bush & the mac attack 4 times. beth? got backed by ol' blago.

I liked reps. sherry boehlert, tom davis, jeb bradley, good moderate gop.

Why did they take power and stay in power you ask? Because beth and George Ryan sat by and played old games and did not get into the fight and do something. No new ideas no new agenda, no teeth or anything. Same old BS and take it from the hicks at the sprigfield sticks.

Jim Edgar spent the last 12 years cashing in on his connections. He is supposedly god, but what the heck has he done to fix the party?

Nothing.

Sadly dold speeds more time trying to look right than doing any actual thinking. I had hopes he learned how to attack and run a campaign while w/quayle. Looks unlikely.

maybe time to draft hochberg.

FOKLAES

Anonymous said...

I'll say one thing to you, Foklaes, drafting Andy Hochberg will bring this 10th district seat tied up with a bright bow right to any Democrat who wins the Primary. If you have trouble with dual loyalty, so to speak, he'll be the poster child for backing more Democrats than Republicans in the past. Andrew also suffers from a very arrogant personality. Sorry, you are way off on this one.

Anonymous said...

It was a joke. Finally a republican who is more pro-democrat than coulson. He and daddy hochberg have been big supporters of mark and porter so all is well.

Bottom line, to date dold and cadigan have run very underwhelming issueless campaigns. Dold needs to spend less time brushing his teeth and preening and more time doing actual thinking and working. If you watch the tribune editorial board thing it is VERY apparent the guy has no debating and attack skills which he will need in a dogfight with pup. This isn't 1988 when you can be a gop up here and just show up and win. Porter had to work his heart out to slog it out with mikva to win. Mark had Judy Reeve so he was destined for greatness because she's worth 1,000 nudelmans (team I don't know if you were on the scene then), but he still had to fight and take on gash.

Senor dold needs to get his inner atwater on and show us he can do something more than inherit his fathers business. What I saw was very unimpressive. I've hit coulson harder than he has here, and I haven't spent the last 20 years of my existence preparing to run for this seat. she has a record juicier than a gallon of o.j. (tropicana 100 percent kind not sugar water) and he and green gave her a pass in that thing. the toughest question green put out was getting dold to say he's pro-choice. that won't cut it.

Also dick green if you are reading this you might want to take the advice I gave you 5 months ago and fire the morons you hired to run your campaign who have never won anything in politics. For a harvard man, you sure don't know how to do research. You needed people that have records in winning moderate suburban districts, not corrupt low level tom delay flunkies who took you for a ride. Just because they can show you where heritage foundation is, talk some game about some names they know and regurgitate something they heard at bullfeathers hammered at 1 a.m. doesn't mean they know what they are doing.

FOKLAES

Anonymous said...

FOKLAES,

I generally agree with you - and I really like Andy Hochberg, but for the 10th, even Andy agrees Beth should be the nominee.

Now, let's get prepared for November - the Dems have alot of cash, alot of unemployed union workers and alot of Chicago Teacher's Union members free all summer to pound the pavement on their behalf.

Are we ready to take the fight to the streets?

Anonymous said...

Andy Hochberg!?! His was a painful candidacy to watch.
And can one of you Coulson folks tell me when the senior fair is going to be held?

Anonymous said...

Dold, Green, and Cadigan would have killed for this endorsement. They are all pro-choice, by the way. But they pretend not to be to get the gullible right-wing Township organizations to endorse them.

Anonymous said...

If dold or green had brains or campaigns they would be using coulsons connections to the last 2 indicted governors. Edgar is worthless.

The teachers unions will be working with beth. When you see the sickle and hammer arm bands you'll you've hit the coulson campaign.

FOKLAES

Anonymous said...

Seriously, the FEC went to all the trouble of using taxpayers funds to rule on the permissibility of the senior fair, so when is it?
You would have thought that people would be dying in the streets without this senior fair and now Coulson decides its not worth the grief?

tikkunolam said...

So, I just watched the Trib ed board meeting on the GOP side. Gotta say, I wasn't impressed. Dold and Green seemed pretty uninformed, both on Coulson's record and the issues in general. Coulson was just totally flat, I don't see her as possessing anything approaching charisma. I didn't hear a lot from any of them on pragmatic, real policy solutions to problems, a must for someone running in the 10th. Unless someone throws down a boatload of money, it's gonna be an ugly cycle for you guys.

