GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - March 12, 2008

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
-- VERY SAD: OBERWEIS BASHERS OVERJOYED: Support for Oberweis slips May get less cash from GOP donors in November - Lynn Sweet
http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/837699,CST-NWS-sweet12.article
(THE ARTICLE: WASHINGTON -- National Republicans -- who pumped some $1.2 million into the House bid of GOP nominee Jim Oberweis, only to see him lose the seat in Republican hands for decades to Democrat Bill Foster -- will be reluctant to write more checks when the two face off again in November. And with four Illinois House seats in play in the fall, the House Republicans will also have to deal with presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama, who helped propel Foster to victory. I've been told the poor performance by Oberweis in Saturday's special election to fill the remainder of the term vacated by former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) -- especially in GOP turf -- means he will have a tough time persuading the National Republican Congressional Committee -- the political arm of House Republicans based here -- to give him a second chance. They are wondering if Oberweis will stay on the ballot, and that kind of speculation is not good for Oberweis. The outside money was important in the 14th Congressional District contest. Foster and Oberweis put together war chests of about $2 million each, each salted with their personal wealth. Foster got in all about $1.4 million from outside groups, with $620,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the rest from the two big labor organizations, SEIU and AFSCME. The House Republicans also have to grapple with another realization -- that Democratic presidential hopeful Obama provided an enormous boost to Foster and will be a factor in his home state whether or not he is the nominee. Obama chief strategist David Axelrod told me on Tuesday that in Illinois, "We are going to be as helpful as we possibly can." "You can't underestimate the Obama effect in this one," said Pete Giangreco, Foster's overall strategist who also handles Obama's direct mail. Obama cut a television spot for Foster, helped in a direct mail piece, and the Obama Illinois campaign sent out an e-mail to 80,000 names on their list, which yielded volunteers to make 13,000 phone calls. Besides Giangreco, Foster's team included manager Tom Bowen and media consultants Jim Mulhall, a partner at Squier Knapp Dunn, and Keith Kincaid, a senior vice president of the firm.)
-- SNEED: Consider the case of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who has infuriated just about every national top GOPer for assuring party officials his handpicked congressional replacement, Jim Oberweis, would be the best candidate for his former seat. Translation: Not only did Hastert's disastrous decision lose a historically Republican seat in America's heartland, but the election of Dem Jim Foster just handed Obama another superdelegate!
http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/837573,CST-NWS-sneed12.article
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Outrageously, anti-conservative Carol Marin blames Jim Oberweis, Chris Lauzen, and Pate Philip for the Illinois Republican Party's (IRP) problems. But beyond outrageously, she does not blame those who have played or are playing major roles in leading the IRP including Tom Cross, Kirk Dillard, Jim Edgar, Peter Fitzgerald, Dennis Hastert, Bob Kjellander, Andy McKenna, George Ryan, Jim Ryan, Jim Thompson, Judy Baar Topinka, Frank Watson, IRP State Central Committee members, and the Combine-controlled anti-conservative Illinois news media
http://www.suntimes.com/news/marin/837376,CST-EDT-carol12.article
(THE COMMENTARY: Illinois GOP headed down Oberweis' path - Carol Marin Dairy magnate Jim Oberweis was recovering from the flu yesterday when I called. And he sounded a wee bit testy. Soundly defeated Saturday in a special election in the 14th Congressional District, the Republican Oberweis is vowing to fight on in the upcoming November rematch against just-sworn-in Democratic Congressman Bill Foster. Why did he lose? "I have some theories, but I'm keeping them to myself," Oberweis said. The media, he argued, didn't help. "You guys gave him [Foster] pretty much a free ride." There was a time in Illinois when Republicans roamed the earth. They were once mighty. They were once strong. Yes, Democrats always outflanked them in Chicago but the GOP had its own hold on power and its own firm voice. Names tell the story. Lincoln, Dirksen, Percy, Michel, Hyde, Ogilvie, Thompson, and Edgar. They went to the White House, U.S. Senate, Congress, the governor's mansion and were a force to be reckoned with in the General Assembly. Some were statesmen. One, Pate Philip, was a hateful, narrow-minded pit bull, but he sure could command a majority in the state Senate. Others were stalwarts like state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, who held on to the last remaining constitutional office so Republicans could still claim one lonely outpost as their own. No more. The Illinois Republican Party has become the laughingstock party of wacko imports like 2004 U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes and homegrown, perennial, political problem child, Jim Oberweis. His loss to Democrat millionaire physicist Bill Foster represents a monumental GOP humiliation. It is a national, not local, story because none other than the longest-serving Republican speaker of the U.S. House, J. Dennis Hastert, held this 14th District seat for 11 terms until he recently up and retired mid-term. Politicos across the country are looking at what happened here as a barometer of just how disenchanted Republicans in a reliably Republican district can be with the current president, the endless war and the miserable economy. And fearful Republican candidates all across the country on the November ballot wonder if Oberweis' fate will be theirs. On top of everything else, Foster had Barack Obama cut a campaign commercial for him. The Obama factor is scaring Republicans senseless. But Oberweis' loss is also all about Oberweis. In four successive elections, he has run for anything and everything: U.S. senator, governor and Congress. And he's 0 for 4 thanks to a goofy immigration ad, a failure to weed out fiction from fact in another ill-advised commercial. And then there is his uncanny ability to alienate huge chunks of his own party. You'd think a guy whose dairy sells a stupendous ice cream could find a way to sell himself. But no. The Illinois GOP has its own marketing challenges. Oberweis and state Sen. Chris Lauzen scorched each other's earth in the special primary way before the Foster face-off. They never could patch it up for the sake of the party. Then again, even the embrace of a senior leader like Hastert apparently didn't do diddly to put Oberweis over the top. So much for the strength of a fractured GOP in which conservatives and moderates cannot, for the life of them, find a shred of common ground. Come November, Illinois' nine Republican Congressional seats could be watered down to five. Democrats could jump from 10 to 14. Some of the Illinois GOP's problems are out of its control. Both Bush and Obama give them nightmares. But plenty of their problems are self-inflicted. Absent a collective will and discipline to overcome what divides them, they'll go the way of the dinosaur. Fewer and fewer of them will roam Illinois' earth.)
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Chicago Sun-Times continues to comply with the Combine's directives - it promotes Foster as being second only to Obama and covers up Foster's serious divorce problems
http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/837698,CST-NWS-foster12.article
-- VERY VERY VERY SAD: 1 in 4 teenage girls has STD: Study CDC REPORT Rate among African Americans nearly 50%; HPV most common affliction - Monifa Thomas
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/838077,CST-NWS-std12.article

