Illinois 11th District, Dem. Halvorson Fires Campaign Manager

-By Warner Todd Huston

Congressman Debbie Halvorson of the Illinois 11th District has fired the campaign manager that has been with her since the start of the campaign.

Last month first termer Halvosrson was embarrassed by campaign manager Travis Worl when he sent a letter to the U.S. Air Force challenging the military status of Captain Adam Kinzinger, Halvorson’s Republican opponent.

Worl complained to the Air Force that Kinzinger’s website bio said that he “is” flying missions in Iraq when clearly Kinzinger was now at home and running an election campaign for congress. But Kinzinger pointed out that the bio was written during his service and just wasn’t updated to “was” flying missions.
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Illinois 11th District, Dem. Halvorson Fires Campaign Manager”


Hayes Calls on Fitzgerald to Begin Investigations into Jackson, Jr.

From the Hayes for Congress campaign (2nd District)…

CHICAGO, IL- With yesterday’s verdict of Rod Blagojevich being found guilty on count 24 (providing false statements to the law enforcement/FBI), it’s time to bring Jesse Jackson Jr. to the stand.

During trial proceedings Rod’s brother, Robert Blagojevich, testified that fundraiser Raghu Nayak had offered to raise $6 million for Rod Blagojevich if Rod named Jackson to the empty Senate seat.

Simply put, just because Jackson did not succeed in attaining the seat, does that mean he should not answer for his actions?
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Hayes Calls on Fitzgerald to Begin Investigations into Jackson, Jr.”


Ill. Dem. Senate Candidate Being Funded by Terror Connected Financier?

-By Warner Todd Huston

Daniel Halper asks a whopper of a question, one that could cause quite a lot of trouble for Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias of Illinois. Halper reveals that one of Giannoulias’ donors is a man connected with a foundation with link to terror organizations.

Sahloul is the former president of the Mosque Foundation, a Bridgeview mosque that has numerous links to terrorist organizations. The Mosque Foundation contributed roughly $400,000 to four Islamic charities that were later shut down by the federal government for links to terrorism. According to the Chicago Tribune, the organizations receiving funds were: the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the Benevolence International Foundation, the Islamic American Relief Agency, and Global Relief Foundation.

Apparently the Mosque Foundation’s Imam led an effort to raise $50,000 to help with the legal costs incurred by Sami Al-Arian, a University of South Florida professor who was convicted of raising money for terrorism in Palestine.

So what about this? Is Alexi Giannoulias taking money from a group with certain connections to terrorism?

Is the what Illinois wants as their representative in the Senate?
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Ill. Dem. Senate Candidate Being Funded by Terror Connected Financier?”


Congressman Melissa “No Questions Please” Bean And Her Intimidating Enforcers

-By Warner Todd Huston

It is interesting to watch this video of a recent townhall held by Chicago area Congressman Melissa Bean (8th District). First she does her level best to avoid actually answering any questions and then when a constituent gets tired of the tap dancing she sends a guy that looks like a bar bouncer over to that person to stand over them in a threatening manner.

Notice that the enforcer comes over to intimidate not just the guy making the video here but another constituent, a middle aged woman.

Also I love the part about the questions. The congressman is right there for everyone to ask questions of her, yet she tells them to email her? Really? Email!?

If you’d like to contact the Round Lake Area Library where this happened, Lake County Tea Party has the contact info.
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Congressman Melissa “No Questions Please” Bean And Her Intimidating Enforcers”


Illinois Republican Party Launches ‘Dismiss Quinn’ Web Site

Site to Offer Updates, Summaries and Links to Coverage

The Illinois Republican Party today launched a comprehensive web site, DismissQuinn.com, to show voters why Pat Quinn should be “dismissed” as governor this fall. The “Dismiss Quinn” title refers to comments from the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. “Pat Quinn is a totally and completely undisciplined individual,” Washington said when he fired Quinn as his Revenue Director. “He was dismissed, he should have been dismissed. [His appointment was] my greatest mistake in government.”
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Illinois Republican Party Launches ‘Dismiss Quinn’ Web Site”


Those (Liberal) Voices Don’t Speak For The Rest of Us

The Republican Study Committee has unveiled a great ad contrasting what Republicans believe and what Democrats believe. Juxtaposing one of Reagan’s great speeches with the words of the Democrats of today, the ad shows how Republicans venerate freedom while Democrats venerate their own power and an ability to command and control all of us. As Reagan said, “Those Voices Don’t Speak For The Rest of Us.”