Anonymous said...

1. you are going to lose all the seats you picked up in the south in 2006-2008.

2. you are going to lose the senate seat here, arkansas, delaware, connecticut, elsewhere. Rich goldberg already has the dirksen buffet wednesday special down. Team America already has a booth at the monocle for post sen kirk visit libations.

3. you will lose a number of governors mansions. not here, because mckenna sucks and murphy is a fraud (sorry king louis).

4. Our people suck here, but watch pup and hamos and I want to throw up.

5. back to studying for your geography finals. hint, despite what they tell you at 10th dems, the area encompassing tel aviv and jerusalem is not called palestine and ariel sharon is not a murderer of children.

FOKLAES

tikkunolam said...

Wow, mate, I seemed to have touched a nerve. Next time you're in the 10th (if you ever swing by from DC), we should sit down and you'll see how much I know and love Israel.

Anonymous said...

1. No such thing as a good white sox fan.

2. No such thing as a coulson republican.

3. No such thing a pro-israel 10th dem.

4. Senator Kirk, will he be SFRC chair in 2014 or 2016?

FOKLAES

tikkunolam said...

Well, shame you won't be back to the 10th anytime soon.

Easy said...

FOKLBS:

I love your inconsistency--it is hilarious.

Edgar endorses Kirk...hoorah
Edgar endorses Coulson..bahhumbuk

Schock endorses Kirk...major conservative support
Schock endorses Coulson...he's a warmonger

Teachers unions support Kirk...big tent
Teachers unions support Coulson...she's a commie.

I'm not criticizing, seriously, I'm entertained.

By the way, still waiting for that proof you said you have of coulson endorsing Blago...still waiting....

Giving Up said...

Up until one week ago, I was excited about Dold. A "conservative" who told me to my face that he was pro-life. Participated on a phone townhall style thing where he said he was pro-life.

NOW

He says he is pro-choice in front of the trib and I got an email from doldwatch@hotmail of that transcript. I confirmed at the trib video of the board meeting.

Coulson is boring and a RHINO but the women are going to vote for her, she has votes coming from her current district and rest of you "conservatives" fight for the scraps. I am giving up on this race, no endorsements are needed, no mudslinging is needed, its over.

Sincerely,

Giving Up

I plan to move to red state in the near future....

Anonymous said...

1. aaron schock is a moron and has about as much brainpower as a twig, I never complimented commander kirk for getting the backing from him or edgar.

2. Teachers unions are bad news. I am dissapointed to see that mr.kirk has been backed by the thugs of domestic politics.

3. Kirk has a record on national security, coulson has a record of telling the tribune that she asks her constituents how we should bomb FATA.

4. Dold is a moron. Team America should post the trib thing since he's too chicken to go on berkowitz and really lacks any substance what so ever.

FOKLAES

Anonymous said...

Can someone please explain to me Dick Green's path to Congress? I can see perhaps a very slight path through the primary, but the problem is that eventually he will have to try and appeal to a broad cross section of our community.

This guy has been out there for a while now, and people just don't like him (i.e. not even close in any endorsements sessions/horrific fundraising). His problem, I think, is that he appeals at only one level, sort of technocratic/anger level. He doesn't connect very well at an emotional level, at an inspirational level, or as a leader.

To win the 10th, you need to be able to connect with housewives and jews, and the indifferent. Dick and his mustache just don't have the ability to appeal to these broad demographics, IMO

But, maybe I am wrong. Can someone please tell me how Dick could win a general election?

Anonymous said...

Agreed. After hearing about Dold's flip flop on abortion and his support of the bailouts, I want to see the entire Berkowitz interview.

Anonymous said...

Please explain the alleged flip-flop on abortion. I've see all these guys several times and here is what each of the male candidates, including Dold, says:

Pro-parental notification
Against federal funding
Against late term abortions

The one exception is Hamond who is adamently pro-choice.

Beth Coulson and Dick Green should cease their dirty whisper campaigns. We in the 10th deserve better.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget:::
That person's contact will set up raves with X, and the incidence of fatalities at these events is shocking.
Young people at the very beginning of their lives.
Pehaps they should experience a redefinition of their conviction to "violent offender" if they cause the death of a child.