Topinka and Oberweis trade jabs

Chicago Tribune ^ | March 8, 2006 | Rick Pearson and John Chase

[metalmanx2j]

Treasurer spurns rival's request for apology in ad dispute

By Rick Pearson and John Chase, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporter John McCormick contributed to this report Published March 8, 2006

SPRINGFIELD -- With the Republican primary race for governor taking an aggressive turn, Jim Oberweis asked Judy Baar Topinka to apologize Tuesday for criticizing his TV attack ads while Topinka said he was trying to "bully" her because she is a woman.

The crossfire came during and after the third broadcast debate among the four major GOP contenders in the primary election. Reflecting the growing personal nature of the race, Topinka turned away as the hourlong broadcast ended and rebuffed an offer from Oberweis to shake his hand.

The debate, sponsored by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and broadcast by ABC stations in Springfield and Champaign, was ostensibly to focus on business issues. It came with only two weeks to go in a primary campaign that has, until recently, done little to attract voters' attention.

But as with previous encounters featuring Oberweis, Topinka, state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington and Chicago businessman Ron Gidwitz, the disputes surfaced largely after the formal debate had ended.

Topinka contended that Oberweis' attacks on her show he "may have some difficulties dealing with women." Oberweis countered that Topinka was again "caught not telling the truth."

Seeking a middle ground among voters, Brady warned of the damage caused to the eventual GOP nominee by too much personal sniping in the primary contest.

"If we're going to beat [Democratic Gov.] Rod Blagojevich, we've got to rebuild the strongest Republican Party we can in Illinois and that means uniting. Unfortunately, some of the other candidates are dividing the party," said Brady, who portrayed himself during the debate as "above the fray."

[austinaero]

I don't know Oberweis from Adam, but his dairy turns out some great ice cream!

[MplsSteve]

I've never had their ice cream - but you can get their milk up here in Mpls-St Paul. Very tasty. You can taste the difference.

[MplsSteve]

What we're seeing here is another typical Illinois GOP primary.

I'm afraid the bad blood that we're seeing here may carry over into the general election.

[Central IL Voter]

Yes, Mpls, I think that will happen too. That's why I think Brady's trying to get these guys to wake up and smell the coffee.

Listened to part of the Chicago debate tonight on the ABC News Channel 7 website and Looserweis calmed down in Chicago. Why b/c he knows that kind of crap doesn't play well upstate. And he found out last night it doesn't play well downstate either.

Like Brady has been saying (paraphrased) - focus on the issues and not personal attacks on each other. This is for the birds.

[Lurker]

Topinka is a fraud, Brady doesn't have a prayer.

Got Guv?

L

[TitansAFC]

You're not that naive, surely?

You know that the unions packed that hall, do you not? The unions which endorsed Blago last time are full force behind Judy. Their trucks even have her signs posted statewide!

Of course anyone challenging her will be loudly booed; that the friggin' POINT of why they show up!

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I will vote for a downstater over a Chicagoan (Topinka) any day of the year.

[Central IL Voter]

No I don't have that kind of Guv and never will. Looserweiss will, if he would happen to get the nomination, loose big like Alan Keyes did in that Obama race.

I didn't like it but it's the truth. I wouldn't be surprised that some dems come over and vote for Looserweiss just so he'll loose big in the general.

Looserweiss is a big embarassment. I agree about Judy not being the best candidate.

But Brady has a prayer and prayers of many other of his supporters.

[Central IL Voter]

You're dreaming right? The reason there were boos in the audience is because Looserweis was touting charges that are from a shaky source. His ads are lies and the newspaper headlines aren't true. Real genius there.

Now as for whether the Springfield debate was unions or not, that I don't know. It was a Chamber of Commerce event where only Chamber members could get in - or get someone to get a ticket to get in.

There are a LOT of us people in the downstate area who are AGAINST what Looserweis is doing and making the party look dumb. So is Gidwitz but he can barely talk when on stage. That man does scare me.

