117 Comments - D.P. Gumby - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:36 am: Bingo–solid B+. just keep running it and create some siblings about not paying taxes. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:38 am: I give it a B+ as well. People need to realize that Brady is absolutely not in touch with most voters. - Ghost - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:38 am: Its a good ad, but Ihave not seen it running yet, I have seenseveral Brady ad’s. Quinn can have a good message and theme hre, but if itsnot out there to any degree it is meaningless. - downstate hack - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:39 am: Not Bad, Continuing the theme about scare tactics and who is this Guy? Solid B grade for the Ad, but still doubt how many votes it can turn. How much media buy? Does Quinn have the Money? - dave - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:40 am: Its a good ad, but Ihave not seen it running yet, I have seenseveral Brady ad’s. It is just going up today. - Gunner the Runner - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:43 am: good ad. Solid b+. Could have been a solid A if they hit the taxes angle and had some more unflattering pics of brady. - RikiTavi - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:45 am: Believable and eerie. Good combination. A. - Cuban Pilot - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:45 am: Any ad with an Old School populist message always makes for good tv. So, B. However, I don’t see how this will really move voters towards Quinn in this election season. Again, the issues are the economy/budget and quinn’s competence. This ad doesn’t seem to address those problems. - Tom - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:46 am: Now we’re talking Rich! Looks like Joe Slade White will get it close (at least today). - Davey Boy Smithe - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:48 am: C. The minimum wage isn’t a concern of mine. If I was 18, maybe, but I’m 29 and the minimum wage is something I’ve rarely thought about in my adult life. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:50 am: - I’m 29 and the minimum wage is something I’ve rarely thought about in my adult life. - Good for you Davey, but there are lots of folks who have to think about it. - Trying 2 B Helpful - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:51 am: I give it a resounding “A”! However, my concern would be that it and similar ads can get people to not vote for Brady, but PQ still needs to get those people to vote for him rather than not vote at all or vote for Whitney or SLC. - Zumbaba - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:55 am: Great ad. People dont understand how bad Brady is… The more people see, the more they will turn away. The Quinn campaign needs to tie all Brady negatives somehow to the economy. The economy is the overriding issue in this election. Just look at the polling. And have a consistent message Governor!!! We want you to win! - Davey Boy Smithe - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:56 am: STL, I’m just rating this ad on a personal level. My sister is 18 and works in a balloon shop in Glen Ellyn (where Pat Quinn’s kids went to grade school) and she makes more than the minimum wage there. Quinn’s minimum wage game doesn’t resonate with me. That’s all I was getting to. - Ahoy - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:56 am: This was a very good ad attacking Brady’s economic policies. Even if you are not concerned about minimum wage, you can connect the dots of a millionaire who is out of touch wanting to make life harder on families who do not have strong skill sets. Watch this with the sound off and it’s still a good ad. You can see the families struggle in their faces, particularly the children. This will even help with suburban female vote… it’s a policy attacking families. - just sayin' - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:58 am: Great ad. I would have included a reminder with the Porsche and Florida condo - that Brady hasn’t paid taxes. But I understand you have to limit themes. The Jaws-like music is a nice touch. I’m waiting for Quinn to just cut to the chase with the “Bill Brady is a monster” ad. - wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:59 am: I give it a B+. Love the Porsche and Florida condo. The narrator is the gold standard in scary political ads. It would be an A if the no-taxes-paid info was in there. Why isn’t it? - Deep South - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:04 am: I give it an A-. Needs to include Brady’s pet killing plan to get an A+. - eastsider - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:08 am: I’d give it a B+ overall. I’d give it an A for entertainment value. However, I’d give it more of a C- on relevance. Seriously, how many minimum wage voters will be turning out in this election? Many of the motivated, enthusiastic voters that will be turning out in this particular cycle aren’t turned on by class warfare commercials. In 2008, yes…but not in this cycle, in my opinion. This is probably the best Quinn can do though. He has a horrible record to run on and the state’s economy is still in free-fall, so he has to create distractions like these if he’s going to have a chance. If I’m Bill Brady, I would copy-cat the Dan Hynes negative ads from the primary. - Jimmy87 - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:11 am: The ad itself is good, except that it appeals to those who are already Quinn voters. Quinn doesn’t have a chance unless he can pick up those moderate/independent votes in suburban Cook and the collar counties. That voting bloc is more affluent, educated and probably not as willing to buy into the populist message and some of them, gasp…may even drive a Porsche. - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:13 