Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Duckworth and Durbin

From today's Trib,

"So when Sen. Durbin called me in the summer and said, `Henry Hyde's retiring, your house is not that far from the district, would you consider running?' I didn't hang up the phone on him," Duckworth said.
Why do the Cegelis supporters slam Rahm so hard for supposedly pushing Duckworth on the 6th? Durbin's the patron.

50 comments:

Anonymous,  8:04 AM  

Maybe because Rahm is involved Bill and head of the Democratic committee working to take back the House. That's why.

Bill Baar 8:33 AM  

But why does Durbin get a pass? He called her. Or Obama or Pelosi?

Nobody slams them.

Rahm running the whole party?

Anonymous,  8:55 AM  

You can't paint Duckworth as a pawn of the Chicago democratic machine and lump Durbin in with that crowd.

Bill Baar 9:26 AM  

so anon 8:55,

...the campaign between Duckworth, Cegelis, and Scott truely is a debate about different policies and views...

...and not a sinister plot to bamboozle the simple midwesterners of the 6th, hatched by a fellow from Chicago with a foreign sounding name?

fedup dem 9:31 AM  

Perhaps because while Durbin may have made the initial call, it is Rahm Emanuel who is trying to ram Major Duckworth down the throats of the independent-minded Democrats of the Sixth District.

It has been Emanuel who has been doing all of the dirty work, the same Rahm Emanuel whose initial election to Congress was made possible in no small part by the work of operatives of the infamous Hispanic Democratic Organization (HDO, a group that in reality is neither Hispanic nor democratic) and individuals who are tied to the Hired Trucks Scandal.

Is it any wonder that a significant percentage of Sixth District Democrats have insisted that they will not support Duckworth in November because of who is ramming her down their throats (thus guaranteeing her defeat in the fall)?

Anonymous,  9:42 AM  

Durbin doesn't get a pass from me. He and Obama have been hugely disappointing this year--plopping Duckworth into the 6th District race, backing the renewal of the Unaccountable Presidential Powers Act--I mean, the "USA PATRIOT Act," and doing next to nothing to hold Bush accountable for his lawbreaking in the FISA warrantless wiretapping scandal.

What good are Democrats if they behave just like Republicans?

Anonymous,  9:44 AM  

It's the later Bill, just as I said. Why are you confused all of a sudden?

Jonathan Kelley 9:54 AM  

We've heard a number of different stories out of that particular candidate about how she got into the race. Nobody recruited her. Somebody recruited her. You're acting like this is the final word on the matter. You're acting like it's impossible for Emanual and Durbin to, you know, coordinate. You're acting like Emanual didn't try to recruit a number of other different candidates. You're acting like the DCCC hasn't completely financed and managed her entire campaign.

Frankly, you're just acting.

Christine Cegelis LIVES in the district. Christine Cegelis is running for Congress because SHE wanted to, because SHE has the passion to make a difference, and people are scared of her because she's not beholden to anyone but the residents of her district.

And also? Cut out the "foreign sounding name" bit. Someone named "Cegelis" trying to scare people by the prospects of a foreign-sounding name? Wow, you're really desperate now.

Bill Baar 9:59 AM  

anon 9:44

...guess it always seems I just fell off the turnip truck.

Bill Baar 10:04 AM  

Rahm sounds a lot more ethnic then Christine...

I don't think it's an accident we hear Rahm over and over again...

no one is saying a guy named Dick forced her on the 6th.

Names have some meaning in Illinois politics. It helps to have an Irish one, sometimes not...

I don't think Rahm getting repeated over and over again an accident.

Jonathan Kelley 10:18 AM  

You didn't fall off the turnip truck, you're being what we like to call "wilfully obtuse."

Hmm, I believe it's called "baiting," what you're doing here. Not going to fall for it. My eyes are rolling so far up in my head I'm afraid I may have an aneurysm.

Now explain why Christine Cegelis' opponent has been telling at LEAST two different stories about whether she was recruited into the race or not.

Or have you not seen this from Rich Miller: http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2005/12/16/this-just-in-3/

So-Called Austin Mayor 11:10 AM  

Bill,

First, here in America, we often refer to individuals by their first names. You might note that you did so in your closing question.

