Kilbride's sneaky mailer: This guy is a Supreme Court judge--only in Illinois!

Elephants are among my favorite animals, not the least of which is that whenever Little Marathon Pundit and I went to the zoo when she was really little, she always wanted to visit the elephants first.

Perhaps liberal Illinois Supreme Court Judge Thomas Kilbride has a similar fondness for pachyderms. A Kilbride mailer with an elephant caricature and the message, "Election Alert for Republicans." Illinois Review has more.

Such deception is almost accepted within the dirty realm of Illinois politics, but with a judge, let alone a state Supreme Court justice, we should expect better. But Kilbride under-delivers.

Kilbride represents the 3rd Judicial district, which runs from Rock Island to Kankakee. I urge voters there not to retain him.

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady--more on him tomorrow--decried Kilbride's sneaky mailer in a press release.

(CHICAGO) – Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady today said voters should not be tricked by campaign literature portraying Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride as a Republican.

"It's just not the case," said Brady, speaking about a mailer sent to voters in Kilbride’s district on Friday. "This guy's masquerading as one of us, when he's being funded by Democrats."

Kilbride, of Rock Island, serves in the 3rd Judicial District. He won his seat in 2000 with heavy support from Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and labor unions. To date, Kilbride has received $1.475 million from the Illinois Democratic Party and $450,000 from the Illinois Teachers Union.

Kilbride's latest campaign piece includes the image of an elephant (the GOP logo) and the words, "Election Alert for Republicans." He then goes on to reference "we" multiple times, as if to suggest he is a Republican.

"Kilbride is as much of a Republican as Barack Obama," said Brady, noting that Kilbride joined the other Democrats on the high court in 2001 in upholding the legislative remap drawn by Democrats. "This may be Halloween weekend, but the mask has to come off."

Brady said he and other Republican officials are considering filing a complaint with the Illinois Supreme Court in response to Kilbride’s violation of Supreme Court rule 67, Canon 7, which says all judges and candidates shall not, “knowingly misrepresent the identity, qualifications, present position or other fact concerning the candidate or an opponent.”

"Let's talk about the elephant in the room," continued Brady. "The elephant on Kilbride's campaign mailer means only one thing: he doesn’t think he can be retained unless he tricks people into thinking he's a Republican. Well, he's not. Voters should not be fooled."

Kilbride does not have an opponent per se. He is running for retention, something Illinois Supreme Court Justices are required to do every 10 years. He must receive approval from at least 60 percent of the voters in his district.

Only in Illinois can a state Supreme Court judge sink so low.

The Chicago Tribune has more on the Kilbride-Madigan connection. Retired Quad Cities area circuit court judge, John Donald O'Shea, who never accepted a dime for his retention campaigns, slams Kilbride here.

As I've said before, Illinois needs to be power-scrubbed.

Technorati tags: Politics illinois Republican 2010 illinois politics elections quad cities chicago southland law legal tort reform

IL 17: Say "Good bye" to Phil Hare

Republican Bobby Schilling, a real "regular guy" who owns a pizza restaurant, is saying "Good bye" to Democrat Phil Hare in Illinois' 17th congressional district.

RealClearPolitics has had this race as "Leans GOP" for a month--and Hare ran unopposed last time around.  Amazing.

Watch Schilling's final approach:



Click here to contribute to Schilling's campaign.

Technorati tags: Politics illinois Republican 2010 gop illinois politics  elections phil hare bobby schilling quad cities

Alice Cooper: Elected

There can only be one choice for today's Saturday Musical Selection, Alice Cooper's "Elected." This tune was part of Coop's 1972 Alice Cooper for President campaign, which was more about selling records and 8-track tapes (Remember them?) than actually moving into the White House.

As you can see, Cooper is at his heart a traditionalist, wearing a top hat and tails for the video. His shirt must have been cut out of the budget so they could afford the chimpanzee and the Budweiser.



Notice the "Boycott Lettuce" sign at the beginning of the short, such signs dominated the convention floor of the '72 Democratic National Convention. Migrant farm workers were not a big issue among voters that year--such lack of focus helped build the Richard M. Nixon landslide that autumn.

Cooper has been described as a conservative Republican, like his fellow Michigander Ted Nugent, but in 2008, while praising Sarah Palin, the Detroit rocker described himself as a swing voter.

I like Alice's stump speech: "I never lied to you, I've always been cool, I wanna be elected."

Followed with, "We're gonna win this one, take the country by storm, we're gonna be elected! You and me together, young and strong, we're gonna be elected!"

I dedicate that last stanza to the Republican Party and the glorious tea party movement.

God Bless America. We're gonna be elected!

Technorati tags: tea party conservative freedom 2010 midterms detroit entertainment rock music culture alice cooper

Halloween pledge: No more Frankens

More Halloween demons: What's scarier than Al Franken in the Senate?

