Illinois DUers..Senate race question

[Kira]

I really like Nancy Skinner but unfortunately I don't think she is going anywhere. I haven't seen any ads for her. I don't think anyone even knows who she is. Who are you guys going to vote for and are any close to Skinner in beliefs?

Kira

[hedda_foil]

1. Yes. Barak Obama is your guy.

He's very liberal and very strong.



Here's his website. http://www.obamaforillinois.com/

Barack Obama: The Background and Commitment to Make a Difference

Barack Obama has spent a lifetime fighting effectively to empower working families and the poor - as community organizer, civil rights attorney and a leader in the Illinois Senate. He has brought new ideas and approaches in pursuit of traditional Democratic ideals to make a real difference for people -- from better schools to affordable health care to criminal justice reform.

Obama represents Illinois'13th Senate District on Chicago's South Side. Recognized for his innovative, effective leadership, Obama is Chairman of the powerful Public Health and Welfare Committee. He also serves on the Judiciary and Revenue Committees. The Chicago Tribune has called him "one of the General Assembly's most impressive members." His legislative accomplishments include:

Education. Obama helped push through an expansion of early childhood education and accessible, high quality day care for working families. He co-sponsored legislation that expands innovation through charter schools, increases accountability for all school districts, improves the recruitment, training and retention of a highly skilled teaching corps, and limits tuition increases and maintains scholarships to make higher education more accessible.

Health Care. Obama passed laws extending health coverage to children and families without insurance, co-sponsored legislation establishing a prescription drug discount for seniors, passed a Hospital Report Card that makes hospitals more accountable to consumers, championed increased funding for AIDS prevention and other public health initiatives, and sponsored legislation to move the state towards universal health care.

Jobs and Opportunity. Obama passed legislation to provide targeted tax breaks for investment in depressed areas and to hold corporations accountable for tax breaks they receive from the state. Working with community colleges and area employers, he helped design and fund an innovative job-training program that has moved hundreds of unskilled, low-wage workers into high skill, high wage jobs. He was the driving force behind a state Earned Income Tax Credit, which has provided over $100 million in tax cuts to working families over three years.

Criminal Justice. In the wake of a series of shocking exonerations of innocent persons on death row, Obama drafted and passed landmark legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases, and was chief co-sponsor of comprehensive reform of the death penalty system in Illinois. He has been a leader in reforming the juvenile justice system to keep more young people in school and out of prison, and has fought to increase penalties for domestic violence.

Civil Rights and Liberties. As a constitutional law professor, Obama has been a leading voice in the Senate in protecting a woman's right to reproductive freedom. He passed model legislation designed to curb the practice of racial profiling by law enforcement.

Ethics Reform. Working with former U.S. Senator Paul Simon, Obama was a chief architect and sponsor of the first state campaign finance reform legislation in 25 years, and has helped toughen rules governing government contracting and procurement.

Obama graduated from Columbia University with a degree in political science and a specialty in international relations. He worked as a community organizer in some of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods, helping church groups create job-training programs, reform area schools, and improve city services.

He went on to Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude and served as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. After law school, Obama organized one of the largest voter registration drives in Chicago history to help Bill Clinton's election, and worked as a civil rights lawyer on cutting edge voting rights and employment discrimination cases in federal and state courts.

Currently a law professor specializing in constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School, Obama has served on the boards of some of Chicago's leading foundations and chaired the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a $50 million philanthropic effort to reform the public schools.

[ComerPerro]

7. Thanks for posting that

I like him too.

Imagine having him and Durbin....

[metisnation]

13. Dick Durbin

Is my hero..this guy is a real fighter for our rights.

[GinaMaria]

22. Obama is running for Fitz's seat

not Durbin's. You can have them both :-)

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. Another Obama supporter.

The president of my company has donated handsomely to Obama, as have several other bigwigs here.

[evil_orange_cat]

2. I'm voting Obama :D

nt

[benburch]

3. If you like Skinner...

vote for Skinner!!!

That is what a primary is for!