Brady is the only intelligent choice.

[TitansAFC]

---"Brady is the only intelligent choice."---

Wrong. He is the most Conservative choice. He is not the INTELLIGENT choice because voting for him instead of the next most Conservative candidate is likely to ensure that the most liberal candidate possible winds up representing the GOP in the November election.

Then we have a choice: Vote Blagojevich for four more years of liberal activism, or vote Topinka to help ensure a minimum of eight more years of liberal activism, as in 2010 we'll have to choose between her and a liberal Democrat again.

I am usually a person who agrees with supporting ONLY the most Conservative candidate. In most cases, it's because the alternative, though not my favorite choice, is still moderately acceptable for the job (voting, say, Alan Keyes instead of George W. Bush in 2000, for example). The vote is a principled vote, and you can afford to make it because the alternative isn't all that bad. In this case, the likely winner is Topinka, which makes that kind of a decision suicidal. So there's simply no WAY I can vote Brady. Were there no Judy Topinka in the race, it would be an ENTIRELY different story. We are in REAL danger, though, of being in a lose/lose situation for at least the next 4-8 years. And Brady really, really IS in danger of letting his ambition devastate the state he has represented so well for twelve years.

As far as the unions go, WLS even said that the state worker's union had packed the audience, a union that is very pro-Topinka. Did Oberweis fumble the accusation? Yes, ABSOLUTELY. Just as Brady has repeatedly fumbled the illegal immigration issue. But make no mistake about it, you don't hear boos at a Republican debate from a Republican audience, you hear silence for other candidates and applause for chosen candidates. The unions have EVERY interest in shouting down every accusation against Topinka. If you watched the debate, you'll notice they booed Gidwitz for challenging Topinka, too, though not nearly as loudly.

All I'm saying is, if what looks like it's going to happen does happen, Brady is going to be a local representative for the rest of his life. And he's going to be remembered as the Ralph Nader of the 2006 IL GOP elections.

My opinion? He should withdraw, endorse Oberweis, and become a Conservative martyr for the cause. Tell me he wouldn't immediately become the front-runner for the 2008 U.S. Senate race! He'd be a HERO in this state, and could face a newly weakened Dick Durbin and all of his Nazi-U.S.-Troops comments.

As far as Oberweis' ads being false, I get the Brady material, and it is DELIBERATELY misleading. He constantly infers that he's the candidate endorse by the right-to-life groups and socially Conservative organizations, but Oberweis has those endorsements, too. Upon reading my Brady literature, I actually had to check with some organizations to make sure I had remembered correctly and Oberweis was also endorsed. The wording is such that it is meant to infer Brady got those endorsements alone, without actually printing the fallacy.

I do not know where you think this magic 30% is going to materialize from. You can obviously see for yourself even here at Free Republic that Conservatives aren't jumping off the other candidates' bandwagons to join the Brady movement. Where do you think the enormous avalanche of invisible voters is going to come from? Not in the IL political blogs, not at Free Republic, and certainly not in all the radio show call-ins when they talk about the debates. So where is this groundswell going to come from, that can overcome Topinka's gigantic margin over Brady AND the crossover vote from the unpolled union folks, such as the Concrete, Construction, and Trucker's unions which have all endorsed Topinka to spite Blagojevch?

Even if Brady has done the unlikely, and FINALLY found a way to break the single-digit mark, is he really going to triple his numbers in the final two weeks?

[Central IL Voter]

Ya know. The best thing I can say to you is the 21st will show you what will happen.

It's not smart to say what Looser has said. Many republicans, including myself, who supported Oberweiss in the past just can't seem to stomach him now.

And it's people who are beholden to the Roser crowd that will be surprised on the 22nd.

Also, do you have any recent polls about where the candiates are? That I would like to see.

[TitansAFC]

I've been trying to get a link to the CBS News poll that was taken, but they are apparently still fixing the "adjusted" numbers. I'm not sure EXACTLY what that means, but I know its for better statistics or something.

