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* I’d completely forgotten about this until Mike Miner wrote about it in the Reader…
In 1988 Roger Ailes fashioned the media strategy for George H.W. Bush’s successful campaign for president, and in 1996 he became the first CEO of Fox News. Between these two historic events, he came to Illinois.
His fingerprints were all over a nasty 1990 Senate race between two by-no-means-nasty people: Democratic incumbent Paul Simon and his Republican challenger, Lynn Martin, a moderate congresswoman from Rockford.
Ailes thought Simon, who won by a whisker in 1984, was vulnerable: arguably too liberal for the state, and after making a run for the Democratic nomination for president in 1988, perhaps not sufficiently committed to the job, in the minds of Illinois voters.
So Ailes rode into town to see to it Illinois sent Martin to Washington.
Ailes was already notorious, and Simon “had tremendous success raising a ton of money by using Ailes’s name as a scare tactic,” says Kerwin Swint in his 2008 biography of Ailes, Dark Genius. His hackles up, Ailes called a news conference. It didn’t go well.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 22, 16 @ 12:13 pm
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Very very interesting story. So glad you posted that.
Comment by Honeybear Friday, Jul 22, 16 @ 12:19 pm
Roger Ailes has always been a real piece of
work.
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Friday, Jul 22, 16 @ 12:45 pm
Thanks for the reminder. I remember the race but completely forgot the connection.
Comment by illini Friday, Jul 22, 16 @ 12:47 pm
Perhaps Ailes would have worked harder for Martin’s election if she had been more…cooperative.
Comment by Buster crab Friday, Jul 22, 16 @ 1:03 pm
“Perhaps Ailes would have worked harder for Martin’s election if she had been more…cooperative.”
Nah, not good lookin’ enough. Both he and Bill like their ‘girls’ to have more sex appeal.
Comment by Federalist Friday, Jul 22, 16 @ 1:16 pm
Paul Simon, during his victory speech that night, while thanking his volunteers etc. for their support and help, also named Ailes for his contribution to his win (I cannot remember the exact quote). I was in the room. My first venture into politics was volunteering on Simon’s 1984 US Sen Race while in college and later working his Pres. race in Iowa in 1988.
Comment by Dave Fako Friday, Jul 22, 16 @ 1:30 pm
In 1990, Simon for Senate was my first paid campaign job. I remember a big reason that Paul went after Ailes was because Simon had never run against a woman before, knew he needed to go negative, and was afraid of the backlash if he attacked Lynn Martin directly.
Ailes was the perfect foil and fell for it hook, line and sinker. Seriously, does anyone else recall an candidate’s media consultant finding it necessary to call a press conference to ask the other side to attack his client instead of him?
It was bizarre. And fun to witness up close.
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Jul 22, 16 @ 2:56 pm