-Ben

[hedda_foil]

4. The problem is ...

Skinner really doesn't have a chance and there are nine candidates running. Of all of them, Obama is the most liberal, the best qualified, and has the best chance of beating what will be an exceptionally strong Republican candidate in the GE. Jack Ryan, who will almost definitely be the R candidate, is Kennedy gorgeous and 6'4, brilliant, MBA and law degree from Harvard, top of his class, Harvard Law Review editor, extremely successful lawyer with tons of money, left the law to teach in the inner city, and has great ads. He's a right wing repuke but doesn't advertise it. And to top it all off, his ex-wife is Jeri Ryan, the gorgeous Seven of Nine of Star Trek fame. We're talking qualifications and glamor galore. And Illinois isn't THAT blue. We normally have one Dem and one R Senator, and large portions of the state tend to vote R.

Obama is really a terrific candidate and a wonderful speaker. I've met him several times and spoken to him at length. I also know and like Nancy Skinner. Obama is a much better candidate, with very similar positions backed up by experience. The rest of the field are machine pols or vanity candidates (Blair Hull who is awful but has tons of money).

[lovedems]

5. You think Blair Hull is awful?

I like him. He is a card carrying union member and it looks as if he has earned his money the old fashioned way rather than having it all handed to him.

I also am liking Obama but he isn't doing anything to get votes in central Illinois and living in Springfield, it annoys me from time to time having our state government slowly move to Chicago.

About Blair Hull:

Born to Jean and Marson Hull in 1942, Blair was raised with the Midwestern values of hard work, community, and
discipline. Blair understands working families because he came from a working family. His parents struggled during the Depression and lived paycheck to paycheck, and after completing high school, he went to work on the assembly line of a cannery factory to help support his family, ultimately joining Union Local 679 and earning himself a union card by age 19.

During the Vietnam buildup, Blair answered his nation’s call and served four years in the United States Army. And after completing his military service, Blair turned to the classroom,
teaching high school level math and physics before becoming a student again himself and going on to higher education with the GI Bill, as his father had done before him.

While working full-time at a manufacturing company, Blair took his mathematical and analytical skills to the blackjack tables in Las Vegas, where he proved to be a skilled and disciplined player. Blair took his accumulated winnings and was able to start a business on the Chicago financial exchanges. Once there, Blair established himself as a pioneer in the trading industry, and it wasn’t long before Blair began to revolutionize the financial markets through the use of innovative and state-of-the-art technology.

As Founder of Hull Trading Company, Blair built a business from scratch here in Illinois, creating hundreds of jobs, putting people to work, and growing his company into one of the most successful trading firms in the country. Blair believes that in government, as in business, leaders must lay out long term visions for the future, must be innovative in their approach to new and challenging problems, and must never be afraid to challenge the status quo.


Because of his working class roots, Blair has always believed that the role of government is to serve the people, not the corporate special interests. His rich and humble history bears out his commitment to working families and real people, and Blair brings to this race decades of advocacy in the name of equal opportunity and women’s rights.

Blair is an outspoken supporter of a woman’s right to choose, currently serves on the national board of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and is actively involved with Planned Parenthood, Emily's List, and Voters for Choice. In Illinois, Blair has been recognized by the Illinois General Assembly for his lifelong advocacy and dedication to protecting the rights of all women, and has been honored as a Lifetime Activist by Personal PAC, Illinois' largest and most influential pro-choice organization. Blair serves on the Board of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and endowed the first chair in Women’s Studies at his alma mater.


The father of four grown children and two grandchildren, Blair brings to politics a lifetime of real-world experience, a record of challenging the status quo, and a unique independence from corporate special interests. Blair Hull is 60 years old and lives in the Old Town neighborhood on Chicago’s North side.

[hedda_foil]

16. Hull is a dud.

I've met him and spoken with him several times. As davsand says, he has zero charisma. In fact, I'll go well beyond that. The man has zero personality.

He got his stake gambling and then went into the money biz. He has no political background other than bankrolling Blagojevich (who is not well beloved by party insiders, so that doesn't carry much clout).

He tries not to debate because he's terrible at it.

He does, however, have good commercials and is being well managed. But he should be. He's paying for it all himself. None of the other candidates can afford to air commercials until 2-3 weeks before the primary. Hull is all alone with his bus to Canada ads, which makes him look better than he is. But I've met all of the candidates, chatted with them, eaten dinner with them, etc. And Obama is by far the best of the bunch.

[Robbien]

6. I also like Blair Hull

and would like to hear why you feel he is awful.

[davsand]

8. Shall I start with his lack of charisma?

I've talked to him privately and seen him speak a few different times, and he just has ZERO personality. I saw him literally almost kill an Impeach Bush rally hosted by the College Dems...