I'll post it as soon as they do. Check their local website, too, if you'd like - maybe you'll get the info first.

All I can tell you is that they called it "still a two-person race," but I don't have their numbers to know what that means in context. The Tribune will apparently be running one in the next couple of days, too, but I have absolutely no idea what that one will say. I only know of the CBS one because of the "two person race" comment they made when first mentioning they had taken a poll.

I would not be surprised if the numbers are posted in the next 24 hours. If they are, I'll send you (and others) a post immediately. Until then, we're all just waiting and hoping......

Frankly, right now, I'm just hoping to see that SOMEBODY can dethrone Topinka......PLEASE!!!!!!!

[Central IL Voter]

Absolutely yes. Did you see that Gidwitz did a noon or something like that press-conference? I haven't read anything too much from it but it's on the www.capitalfaxblog.com website.

I don't like Gidwitz that much either. Something about him bothers me. Along the same lines as Andy Martin. He either speaks too slow for his head or he can't articulate well.

I almost can see the brain working 10xs faster than his mouth. lol

I'm hoping that we can have a good candidate. Not Topinka or Gidwitz and DEFINTELY not Martin (shivers). While I don't like Oberweis I could (maybe) vote for him. I truly like Brady the best. I believe he would try to do the best for the state.

Thanks for the info on the polls. It would help to know where everyone is. I know Judy has gone down. I couldn't see her taking these hits and not being beat. Hopefully as people find out about her, they can not vote for her and Gidwitz is about to implode himself (okay, I hope). We'll see.

Take care and have a good weekend.

[Central IL Voter]

sorry the website is: http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/

[Central IL Voter]

Also, that meant vote for Oberweiss in the general election. Sorry didn't mean the primary.

[TitansAFC]

Agreed on Gidwitz. The dude looks awkward up there - for crying out loud, Ron, GET A COACH! Plus, it seems hard to get a straight answer from him sometimes - that's never a good sign for a guy already running as a moderate. He just doesn't look like he belongs.

Topinka may have taken a slight hit yesterday. In case you haven't heard, she referred to her Primary opponents as "morons," and this after a pledge not to do any negative campaigning. She had to make a partial apology quickly, but didn't even fully do that, just mentioning that Brady shouldn't be included in the "moron" group.

I would like to press you to vote for Sandy Wegman for Lt Gov., if you haven't already made up your mind. She has actually geared her commercials more toward attacking Topinka lately, even though Topinka is running for the higher office. Sandy seems willing to let her Lt. Gov. shot get hampered if it stops Judy Baar from winning the GOP nod. She is truly taking one for the cause right now; she isn't even advertising against her Lt. Gov opponents anymore that I have seen - just Judy Baar Topinka! Go Sandy!!!!!!! Please consider her for Lt. Governor when you cast your vote - she truly deserves it.

Anyhow, still nothing on those damn polls. I am suspicious that they are holding on to them for the Sunday paper in order to increase sales/attention; it wouldn't be the first time. Let me know if you hear anything new, and I'll post ASAP if I hear anything more. We all need better information as QUICKLY as we can get it.

Keep praying, my friend - Judy has already made a couple of minor blunders lately. Let's hope the Lord looses her lips a few more times in the next eleven days.

[TitansAFC]

P.S.

Dude, what's with that blog you sent me to? Everyone is a Topinka backer! Also, almost everyone there is smashing ANY Conservative candidates running.

Whoa!

[stars & stripes forever]

Got Guv?

When I travel throughout the state I see Oberweis signs posted illegally on public access property. Doesn't he have supporters who would put his signs up on private property?

That's a shady way to run a campaign...and reflects on the candidate.

If a candidate won't abide by election laws, what else won't he abide by?

[Central IL Voter]

No it's not. Not everyone. You do realize that there are dem people on there as well as everyone else. Not everyone is a Topinka backer but it is a mixed bag.

Sorry. I think it's an excellent blog - it give you more of a rounded opinion.

I see you found the poll numbers.