am: I really did NOT like this ad. I give it a D. Complete pandering. The word “socialist” or “communist” get tossed around a lot by the right, but this ad sure seemed to suggest those two things. The guy has a successful business and drives a nice car and has a nice vacation home. That means that EVERYBODY should have those things? Or that, because some people are really having a tough time, nobody should? There are valid arguments for raising the minimum wage, but “he’s driving a nice car and we can’t” are not among them. There are also ways to say “This rich guy doesn’t have a clue” without tying it to a specific hourly wage. - A.B. - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:14 am: The ad is good, but Quinn still hasn’t done anything to increase his own positives. Quinn’s negatives are so large that all he will accomplish is getting people to dislike both candidates… and you don’t win elections on negatives. He might raise Brady’s negatives, but until he gets people to LIKE Quinn over Brady, he is screwed. - More Courage - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:19 am: Hey Pat - I’ll tell you what will impact “hard working men and women” like me more than cutting the minimum wage. Raising my taxes! Just ask yourself for a second, how many people do I know that earn minimum wage. Now, how many are responsible for paying taxes on wages earned? - LincolnLounger - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:21 am: Should drive up Scott Lee Cohen’s numbers. - Vandalia - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:21 am: Im not a big Quinn fan but this is a good ad. I would give it an A-. The idea that working people cant have a raise while the guy deciding that issue drives a Porsche does resonate with voters. Old time populism still plays well in this state. - Segatari - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:21 am: Ahem, who is this guy? A true conservative who is going to repair much of the damage you liberal Democrats left behind. My gosh, how much money has Pat Quinn have in the bank?? I bet he has a nice house and drives a nice car… - davE - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:23 am: Has Quinn done anything besides bag on Brady this entire campaign? The negative ads aren’t working. Unless they have tape of Brady at a NAMBLA convention it’s time for a new tactic. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:25 am: - The guy has a successful business and drives a nice car and has a nice vacation home. - Really? I thought that business was so unsuccessful that Brady didn’t have to pay taxes. And the idea isn’t that everybody or nobody should have nice things, its that someone with luxuries like a Porsche or a Florida condo lacks a bit of credibility when he says people earning minimum wage are earning too much. - Davey Boy Smithe - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:28 am: STL, I’ll look for it, but I need to find the quote where Brady says that people on the minimum wage make too much. I believe his strategy is to attract new business to IL. If you were a company, would you rather hire people in a state that pays more than the federal minimum wage, or would you go to a surrounding state that pays the federal minimum wage? - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:29 am: - My gosh, how much money has Pat Quinn have in the bank?? I bet he has a nice house and drives a nice car… - Hah, why don’t you call up Brady and ask to do a side by side comparison of these things, I bet he won’t exactly jump at the offer. - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:30 am: Small Town Liberal: Some people buy cars using cash. Then, when the business gets bad, they are not paying on them. Just sayin. That being said said, if you want to tie “The rich guy doesn’t get it” there are much more effective ways than stating that since some people only make $8.25 per hour, nobody should drive a nice car, which is really what the ad says. - Reggie P - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:30 am: What I think is flawed about this ad is that the focus is on people making minimum wage. In all honesty people making minimum wage don’t really vote, especially in an off year. The election is about the unemployed and creating jobs. Plenty of people who are about to hit the 99 weeks of unemployment would be happy to take minimum wage or less if there were actual jobs available in Illinois. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:33 am: - since some people only make $8.25 per hour, nobody should drive a nice car, which is really what the ad says. - I’m sure thats exactly the message people making minimum wage are getting. - enn - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:33 am: The idea that there is so large a contingent of Porsche-driving voters in Illinois that Quinn is making a mistake in attacking them is hilarious. - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:34 am: And Davey Boy Smith: If you REALLY want to get business, pay people $1 a day and get rid of OSHA so that people get mangled or die on the job every day. But if that happens, you end up with a Mexican standard of living. Is that what you want for Illinois, Davey Boy? Do you want to turn Illinois industry into Mexican industry? Is that Brady’s real secret plan for Illinois? As I was saying, there are very legitimate reasons for saying that Brady is wrong on the minimum wage, but “he drives a nice car” is not one of those reasons. - Cosmic Charlie - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:35 am: Much much better than the first spot. - enn - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:35 am: ===In all honesty people making minimum wage don’t really vote, especially in an off year.