Progress Illinois

Last week, the news coming out of Sen. Dick Durbin and GOP challenger Steve Sauerberg's appearance before the Tribune editorial board was that Sauerberg "backtracked" from his attacks on the senator's patriotism.  Courtesy of the Tribune website, we now have video of the full exchange.  And Sauerberg really looks ridiculous.  Watch it:

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In a heated exchange in front of the Tribune editorial board yesterday, Dick Durbin fought back against Steve Sauerberg's recurring claim that the Illinois Senator "undermined the troops" with his controversial 2005 floor statement regarding a report on the acts carried out by U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay.  The Tribune's Rick Pearson reports:

"OK, I questioned [Durbin's patriotism]. And maybe that's fair. Maybe it's not," Sauerberg said. He said Durbin's comments and other actions are raised by the public along the campaign trail and "undermine our troops, their ability to fight, our nation's credibility in the world."

"I'm going to question a lot of things about my opponent, his positions," Durbin shot back at Sauerberg, his voice filling with emotion. "I would never question your patriotism. I think that is the refuge of scoundrels. I think what you have done here, to raise a question as to whether I love this country is the lowest form of politics. The lowest."

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WTTW's Chicago Tonight hosted a debate between Sen. Dick Durbin and GOP challenger Steve Sauerberg last night.  When the topic turned to social issues, Sauerberg focused primarily on his "personal involvement in crisis pregnancy centers."  But not before dropping this little ditty: "[A] U.S. senator doesn't have any impact on any issues in regards to choice versus -- any legislation in that area to speak of." 

Well, that's ... just ... not true at all.

Watch it:

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Lots of congressional debate news this week, so let's run through it all.

First, 11th District GOP candidate Marty Ozinga is complaining about the choice of Southtown Star columnist Kristen McQueary as the moderator of a September 25 debate between he and Democrat Debbie Halvorson.  From a campaign press release posted by Capitol Fax:

It would be hard to imagine a presidential debate moderated by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. Similarly, we cannot imagine a congressional debate moderated by Kristen McQueary. [...]

We propose one of two options to rectify this problem: 1) for balance, have fellow Southtown Star opinion columnist Fran Eaton to serve as the comoderator with Mrs. McQueary; OR 2) have an objective news reporter familiar with the race, such as the Joliet Herald News’ Patrick Ferrell, to serve as the sole moderator.

Rich Miller effectively skewers the Ozinga's campaign suggestion that McQueary needs to balanced by a right-wing figure such as Eaton.  He concludes: "What a buncha whiners."

Meanwhile, in the 6th Congressional District, GOP Rep. Peter Roskam has apparently refused to debate Democratic challenger Jill Morgenthaler. 

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We've extensively documented the perplexing twists and turns of GOP challenger Steve Sauerberg's U.S. Senate campaign. So I suppose we have to add this extremely odd web ad to the mix:

It should be noted that this video is nowhere to be found on Sauerberg's website. In fact, the most recent item posted to the site's "Multimedia" page is a Budweiser ad saluting our troops.

(H/T Capitol Fax)

GOP Senate candidate Steve Sauerberg -- down in the polls and low on cash -- has not run what one could call a smooth campaign. Even fellow conservatives are starting to get angry. Yesterday at Illinois Review, Curt Mercadante complained that Sauerberg hasn't put forth "an aggressive e-strategy" since winning his party's primary, which could have helped raise money, recruit volunteers, and communicate the campaign's message efficiently.

But he's got one last bullet in the chamber: the culture wars!

In the Republican underdog role against two-term veteran [Dick] Durbin, Sauerberg, a physician from Willowbrook, repeatedly has sought to label his opponent as too liberal. On one of his campaign’s Web sites, Sauerberg noted Durbin’s opposition to a Constitutional amendment to ban flag-burning and said the nation’s founders never included one "because they never had to deal with ultra-liberal Americans who hate their own country."

Asked whether he was referring to Durbin, Sauerberg said Thursday, "I think he’s an ultra liberal. Whether he hates his own country, I cannot determine for the gentleman.” Sauerberg said voters "wonder a lot" about Durbin’s patriotism.

A Durbin spokesmen says the personal attacks shows a "frustrated" political candidate. It's hard to argue with that, especially considering he doesn't share the values of the majority of Illinois residents and he consistently demonstrates a shallow knowledge of public policy. From the same Tribune article:

Labeling the nation's energy problems a top voter concern, Sauerberg restated his call for a federal gas-tax holiday as the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, has proposed. Sauerberg said money lost to the federal highway construction fund could be replaced by finding "another wasteful program that government runs."

Asked to name a specific wasteful government program to cut, Sauerberg said, "I can’t answer that" and apologized, before proposing a freeze on federal hiring or a 2 percent cut in federal agency spending.