Second, if you actually had any interest in testing your bizarre "foreign sounding name" theory, you could have done so easily. You could have just checked whether those of us displeased with the Hon. Rahm Emanuel's actions in the 6th District use his first name only when criticizing his 6th District meddling.

For instance, a simple check of the use of the word "Rahm" on my blog shows that I use his first name when I am happy with his actions as well as when I'm unhappy.

I hope that your absurd accusations – that 6th District residents are using the first name of the Hon. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois as part of a fiendish plot to tar the out-of-district-candidate – are just part of your faux folksiness "turnip truck" gimmick -- otherwise you may have drifted off into clinical paranoia.

In answer to your question, "Why do the Cegelis supporters slam Rahm so hard for supposedly pushing Duckworth on the 6th?" It is because the Hon. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois heads the DCCC.

The DCCC repeatedly told the Cegelis campaign that, if they met certain benchmarks, they would get behind our local candidate. And when those benchmarks were met, the DCCC changed the standards. All the while letting their big-money donors know that they were pursuing alternate, out-of-district candidates -- Duckworth was not the DCCC's first choice -- and that dried-up the Cegelis campaign fundraising. DCCC leadership then used that fundraising drought as their excuse to parachute a candidate in from outside the district.

But, if you made any effort to answer to your own question, you already knew that. I have posted that explanation for 6th Dist Dems’ resentment many times before – including a post on this site that I modestly entitled 2005's Top Story: The National Democratic Party Discovers the Illinois 6th District. Your failure to remember that, despite my scintillating prose and your apparent interest in the 6th District race, would concern me if I thought it were anything more than a feigned, rhetorically convenient, memory lapse.

In any case, you may still want to check with your physician.

Hope all is well,

– So-Called “Austin Mayor”

Bill Baar 11:21 AM  

If I heard Christine's supporters slamming Dick, Barack, and Rahm; I might feel differently.

And if our Liberal Democratic Gov could bring himself to slam this kind of statement from the leader of the Church he appointed a high ranking spokesperson from to sit on his commission...

"Is Jerusalem surrounded by armies now? These neo-cons and Zionists have manipulated Bush and the American government and our boys and girls are dying in Iraq and in Afghanistan for the cause of Israel, not for the cause of America! Israel is the tail waggin' the dog, which is America. You may not like me, and I really don't give a damn. I'm throwin' the gauntlet down today.

Maybe I would wonder less why it's only Rahm's who get's selected as a manipulator...

...it's not baiting. It's an ugly time and people out there saying ugly thinks.. sometimes subtle...

...but there are a lot of talk about manipulators out there.. and it's not coming from the right.

Anonymous,  11:32 AM  

Here come the black helicopters Bill...run for the hills!

Saying Duckworth is a Rahm pawn is not ugly in the least, you're making things up.

You're missing the point regarding Rahm's role in all this, remember, he's head of the DCCC, and has spoken quite highly of Duckworth. He's not some innocent bystander in all this as you would have us believe.

As Joe Friday would say "just the fact, m'am."

Anonymous,  11:33 AM  

Bill, if you "heard" Cegelis supporters saying anything that would imply that you actually are listening to someone other than yourself.

Duckworth's story has repeatedly changed in her public statements and those reported accounts in the Hill, the Tribune, the Sun Times and others. She wasn't recruited. She was recruited. No one recruiter her. Durbin recruited her. Emanuel recrutied her. She's not backed by the DCCC. She is backed by the DCCC. She's for CAFTA. She's against CAFTA. She for Roe. She's for Roe with resitrictions. She not for parental notification. She is for parental notification.

Forgive us for not keep her story straight for her.

Anonymous,  11:35 AM  

I think the main reason for the different views of the two is that Rahm has a long history of being a back-room manipulator,dating back to his early days as a young campaign operative, while Durbin does not.

Jonathan Kelley 12:21 PM  

Bill, please direct your worry directly to Congressman Emanuel, who features on the front page of his Web site (http://www.house.gov/emanuel/) such tidbits as:

Message From Rahm
Contact Rahm
Rahm's Legislation
Sign up to receive Rahm's Online Newsletter

Until you do so, and he changes his own site, please stop the baiting. It's really, really ugly.