More Al Frankens in the Senate. Or should I say, Frankensteins? After all, Halloween is tomorrow.

From a Republican National Committee press release:

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE "NO MORE FRANKENS"

WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee (RNC) launched a new web site to highlight the importance of funding our Republican Victory program to help our candidates succeed and remind voters what is at stake on November 2nd. The web site, titled "No More Frankens," can be viewed here.

"With Democrat lawyers, liberal shadow groups, and labor unions organizing to challenge the Election Day results, it is more important than ever that the American people deliver a decisive victory for Republicans up and down the ballot in all 50 states. In order to protect our hard-fought victories, we must fund and operate a winning 72 hour ground game which puts the margin of victory out of reach. The election of Democrat Al Franken to the United States Senate serves as a glaring and painful reminder to voters as to why it is so important to support our Republican Victory program and show up on Election Day." – RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Franken and his ACORN goons arguably stole Minnesota's US Senate seat from Republican Norm Coleman two years ago. Franken helped create the Frankenstein monster known as ObamaCare.

No more Frankens. No more Frankensteins.

Technorati tags: politics Democrats election Republicans Minnesota Al Franken DFL obamacare health universal health care health care reform

IL 9 Halloween horror: Schakowsky using granny-scaring tactics

Like a sitcom writer running out of new ideas--"Let's try a "Wizard of Oz" dream sequence!"--the Jan Schakowsky addled brain-trust is falling back on a tired idea. Using social security to scare granny.

From a Pollak for Congress press release:

Schakowsky & Creamer: Spreading Scary Stories

NILES, IL--October 29, 2010: New evidence proves that incumbent Democrat Jan Schakowsky is turning to advice from convicted white-collar criminal, Democrat strategist, and Washington insider Robert Creamer to smear her opponent.

At Creamer's suggestion, Schakowsky is telling scary stories to voters about Republican challenger Joel Pollak--just in time for Halloween.

This week, residents across the 9th district received mailings falsely accusing Pollak of planning to destroy Social Security and Medicare, and wanting to outsource jobs.

Creamer showed his hand in his Huffington Post column yesterday, offering the following advice:

"Both the Social Security and outsourcing issues put the Republicans on the defense and go directly to the concerns of everyday voters about their economic futures. Both also frame the debate correctly. They both define the antagonists in the narrative as Democrats and everyday Americans versus Republicans and big corporations and insurance companies.

"To win next Tuesday, Democrats need to keep these two issues front of mind for swing voters as they go to the polls. That is especially true in districts defended by incumbents such as Mike Ross, Gabrielle Giffords, Jim Himes, Debbie Halvorson, Baron Hill, Mark Schauer, Tim Walz, Carol Shea-Porter, Dina Titus, Bill Owens, Kurt Schraeder, Steve Kagen, Earl Pomeroy, Chris Murphy, Pat Murphy, Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, Kathy Dahlkemper, Charlie Wilson, Zack Space, Steve Driehaus, Tom Periello, Rick Boucher, Health Schuler, Bruce Braley, Mary Jo Kilroy, Dave Loebsack, Mike Arcuri, Chris Carney and John Hall.

"In each of these seats the issue on the minds of the voters can move points on Election Day. Social Security and outsourcing must be front and center." (emphasis added)

Schakowsky has sent out mailings on each of these themes in an attempt to frighten voters. She has even chosen orange and black colors for her propaganda--just in time for Halloween:

Thus far, the media has ignored the obvious connection between Schakowsky's actions and Creamer's advice, though Creamer happens to be her husband and lists her campaign as one of the clients of his political consulting firm.

Creamer's propaganda tactics have been used in other races across the country--including the neighboring 10th district, where perennial Democrat candidate Dan Seals has made the same false charges against Republican nominee Bob Dold.

Pollak has offered a $2400 donation to Schakowsky's campaign if she can prove any of the claims she has made in her mailings. Thus far, the Schakowsky campaign has failed to come forward to collect.

"The fact that Schakowsky has to turn to scary stories from a white-collar criminal for help is a sign of how desperate she has become," Pollak said.

"It's a bad reflection on her campaign and on our whole state, which already has a reputation for corruption and dirty politics. The people of the 9th district deserve better representation."

Pollak warned voters around the country to beware of Schakowsky-and-Creamer-style scary stories--just as they would be wary of candy from strangers on Halloween. "Their propaganda is no treat--in fact, it's just a trick," Pollak said. "Let's chase away the fear, and bring America a fresh start."

About that list of congressmen Creamer rattled off--most of them will be looking for new jobs on Wednesday.

Click here to contribute to the Pollak campaign.

Technorati tags: politics Democrats Chicago Schakowsky Congress Illinois illinois politics republicans elections news joel pollak Jan Schakowsky Robert Creamer