The Republican Thread

[NorthSideSox72]

I heard this morning that Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan actually has a 'challenger' in his district, a Republican with the name of John Patrick Ryan. But the problem is that noone in the Illinois Republican Party knows who that is, and he hasn't established a campaign office or held any fundraisers or events. Could he be a fake candidate slated to run so that Madigan doesn't really have to campaign? His district is pretty safe for him, so unless some phenom came out of the woodwork, he wouldn't have anythign to worry about, so wonder what is going on there. Oh, GOP State Chair Pat Brady is holding a fundraiser for him so hopefully he can find out!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/55166505/Patri...nRyanFundraiser

Isn't John Patrick Ryan the full name of the main character in the Clancy novels?

 

[EvilMonkey]

Isn't John Patrick Ryan the full name of the main character in the Clancy novels?

I think so, and of course, just about every Judge in cook county seems to have a similar name as well.

[StrangeSox]

I heard this morning that Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan actually has a 'challenger' in his district, a Republican with the name of John Patrick Ryan. But the problem is that noone in the Illinois Republican Party knows who that is, and he hasn't established a campaign office or held any fundraisers or events. Could he be a fake candidate slated to run so that Madigan doesn't really have to campaign? His district is pretty safe for him, so unless some phenom came out of the woodwork, he wouldn't have anythign to worry about, so wonder what is going on there. Oh, GOP State Chair Pat Brady is holding a fundraiser for him so hopefully he can find out!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/55166505/Patri...nRyanFundraiser

 

I don't follow. What good does a fake candidate do for Madigan vs. no candidate?

 

[EvilMonkey]

I don't follow. What good does a fake candidate do for Madigan vs. no candidate?

I am not sure wither, but nobody in the Illinois Republican party knows who this guy is or has ever seen him. All i can think of is that he is keeping any real challengers off the ballot should someone decide to try for it?

[NorthSideSox72]

I am not sure wither, but nobody in the Illinois Republican party knows who this guy is or has ever seen him. All i can think of is that he is keeping any real challengers off the ballot should someone decide to try for it?

More likely, the GOP didn't farm out looking for a candidate, because, what's the point? But some guy, a Republican apparently, decided on his own to take a shot. So here he is.

 

[Controlled Chaos]

More likely, the GOP didn't farm out looking for a candidate, because, what's the point? But some guy, a Republican apparently, decided on his own to take a shot. So here he is.

John Kass wrote a good article on this yesterday.

 

"Cynical me. I wondered if Ryan was a Madigan plant, an easy setup, taking space on the ballot so the warlord of Madiganistan wouldn't have a Latino opponent in the increasingly Hispanic district on the Southwest Side."

 

"Hoping to meet with the elusive Patrick John Ryan myself, I got up before dawn and drove to the 4300 block of West 78th Street, where he lives with his parents, according to state records. A Democratic pol warned me that my search would be futile. "Now that you're looking for this Ryan kid, Mike will have him buried in some office and you'll never see him," he said. Now, that's cynical. I figured the neighborhood would be festooned with "Vote for Ryan!" signs, maybe even some banners declaring: "P.J. in the House!" But there were no signs on his block. Not even in front of his own home. Not one measly little sign."

 

"We said our goodbyes, and I didn't even mention the lack of lawn signs. But I did tell them I planned to talk to the neighbors. "He's a wonderful young man, very kind, nice to everybody," said neighbor Mary Jo Bardan, who owns her own business. "His mom and dad are great. We call his dad the mayor of the block. He organizes all the block parties." And the son? "P.J. went to St. Rita," Bardan said. "And he started working for the city when he got out of high school." So what do you think of him challenging Boss Madigan in the November election? "What?" she asked. "He's running? Running for what?"

[NorthSideSox72]

John Kass wrote a good article on this yesterday.

 

"Cynical me. I wondered if Ryan was a Madigan plant, an easy setup, taking space on the ballot so the warlord of Madiganistan wouldn't have a Latino opponent in the increasingly Hispanic district on the Southwest Side."

 

"Hoping to meet with the elusive Patrick John Ryan myself, I got up before dawn and drove to the 4300 block of West 78th Street, where he lives with his parents, according to state records. A Democratic pol warned me that my search would be futile. "Now that you're looking for this Ryan kid, Mike will have him buried in some office and you'll never see him," he said. Now, that's cynical. I figured the neighborhood would be festooned with "Vote for Ryan!" signs, maybe even some banners declaring: "P.J. in the House!" But there were no signs on his block. Not even in front of his own home. Not one measly little sign."