(Note, Obama & Durbin prefer to say things like "About Senator Obama" and "About Senator Durbin" on their websites.)

Jonathan Kelley 12:33 PM  

Oh, and how about that dangerous race-bater Bill Baar, who in his OWN POST uses the following terminology:

"Why do the Cegelis supporters slam Rahm so hard for supposedly pushing Duckworth on the 6th? Durbin's the patron."

Why not say "Christine" "Tammy" and "Dick" there, Mr. Baar? Or "Emanuel" for, you know, consistency.

Hmm??

Jonathan Kelley 12:34 PM  

Also, I would like an apology. This sort of nonsense does NOT belong on Illinoize.

Jonathan Kelley 12:39 PM  

Remember the time, around 8:33 a.m., when some guy named "Bill Baar" used the following language:

"But why does Durbin get a pass? He called her. Or Obama or Pelosi?

Nobody slams them.

Rahm running the whole party?"

God, that person is either the biggest race-baiter in the world or a lying hypocrite who refuses to address the issue at hand: Why is Tammy Duckworth giving different answers to the same question to different people?

Looking forward to that apology!

Bill Baar 12:40 PM  

Austin said first name basis...

Rahm supported the Patriot Act.

That's one reason he's getting slammed here.

Durbin and Obama didn't.

They all support Duckworth.

But only the guy who backed up a war on terror by voting for the Patriot Act, gets singled out.

And then we get folks like Farrakhan talking about those Zionists conspiracies and Blagojevich can't seem to bring himself to get his of the spokesperson.

It's an ugly kind of stew out there.

I was a Democrat once. Not again... you wonder how much longer Emmanual, Bean, and Lipinski can last before they realize they can no longe be part of it either.

Jonathan Kelley 12:45 PM  

Bill, at 9:26 a.m. YOU are the one who accused Cegelis supporters of race-baiting. Now, instead of apologizing you are changing the subject.

How DARE you accuse Cegelis supporters of race-baiting when the ONLY example you use of this is that some people refer to Rep. Emanuel by his first name but don't do the same for Sen. Durbin or Christine Cegelis? And then YOU and the congressman in question do the EXACT SAME THING?

Changing the subject is not going to excuse what you did.

Apologize.

Jonathan Kelley 1:05 PM  

Ha ha ha. Remember that time when Bill Baar lied and said the governor couldn't bring himself to slam Farrakhan's comments? I believe it was around 11:21.

Apparently he's too lazy or incompetent to look up something like this:

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_060213735.html

"Blagojevich condemned Farrakhan's comments. "They're wrong and hateful and they're harmful," he said."

Agree or disagree with Rod's actions, don't just LIE about it, Mr. Baar. Because otherwise it seems like you're using a red herring to distract from the issue at hand:

Why is Tammy Duckworth telling one group one thing about how she got into the race, and another group something else?

Look, I know it's hard to admit when you're wrong, or when you're lying, or when you're race-baiting, but I honestly don't see why on earth a guy like you is posting on the most influential political blog in the state.

I know you hate liberals. But that doesn't excuse the lying.

Anonymous,  1:15 PM  

Well, let's apply Occam's Razor here.

There's only one nationally-known Rahm. Googling "rahm" brings up Mr. Emanuel's page as the first hit, followed by a bunch of pages from people whose last name is "Rahm."

There are many, many nationally-known Dicks. Bill Baar would be one of them, except that (1) he isn't nationally known, and (2) I capitalized the "D". A Google search for "Dick" brings up a whole bunch of sites which are thankfully clean (well, except for this one); Durbin's is way down the list at number ten.

So maybe this might have something to do with why it's "Rahm" but it's "Senator Durbin".

Anonymous,  1:21 PM  

Bill, Bill, Bill.....enough of the race baiting, you're making a joke out of yourself and are not making any sense at all. I look forward to your apology as well.

Also, just because you can blog, doesn't mean you need to, or that you need to make something up simply for the sake of blogging.

