Progress Illinois

Although Senate Republicans blocked the bill shortly thereafter, a bailout for the festering auto industry actually passed the U.S. House by a 237-170 margin last Tuesday, mostly along party lines. Illinois’ entire Democratic Caucus supported the measure (with the exceptions of Rahm Emanuel and Luis Gutierrez, who didn’t vote). Thirty-two Republicans, including Reps. Don Manzullo (16th) and Ray LaHood (18th), sided with the White House and congressional Democrats as well. Most that crossed the aisle hail from auto-heavy districts.

Illinois GOP Reps. Peter Roskam, Mark Kirk, Jerry Weller, Judy Biggert, Tim Johnson, and John Shimkus all opposed the bailout. In fact, Kirk, Biggert, and the retiring Weller all voted against auto industry assistance despite supporting the $700 billion financial services industry bailout.

Biggert and Weller have not released statements about their votes, but from the beginning of the negotiation process, Kirk’s loyalties were quite clear.

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Rose, a freckled, brown-haired field organizer, laughed when I asked what time she got up this morning. "Three-fifteen," she said with a slight grin. "But we didn't get to bed until 2:30."

Over the past week, staffers like Rose and a bevy of volunteers for Democrat Scott Harper's 13th District campaign have worked at a frenetic pace. When I arrived at at their Naperville-based headquarters just before 6 AM, 60 canvassers were already out in the field, posting signs and passing out campaign flyers. Throughout the day, the campaign plans to run phone banks from 14 office phones, dispatch volunteers for election protection, and hit targeted precincts with GOTV materials.

According to Harper, his campaign's enthusiasm matches that of the district's voters. "I've been out to train stations and coffee shops and I've knocked on doors," he told me, standing next to his daughter who had flown in from New York City, "and it feels like a lot of people out there want change."

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In a segment on the 13th Congressional District race tonight, ABC 7's Charles Thomas reported that GOP Rep. Judy Biggert is "openly worried about the effect of Democrat Barack Obama on her reelection campaign."  Thomas later featured a clip of Biggert playing up the potential split-tickets in the district (at least in terms of yard signs).  He wrapped up the segment by reporting that the Republican incumbents in tight contests in the Chicago suburbs are "no longer criticizing the Democratic presidential candidate, not wanting to antagonize so many Obama voters." Watch it:

(UPDATE: The Cook Political Report has downgraded IL-13 from "Solid Republican" to "Likely Republican.")

Speaking of Obama's support in the 13th District, Huffington Post Chicago highlights a tidbit we missed this morning: 

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Last night on WTTW, 13th District GOP Rep. Judy Biggert and Democratic challenger Scott Harper appeared together for a discussion that largely focused on the economy and ongoing financial crisis.  Biggert's performance didn't exactly instill confidence, however.  Simply put, she seemed a bit out of it. 

Check out her answer to a question about taxes.  Her argument -- this is no time for tax hikes -- is pretty straightforward and unsurprising coming from the lips of a GOP congresswoman.  But watch as she appears to just lose her train of thought:

That's not the way you want to end a debate.

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GOP Rep. Judy Biggert's response to the problems on Wall Street have been a little eratic to say the least. On Monday, the 13th District representative told the Daily Herald she was "certain a massive bailout is needed":

"This is one time where I don't think the free market can really resolve what happened," said U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, whose district covers suburbs largely south of I-88, the Reagan Tollway. [emphasis added]

Then she sent this email to the Southtown Star's Phil Kadner yesterday after hearing from constituents opposed to the Bush adminstration's $700 billion plan:

"I've received hundreds of calls and e-mails about this proposal in just a couple of days, and frankly, I share their concerns," Biggert said in an e-mail. "Congress needs to come up with better options."

So what were the options that Biggert and her House Republican colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee proposed, completely derailing what seemed to be a done deal? Less regulation and more corporate tax breaks.

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Based on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's (DCCC) latest decision to add the 13th Congressional District contest to its list of "emerging races," it appears that party leaders are increasingly confident that they have a shot at winning the Republican-controlled seat this fall.

Congressional Quarterly hinted that Democratic candidate Scott Harper was looking viable when it changed the 13th's status from "Safe Republican" to "Leans Republican" in July. "This a race to keep an eye on for signs of increased competitiveness," CQ reported.

Biggert seemed to be feeling the heat at the time. Days later, she released internal polling numbers to The Hill as evidence of her popularity among the district's voters.

An ability to raise some serious campaign cash -- $375,000 as of the end of June (plus $146,000 of his own money) -- is what put Harper on the radar of Democratic party leaders.