REAL CLEAR POLITICS
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Dennis Byrne blames Oberweis' loss on the Illinois Republican Party (IRP). But he does not blame those who have played or are playing major roles in leading the IRP including Tom Cross, Kirk Dillard, Jim Edgar, Peter Fitzgerald, Dennis Hastert, Bob Kjellander, Andy McKenna, George Ryan, Jim Ryan, Jim Thompson, Judy Baar Topinka, Frank Watson, IRP State Central Committee members, or the Combine-controlled anti-conservative Illinois news media
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/03/why_the_gop_lost_il14.html
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Bevan foists the "milk dud" insult on Oberweis
http://time-blog.com/real_clear_politics/2008/03/the_milk_dud.html
(THE COMMENTARY: The Milk Dud - Tom Bevan That's what some people are calling dairy magnate Jim Oberweis, the Republican who lost Denny Hastert's seat in a special election to Democrat Bill Foster on Saturday. The estimable Michael Barone sees this as very bad news for the GOP - and it is. But part of the reason for the loss - perhaps even a good part - is that Oberweis is just a terribly unappealing candidate who generates little enthusiasm among Republicans and no enthusiasm among Independents or anyone else. Even taking into account his primary win against an equally flawed opponent, Oberweis is now 1 for 5 in competitive elections and, unless something remarkable happens in the next few months, he's on track to be 1 for 6 after the first Tuesday in November.)