I think you need some time off.

Jonathan Kelley 1:25 PM  

Yeah. Guess what comes up first when you do Google searches of Cegelis, Obama, Durbin, Schakowsky, or Pelosi?

THOSE PEOPLE'S WEB SITES!

"Emanuel"?

http://www.thisisemanuel.com/

Bill, are you busy? Because apologies are very easy and very quick.

Bill Baar 1:30 PM  

Check out this comment on the post about the DI Editors,

Worse still---this is the same UIUC, College of Communications and Daily Illini that refused to do anything despite numerous complaints from members of the Jewish community.

During at least 2 years the DI published a columnist who wrote and plagerized the middle east propaganda of anti-semetic, annihilate Israel, hate the US propaganda. She was forced to admit only one instance of plagerism. Never mind her anti-semitism.

The U of I College of Communications hired her for NPR radio, and she interned at NPR in Chicago. Maybe she's still around.


I am a little phobic. Not about Homosexuals or Black Helicopters..

..but about Liberals strangley unable to speak out against Islamic extremists and quick to single out and slam politicians who supported the patriot act as being parts of a machine

Have at me... I'm done here.

Jonathan Kelley 1:33 PM  

Right.

But why do you LIE?

Anonymous,  1:41 PM  

So the battle is lost and Bill runs away...way to stand by your thoughts.

Anonymous,  1:42 PM  

Well first of all, we would need to know what the columnist to whom you're referring really said. I for one am not about to take your word that it was anti-semitic. You aren't exactly a reliable unbiased source.

Secondly, there's a difference between a private citizen expressing an opinion, and elected representatives voting on legislation. The latter are supposed to be under some obligation to represent their constituents; the former are not. Giving police state-level powers to the executive branch has slightly more effect on my life than somebody spouting off alleged garbage in a publication, so I tend to be a little more concerned about it.

Jonathan Kelley 1:59 PM  

Okay, how about this:
"I, xyz, still think that Democrats and liberals are traitors to this country and have uniformly bad ideas on everything. However, in this one small instance, I apologize to Cegelis supporters for accusing them of race-baiting when I not only had no real justification for what I suggested, but actually had participated in the exact same activity I said marked them as race-baiters. Also, I am very busy so I didn't realize the Governor had in fact slammed Farrakhan's comments. My bad! To reiterate, Democrats/liberals stink. Love, xyz."

Okay. Just copy & paste, and replace "xyz" with "Bill Baar" and I think we'll be fine. (Oh, we know your tricks so we'll be on the look out for an "I'm sorry that Democrats/liberals stink" version.... No turnip trucks here!)

Bill Baar 2:01 PM  

not run away... I took some licks further down for not giving folks the last word... so you all have it...

...just want that understood.

Follow the link to the commenter and ask about the columnist.

There is plenty of left-wing anti-semitism about. Look at some of the comments on my blog on the Blagojevich's anti Discrimination Commission.

A classic column on it too, is Nick Cohen's column on Anti-Semitism.

He ends with this comment,

It’s not that the left as a whole is anti-Semitic, although there are racists who need confronting. Rather, it has been maddened by the direction history has taken. Deracinated and demoralised, its partisans aren’t thinking hard enough about where they came from or - and more pertinently - where they are going.

Blagojevich wasn't thinking hard at all when he refused to dump Sister Muhammed.

Those inclined to single out Rahm as the conspirator behind Duckworth aren't thinking much at all either.

You have the last word, but do know I'm not running.

Jonathan Kelley 2:20 PM  

I want you to have the last word here, Bill. I want that word to be "apologize."

Your factless innuendo is disgusting. I would say it's beneath you but I don't know you and the depths to which you're capable of going in support of your larger goals (whatever they may be).

Your lie about the Governor sits uncorrected.

Your changing of the point? Pathetic.

I'm sensing that the apology is not quickly forthcoming. How about admitting that your first name/last name example was an inappropriate one, given that you engaged in the exact same behavior many times already today? I'm not going to settle for that, but it would be a nice start. Also, correct your lie about the Governor, just out of respect for the medium of blogging.