I'll grant you, he WAS following my husband on that stage, and my husband did a kick ass job, given his history as an organizer. However, I expect more out of a Senate candidate with THAT much cash. I'd think he could afford a speech coach. (I said the same thing about John Schmidt the first time I saw him speak too. I realize I'm terribly critical about public speaking skills.)

Hull's campaign has evolved over time--and I'll give him credit for that--but really, out of all the mailings and commercials he's run thus far the only thing I can think of about him is he's been driving buses full of Seniors to Canada to buy drugs. (Every time I see one of those commercials all I can think of is B-double E- double R- U-N--Beer Run!)

Hull may have his old union card, but when it came to the Illinois AFL-CIO endorsement session, he had no votes in the initial vote. Obama and Hynes did. Union endorsements thus far have fallen between Hynes and Obama as well.

Make no mistake, I'll work whoever emerges from that primary--but Hull just isn't doing it for me when I consider the passion and the flair that Obama speaks with or the organization that Hynes has put together after his two terms as State Comptroller.

The last word I had was that the folks who are in the center of this are concerned that Hull will pull from Hynes' support in downstate and that Obama is seen as a very good bet as the winner.

Laura

[never cry wolf]

9. Thanks for your insight, I like Obama

I think he can challenge any repuke. He too was Harvard Law review editor and I think that his coffee-with-cream Tiger Woods good looks will not turn off many downstaters. On the issues he is great!!

[Nailzberg]

15. Hull? Awful? You need to Hynes!

Empty candidate. Completely lacks an understanding of the issues. Speaking of that AFL-CIO endorsement session, Hynes couldn't even tell a reporter where he stood on right-to-work laws. Because he doesn't know what they are.

I don't look for charisma in a candidate so much as I look for knowledge, compassion, and leadership.
And Hull has that over Hynes in truckloads. He may not be as comfortable on the stump as the others, but his message is strong and his ideas are good.

Hull has a ten point lead in the most recent poll. Obama didn't move from last month, and Hynes lost points. Hull taking Hynes votes doesn't make Obama a clear favorite.

It's gonna be close between Obama and Hull, and I love them both. I was behind Hull before Obama got in this, and I've had a long time to look over his positions, and I like what I've seen in Hull.

Hynes never took off, and his support is starting to crack. And I don't know if Obama can beat Jack Ryan in November. Hull is managing to attract a lot of independent voters that I think Barack won't get. And those votes are gonna decide November.

[davsand]

20. I'll agree--Hynes is NOT terribly exciting.

I was at one of his announcement stops this last summer and he came across like a plain plate of pasta with no sauce and not even any salt! This was supposed to be his BIG moment--his kick off speech--and I have gotta tell you that he was not inspiring at all. The only thing that gives me any optimism on Hynes (other than he really IS a nice guy to just shoot the breeze with--he's sincere) is the fact that he HAS won twice statewide.

While he's not the most flamboyant candidate, he has done a couple of strategic things very right. Hynes (without any legislative history) has managed to get the physical labor guys behind him. His endorsements mainly came out of the Building Trades and the craftshops--and THEY were organized when the AFL-CIO was holding that endorsement session.

I do know Hynes has personal ties with a couple of the big unions, but I've been amazed at the loyalty that the rank and file has shown for him... Shoot, even the Teamsters (except the Black Teamsters Caucus--they went Obama) and the Firefighters are lining up behind him along with the Laborers and several others.

Obama pulled endorsements from some major unions--AFSCME and SEIU along with IFT and UNITE--and that will have a big impact for him. What that does, is it means that the state AFL-CIO can't use their organization to contact those union members to support Hynes--and THAT is a big change over the Blag Dem primary model of decent showing in Chicago and labor carrying him downstate...

Further, Obama has Illinois Citizen Action in his corner along with several other grass roots progressive organizations, plus Jan Shakowski. While that may not sound terribly impressive right out of the chute, I keep coming back to the Dem Senate race when Braun won.

Dixon was a multi-term Dem Senator and seen as pretty safe. He pissed off some of the women with his vote on the Clarence Thomas confirmation, and as a result faced a primary challenge from both Braun and Al Hoefeld (a wealthy white guy with no past history of holding office.)

Hoefeld split out the White male base downstate from Dixon, ran an extensive media campaign, and suddenly the pivotal voters were the minorities and the protesting female voters...