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Eric Zorn responds to Jeff Berkowitz RE: Oberweis
http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2008/03/at-cross-purpos.html
(THE ARTICLE: At Cross purposes - Eric Zorn Jeff Berkowitz responds at length to my suggestion yesterday that GOP bigwigs try to talk Jim "0-for-Four" Oberweis into stepping aside in favor of a more voter-friendly candidate. I wrote that Ill. House Minority Leader Tom Cross would be a good replacement for Oberweis to do battle in November against Bill Foster in the west-suburban 14th U.S. Congressional District. The gist of his 1,400-word rebuttal: There are no GOP bigwigs with anything to offer or hold over Oberweis to persuade him to step down; he can still beat Foster if he mends some fences and fine-tunes his campaign; and Tom Cross doesn't have the conservative credentials to win the district. He's probably right that state and national Republican leaders have no leverage with Oberweis, whose ego and concern for himself both dwarfs and eclipses any interest in advancing party interests. But I doubt that Oberweis can rehabilitate himself with the voters because, as conservative pundit Tom Roeser writes, "the cumulative results show that Oberweis plain-and-simple is not liked." Russ Stewart, another local conservative pundit, has an even harsher assessment: "Other than being pompous, arrogant, intolerant and utterly insufferable... Jim Oberweis may have another flaw: Unelectability." Larry Handlin considers my argument and says "the most likely scenario is Oberweis sticks around and loses again. Foster gets a few months to do things as Congressman and raise his profile with good earned media and Oberweis gets stories about how Republicans are dissatisfied with him." Campaign consultant and conservative pundit Dan Proft, writing in Human Events, gives some hard whacks to Oberweis, a client of Proft's partner Bill Pascoe: "The dairy magnate’s gaffe-filled campaigns have demonstrated one thing clearly: he has exponentially more personal wealth than good sense." Proft reminds us that Oberweis has also run "ill-fated, intraparty campaigns for both state party chairman and county chairman in his home county." So should that nickname be Jim "O-for-Six"? The online conversation on this topic is taking place here.)

PUBLIC AFFAIRS
-- Eric Zorn and Dan Proft: Longing for Alan Keyes? Journalism makes strange bedfellows? - Jeff Berkowitz
http://jeffberkowitz.blogspot.com/2008/03/eric-zorn-and-dan-proft-longing-for.html
(FROM THE COMMENTARY: Chicago Tribune columnist and blogger Eric Zorn has responded to this author’s post suggesting that Oberweis stand his ground and better yet, that the so-called Republican Party leaders find something better to do than see if they can pressure Oberweis into giving up his nomination as the Republican candidate in the 14th CD fall general election. First, Zorn misses a major point of this reporter’s argument. Yes, I argued that the so-called party bigwigs have no carrots or sticks to induce Oberweis to give up his nomination. But, more importantly, as this reporter argued, the so-called party leaders are people of either little or long-ago accomplishment, so by what moral or other authority do they override the Republican primary voters judgment of last month that Oberweis should be their nominee. Zorn fails to address that point. Second, Zorn asserts that Oberweis is 0 for 4, having lost two Republican U. S. Senate primaries, one Republican gubernatorial primary and now one 14th congressional district general election. But, shouldn’t Eric give Oberweis credit for winning two Republican primaries in the 14th CD, making him 2 for 6 Of course, that is not as good as say, Cong. Rahm Emanuel and Cong. Melissa Bean, but then, again, Oberweis doesn’t have convicted felon, Water Dept. and ward boss Don Tomczak and his City of Chicago Daley army of employees working for him, so you have to cut Jim a little slack. Third, Zorn doubts that “Oberweis can rehabilitate himself with the voters,” because Tom Roeser has concluded, “Oberweis plain and simple is not liked.” But, the Republican Primary voters in the 14th CD “liked him more than Sen. Lauzen,” a month, or so, ago when they voted to make Oberweis the Party standard bearer in the March Special Election and in the regular November election. Fourth, Zorn cites to Russ Stewart for the argument that Jim, aside from being “pompous, arrogant, intolerant and utterly insufferable,” is unelectable. While this reporter would concede that he has met more charming and likable pols than Jim Oberweis; others, with similar personality deficiencies, have been big winners. For example, Cong. Dan Lipinski, while not being a big charmer, has now won two contested primaries and a general election. Many Democrats have castigated Cong. Rahm Emanuel as completely lacking in the personality skills for elected office and he won a tough primary in 2002. Indeed, although I don’t agree, some Democrats, not to mention Republicans, have described Emanuel as "arrogant and stiff," and no one seems to think he should be disqualified from running for office, after he won a primary. Even Senator John McCain, with his reputation for a hair-trigger temper, will admit no one in the Senate will mistake him for “Miss Congeniality,” and he is now the Republican nominee for President.)
-- Berkowitz w/Sen. Bill Brady on Blago, Madigan, Obama, Watson, Rezko, Dillard, Cross and much more
http://jeffberkowitz.blogspot.com/2008/03/berkowitz-wsen-bill-brady-r-on-blago.html