The Reagan part was pulled from his “A Time For Choosing” Speech from 1964. View the speech HERE.

The only problem as I see it with this video is that the viewer has to know all these people. They have to know who the Democrats are that appear in the video and that they are all from today. This ad is good for those informed enough but not good for those who are clueless as to who the Dems presented are. Still. It’s a good, powerful ad for those that are informed on who is who in Washington today.

It reminds me of my own video. I called it “They Tell Us What They Are.”


Are Democrats running Away From Obama During This Election?

Sure seems like it. The RNC thought it would capitalize on this fact and throw in a pretty funny tip-o-the-hat to the JetBlue flight attendant that has been in the news of late…

From the RNC:

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee (RNC) announced a new web video today that puts a spotlight on Democrat candidates who are going out of their way to run away from President Obama and his unpopular policies. The video, entitled “Crazy,” can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCG1PD4cirE.

“With unemployment hovering around double-digits and a majority of Americans unhappy with the direction of the country, it is not a surprise endangered Democrats do not want President Obama to come to their districts and remind voters of their failed economic policies. Democrat candidates continue to work overtime to distance themselves from the Obama agenda but there is nothing they can do to hide from the spending, tax hikes and government takeovers that have stood in the way of economic recovery. So long as the President continues to ask Democrats to ignore the concerns of voters and help ram through his liberal agenda, he can expect the campaign trail to be quite a lonely place.”


New Father Pfleger Reality TV Show: Blessing The Mayor’s Office

-By Warner Todd Huston

Those chickens have come home to roost… or at least they will during the upcoming mayoral election in the Windy City if the new reality TV show being shopped by Chicago’s incendiary Father Michael Pfleger is concerned.

Chicago’s gadfly Father Pfleger, close friend of Minister Louis Farrakhan, outspoken anti-gun crusader, sanctuary city supporter, and liberation theologist is the Southside religious leader who once openly wished for the death of a local businessman and also once said, “America is the greatest sin against God.” Pfleger has been the subject of many “reviews” by the Catholic Church and was once suspended after attacking Hillary Clinton as a “white person” who felt privileged because of her race.

New show producer, Bud Billikin of Chicago’s South Side Productions, Inc., has announced that the new show will follow the Father Pfleger as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime, a run for Mayor of Chicago.

On Friday Pfleger is expected to announce his run against long-time Democrat strongman Richard Daley whose father, a Mayor before him, was famed for having “helped” JFK win the White House in 1960.
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New Father Pfleger Reality TV Show: Blessing The Mayor’s Office”


BREAKING: SC Democrat Senate Candidate Indicted on Felony Obscenity Charge

-By Warner Todd Huston

Oh-noes… the Democrats may have thought they had a “quirky” candidate running for Senate in South Carolina in the person of one Alvin Greene. But I doubt they thought they were about to have a candidate indicted on felony obscenity charges. This is, however, what they’ve ended up with regardless

On August 12, a grand jury handed down an indictment of Alvin Greene over a November incident that happened on the campus of the University of South Carolina.

Greene was arrested in November after authorities say he approached a student in a University of South Carolina computer lab, showed her obscene photos online, then talked about going to her dorm room.

I suppose you have to hand it to Greene. He’s a Democrat in a hurry. After all, most Democrats have the good sense to wait until they are elected before getting indicted. THIS guy is ahead of the usual Democrat curve!
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BREAKING: SC Democrat Senate Candidate Indicted on Felony Obscenity Charge”


Hilarious: Lefty Threatens to Sue Illinois Political Blog

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is pretty funny… well, not so funny if you are The Illinois Review, one of our fine political news blogs in Illinois. Apparently billionaire Nadhmi Auchi has sent a threatening letter to the blog demanding that they delete an August 9 post linking Auchi to Democrat Senate candidate Alexi “the Mob Banker” Giannoulias.

The letter issued by attorneys Carter-Ruck demands that the August 9 piece be removed due to “defamatory and untrue allegations.” The letter also says that Carter-Ruck thinks that the source for the blog post was the Observer (of London) and the New York Times.