I see a lot of similarities in this race except for the pissed off women. Will the minority vote in a Presidential year (typically higher minority turnout) be enough to carry Obama out of the Primary? I honestly don't know.

Anyhow, the way it looks now, there are three major player in this race, Hynes, Obama, and Hull. I honestly have no idea how it will all play out, but my gut tells me that this race is gonna be a good one. We have some wonderful candidates with some real strengths, but a few flaws.

Laura

[LincolnMcGrath]

10. Nancy gets my vote in the primary

The eventual nom gets my money and time.

Much of my time will be spent on the Lane Evans campaign.

[Paulie]

11. I like her too!

I tried collecting signatures to get her on the ballot at the Kucinich announcement event, and at that point, talking to all the people pledged to Obama, it really was discouraging. They didn't even know who she was! I tried explaining, but when I said WLS, they still didn't know (probably because it's repugs all day cept for Nate).

The kicker for me was when she tried to attach herself to the Dean machine. I just cried myself to sleep and lost all hope.

She's trying to get on the debate on WTTW. I don't think they will let her. She should have ran for a smaller office than Senator first time out. Or maybe Mayor of Chicago. :)

[metisnation]

12. skinner

was strong in the past couple of debates...I will probably votes hynes. obama is good though

[ariellyn]

14. I like Nancy Skinner...I contributed to her campaign today.

Here's a link if you don't know about it.

https://www.democrats.com/elandslide/edonate.cfm?campaign=skinner&refer=a5

She's the equivalent of Dean in terms of running a grass roots campaign. At the very least I think she'll be set for a future run or for some other political office.

As for who I will vote for, the dem candidate of course.

[IkeWarnedUs]

17. Obama and Hynes are DLC'ers - Hull is running to change BAU in DC*

Hynes is a long time member of the DLC and Obama is on the DLC "100 To Watch In 2003" list of the "new generation of New Democrat leaders."

DLC roster - http://www.ndol.org/new_dem_dir_action.cfm?viewAll=1

100 to Watch - http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=251581&kaid=104&subid=210

If anyone wants I would be happy to post my rant about the DLC - how it is "exhaustively vets candidates and endorses only those who meet (their) narrowly defined criteria" (a quote from a DLC brochure distributed to prospective corporate sponsors) and how the DLC policy is designed by a PNAC'er. Short version: if you want Democrats in Congress that repeatedly vote with the Republican agenda, vote for DLC'ers.

Hynes, on the other hand, is running for the Senate because he doesn't like the direction our country is headed in and is willing to put his money where his mouth is. He doesn't need a new career. He's not a ham who gets off on being in the spotlight. He wants to make a difference. If what you want in a political leader is public speaking skills and the ability to rally a crowd, I have two words - Regan and Schwarzenegger.

Me? I want someone who is intelligent, a proven leader with a good economic sense, who understands and appreciates the American dream, has a passionate desire to make a difference and isn't afraid to shake things up.

Hull has my vote.


* BAU in DC = Business As Usual in DC

[Nailzberg]

18. Right on!

It appears you accidently typed Hynes when you meant Hull at the beginning of the fifth paragraph. Let's Give em' Hull!

[Rich Hunt]

21. Obama and the DLC

http://www.blackcommentator.com/48/48_cover.html

"Barack Obama will not be carrying the Democratic Leadership Council’s baggage in his race to become the second Black person to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate. The state senator and professor of constitutional law has told The Black Commentator that he is acting to have his name stricken from the “New Democrats Directory,” a list of several hundred DLC-affiliated elected officials.

“I am not currently, nor have I ever been, a member of the DLC,” said Obama, in a statement that substantially reflects a telephone conversation with Associate Editor Bruce Dixon, this weekend. “It does appear that, without my knowledge, the DLC…listed me in their ‘New Democrat’ directory,” Obama continued. “Because I agree that such a directory implies membership, I will be calling the DLC to have my name removed, and appreciate your having brought this fact to my attention.”

You are undoubtedly correct that these positions make me an unlikely candidate for membership in the DLC. That is why I am not currently, nor have I ever been, a member of the DLC. As I stated in my previous letter, I agreed to be listed as “100 to watch” by the DLC. That’s been the extent of my contact with them. It does appear that, without my knowledge, the DLC also listed me in their “New Democrat” directory. Because I agree that such a directory implies membership, I will be calling the DLC to have my name removed, and appreciate your having brought this fact to my attention.