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Chicago Tribune brings up Bill Clinton, Grover Cleveland, Larry Craig, Dan Crane, Henry Hyde, Thomas Jefferson, Wilbur Mills, Mel Reynolds, Jack Ryan, and Gus Savage in connection with Eliot Spitzer, but not Bill Foster
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-sex-and-politics-080312-story,0,3235693.story
-- Entire state political system needs reform - Small Newspaper Group
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-illinoiseditorial,0,6599888.story
-- OUTSTANDING: DuPage County's effort to retrieve old fines is working, officials say Collection companies have helped bring in $4.6 million in penalties - Joseph Sjostrom
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-dufines_12mar12,1,1400473.story
-- OUTSTANDING: American Family Association ends boycott of Ford
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed-brief2-ford-boycottmar12,0,644252.story
-- VERY VERY VERY SAD: STDs hit fourth of teenage U.S. girls Study finds that most common ailment is HPV - Stephanie Desmon
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-std_wedmar12,0,3083913.story

BEACON NEWS
-- Laesch is not in Foster's corner, calls him a "Blue Dog" Democrat - Andre Salles
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/837856,2_1_AU12_14THDIST_S2.article
(THE ARTICLE: John Laesch has dropped his challenge of the Feb. 5 Democratic primary election results in the 14th Congressional District. But that doesn't mean he's supporting winning nominee Bill Foster. Calling Foster a conservative "Blue Dog" Democrat, Laesch said he would not be lining up behind Foster for the November general election. Foster and Oberweis are scheduled to face each other again in November, vying for the right to succeed retired Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. He'll have to do it without support from Laesch, though, who said Tuesday, "We have a 180-degree difference in looking at how to fix things." And if Foster prevails in November, he may already have his first primary challenge -- Laesch said he very well may run against Foster in 2010. Last Friday, Laesch filed a petition for a discovery recount in 56 precincts across six counties and the city of Aurora, citing election irregularities in the Feb. 5 primary. Laesch lost to Foster by only 398 votes in that election, though Foster won more handily in the special primary, held on the same day. Laesch withdrew his petition on Monday. Laesch also filed Freedom of Information Act requests for information on several alleged voting irregularities, and those requests have also been withdrawn.)
-- VERY VERY VERY SAD: Diseases blossom with teen sexuality 1 in 4 teen girls now has an STD "Teens are having sex in Kane and Kendall counties." - Christine Moyer
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/837904,2_1_AU12_TEENSEX_S1.article

DAILY HERALD
-- OUTSTANDING: DuPage County scofflaws cough up $4.6 million - Jake Griffin
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=151592&src=2
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=151793&src=2
-- VERY VERY VERY SAD: Villa Park OTB plan heads into home stretch State racing board OKs Arlington Park bid for new facility on North Avenue - Jim Fuller
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=151886&src=2
-- VERY SAD: Concealed gun bill stuck in a Capitol holdup Proposal is likely to miss deadline - Amber Krosel
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=151713&src=1
-- FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: VERY VERY VERY SAD: Study finds 1 in 2 Black, 1 in 5 White, and 1 in 5 Mexican American teenage girls have a sexually transmitted disease Among the risks faced: Cancer and infertility - AP
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=151806&src=110
-- Hastert at fault for loss of Oberweis - Jack McCabe, Batavia
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=151691&src=
(THE LETTER: Republican candidate Jim Oberweis lost the special election for the 14th U.S. House District to fulfill former Speaker Dennis Hastert's term, but not all of the blame should fall on the negativity of the campaign between Oberweis and the winner, Bill Foster. A very large portion of the defeat is the responsibility of Hastert, who endorsed Oberweis before the Republican primary election. With that endorsement, Hastert eliminated Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns and made it extremely difficult for state Sen. Chris Lauzen to compete with Oberweis. Yet once Oberweis won the primary, Hastert disappeared. During this special election campaign, there were no pictures of Oberweis and Hastert together at any rally. Hastert did not promote his selected Republican replacement in any media prior to the election. Oberweis was able to have a photo-op with Republican presidential candidate John McCain, but only at an Aurora Airport hangar. Where was Hastert? Foster had pictures with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and got a radio endorsement from Barack Obama. No wonder Oberweis lost. His chief supporter failed him. Thanks, Denny Hastert, for quitting early and failing to support your endorsed replacement.