After reading Steve Sauerberg's latest press release, one might get the impression that the Senate race in Illinois could be tight this cycle:

The polling, conducted by Southern Outreach, an Atlanta-based firm, shows Durbin struggling to break 50% in the uninformed ballot matchup against Sauerberg. In a head to head with Dr. Sauerberg, Durbin leads 52% to 35%. Outside of the Chicago-metro area, Durbin fails to garner 50% and only leads Sauerberg 47% to 40%.

"Senator Durbin is a household name in Illinois with an $8 million war chest and is the second-ranking member of the United States Senate," continued Hage. "The fact that he starts this campaign barely over 50% is a sign of real weakness."

Back in the reality-based community, the picture becomes a bit clearer. A non-partisan Rasmussen poll released last Thursday shows Durbin with a 61-to-27 percent advantage over Sauerberg. Democrats are currently given a 98.3 percent chance of winning Illinois’ Senate race, too. And this was before Sauerberg's dismal second quarter fundraising totals were released:

With Sauerberg's latest campaign filing, there are signs he has little to take his campaign on the offensive. And he may not be able to raise significant cash or put more of his own money into the effort.

As of July 1, Sauerberg, had about $1,500 less in his campaign fund than he had three months earlier.

And that April total of $1.07 million was virtually the entire result of the physician digging into personal assets, which he has since not done.

The fund's quarterly income of donations and interest totaled about $102,000, with expenses about $1,500 higher.

I guess there's still hope for that Obama endorsement ...

Crain's Greg Hinz takes a look at Steve Sauerberg's race for U.S. Senate and concludes: "Unless something changes fast, 2008 will become the year in which the Illinois GOP lost its last shred of relevance." From the column:

In most states, electing a U.S. senator is a big deal. Campaigns clash and TV ad wars erupt. Washington big shots drop by to endorse. The winner gets a six-year membership in the world's most exclusive club, don'tcha know.

It used to be that way in Illinois. Remember Carol Moseley Braun against Peter Fitzgerald and Alan Dixon? Or, a bit earlier, Chuck Percy vs. Alex Seith. Barack Obama against, well, who cares? It was Barack Obama.

So, quick, tell me who the Republicans have put up this year against incumbent Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin — the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate and quite possibly the majority leader of that body not too far in the future.

If you can't recall the name, you have lots of company.

Hinz goes on to assert that Sauerberg "will not embarrass the party like the jaw-dropping Alan Keyes did." However, it's worth noting that Sauerberg has run a rather perplexing campaign so far.

Early in the year, it was clear that something was wrong when he bought ads on liberal websites declaring: "We must stop liberal Dick Durbin." Then, at a press conference in April, he said with a seemingly straight face: "I think Barack Obama will probably endorse us." Then in June, he challenged Durbin to "commit" to retaining U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald -- even though both Durbin and Obama have never wavered in their support of the prosecutor. Most recently, his campaign put out a radio spot that violated the Federal Election Commission guidelines on advertising disclaimers.

It's not "Keyesian" embarassment, but still ...

Apparently, Steve Sauerberg's Senate campaign team needs to bone up on their Federal Election Commission regulations. Here's the radio ad they released this week:

Internal mp3

Here's the problem with it:

In the disclaimer at the beginning, Sauerberg says: "Paid for by Sauerberg for U.S. Senate." That's the language campaigns should use on mailers and other printed materials. But when it comes to radio ads, here's what the FEC requires:

A radio broadcast must include an audio statement that is spoken by the candidate. The statement must identify the candidate, and state that he or she has approved the communication.

So, Sauerberg is actually required by law to say something like: "I'm Steve Sauerberg and I approve this message." Whoops!

UPDATE: The Sauerberg campaign has replaced the original ad. The new version has a proper disclaimer:

Internal mp3

At times it's a little painful watching Republican Senate hopeful Steve Sauerberg try to insert himself into our state's political discourse. One day he's bashing "liberal" Dick Durbin in ads on prominent liberal websites, the next he's angling for an Obama endorsement. But Sauerberg is at his most perplexing when he decides to conjure issues out of thin air. That's what happened today when he posted this item at Illinois Review under the headline "Sauerberg Challenges Durbin To Commit To Fitzgerald Retention":

The people of Illinois owe a tremendous thank you to United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and his team of prosecutors for their work on [the Tony Rezko] case. As the next Senator from Illinois, I will recommend, to the next President, that Patrick Fitzgerald by re-appointed, and I would urge Senator Durbin to join me in making this commitment.

Why Sauerberg felt the need to "challenge" Durbin on this issue is anyone's guess. After all, Durbin has consistently supported Fitzgerald as U.S. Attorney since long before his GOP opponent entered Illinois politics.

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