 

"We said our goodbyes, and I didn't even mention the lack of lawn signs. But I did tell them I planned to talk to the neighbors. "He's a wonderful young man, very kind, nice to everybody," said neighbor Mary Jo Bardan, who owns her own business. "His mom and dad are great. We call his dad the mayor of the block. He organizes all the block parties." And the son? "P.J. went to St. Rita," Bardan said. "And he started working for the city when he got out of high school." So what do you think of him challenging Boss Madigan in the November election? "What?" she asked. "He's running? Running for what?"

 

1. Kass has been on a singular crusade - Daley - for quite some time. Now with Daley retiring, he's looking for new targets. I'd be cautious what you take from his writing.

 

2. Whether or not a Latino candidate, or anyone else, was nominated by the GOP, doesn't really matter. And if it did, the GOP would make sure to expose some fake candidate anyway. There is no motivation on Madigan's part to do this, so, why the ruse? Conspiracy theories are only believable if the conspirators actually get something out of the conspiracy. Madigan gains nothing from this, and could lose something, so it makes no sense.

 

 

[Controlled Chaos]

1. Kass has been on a singular crusade - Daley - for quite some time. Now with Daley retiring, he's looking for new targets. I'd be cautious what you take from his writing.

 

2. Whether or not a Latino candidate, or anyone else, was nominated by the GOP, doesn't really matter. And if it did, the GOP would make sure to expose some fake candidate anyway. There is no motivation on Madigan's part to do this, so, why the ruse? Conspiracy theories are only believable if the conspirators actually get something out of the conspiracy. Madigan gains nothing from this, and could lose something, so it makes no sense.

You can say what you want about Kass. You can say it doesn't matter if the GOP didn't nominate anyone. You can also say it makes no sense. I don't have the answers...I don't follow the s*** all that much. But if you had a neighbor, running for state rep...you would know. If you were running for state rep...you would make it known. Your parents would be proud and spouting off your talking points. Your face would be out there. Your credentials. If he started working for the city straight out of H.S., I'm assuming he didn't go to college. Is he even fit to run for office?

 

I don't really know the reason for a plant, maybe just to waste money? I just know this stinks to high heaven and whether it came from Kass or Mary Mitchell, it's typical Chicago politics.

 

Same kind of stuff that happened to my buddy when they put a plant in the primary to get him to spend his money. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75895

It even discusses in the article linked how "In 2002, McCarthy faced a Republican named Joel Herrick who also didn't lift a finger to campaign. In fact, he avoided publicity. What does that tell you?" Byplacing someone on the ballot, the Democrats dissuade credible Republicans from jumping into the race. It's legal, of course, but dishonest. Unethical. Incumbents shouldn't need these silly training wheels. Let them face voters on their own.

 

 

By the way, if you live in the 37th district, please consider my friend Jeff. http://jeffjunkas.com/

 

[NorthSideSox72]

You can say what you want about Kass. You can say it doesn't matter if the GOP didn't nominate anyone. You can also say it makes no sense. I don't have the answers...I don't follow the s*** all that much. But if you had a neighbor, running for state rep...you would know. If you were running for state rep...you would make it known. Your parents would be proud and spouting off your talking points. Your face would be out there. Your credentials. If he started working for the city straight out of H.S., I'm assuming he didn't go to college. Is he even fit to run for office?

 

I don't really know the reason for a plant, maybe just to waste money? I just know this stinks to high heaven and whether it came from Kass or Mary Mitchell, it's typical Chicago politics.

 

Same kind of stuff that happened to my buddy when they put a plant in the primary to get him to spend his money. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75895

It even discusses in the article linked how "In 2002, McCarthy faced a Republican named Joel Herrick who also didn't lift a finger to campaign. In fact, he avoided publicity. What does that tell you?" Byplacing someone on the ballot, the Democrats dissuade credible Republicans from jumping into the race. It's legal, of course, but dishonest. Unethical. Incumbents shouldn't need these silly training wheels. Let them face voters on their own.

 

 

By the way, if you live in the 37th district, please consider my friend Jeff. http://jeffjunkas.com/

I agree it seems odd, no doubt. And I am not at all saying that it couldn't or wouldn't happen. What I am saying is, there is no motive in this case. The only person who'd have to spend more money is Madigan. The GOP isn't going to dump a bunch of money there, unless they had a candidate that had any kind of real shot at it.

[southsider2k5]

I agree it seems odd, no doubt. And I am not at all saying that it couldn't or wouldn't happen. What I am saying is, there is no motive in this case. The only person who'd have to spend more money is Madigan. The GOP isn't going to dump a bunch of money there, unless they had a candidate that had any kind of real shot at it.