Apparently the nitwits at Carter-Ruck didn’t actually READ the post in question, however. The actually source for the blog post is clearly featured at the top of the body copy. Any fool can see that the blog post came “from the IL GOP,” as is noted on the actual post itself. This is a press release from the Illinois Republican Party, not an Illinois Review authored piece.
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Hilarious: Lefty Threatens to Sue Illinois Political Blog”


Brady for Illinois: Rasmussen Says Race is a ‘Toss Up’

From the Brady for Illinois Governor campaign…

While political polls will come and go between now and November, we thought you’d be interested in some great news!

A new, independent poll released today shows Bill’s lead over Governor Pat Quinn is growing. The new poll shows Bill now leads Governor Quinn 48 to 35.
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Brady for Illinois: Rasmussen Says Race is a ‘Toss Up’”


Lefty Conspiracy of the Day: *GASP* RNC Convention Logo Has Muslim Minaret in it!

-By Warner Todd Huston

The extremist, left-wing site Talking Points Memo (better known as TPM) thought it had a zinger of a story about the “RNC’s 2012 convention logo.” The logo, TPM crows, seems to have *GASP* a Muslim minaret in it. TPM even helpfully added a copy of the logo with a nice red arrow to the “minaret” image to help its readers determine which graphic element was the minaret (as seen to your right).

What is the subliminal message, TPM wonders? What nefarious motives could the GOP possibly have to include a Muslim icon in their logo? What is going on here TPM demands to know!

And don’t you know, this could be big news among the racists of the GOP who hate all Muslims and want them bombed out of existence, right? TPM dearly hopes that this minaret gaffe will blow up and cause a nuclear meltdown among the hatemongers of the GOP.
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Lefty Conspiracy of the Day: *GASP* RNC Convention Logo Has Muslim Minaret in it!”


Bill Brady for Illinois: New Video and Endorsements

Citing Bill’s commitment to fighting job-killing taxes and his pro-jobs agenda, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce today endorsed Brady for Illinois in the race for Governor!

Today’s endorsement follows in the wake of another important endorsement earlier this week by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, an organization committed to helping small businesses grow and stay competitive.

These endorsements prove Brady/ Plummer is the only campaign in this election that stands with families and business owners to create real jobs and protect taxpayers from political insiders like Pat Quinn who put big government before the people.
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Bill Brady for Illinois: New Video and Endorsements”


National GOP Officials Announce Investment in Ill. GOP Races

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee (RNC) today announced its Illinois D2H Victory campaign to establish the grassroots political operation to ensure Republican candidates are successful in November. In partnership with the Illinois Republican Party (IL GOP), the RNC is providing funding and resources to build the in-state GOP structure to support Republican leaders.

The RNC will devote the resources necessary to enhance the IL GOP’s ability to effectively reach Republican voters and tap into the state’s grassroots volunteer base. This investment in Republican state parties is a critical part of the RNC’s Delaware to Hawaii (“D2H”) strategy to compete aggressively in all fifty states.
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National GOP Officials Announce Investment in Ill. GOP Races”


New GOP Video: Deficit of Hope

“The American people have seen who is benefiting from Obama’s economy and it isn’t them. Barack Obama’s looming tax hikes on small businesses, job-killing regulations, and big government takeovers have created an economic climate saturated with uncertainty that is keeping employers from hiring. As a result, unemployment remains near 10 percent, nearly one in five Americans cannot find adequate work, and more people are losing their homes. In the meantime, President Obama has insisted upon leaving behind a mountain of debt and record deficits for future generations to pay. If Obama’s economy is all Democrats have to offer, the American people will vote to fire Nancy Pelosi and put this Democratic Congress out of business.”
– RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Not bad. The only thing I can say is that the lettering on the chryon should have been a tad larger to fill up the screen better. They get a little lost when you have to downsize the video to 400 pixels. Still, it’ll work.

Of course, there is one more aspect to this campaign season that is amazing if you think about it. Did you ever think that the GOP would be able to campaign against Obama himself? When he won that great election victory in 2008 and as he campaigned how the Old Media destroyed anyone that spoke against him as a “racist,” I’d have thought then that the GOP would never be able to run against Obama himself. But with the socialist direction he’s taken, with his tone deaf left-wingism, with his utter failure on the economic front — nearly a constant 10% unemployment rate — with his massive failures overseas with foreign policy, with his failure to even satisfy his extremist left-wing voting base by putting all their pet policies into place… the guy is a major disaster.