=== The ad isn’t only aimed at those people. Many people making more than the minimum wage still don’t want to see it lowered. - enn - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:36 am: ===As I was saying, there are very legitimate reasons for saying that Brady is wrong on the minimum wage, but “he drives a nice car” is not one of those reasons.=== I don’t see why not. If it’s legitimate for Brady to denounce minimum-wage-earners as overpaid, why isn’t it legitimate for anyone to denounce Brady as overpaid? - N'ville - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:38 am: Brady isn’t advocating lowering it either. He said it shouldn’t be raised again until the federal minimum wage catches up to Illinois’. It’s about jobs…not wages. - Good Thinkin' Lincoln - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:39 am: It would be better if they pronounced Porsche correctly! - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:40 am: The people who think that the ad targets minimum wage earners are a bit silly, but the minimum wage issue has been locked up in a stark ideological battle for decades, so I guess this is expected. The ad is aimed at his base (which, if you hadn’t noticed, is depressed and in desperate need of a jolt). The intended message received is: Shadowy rich guy wants to shaft the working poor. Whether that message will work is debatable. - Tom Joad - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:42 am: The idea isn’t to get the minimum wage voter to support Quinn. The theme is Brady is out of touch with many Illinois voters and these are three examples. I would bet that there will be another ad referring to Brady’s not paying taxes and conflicts of interest. you can’t fire all your guns in the first ad. I think this ad is a good start! - Champaign - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:42 am: Looks like they learned the lesson from the first ad. Notice they didn’t show a picture of a Porsche, otherwise they would have shown the wrong model. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:42 am: ===He said it shouldn’t be raised again until the federal minimum wage catches up=== That’s what he said the second time he was asked. It’s the most recent, so the ad is inaccurate. But he did say first that he wanted to lower it. - soccermom - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:42 am: Segatari, I’ll take that bet. Governor Quinn finally traded in his old Taurus on a newer model, and he lives in a house on the Northwest Side that you can find pictured in the dictionary under “modest.” Nobody has ever accused Pat Quinn of cashing in on his years of public service. Nobody except you, I mean. - VanillaMan - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:43 am: For all those who think the minimun wage should be a livimg wage and someone who drives a porsche and owns a Florida condo should want the minimun wage to be a living wage this ad has impact. But for the majority of voters this ad is about jealousy and class warfare. An ugly lying piece of garbage that might work in this ugly lying piece of garbage political world. It gets a solid C. - RJN - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:44 am: Why does the narration refer to $8.25 / use the text “$8.25″ and then show $8.75 in actual money? Nitpicky, I admit. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:44 am: soccermom is correct. And VMan is stretching again. - Ghost - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:45 am: === If you were a company, would you rather hire people in a state that pays more than the federal minimum wage, or would you go to a surrounding state that pays the federal minimum wage? ==== Wow what a gross misunderstanding of privat buisness. A more accurate generalization is that if a companies location decision is based on salary, it is generally not located in the US, including states which limit wages to federal minimium wage/poverty levels. The majority of buisness locations in the US are based on locating the business close to the demand for the services. The local restraunts, plumbers, electricians etc are not moving to texas to save money on wages; they are opening shops near customers/demand. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:46 am: - Why does the narration refer to $8.25 / use the text “$8.25″ and then show $8.75 in actual money? - That would be two dimes and a nickel, not three quarters. - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:46 am: “The intended message received is: Shadowy rich guy wants to shaft the working poor.” That would be a good message. Another good message would be “shadowy rich guy wants to shaft the middle class.” Or “He may dress like one of us when he goes out campaigning, but he’s not.” And that’s the problem with the ad. I didn’t get that message (or any of the related ones) at all. I get “You guys driving nice cars need to shut the heck up until everybody can afford one.” - RJN - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:47 am: Small Town - Thank you, need my glasses obviously. - Greg B. - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:50 am: The devil we don’t know strategy is what the D’s are doing nationwide. It’s kind of admission that this is going to be a referendum on them. We’ll see if it works. - wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:51 am: Some of the outrage here is really funny. Shame on Quinn for talking, in a negative ad, about who has and gets what — people don’t care about money, and it has nothing to do with politics and government! Pretty tame stuff by any standard in American political history. - ILPundit - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:56 am: All I can say is that its about time. Finally an attack on Brady as extreme that actually relates to the economy. A glimmer of hope…. - Louis Howe - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:59 