 

Being in a multiple person race against an incumbent at this very moment myself, the logic is quite simple. First of all, if you are a strong incumbent, you are going to have a massive monetary and name advantage over a challenger. The worst possible scenario in that sort of situation is to have multiple challengers. A person who is in office is pretty much guaranteed a certain level of support. The more you can delude the rest of the pool, the easier it is for even a not popular incumbent to win. In a primary sort of situation, a plant from the opposite party can not only delude the potential challengers pool, but it can also force them to spend resources they don't have. If that plant wins, they do as they were supposed to and not become a challenge to the person they are "supporting".

 

I have never met a candidate that hid from cameras. I don't know what this guys status is, but the fact he is hiding from the biggest columnist in the City of Chicago really makes me wonder. If you really wanted to take down Michael Madigan, why in the hell wouldn't you utilize the #1 person in the state who has been fighting him publicly for years? I'd love to hear another scenario that makes better sense.

[NorthSideSox72]

Being in a multiple person race against an incumbent at this very moment myself, the logic is quite simple. First of all, if you are a strong incumbent, you are going to have a massive monetary and name advantage over a challenger. The worst possible scenario in that sort of situation is to have multiple challengers. A person who is in office is pretty much guaranteed a certain level of support. The more you can delude the rest of the pool, the easier it is for even a not popular incumbent to win. In a primary sort of situation, a plant from the opposite party can not only delude the potential challengers pool, but it can also force them to spend resources they don't have. If that plant wins, they do as they were supposed to and not become a challenge to the person they are "supporting".

 

I have never met a candidate that hid from cameras. I don't know what this guys status is, but the fact he is hiding from the biggest columnist in the City of Chicago really makes me wonder. If you really wanted to take down Michael Madigan, why in the hell wouldn't you utilize the #1 person in the state who has been fighting him publicly for years? I'd love to hear another scenario that makes better sense.

There is still a flaw in the motive. Think this through. There are two scenarios with the GOP side of that race. Either the GOP actually wants to take a real shot with a real candidate, or they have decided its not worth the resources. If the former is true, then this plant's presence is useless, he won't have a chance anyway, so the big candidate does nothing different. If the latter is true, then Madigan could care less who they nominate. Either way, there is no reason for him to be there. It does absolutely nothing to benefit Madigan in either scenario.

 

Furthermore, planting a candidate across party lines is beyond stupid, if you are creating a fake. Because that would only matter if the GOP actually cared about the race, and if they did, the fake would be found out. There is no gain in this at all, and a lot to lose.

 

And again, I am not saying candidates aren't sometimes planted - both by opposing party AND same party for various reasons. But I see no reason for the GOP or the Dems, in this case, to do it, because there is no gain in either scenario.

 

[Rex Kickass]

Furthermore, planting a candidate across party lines is beyond stupid, if you are creating a fake. Because that would only matter if the GOP actually cared about the race, and if they did, the fake would be found out. There is no gain in this at all, and a lot to lose.

 

And again, I am not saying candidates aren't sometimes planted - both by opposing party AND same party for various reasons. But I see no reason for the GOP or the Dems, in this case, to do it, because there is no gain in either scenario.

 

Ask Jon Corzine how well funding a third party opponent in your own race works out for you.

[Controlled Chaos]

So are you arguing that it isn't a plant or that it just doesn't make sense to you?

 

After reading a little it looks like the fundraiser is being done to bust Madigan.

 

The Law states: Any individual, trust, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or any other organization or group of persons which receives or spends more than $3,000 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate or question of public policy, meets the definition of a political committee and must comply with all provisions of the Illinois Campaign Financing Act, including the filing of campaign disclosure reports.

 

If the Illinois GOP can raise $3000, a campaign committee has to be formed and they need to file appropriate campaign disclosure reports. I think this will force Mr Ryan out of hiding or at least get more information out.

[NorthSideSox72]

So are you arguing that it isn't a plant or that it just doesn't make sense to you?

 

After reading a little it looks like the fundraiser is being done to bust Madigan.

 

The Law states: Any individual, trust, partnership, committee, association, corporation, or any other organization or group of persons which receives or spends more than $3,000 on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate or question of public policy, meets the definition of a political committee and must comply with all provisions of the Illinois Campaign Financing Act, including the filing of campaign disclosure reports.

 

If the Illinois GOP can raise $3000, a campaign committee has to be formed and they need to file appropriate campaign disclosure reports. I think this will force Mr Ryan out of hiding or at least get more information out.