So, after one of the biggest electoral victories in decades, now he’s done so poorly in just a year and a half that the GOP has no fear at all of actually running against the president himself. Instead of merely alluding to him, they can level a finger directly in his face.

If nothing else, this fact alone shows what a failure Obama’s been. He’s utterly squandered his near total authority as the right man for the job. He’s fallen so far that his opponents no longer fear invoking his name as an example of failure.


Bill Brady Advocates a Path to Citizenship for Illegals

-By Warner Todd Huston

GOP Gubernatorial candidate BIll Brady told the attendees of a Hispanic business leaders at Chicago’s Navy Pier that we need to offer some sort of path to citizenship to the illegal aliens now living in the US.

Brady said that we need more legal immigration because our birth rate isn’t robust enough to keep the country growing.

If we wanna grow as a nation, and as a state we have to realize one of the principles that this nation was founded on and that’s immigration. Ladies and gentlemen the birth rate in this country will not allow us to grow at a rate we need to grow at, and we need to bring real reform to immigration policy and open the doors so we can see a growth rate in this country of four percent or greater. The lack of reform and the lack of immigration in this state and country is crippling our economy and our quality of life.

Brady did not offer any numbers to supplement his feeling that we needed more immigrants but he went on to say that he thinks the U.S. government should implement a policy penalizing illegals while offering them a way to become legal citizens.

In a press release Brady said:
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Bill Brady Advocates a Path to Citizenship for Illegals”


Prairie Stater: Debbie Makes it Three, Another Taxpayer-Funded Direct Mail Piece

From the Prairie Stater’s John Reynolds

We previously reported here and here about the taxpayer funded direct mail pieces being send out at your expense by Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson (D-11).

Well, today, she made it three: that’s three taxpayer-funded direct mail pieces in as many weeks.

Today’s mail piece was about veterans’ issues.

We again note the irony in the fact that her first mail piece was about “reining in spending” and her efforts to be fiscally responsible.

Is sending out three self-promotional direct mail pieces at taxpayer expense while our country faces a $1.47 trillion deficit really fiscally responsible?

Again, we must ask: how much of our money is Debbie spending to send out these mailers?


MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell: Giannoulias Not the Best Candidate for Senate

Alexi “the Mob banker” Giannoulias is facing a whisper campaign from Democrat insiders that he is not the right candidate to run for Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. Maybe that whisper is a roar because even the left-wing cabler MSNBC is reporting that people are asking of Giannoulias is the right candidate for the Democrats.


Chicago Mag: Kirk’s Ex-Wife Says a ‘Svengali Figure’ Influencing Him

-By Warner Todd Huston

Chicago Magazine has conducted an extensive interview with Kimberly Vertolli, Illinois GOP Senate candidate Mark Kirk’s ex-wife, and the woman makes an interesting charge against one of Kirk’s current campaign operatives, Dorothy “Dodie” McCracken

Vertolli says that the campaign staffer is the one that came between them causing their divorce and is a “Svengali figure” in her former hubbies life.

Vertolli refused to assert that McCracken is in a romantic relationsjip with Mark Kirk, but she did say the woman is a “pernicious influence” on the candidate.

Here is the exchange:
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Chicago Mag: Kirk’s Ex-Wife Says a ‘Svengali Figure’ Influencing Him”


Hayes Steps Out to Demand Better Leadership for the Black Community

From the Hayes for Congress campaign (2nd District)…

CHICAGO, IL- For the black community it is all a one party rule. A regime consisting of all Democrats has led to a culture of corruption that leaves citizens in gang infested, poverty stricken areas, while the Representatives cheat on their taxes, bailout their husbands’ banks and try to bribe their way to higher office.

Hayes remarked, “The black community has been used by its elected officials as a playground for pay-to-play politics. Rangel, Waters, and Jackson all need to be shown the door in November.”
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Hayes Steps Out to Demand Better Leadership for the Black Community”


Democrat ‘Mob Banker’s’ Bank Loaned $23 Mil to Tony Rezko

-By Warner Todd Huston

Tony Rezko has been at the root of many of Illinois’ worst cases of government corruption and influence peddling with ties that go back decades. He’s been tied to President Obama, indicted Governor Rod Blagojevich, and now Senate Democrat candidate Alexi Giannoulias whose family bank loaned the crook almost $23 million.