am: B- : The message is meant to appeal to working class democrats/independents and focusing on the minimum wage is a good hook. However, using the “Porsche Driver” isn’t the best way to appeal egalitarian upscale voters, as many of them either drive or want to drive a foreign luxury vehicle. Much better appeal for Quinn is Brady’s non-payment of taxes on his state salary. - Raising Kane - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:59 am: This isn’t about the minimum wage per se, it is about begining a narrative on Bill. He is out of touch, heartless, shady, blah, blah. They have to try to drive Bill’s negatives as high as Quinns. I would hope it wouldn’t work but I have sat through enough focus groups to know that voters dont take a lot of time to sort things out. They pretty much respond to emotional messages. - Liandro - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:03 pm: Ah, the minimum wage. Always talked about by Dems as one of the saviors of the poor, even though it does nothing of the sort. I will enjoy voting against Quinn and his horrible policies. I’m sick of how so many are willing to sell this junk to the people who most need empowerment. Instead they get welfare traps, government dependency, and empty populism. The cycle needs to stop repeating itself. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:05 pm: Every word Raising Kane wrote is true. - Fred - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:08 pm: People are rather funny. I drive a Mercedes and get razzed about it, sometimes from people who drive trucks that cost $40k-$50k. They stop the razzing when I tell them I bought it used, it is 9 years old and I paid less than $15k for it. And heck, who wouldn’t want to buy a FL condo right now if they have a little cash, since there are bargains galore. You mean to tell me you don’t know people who drive a nice car and have a condo or time share??? I can’t wait until Brady counters with ads showing Quinn with Blago with the notation that PQ was his co-chairman for the 2006 election. I fully expect Brady to come out with cannons in the last 4 weeks and it will not be hard to blast inept Quinn. Should be an interesting time until November 2nd!!! - downstate hack - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:09 pm: Rich, It only matters if this ad runs. Has anyone seen it or do you have any info on the potential media buy to run it? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:09 pm: ===I drive a Mercedes and get razzed about it, sometimes from people who drive trucks that cost $40k-$50k=== And now you understand the ad. - fixit - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:22 pm: A solid F! Like most dumb ideas, the minimum wage and cost controls attempts to fix the symptom an not the problem. The problem is a poorly train work force and a tax system that discorages people from going out and creating there own businesses. I admire people who go out and make something of themselves without waiting for the government to give them something. This shows how bankrupt, our current governor, is of creating good job ideas. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:25 pm: I’m going to have to specify in the future that I’m not asking what you think of the issues so much, but what you think of the ad. Somebody who’s posting from DuPage County will more likely be against the minimum wage aspect. The idea is to rate the ad itself, not stun us with your in-depth knowledge of Econ 101. - Fred - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:36 pm: Sure Rich, I understood the ad. I choose to spend my money on certain things and those things don’t include cigarettes, booze, tattoos, etc. while earning my money. Rate the ad—-ok, it is a cheap shot by someone who has been on the public dole his entire life and probably has NO experience running an actual business. Quinn is not smart enough to realize certain things cost people jobs and one only has to look at teen unemployment to figure that out. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:41 pm: - The problem is a poorly train work force and a tax system that discorages people - I am also discoraged by the lack of train workers… - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:43 pm: Gotta love Fred’s comment. Apparently all poor people blow their money on booze and tattoos. But Fred’s not out of touch or anything. - The Enforcer - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:45 pm: Solid B. Powerful imagery and music, the problem is it could have been a lot better. As others have noted, they should have included the “pays no taxes” hit with the Porsche and the Florida condo. Then, if you go back to the GOP primary debates, Brady said one of the keys to increasing employment in Illinois was to “cut” the minimum wage, under the assumption that we lose family-supporting jobs to neighboring states with a lower minimum wage. It would be fair game to say Brady’s plan to create new jobs is to cut the minimum wage, but then that brings up the obvious question if Quinn even has a jobs plan. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:49 pm: Actually, Skeeter, I thought he was talking about me until he got to the tattoos part. lol - Irisheyesrsmilin' - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:51 pm: LincolnLounger…yep. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:52 pm: - Actually, Skeeter, I thought he was talking about me until he got to the tattoos part. - That threw me off, I always hear booze, cigarettes, and lotto tickets. But hey, as long as Fred is better than that in his own mind, thats all that matters. - L.S. - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 12:53 pm: THANK YOU RICH. Man, for a political blog some of you go out of your way to talk economics over politics. Get out from under the dome and try thinking like someone who isn’t a political junkie. People don’t sit around talking about the economic plusses or negatives of the minimum wage, its an allegory for working people who live check to check, i.e. most voters right now. As an ad, its about a B. Good message, good music, a little slow. I’d like to see them do a few variations of this theme since social issues aren’t cutting it. Brady as the millionare, heartless, porsche driving, tax dodger is going to play better than abortion or guns right now. Brady is still largely undefined - Phineas J. Whoopee - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:03 pm: Personally, I don’t like the ad. I like the beginning where they rip Brady’s minimum wage stand but to tie him in with a Florida condo or Porsche actually cheapens the message, at least to me. As L.S. stated, I would think millionaire tax dodger would resonate better than condo owner. - just sayin' - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:08 pm: I bet there’s not one single other person in the entire state of Illinois who owns a Porsche and who didn’t pay at least some income taxes every year. The Quinn ad is a home run because it accurately exposes Bill Brady as just another self-centered byproduct of Illinois’ old political culture. Brady is in fact a not very hardworking guy with little accomplishment to his name. While he’s been sitting around Springfield for nearly twenty years lapping up the luxury and perks on our dime, the rest of the state has been suffering. And when he’s not in Springfield he’s down in Florida at the second home driving around the Porsche with the specialty vanity license plates from his state rep days. That’s an understandable message and it resonates. And worst from Brady’s perspective, it’s all true. If and when voters wake up and realize what a phony Brady is, he’s done. While Brady spends all of his time traveling around badmouthing Illinois and its government, he has personally been doing very well thanks to that same government he badmouths every time he steps out of his luxury campaign bus. Quinn’s mostly worthless as a leader too, but at least you get the feeling he’s working hard and trying to do what he thinks is in the state’s best interest, and not just his own. I’m still waiting for the ad blasting Brady for those corrupt looking votes he cast to help his own real estate business. That could be the most effective of the campaign. Brady as Blago on steroids. - walter sobchak - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:08 pm: It makes me wonder if there is actually a strategic plan to dumb down voters. For politicians is it really a bad thing that a significant percentage of any adult population thinks the UFOs are real and Barack’s a Muslim? Or that our schools are jokes and academic achievement is getting worse and worse? Who is the target for such an ad? You would either have to be ideologically predisposed to dislike Brady or completely credulous to be swayed one way or the other. A ‘D’ at best. - Deep South - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:19 pm: Poor Bill Brady. He couldn’t pay income taxes because his business lost money. Poor fella. Now he’s reduced to driving a Porsche and is forced to vacation in a Florida Condo. Oh BTW, he thinks its probably a good idea if you were to make less money. And he wants to take money for all those programs that help needy Illinoisans. Yeah, vote for Bill Brady, the cheap-labor conservative. - Fred - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:36 pm: Yeah Skeeter, I am certainly out of touch. I run a small business and work 60+ hours a week. When I am out of the office, say 10am or 3pm, I see a lot of people who should be working, but are not. Some are sitting around drinking, even early in the morning. I grew up poor, and worked my tail off to get ahead. But, in your mind, I am out of touch. Hmmm. - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:42 pm: Fred, Great logic. Some people drink, ergo all poor people blow their money on cigarettes, booze, and tattoos. But you are not out of touch or anything. I bet you are one fine boss too! - Vole - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:43 pm: A. Pointing out Brady’s acting out his solid Republican values in a blue state is a no brainer. Now put on the brain and point out how we get out of this mess with a 33% income tax hike (increase from 3 to 4% - the Quinn fix) or a 10% spending cut (the Brady fix). - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:46 pm: Vole, Not to get to the merits of the ad, but Quinn’s increase actually balances the budget, while Brady’s 10%, combined with his tax cuts, gets us about 1/3 of the way to a balanced budget. You might want to take those facts into consideration when forming an opinion. - Fred - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:50 pm: Ah, Skeeter, guess we will have to wait until November 3rd to check the scoreboard. Meanwhile, I am going to one of those “Get in Touch with Real People” seminar. I’ll report back what I learned. BTW, my employees are paying for it. - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 1:56 pm: Fred, Then, by your scoreboard, you’ve been out of touch for the past four years (as the Democrats rolled to big wins?). But maybe on I’m not really following your logic on the wait to November thing. But hey, it’s nearly 2:00. Since my income will be pretty small this year (starting a new business), that must mean it is because I’m drunk and buzzed on cigarettes and in pain from that brand new tattoo (its a real beauty, but how it got there I haven’t a clue). - Vole - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 2:04 pm: Skeeter, according to Quinn’s own budget guy while in a candid moment of honesty, we will need a tax increase double what Quinn proposed to get us any