LAKE COUNTY NEWS SUN
-- VERY SAD: Blue revolution gripping Lake County - Charles Selle
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/selle/837322,5_1_WA12_SELLE_S1.article

BLOOMINGTON PANTAGRAPH
-- OUTSTANDING: Thousands of Second Amendment activists march on state hill - Mike Riopell
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/03/11/news/doc47d7213a1b7e7781036991.txt

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER
-- SABOTAGING THE OTHER PARTY'S PRIMARY V. PERPETUATING POLITICAL PATRONAGE: Committee kills open-primary legislation
http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/26773.asp
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Combine directs a) Schoenburg to report that Schock's dad is linked to an alleged tax fraud scheme and b) Schoenburg to not report on Foster's divorce problems
http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/26767.asp

ELMHURST PRESS
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Elmhurst Press promotes Peickert and the DuPage County Democrat Party
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/elmhurst/homepage/x1993297338
-- VERY SAD: DuPage County: Campaign signs still up long after Super Tuesday - Dan Petrella
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/elmhurst/homepage/x1993297539

QUAD CITY TIMES
-- 17th Congressional District: GOP to pick candidate to run against Hare - Ed Tibbetts
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/03/12/news/local/doc47d76172b7cf3269606882.txt

CHICAGO DAILY OBSERVER
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Don Rose comments on the Oberweis loss
http://cdobs.com/archive/our-columns/gop-singin-the-bluer-blues856/

ILLINOIS REVIEW
-- $100 Fund Raiser for McCain Friday Night in Chicago for Young Professionals - Cal Skinner
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/03/100-fund-raiser.html
(THE ARTICLE: Are you under 35 and want to get involved in the presidential campaign for John McCain? Here are the details: Friday, March 14th 5:30pm Young Professionals Event (under 35) Hilton Chicago 720 South Michigan, Chicago, IL Pam Kinsey, 847-446-9102 $100 per person "We have scheduled a new Young Professionals event for this Friday in Chicago. Please pass this around to any friends who might be interested. If anyone has questions, they can contact Pam Kinsey at the 847-446-9102 or me at 703-650-5636," Soren Dayton of McCain's Washington headquarters writes. There are later fundraisers for bigger contributors, as you can see from the invitation below: (INVITATION) $1000 apiece gets you into the reception at 7. Want your picture taken with the Senator? Come up with the maximum contribution that a presidential candidate can accept--$2,300. Raise $10,000 from your friends and become a member of the host committee. The TV news last night said that McCain has raised less than half of what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have raised.)

REPUBLICAN WOMEN BLOGGERS
-- How do we revive the Republican Party in Illinois
http://republicanwomenbloggers.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-do-we-revive-republican-party-in.html
(THE COMMENTARY: Can it be done? Who can do it? Is it fixable? Are we relying on too many of the old "war horses" and not looking to the next generation to carry the Republican banner? WHY HAS THIS HAPPENED???? Doug Ibendahl addresses some of these issues in this interesting article.Stick a fork in Oberweis and the Illinois Republican Party, they’re done Unfortunately Ibendahl misses the point by proposing Chris Lauzen as the hero in this whole mess. Chris just isn't the hero. Too many people saw him as a good candidate and a solid conservative. That he is--a good statewide or Congressional candidate he isn't. I like Chris. He's one of the good guys, but for the good of the party (he should have taken a cue from Mitt Romney) he shouldn't have run for Congress this time. We should have had ONE candidate and united behind him and worked for his election. That candidate SHOULD NOT have been Chris. Our district IS NOT a solidly conservative district--unfortunately a sign of the times. We need someone who understands business and global markets and how to succeed in a competitive business atmosphere. Chris (again unfortunately) is not that person. We need(ed) a candidate who understands how to work with other people to get things accomplished and can hold to the principles that guide most of the families in this district. So this election should be a HUGE educational experience for us Republicans and should wake us up to the reality of the situation we find ourselves in. Mr. Oberweis should see this as a huge rebuke of "robo-calls" (HATE THEM--I hung up on dozens of them from both Oberweis, the Republican Congressional Committee and the DCC), misinformation in campaign mailers & television ads (both Republicans and Democrats), and the failure of local Republican leaders to marshall their forces to get out the vote on a rare Saturday election. Everyone in my house voted--and we voted for Oberweis. We voted for CHANGE--to escape the yoke of Hastert's "failure to lead" and to send a competent businessman to Washington to work for our district. Foster (ugh--hate typing his name) is a puppet of the Democratic party.)
-- Just exactly what is the Hastert legacy?
http://republicanwomenbloggers.blogspot.com/2008/03/just-exactly-what-is-hastert-legacy.html
(THE COMMENTARY: This is a good read: Oberweis defeat only adds to Hastert’s legacy Here's my favorite quote: "Losing yet another Congressional District in Illinois is a sad indictment of our Republican leadership." It's time to revamp the Republican Party from the ground up in Illinois. Judy Topinka couldn't do it. Andy McKenna couldn't do it. Ok, Jim Edgar or Jim Thompson. Maybe it's time for one of you guys to step up and take the reins of the party. Put up or shut up. SOMEONE PLEASE GET THE PARTY BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK!)