Worse, the Giannoulias family bank made the loan to Tony Rezko’s development group long after he’d become “politically radioactive,” as the Chicago Sun-Times puts it.
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Democrat ‘Mob Banker’s’ Bank Loaned $23 Mil to Tony Rezko”


Hultgren for Congress (14th District): Bill Foster Campaigns at Taxpayers’ Expense

An interesting note from the Hultgren for Congress campaign (14th District)…

St. Charles, IL – The second taxpayer-funded advertisement in one week from Bill Foster’s congressional office arrived yesterday in voter’s mailboxes ahead of the August 4th deadline to stop government paid mail from Members of Congress.

“Bill Foster is using taxpayer funds to pay for campaign propaganda he sends to voters,” said State Senator Randy Hultgren. “People throughout the 14th district are outraged at this abuse of the taxpayers trust.”
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Hultgren for Congress (14th District): Bill Foster Campaigns at Taxpayers’ Expense”


Bill Brady: Less Than 100 Days ‘Til Election Day

From the Bill Brady for Governor campaign…

With less than 100 days before election day… this week marked a turning point in Bill’s campaign to make state government live within its means – just like families and small businesses do every day.

Earlier this week, the same state budget bureaucrat who received a $24,000 pay hike under Pat Quinn, brazenly told a Bloomberg News reporter, “We’re going to pass a tax increase in January,” and touted a plan to raise taxes by 67 percent, the largest tax hike in Illinois history.
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Bill Brady: Less Than 100 Days ‘Til Election Day”


Ill. Dem Senate Candidate Still $200,000 in Debt From Primary

-By Warner Todd Huston

So far, the biggest negative that has stuck against Illinois Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias is that he is a poor money manager. The worst is that he was an officer in a family bank that has since gone under due to shady loans to mobsters — to the tune of $20 million in unpaid debt — and other bad banking practices . And now we can add another poor financial situation to Alexi’s already groaning deficit accounts: he’s still $200,000 in debt for his recently completed primary campaign.

As reported two weeks ago, Giannoulias has under performed in campaign fundraising so far in comparison to his GOP opponent, Mark Kirk.
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Ill. Dem Senate Candidate Still $200,000 in Debt From Primary”


Sex Harassment Scandal in Cook County GOP Sees Resignation of Political Director Rose

-By Warner Todd Huston

This story has been building for weeks on HillBuzz.org, but the reporting there was often iffy, hazy, and speculative, so I didn’t write about it myself. But this week things have come to a head proving the allegations had some merit because now Cook County GOP Executive Director Jeremy Rose has resigned over the allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him.

The story goes that on June 17, 2009, a woman was attending a Chicago Young Republicans meeting in Chicago and when she made to leave for the night was prevented from doing so by Rose. Rose began touching the woman in an unwelcome manner, allegedly took away her cell phone to prevent her from calling a cab, and then sat on her lap to prevent her from leaving. Rose proceeded to suggestively converse with her until she was finally able to extricate herself from the situation. The woman felt threatened and harassed and filed a complaint.

This is all bad enough, but Cook County GOP Chairman Lee Roupas did nothing after being made aware of the allegations. In fact, just the opposite. Roupas promoted the offender to higher positions in the Cook County Party establishment until he was at last appointed Political Director.
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Sex Harassment Scandal in Cook County GOP Sees Resignation of Political Director Rose”


Publius Interview: Herman Cain… for President?

Where ever Herman Cain goes he meets enthusiastic crowds. There is a reason for that: He is an incredibly dynamic man. He has a compelling life story and boy can he whip up a crowd! Every time I’ve seen him he has the folks on their feet in wild applause.

The Interview With Herman Cain, Part One

Part Two

Part Three

His resume is quite impressive, of course. After all, he was the man that was assigned stewardship of the troubled Godfather Pizza chain when he worked for Pillsbury Foods and turned it around into a money-maker when no one expected him to be able to do so. It became so successful that he was able to buy the chain and run it himself.
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Publius Interview: Herman Cain… for President?”