closer to a balanced budget. So, no, Quinn’s proposal will not balance the budget. But your assessment of Brady’s proposal is about right. Far from getting the job done. - Responsa - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 2:09 pm: Last week, with the first of these “who is this guy?” ads I commented that the new people Quinn hired do not seem to have a very good handle on the entirety of Illinois. That earlier ad, as many others also pointed out, would not work well at all south of I-80 and even in parts of the city and suburbs. I feel much the same about this ad’s limitations although can agree that minimum wage may have a slightly broader range of interest than gun control. Joe Slade White apparently thinks using stock footage and highlighting certain populist themes which in the past have resonated elsewhere, is the way to go. With a different population and in a different year with different election dynamics, I question whether these standard “issues” can be neatly force-fitted into the Quinn-Brady Illinois race– and whether they are even remotely tapping into what most voters are concerned about right now. I guess we’ll all find out soon enough. Based on those observations and the rather raw construction of the ad I give it a C. - Judgment Day Is On The Way - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 2:23 pm: The ad works for Quinn with his ‘base’, so from that standpoint alone, it’s a solid “B” (compared to past efforts). Plus, there’s “maybe” just a little effect on some undecided types out there, so maybe move overall grade up to a “B+”. Not bad at all for Quinn. Only problem is that Quinn is so far underwater, that he needs about a 3-4 week winning streak, and not just winning by a little. But he’s starting back on the comeback path. Can he stay there? - Amalia - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 2:52 pm: A- the only way it could have been better is with pix of Brady with the porsche. this is hitting where it hurts…..in the pocketbooks of average people….and it is clear and compelling. - Amalia - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 2:57 pm: and a little read on the Google on the porsche finds that Brady is very sensitive on the issue! - Vole - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 3:10 pm: Not long after I finished commenting on this post a salesman drove up in our driveway in a brand new Mercedes sport model (We live in the country). He was dressed handsomely and wore some gawd awful cologne I could smell 10 feet away. He tried to invite himself into the house to discuss “cancer” with us. No. No. No. Salesman departed. I checked his license plates and noticed a Bloomington dealer logo surrounding the plate. After reading this post about Brady I was in a very short mood to deal with a shifty, but very clean and neat salesman from Bloomington. Brady — NO, NO, NO. NO! All of the above is ironically sad, but true. - soccermom - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 3:23 pm: Fred, this is off the point. But as a former shift worker who did the midnight shift for several years, I will admit without shame that I sometimes had a beer with my colleagues after work — and that meant we hit the local tavern at about 9 a.m. So don’t assume all those folks you see drinking at 10 a.m. are unemployed. They may have opted to work midnights to get the shift differential. - Fred - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 3:57 pm: Soccermom, the guys I see are NOT working the midnight shift. However, Skeeter doesn’t know me and to say I am out of touch is laughable. Brady is involved in a homebuilding business and anybody who reads a newspaper or checks news online knows what a hit that industry has taken. I would guess a number of posters here have never ventured into the private sector and sit in a governmental cubicle somewhere. Unemployment is sky high in this state due to the policies of Blago and Quinn. Many small businesspeople I know did not hire summer workers and when a worker leaves, they don’t replace them. There is no substance to Quinn so he will try these type of ads. Can’t wait to see what Brady rolls out—-gotta be hard to decide what issues to attack since there are so many. - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 4:03 pm: Right, Fred. Don’t know you. So maybe you can explain your booze/cigs/tattoo comment, because it sure seemed like you were saying that all poor people blow their money on those things. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 4:23 pm: - I would guess a number of posters here have never ventured into the private sector and sit in a governmental cubicle somewhere. - Yeah, several are Brady supporters. As for me, I’m pretty cozy in my private sector cubicle. So I guess all of the lazy unemployed people sit around and drink, and all of the lazy employed people sit around and surf the web. Maybe this work thing really isn’t all its cracked up to be. - wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 4:24 pm: –Unemployment is sky high in this state due to the policies of Blago and Quinn.– Absolutely. From Springfield and Chicago, Illinois governors cast evil spells that cause tidal waves of pain through the global economy. If only they would use their powers for good. Soccermom, I gotta party with you. - Fred - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 4:33 pm: Glad to Skeeter. I spend my money on certain things and one happens to be a Mercedes. Does that make me an elitist? Hardly! I never said poor people blow their money on vices, but if I don’t have those vices, and spend my money on a nice car, how does that make me out of touch? Quinn is trying to paint Brady as an out of touch, luxury car driving millionaire who jets off to Florida to stay in a condo. I have no idea how much money Brady has, what difference does it make? Obama is a multi-millionaire. People make money, people inherit money, people win the lottery, etc. Let’s pretend he inherited it and found a great buy on an investment condo. He then bought a nicer car, and I see nice cars all day long. Big deal. Our minimum wage is about $1 higher than the federal minimum wage. Teen unemployment is sky high and unemployment in IL is 10%+. Do you understand that if someone is not working, they are probably on aid? Do you understand high wages prevent businesses from hiring people? It is all about jobs and Blago/Quinn have failed misrably. Would love to type more but my employees want me to be more in touch with business. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 4:35 pm: Actually, Fred, I think the family has a little compound down there. - Skeeter - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 4:41 pm: Fred, is somebody else posting under your name? Because under “Fred” was the following: “Sure Rich, I understood the ad. I choose to spend my money on certain things and those things don’t include cigarettes, booze, tattoos, etc. while earning my money.” Now, unless you are saying that poor people blow all their money on “cigarettes, booze, tattoos, etc.” what exactly were you trying to say? What was the intent of the reference to those things, if you don’t think that all poor people waste their money on those things? Why list them, unless you think all poor people buy them? - soccermom - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 5:05 pm: Wordslinger — I’m in. Name the place. (But now, sadly, my 9a to 5p drinking has been sadly limited by daytime employment.) - soccermom - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 5:06 pm: And Fred — I don’t smoke, my drinking is limited mostly to full-bodied cabernets and the odd G & T (in season.) But if I hit my goal weight, I’m celebrating with a tramp stamp. You wanna make something of it? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 5:07 pm: soccermom is getting a tramp stamp? Now I’ve heard everything. I can retire with Daley. Goodbye, all. It’s been real. - soccermom - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 5:11 pm: Mr. Miller, I believe that was an insult. Have your seconds get in touch with my seconds. We meet at dawn. - CM46 - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 5:41 pm: Okay actually rating the ad. Production is an B. I think it’s okay. Not a knock out of the park. I also think at the end where they place Quinn’s pic, it should be in color and not in B & W. It sorta gets lost with the rest of the commercial (reason I gave it a B). There were other color portions of the ad, make your candidate in color. Also maybe have a female do the voice over. It might have more weight having a female do it. Sry I don’t mean to offend. I am a female also. Content. It should sell with most voters who are Quinn’s base. Agree that his base needs a boost and not to go to other 3rd party candidates or just not vote. Oh and by the way, RJN, STL is correct - it does show $8.25 in the ad. It’s two dimes and a nickle. Another note on production quality - a clearer shot of the money, lol. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 6:05 pm: CM46 - That’s it, I think we need a whole new breed of media consultants that really know about money shots… - Park - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 6:39 pm: geez, worked my way through college doing night crew at a supermarket. 8:00 a.m. was happy hour. But doesn’t this add just say “vote for me…I’m not a success”? - Montgomery Dem - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 6:49 pm: Good ad but it won’t sway my vote to Quinn. He’s in over his head. Electing such democrats will only hurt progressive causes. Voting for a Dem because he’s a Dem is what gave us Blago. If the election were held today, Rich Whitney would get my vote. - wordslinger - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 7:28 pm: –Mr. Miller, I believe that was an insult. Have your seconds get in touch with my seconds. We meet at dawn.– As the one challenged, Rich, you have the choice of weapons. Given the tenor of Soccermom’s previous posts, I’m guessing it’s Colt 45s or Thunderbird, lol. - Fred - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 8:43 pm: So Soccerman, how close are you to your goal weight????? - Fred - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 8:44 pm: ooops, meant Soccermom. My mistake! - Will County Woman - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:14 pm: I am not wealthy, nowhere near it in fact, but I don’t begrudge a man who works from buying himself a fancy sports, a second home or whatever other luxury items he wants. If he can afford those things, more power to him! Also, I find it strange that Quinn wants to attack brady on the minimum wage issue when Quinn fought to keep Wal Mart and the jobs they bring out of low-income black neighborhoods, many of these neighborhoods are grossly underdeveloped economically and jobs are scarce. The highly influential sociologist William Julius Wilson writes about stuff like this in two of his very popular books “When Work Disapears” and “The Truly Disadvantaged.” The main point that Wilson makes is the lack of access to jobs has destroyed the black family & black inner city communities. Wilson would likely argue that attempts to keep jobs out of of economically depressed areas, even if a Wal Mart job, is an act of racism through economic starvation. Hence the continuation of the cycle of poverty/underclass and all the associated social ills in inner city low-income communities. I get that Quinn is trying to (stereotypically) paint Brady as the greedy, wealthy, cold-hearted republican, and I am sure that people will fall for it, though they shouldn’t because what of the “well-meaning” white liberal