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We caught Republican Rep. Judy Biggert yesterday describing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in rather unflattering terms for not allowing an up-and-down vote on offshore oil drilling. Turns out, Biggert wasn't alone. The Center for American Progress' Wonk Room has compiled a full list of House Republicans who have tried to brand the California Democrat as a dictator or tyrant since the chamber adjourned earlier this month. My personal favorite? This strange historical analogy, courtesy of Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC):

“When the people of France were starving, they went to the queen and said, ‘The people have no bread.’ The queen’s answer was, ‘Let them eat cake.’ That is not the kind of answer we expect from the leader of the people’s house in the United States of America.”

The irony, of course, is that the House Republicans have committed more than their fair share of obstruction during the 110th Congress. The Republicans attempted to force the House to adjourn repeatedly before August 1. Republican senators have filibustered energy legislation well over 10 times. Conservatives have outright rejected the so-called "Gang of 10" compromise, too.

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What's gotten into the House GOP's drinking water? So enthralled with their worthless plan to drill for more oil offshore, congressmen from across the country have infused their rhetoric with a little extra dose of hyperbole. Rep. Don Manzullo thinks the GOP's empty chamber stunt could be "America’s greatest hour." Minority Leader John Boehner said Americans "will hang" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she doesn't call for an up-and-down drilling vote. And this morning on WLS' Don Wade & Roma, 13th District GOP Rep. Judy Biggert joined in on the Pelosi-bashing fun. Listen here:

Internal mp3

What the American people want is for us to work together to come up with solutions, not to have Nancy Pelosi being the dictator. This is a democracy.

And Biggert isn't the only House Republican choosing to describe Pelosi this way.  Check out this clip (caught by the Center for American Progress) of Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) during an August 6 appearance on C-SPAN's Washington Journal:

As Josh noted last week, the suggestion that the Democratic leadership is somehow infringing on the GOP minority's rights by adjourning the chamber for August recess is tough to swallow.  After all, prior to August 1, the Republicans repeatedly attempted to force the House to adjourn, as the Washington Post's Dana Milbank recently reported.  Furthermore, if the Republicans want to raise a ruckus about obstructionism, maybe they should look to the U.S. Senate, where the GOP minority has blocked a record number of bills favored by both the Democratic majority and the American people.

The Hill is reporting that GOP Rep. Judy Biggert was among the new arrivals in Washington, DC today, as House Republicans continued their effort to bring Congress back into session so that their offshore drilling bill can receive a vote. As we noted yesterday, Republican Congressmen Peter Roskam, Mark Kirk, and Don Manzullo have also been participating in this bit of political theater.

This morning, Biggert and several of her colleagues joined former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at a press conference to announce a new GOP-sponsored poll purportedly showing that the public supports their actions. From The Hill:

Pollster David Winston of the Winston Group told House Republicans at a morning briefing that 68 percent of Americans want a drilling vote before the end of the 110th Congress. He also said the GOP is winning generic ballots by 12 percent on energy policies when the Republican and Democratic plans are compared, a source in the room said.

I'd be interested to see the wording of that question.

But while we're on the subject of energy-related polling, here are some recent findings that fly in the face of the GOP assumption that the public supports their pro-drilling mantra. In a July poll by Belden Russonello & Stewart, 76 percent of respondents said that "investing in new energy technology including renewable fuels and more efficient automobiles" was a more important government priority than "expanding exploration and drilling for more oil":

As Huffington Post's Sam Stein also mentioned today, 63 percent of the Belden poll respondents said that opening up public lands to oil and gas drilling was "more likely to enrich oil companies than to lower gas prices for American consumers."

The Hill has an interesting article out on internal polling released by 13th District GOP Rep. Judy Biggert. The mid-June survey by American Viewpoint Inc. shows her leading Democratic challenger Scott Harper by 25 points and puts her approval rating at 67 percent. The Harper campaign begs to differ:

Democrat Scott Harper’s campaign disputed those numbers, citing its own polling data, which it says shows the incumbent’s job approval below 50 percent. [...]

Harper’s campaign manager, Sarah Topy, said the Biggert campaign’s decision to release the poll underscored the race’s competitiveness, arguing that Harper is the most serious challenger Biggert has ever faced.

“This is a real race,” Topy added. “Voters are tired of failed leadership and the Bush-Biggert agenda.”

Who knows what the actual landscape looks like in the 13th at the moment. But Topy is right that Biggert's decision to release internal numbers -- to a national outlet, no less -- proves that she's feeling some serious pressure in the wake of Harper's competitive second quarter fundraising.

UPDATE: The Harper campaign has released some of their own 13th District polling numbers (conducted by Fako & Associates between July 15 and July 17). The highlights:

- 71 percent of respondents feel the country is on the "wrong track."

- Biggert's approval rating dropped by 48 percent in November 2007 to 43 percent.

- Democratic affiliation is gradually increasing in the district, while GOP affilitation is dropping.