Anonymous,  2:30 PM  

Bill:

I'm not interested in second-hand descriptions of what was said. Post a link to the actual text of one of the columns, or quote some of it here.

And being called unthinking by you is like being called a scumbag by Dick Cheney. Not something I can take very seriously, I'm afraid.

Anonymous,  2:41 PM  

Bill continues to imply that Rahm has been dragged into this.

Quite franly Bill.....you are pointing out his religion, why is that?

You have taken a benign topic and turned it into something ugly, sweet dreams.

Jonathan Kelley 2:55 PM  

Okay, you won't correct the lie. You won't apologize, you won't even admit that your SOLITARY example of race-baiting was silly considering you did the same thing.

How about admitting that it's conceivably wrong to accuse people of race-baiting without having anything to back it up, particularly when one engages in the same behavior that one points to as race-baiting when trying to back up ones' spurious accusations? This way, you don't have to admit that you're full of it but you can at least acknowledge that you're conceivably full of it.

Anonymous,  3:06 PM  

But Bill, I just don't understand what your comments have to do with Duckworth having had multiple stories about how she entered the race.

Did she decide to run in July, at the state of the union, in October, or in November? Did she decide on her own to run? Was she recruited by Rahm to run? Was she recrutied by Durbin to run? Is the DCCC involved? Is the DCCC not involved? Is Rahm as the head of the DCCC pushing this possible involvement?

Which is it? All have been reported in major newspapers or political journals. Why is there no consistent story on her entry to the race.

Or on how she'd vote on abortion. Or CAFTA. Or universal healthcare...

ArchPundit 3:32 PM  

This is all so strange so let me get this straight....


When I was on a conference call with Rahm and he asked that I call him Rahm, he was being anti-semitic? I'm also pretty sure he'd be happy to take credit for Duckworth since he's been working on it for so blaming him if you find it to be a bad idea isn't that outrageous. He does give credit to Durbin and Obama, but he was also working on it for months.

And, Bill, if you want to play the why didn't you get upset game, why aren't you blasting Hastert for the comment about Rahm accumulating wealth as an investment banker? Rahm was actually upset about that one. Since you have decided you are the determiner of all things ethnic, I'm interested why you didn't rant about that? I'm sure the references to Rahm aren't anti-semitic since that's how he asks to be addressed, but I'm also pretty sure Hastert was just being dumb. However, if you are going to be so sensitive about the plight of Jews (who vote heavily Democratic), I'd expect you to be screaming about Hastert.

Bill Baar 3:51 PM  

C'mon then,,, no shots about me always trying to have the final word.

Sure, multiple versions of who recruited her for the race.

But not multiple versions of who to accuse.

It's always Rahm.

Durbin and Obama both endorse her. Obama does ads for her.

But it's always Rahm pulling her strings.

Makes me wonder what some folks problem is with Rahm.

He voted for the patriot act?

Or then maybe there is the spokesperson for the Minister on Blagojevich's commission who leaves no doubts who he thinks manipulates things.

Pat Quinn had the guts to tell Blagojevich what to do. I haven't heard Cegelis, Scott, or Duckworth agree with Quinn either. And that its not a National issue irrelvant to this kind of hate.

So it just makes me wonder what's gone wrong, when Rahm gets singled out as manipulator and why?

The Daley Machine is long dead...

...and after the Sister Muhammed fiasco, I'm beginning to wonder what machine some Democrats have in mind; that's supposedly pulling strings and maybe hoodwinking the folks in the 6th with all of the money.

Like these folks can't sort out the issues and candidates for themselves.

If apoligies are due, there to Rahm for making folks think he runs things alone, and Obama and Durbin just bumps on the log.

Jonathan Kelley 4:06 PM  

Bill Baar: You keep using the word "Rahm." You allege that using the word "Rahm" is anti-Semetic. Are you not accusing yourself of anti-Semitism?

Please do have the last word, Bill Baar. But don't let that word be "log." Have that word be "apologize," as in "I apologize" or "apology" as in "please accept my apology." It is disgraceful to accuse people of anti-Semitism without having anything to back it up.

And then, even though you had the best of intentions of saving the world from the evils of liberalism, admit that you were wrong to say the Governor never slammed Farrakhan's words.