democrat who willfully perpetuates black poverty? I think the latter should be of greater concern to the those living in the Chicago metro area. Maybe I should call Cliff Kelley and have this disucssion with him? nah. :) - Will County Woman - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:17 pm: Oh, and I give the ad an A for its effort and intent because I do agree that it will resonnate with people (unforunately).And, that’s only because too many people are uneducated/undereducated, and therefore incapable of thinking critically and for themselves. - steve schnorf - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 10:51 pm: Word, when Rich is on offense, it will be Bushmill’s. For Soccermom, I kinda envision Annie Green Springs, but there might be a Maddog aftertaste. - G. Willickers - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:03 pm: I give it a B+. The DGA ad about women’s rights, etc. didn’t do anything. Quinn’s gun ad didn’t seem to do much (might be too early to tell on that tho). Everything this cycle is jobs jobs jobs. Rinse and repeat. It’s how Cohen got past “experienced” candidates and it’s how Alexi’s stayed in the Senate race. Quinn needs to keep up this theme. If he’s going to win he needs to make Brady’s support for failed conservative economic policies and “Who is this guy?” the new rolling pin and “What was she thinking?” - G. Willickers - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:07 pm: A few responses…. @Fixit: “The problem is a poorly train work force and a tax system that discorages people from going out and creating there own businesses.” If they’re “poorly trained” where do you suggest the money come from to train them properly? (Several GOP candidates have this same pollyanna and pixie dust problem of talking out of both sides of their mouth — “lower taxes” doesn’t mesh with “spend more on training”.) To that end, contrary to your claim the tax code strikes me as relatively conducive to creating businesses. Rich Miller is a small business owner for one. The tax breaks for buying equipment (upwards of 100%), writing off mileage (50¢ per mile), etc. are rather generous relative to the lack of tax breaks individual workers receive for buying equipment (0%), writing off mileage (only 14-16.5¢ per mile and only for very specific, narrowly defined activities), etc. In other words, you’re full of hot air. ==== @Will County Woman: “Oh, and I give the ad an A for its effort and intent because I do agree that it will resonnate with people (unforunately).And, that’s only because too many people are uneducated/undereducated, and therefore incapable of thinking critically and for themselves.” As Rich points out above, even Brady realized the error of his ways and quickly backpeddled on his yapping about rolling back the minimum wage. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that Illinoisans aren’t cold-hearted people who want to peel back the minimum wage to “punish the least among us” (to paraphrase a common conservative refrain about raising taxes on the super-rich). - Will County Woman - Thursday, Sep 9, 10 @ 11:26 pm: GW, yeah, ok, I get it… Quinn wants people to think ill of brady, I conceded that some will. I find the attacks on Brady from puppygate to women’s issues to guns to minimum wage pretty pathetic and unfortunate, given the very serious problems Illinois faces. I gave this Quinn ad an A. Sheesh. You act like I gave it a F. - Fred - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 8:19 am: To G. Willickers———–Answer one question: Have you ever started a small business and ran it for 5-10-20 years? Scott Lee Cohen didn’t win because he talked about jobs, he won because he spent more money than all of the other candidates COMBINED. - soccermom - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 9:08 am: Schnorf — I was, until I read your comment, a huge fan. Now I’m just disappointed. Will County Woman — Pat Quinn didn’t fight to keep Wal-Mart out of the city. He fought to make sure Wal-Mart employees received a living wage and decent benefits. - Will County Woman - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 9:39 am: Understood Soccermom, but the people we are talking about have NO wages (zero, zilch, nada) for starters. Not to rehash the WalMart debate, but retail jobs are often low-wage, and it’s not just wal mart! These and other low-wage jobs are not meant for whole families to subsist on. they never were. No one says that the wal mart stock boy of today earning minimum wage has to be in the same spot 20 years later. this is america, life is what you make it for the most part. now back to the subject of the thread, bill brady worked hard and made a nice life for himself and his family. why should anyone begrudge him that? isn’t that what a man is supposed to do, especially one with a family? the vilification of bill brady on these issues (e.g., women, labor and puppies etc) really needs to stop! For someone who claims to not believe in negative campaiging, Pat Quinn sure is a negative campaigner. My goodness that’s all he does is take swipes and attack. - Will County Woman - Friday, Sep 10, 10 @ 9:58 am: given illinois’ financial problems, maybe we need a greedy capitalist pig at the healm rather than a bleeding heart “well-meaning” liberal? we need money; we are broke!!!!!! final thought on the wal mart wage issue… i’m sure a starving man would rather have an elaborate five-course meal with all the fixings. but if it’s just not a reasonable option, I am sure he will settle for a little less, say a two- course meal. it may not be as filling, but it will alleviate the hunger pangs. in the meantime there’s nothing, other than himself perhaps, preventing him from working toward the elaborate five-course meal with all the fixings if he do desires. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.