ARCH PUNDIT
-- FROM THE VERY NASTY ARCH PUNDIT: The Ultimate Problem for Oberweis
http://archpundit.com/blog/2008/03/11/the-ultimate-problem-for-oberweis/
(THE ARTICLE: Eric points out how some Republicans have described the guy: Russ Stewart Aside from being pompous, arrogant, intolerant and utterly insufferable, Republican congressional candidate and perennial statewide loser Jim Oberweis is otherwise just a swell guy Tom Roeser: Are we going to have to wait until Big Jim Oberweis spends ALL his money in primary election after primary election for the purpose to determine if he’s loved-which for anyone who really knows him understands that this, not political issues, is the reason for this experiment? And good God, Roeser and I agree on something: Oberweis has been notable for paying lavish fees to campaign consultants who are less than bright. The first time it was to a consultant that insisted Oberweis had to be pro-choice. The second time it was to a consultant who devised a TV commercial that didn’t just make a statement on immigration but which was bound to inflame. Now we have a consultant who told the media on election night (Bill Pascoe) “I think everybody was surprised. We did not see it coming.” HUH? Evidently everybody saw it coming but you, Mr. Pascoe. The word on the street, far from the precincts of the 14th and the headlines in most newspapers was that Oberweis could easily lose. Where were you? And are you going to continue raking down the money for the next lucrative Oberweis loss eight months hence? Really a neat industry for you and others, isn’t it? The Beacon adds this: Oberweis spokesman Bill Pascoe said Monday that it is too early to accurately assess how the election slipped away. He said he would need to see numbers telling him who voted, and where. “One of two things is true,” Pascoe said. “Either we had a problem with our message, or a problem with organization.” These are not mutually exclusive problems, but there’s an additional problem–Oberweis himself.)

WIKIPEDIA
-- "In his columns Kass is a frequent critic of what he terms as the "combine" of Illinois politics, wherein powerful elements of the Illinois Republican and Democratic parties unite for the purposes of political corruption."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kass

CAPITOL FAX
-- RICH MILLER: There were also some weird references to “The Combine’s” efforts on behalf of Oberweis. Huh? I’m half thinking of banning that phrase from comments because it’s so over-used and usually just downright goofy.
http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2008/03/11/question-of-the-day-485/

RUBBER STAMP ROSKAM
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: An anonymous poster argues that the Combine does not direct the Illinois news media to do things. Is that anonymous poster a member of the Combine, someone who wants to be a member of the Combine, an employee of the Combine, a dupe of the Combine?
http://rubberstamproskam.com/2008/03/11/the-combine-directs-tv-news-to-trumpet-republican-vulnerabilities/ (Includes picture of a combine)
(THE ARTICLE: "The Combine" Directs TV News to Trumpet Republican Vulnerabilities - A Diersen Headline at Illiinoize reports that “The Combine” has directed local TV news organizations to highlight potentially vulnerable Republican Congressional seats in light of Saturday’s victory by Bill Foster over Jim Oberweis. Now, RubberStampRoskam has obtained, through sources that wish to remain anonymous, a shocking photograph of The Combine meeting secretly with reporters and media executives. We are told that it was purchased by and is acting under the direction of George Soros.)

KIPLINGER
-- Conservatives on the Edge - Jon Frandsen
http://blog.kiplinger.com/politics/2008/03/conservatives-on-the-edge.html

RENEW AMERICA
-- VERY VERY VERY SAD: One in four U.S. girls have sexually transmitted diseases - Grant Swank
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/swank/080311aa