I'm saying I don't know if its a plant or not, but that from Madigan's perspective, doing that makes no sense. There's a lot to lose and nothing to gain.

 

There are other possibilities as well, beyond just "he's a Madigan plant" or "he's not a plant at all". Could be some other democrat or party official, could be a GOP thing internal to their own party, could be someone's idea of a joke on this guy... lots of other possibilities.

 

[Cknolls]

I cannot remember an election year with worse political advertising. From the Fiorina sheep ad to Grayson lying about Webster. And in Illinois, please. Quinn is running an add ripping Brady for not paying income taxes last year, and yet his fellow ticket mate running for Senate did not pay taxes for 2009. Halvorson running ads saying Kinzinger wants to abolish SS. Unless he is out of his mind, my guess is his plan, if he even has a plan, does not affect current SS recipients. So all the seniors in the ad saying "young man you have no idea". GET A CLUE! And that is why Halvorson will go down.

[Cknolls]

Pathetic!

 

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Medal-of-Honor-re...-104032604.html

 

[EvilMonkey]

Pathetic!

 

http://www.ktvb.com/news/Medal-of-Honor-re...-104032604.html

Even more pathetic was the One Nation rally thinking they could come even close to what Beck got for his. Even with Unions bussing people in, they couldn't even come close.

[Balta1701]

Even more pathetic was the One Nation rally thinking they could come even close to what Beck got for his. Even with Unions bussing people in, they couldn't even come close.

Is there an aerial estimate like there was for Beck's celebrating Beck rally?

[Rex Kickass]

Is there an aerial estimate like there was for Beck's celebrating Beck rally?

 

Haven't seen one. From what I've heard it was smaller, but not that much smaller.

[EvilMonkey]

Haven't seen one. From what I've heard it was smaller, but not that much smaller.

Take it for what its worth, sine it is from a conservative blog I am sure you will dismiss it outright, but just look at the two pics for comparison. It wasn't even close. if it was, you know it would be trumpeted all over MSNBC, etc as a victory for liberal causes everywhere, they sure put Glen Beck in his place, etc.

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/...e-nation-rally/

 

 

I found the same pic here as well, just for you.

http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/1...149199_huge.jpg

Edited October 4, 2010 by Alpha Dog

[EvilMonkey]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_AoZsp4_xw...player_embedded

 

Kids admit that they getting class credit to go to the One Nation rally. I guess they had to bribe some people to go. Or give them free bus rides vie the SEIU.

[mr_genius]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_AoZsp4_xw...player_embedded

 

Kids admit that they getting class credit to go to the One Nation rally. I guess they had to bribe some people to go. Or give them free bus rides vie the SEIU.

 

disgraceful

[Cknolls]

Jim Marshall (D) GA. wants to pull an Obama....Ok OK, the GA Democratic Party wants to do to Austin Scott what the Dems in Illinois did to Ryan. He/They want a judge to unseal his/their opponents divorce records. The judge set a hearing one week before the election....and then recused herself because she previously donated to his campaign and her husband donated to his campaign this year. Keep up the good work ....Just looking out for his constituents I'm sure....Desparation knows no bounds. Scott was divorced in 2001, and his records were sealed in 2004. Why wait six years. Scott has been an elected offoicial for 14 years.

 

 

 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=...5iYzNo8Zjx2Xx8w

 

[EvilMonkey]

Jim Marshall (D) GA. wants to pull an Obama....Ok OK, the GA Democratic Party wants to do to Austin Scott what the Dems in Illinois did to Ryan. He/They want a judge to unseal his/their opponents divorce records. The judge set a hearing one week before the election....and then recused herself because she previously donated to his campaign and her husband donated to his campaign this year. Keep up the good work ....Just looking out for his constituents I'm sure....Desparation knows no bounds. Scott was divorced in 2001, and his records were sealed in 2004. Why wait six years. Scott has been an elected offoicial for 14 years.

 

 

 

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=...5iYzNo8Zjx2Xx8w

Because they can't win on the issues. Even when they have facts, they are so unconfident in those facts that they exagerate them to try and make their point even more and then end up looking foolish.

[bigruss]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_AoZsp4_xw...player_embedded

 

Kids admit that they getting class credit to go to the One Nation rally. I guess they had to bribe some people to go. Or give them free bus rides vie the SEIU.

Um..what? I didn't hear anything about class hours, I heard they were getting volunteer hours for Key Club, which is a national club focused on volunteering. And also, most of the those kids said that they were interested in being there.