But I'm very thankful you got back to the question of IL-06. Of course people in the district can make their own decisions. They are certainly deciding NOT to give money to the DCCC candidate at a remarkable rate. The main concern is whether a phone-in candidacy of robocalls, mailers, hired guns, and no-shows at various appearances (not to mention inconsistencies in public statements) will be able to overcome an indigenous, broadly funded, grassroots campaign just because one person is able to be more visible more frequently than the other.

Obviously it's the job of the media to help correct that disparity. Illinoize is one such media outlet. However, instead of spending its time sticking to facts, some people at Illinoize would rather cast dark allegations. Which does not advance the goal of democracy one iota.

Just freakin' apologize, Bill Baar, and let's be through with it.

Bill Baar 4:24 PM  

The allegation is singling out Rahm as the manipulator is anti-semitic.

His name gets singled out...

..not Durbin, not Obama.

Couple that with a guy saying Jews caused a war.

--and Blagojevich waffling about dumping Sister Muhammed.

--and an election where the War is the huge issue.

I connected the dots.

I think they're being put out there for people to connect. I'm startled how many Liberal folks suddenly let slip thoughts much like Farrahkans.

Bill Baar 4:26 PM  

Pres,

We agree!

I do look for the sinister!

And sadly, in Illinois it's so damn easy to find!

Please now, someone close out the thread so I don't have the last word!

ArchPundit 4:26 PM  

So Bill, by your standard, what about Hastert?

What about William Donahue?

C'mon Bill, why aren't you speaking out about them? You want to challenge others, challenge yourself.

Most importantly, what you hear isn't a concern, it's what people say. You have very selective hearing so it's no surprise you never hear anyone you dislike say anything.

Bill Baar 4:28 PM  

...and...sorry... Liberal European American folks who talk like Farrahkan... but not as well.

...which makes me wonder why African Americans somehow get saddled with him.

...that goes to my sinister speculation on which African Americans the media promotes as African American spokesperson..

..now, someone, close it.

Jonathan Kelley 4:35 PM  

Okay, I will have the last word:

"Apologize."

Bill Baar 4:37 PM  

Arch, your point on Hastert is well taken...

I admit, the folks on my mind here are fellow bloggers.

The Sister Muhammed stuff just opened it all up for me.

Go to Rich Miller's first post about her getting on the commission. I said fine with me. If she says something wacky, get rid of her. I really, in all my naivete, though Blago would.

And damn, she goes ahead, and can't bring herself to denouce really appalling stuff, and Blago, can't bring himself to get rid of her.

I read fellow Unitarian Universalist blogs and you find these comments on Jewish neo cons, and the war in Iraq is on behalf of Isreal. One guy had a sympol of a Talith as the force behind the War and you could click on it as see an Isreali flag.

Very bad stuff, and then I see everyone piling on Rahm Emmanual...

...heck Duckworth is a Democrat's dream candidate for any Democrat interested in winning elections. Durbin, Obama, any Democrat who wants to win sees that...

..but it's only Rahm singled out.

I wouldn't call it, except there is all this other stuff going on in the background.

Maybe it's subliminal, not deliberate... but there is a real demon still out there and we heard it loud and clear a few weeks in Illinois.

Jonathan Kelley 4:46 PM  

Rahm.

Is.

Head.

Of.

The.

D.

Triple.

C.

Your allegations are baseless, your connections false, your lies exposed. Now you are saying that to oppose the war at all is to be anti-Semetic! This has got to stop. The hole you're digging is out of control.

Anonymous,  8:12 PM  

Bill, does wearing your tin foil hat mess up your reception on the TV? Just curious. How about the fillings in your teeth, any messages being beamed in through those?

Anonymous,  8:18 PM  

Bill, this is funny:

"But I'm very thankful you got back to the question of IL-06. Of course people in the district can make their own decisions. They are certainly deciding NOT to give money to the DCCC candidate at a remarkable rate."

Yes, a whole 8 residents of the district gave a whopping $4,300!

Uh, Bill, that's 1.5% of her total raised.

Now that's district support!

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