Peter Roskam airs the first positive TV ad of the season in the 6th District race. But it’s only running on cable.
The 45-year-old state senator’s first TV ad, which debuts Thursday on Comcast cable, features testimonials and teasing from his four children.
Sixteen-year-old Gracey and 11-year-old Steve tout their father’s “boring†love of tax cuts and protecting Social Security while standing in the driveway of their Wheaton home. Sister Frankie, 12, puts her father over as a “great dad,†only to be upstaged by youngest brother A.J.
“And he’s losing his hair,†said the 11-year-old, drawing a “hey†from his father, who closes with a non-specific pledge to voters that he’s running “so all our kids have a bright future.â€
Meanwhile the DC Repubs are running negative ads against Duckworth.
“What is she thinking?” the narrator asks in cable TV spots Washington Republicans are running against Democrat Tammy Duckworth in the west suburban 6th Congressional District race. […]
In the 6th Congressional District race, where Duckworth is vying against Republican Peter Roskam, the National Republican Congressional Committee began last week airing spots questioning what the Democratic Iraqi war veteran is thinking when it comes to illegal immigration.
“They have been lying about different stances, from tax issues to immigration,” said Duckworth spokeswoman Christine Glunz. “If you’re talking about who is thinking what here, I think we know that Peter Roskam will do whatever the national Republicans tell him is right in this race. . . . They will tell him what to think.”
Roskam spokesman Ryan McLaughlin said he could not comment on the ads because they are an independent expenditure by the NRCC.
- VanillaMan - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 9:21 am:
These are good questions to ask. It doesn’t seem like the candidates are willing to say anything anymore. It could be because the races are so close - so they just re-use generic slogans.
This summer the DNC has a difficult time creating a slogan for the 2006 season too.
It could be that there are too many “experts” injecting their thoughts into this process now. With all the money candidates have, they can hire too many people and muddy up their own campaign as a result.
It is also possible that pols realize that voters are too cynical to believe what they spew forth anyway, and the lame slogans are the result of no longer trying.
Finally, it is possible that the candidates have NOTHING to say. Their differences are not that different, and they haven’t a clue where they stand on the issues without a daily poll.
Your questions are good ones! It could be symptomatic of a general change in campaigning.
- Bill Baar - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 9:35 am:
They both have something to say but aren’t saying it because they both want the middle and will sound alike. You don’t want to turn off your left or right as case may be, by stating the middle case: so both best sound vague.
It’s a bigger problem for Duckworth then Roskam.
- Conservative Republican - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 10:45 am:
The audacity of Duckworth to claim that the Republicans are “lying” about her positions and that Roskam is, and will remain, merely a puppet of the “national Republicans” (whatever that means).
The Republicans and Roskam cannot be fairly accused of “lying” about all of Duckworth’s positions largely because she has no record (as a stranger to politics until her filing for this campaign) and therefore it is difficult to divine precisely what her actual position is.
But her “will do whatever” they tell him remark completely takes the cake: her entire political existence is a function of Rahm Emanual’s will and her entire campaign is a direct instrument of his political machine. The entire 6th district knows who the real puppet in this race is.
- HANKSTER - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 11:23 am:
Conservative Republican: Perhaps you did not see when Peter Roskam said he would support whatever ethics reform the Speaker wanted. Or perhaps you did not see when Peter Roskam copied, word for word, the RNC response to an answer of an AARP question. It is not absurd at all to say that Roskam is a puppet of the Republican leadership.
- Carl Nyberg - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 11:25 am:
Is the GOP emphasizing immigration because Duckworth is not “White”?
Why is immigration an issue in IL06? It’s close proximity to O’Hare?
- Scooter - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 12:47 pm:
Hankster…when Duckworth speaks, you can’t even see Rahm’s lips moving, it’s a great act, catch if if you can!
- Wumpus - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 12:49 pm:
Carl, the GOP is emphasizing immigration beacuse Duckworth’s views are out of line with her…er the 6th district. She made an issue out of it and she supports “amnesty”. The bigger issue that the NGOP was highlighting was taxes. Carl, take off the tinfoil hat and get back to reality instead of your paranoid fantasies. Immigration is an issue all over America.
- Old Quack - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 1:04 pm:
now that the nrcc has spent more than 400K on saving peter roskam…it begs the question as to whether or not he’ll be rubber stamp grateful if (emphasize) if he is elected.
using his children to send his message is a tried and true strategy that rick santorum abuses to death. and it isn’t working for him.
- Out West - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 3:13 pm:
To Conservative Republican–Duckworth does have public positions and they’ve been duly recorded in various newspapers. The Roskam mail, quite simply, ignores the public record and lies. Because it’s just one suburban district in a giant media market, the Chicago-based press is not playing their traditional role of policemen of the truth. So Roskam gets away with it.
- HANKSTER - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 3:18 pm:
Roskam will still get away with it, especially after he just cancelled his debate next month at the College of DuPage because of “scheduling conflicts†which I believe means Bush is in town for a fundraiser.
- NW burbs - Thursday, Sep 21, 06 @ 4:29 pm:
McLaughingstock can’t comment on the ads because they’re an independent expenditure???
BS. What a wuss.
This bit from the ad is a doozy of a lie: “their father’s “boring†love of tax cuts and protecting Social Security”
Now he’s for protecting Social Security? All indications up til now were that he favored the Bush Plan to Destroy Social Security As We Know It; but he never actually came right out one way or the other to say where he stood on Social Security.
How again is it that Roskam’s camp gets away with so many out and out lies?
Where’s that mythical “liberal” media when we need it? Lazy media’s more like it (no offense Rich).