After months of running a lackluster campaign against a weak incumbent, Republican nominee Judy Baar Topinka has found a hammer that hits Democratic incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich hard: after his staff found a state job for the wife of an old friend, the friend sent his daughter a check for $1500. Deanna Bellandi of the Associated Press has the story:
The governor has said he is unsure whether it was a birthday gift for one daughter or a christening gift for another, but he insisted it had no connection to the job. At the same time, he acknowledged asking his chief of staff to help the woman.
With just weeks to go before Election Day, the $1,500 check has gotten voters' attention in a way some of the other allegations -- involving audits, contracts and bureaucratic procedure -- haven't.* * * * *
Blagojevich's GOP opponent, Judy Baar Topinka, is using the $1,500 check to paint him as corrupt. She is running an ad that shows Blagojevich fumbling to answer questions about the money. And at a recent debate, her supporters held up huge, fake checks and shouted, "Hooray for birthdays!"
Read the whole story at the link above. The Governor has a serious problem here UNLESS the "old friend" has sent similarly generous difts to his daughters in the past. Since he would have mentioned that as soon as the issue came up if it were the case, I assume it was a first-time event, which makes the Governor look . . . corrupt.
Topinka supporters should start showing up a Blagojevich campaign stops to sing, "Happy Birthday To You."
Heh.
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Gubernatorial Races, Illinois, Scandal
Comments (5)
The Topinka campaign has ca... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Joe | October 6, 2006 2:18 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The Topinka campaign has capitalized on the Governor's questionable ethics and has begun airing a devastating ad. It's one of the best campaign ads I have seen in terms of effectiveness. You can access it via my blog.
1. Posted by Joe | October 6, 2006 2:18 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 6, 2006 14:18
2. Posted by Kay | October 6, 2006 2:28 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Blagojevich comes off looking like the kid with his hand in the cookie jar in the Topinka ad.
I see Topinka bumper stickers and signs everywhere so hopefully this $1500.00 will provide an uptick in the polling numbers for Topinka.
2. Posted by Kay | October 6, 2006 2:28 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 6, 2006 14:28
3. Posted by K | October 6, 2006 2:39 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
#1... thanks for sharing the Topinka ad. The Governor comes off looking like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
Along with this $1500.00 problem, US Attorney Fitzgerald is invistigaing "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration.
Topinka still down in the polls though, hopefully a new poll will be released soon and we can see if the $1500.00 has any effect.
3. Posted by K | October 6, 2006 2:39 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 6, 2006 14:39
4. Posted by RJG | October 6, 2006 3:39 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Topinka's problem is that no one has any reason to vote for except that she's not Rod. That's not good enough to win the election, not anywhere near. So she'll get slaughtered regardless of the corruption.
Welcome to Illinois.
4. Posted by RJG | October 6, 2006 3:39 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 6, 2006 15:39
5. Posted by Ed the Oregonite | October 6, 2006 3:50 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Non-issue. This is Illinois...corruption is endemic in politics there, almost as bad as New Jersey. A $1500 gift won't change anything. Too bad.
5. Posted by Ed the Oregonite | October 6, 2006 3:50 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 6, 2006 15:50