Remember the summer? Only a few months have passed, but it seems like ages since Illinoisans were experiencing warm sun, winning Chicago baseball, and a tight presidential race. In those days, comments like this one from Republican State Sen. Bill Brady didn't raise too many eyebrows:
Brady said Obama's liberal political stance could also be a weak point.
"There's a great number of people in this state who do not agree with what Barack Obama believes in," Brady said.
Fast forward 120 days and Obama appears to be proving his popularity in swing districts outside of Chicago. Crain's Paul Merrion echoes our sentiments, writing "Obama's resurgence amid a souring economy is putting him ahead in some traditionally Republican congressional districts in the suburbs, throwing a pre-Halloween scare into GOP incumbents."
One dramatic case is in Illinois' 6th, where political junkies anticpated an easy victory for GOP Rep. Peter Roskam. As it turns out, polling shows Obama with a 14-point lead in his west suburban district, giving the extreme pro-lifer reason for concern. As Josh noted this morning, CQ mentioned the Obama effect in the 10th district as well.
Looking again at the maps from the last seven presidential elections, you can't help but wonder what this year's is going to look like.
UPDATE: Here's the relevant passage from Merrion's piece (subscription only) in Crain's:
Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Wheaton, is putting out an urgent appeal for last-minute contributions, noting Mr. Obama's 14-point lead in his west suburban district. Mr. Roskam, a freshman who replaced longtime Republican Rep. Henry Hyde, faces former Illinois homeland security chief Jill Morgenthaler. Mr. Roskam was narrowly elected two years ago over Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth.
Also, in his latest fundraising appeal, Roskam is raising the specter of "one-party rule":
From what I've seen during my time in Congress, we need representatives who put your needs above partisanship. Unfortunately, our country is facing the prospect of one-party rule that could lead to unchecked, extreme policies.
As your representative, I'll stand up to the partisans who try to push extremist politics and fight for our shared values. That's why I hope you'll show your support for my campai gn with a financial contribution before Election Day.
Comments
MaxConita (not verified) on Tue, 10/28/2008 - 12:20
Roskam himself called Obama the "Opie Taylor of politics" just a few short months ago.
https://www.rollcall.com/issues/54_16/news/27210-1.html?type=printer_fri...
markg8 on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 07:46
From the Roll Call article:
Next, before going to law school, he landed a job on Capitol Hill as a legislative correspondent and then legislative assistant for a freshman Republican from Texas, Rep. Tom DeLay.
The job only lasted about six or eight months, but Roskam still carries the lessons he learned from the future Majority Leader.
“What I remember about DeLay was a sense of clarity,” Roskam said.
He recalled that one day he went to DeLay with a suggestion — “some stupid idea,” he now says — that was being advocated by a group that generally wasn’t inclined to support Republicans.
“He said, ‘Peter, those are not our people. They’ll never be our people. We’re not going to do anything.’” Roskam said. “That was really formative for me.”
Yeah I can see how that was formative for him. There's a whole lot of folks Roskam doesn't consider "our people".
Not on your team (not verified) on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 21:11
As a Republican I'd much rather see Roskam lose than Kirk. Roskam is an idea-less thug that used to work for Tom DeLay and has no real intellectual spine.
Good luck to him ever reaching higher office with a Roskam-Obama plea on his resume.
Post new comment
Progress Illinois' intention is to foster community and to maintain a comfortable and constructive blogging environment. While we encourage and appreciates different points of view, we do not consider it our duty to give a voice to anybody with an opinion.
Discussion on this site is moderated. All comments submitted will be automatically held for review by the editors before posting. Your comment will not appear on the site until it has been approved.
We will not publish comments that we consider:
Please leave a name or nickname when commenting, as it makes it easier for others to respond directly.