IL-14: Jim Oberweis First Mailer

Jim Oberweis

Commentary on mailer which gets a grade of “B+” as campaign begins to show signs of life

As report on McHenry County Blog Saturday, Jim Oberweis’ first mailer hit the streets of the 14th congressional district. According to the Oberweis’ campaign’s Facebook page, the nominee was walking precincts in McHenry County with about a dozen volunteers.

The mailer graded a “B+” mainly because for the first time, Oberweis has engaged Underwood on her voting record with actual, specific bills and votes, backed up by the congressional record.

Additionally, it was a good piece to reintroduce himself to General Election voters in McHenry County, whom he has not communicated with since the 2014 U.S. Senate race. While the readers of this blog know Oberweis backward and forward, the general electorate, mainstream voters have not heard from him directly in six years.

While the liking his ice cream line could use some work, the positives included Oberweis showing himself serving the community during the pandemic, and has him and his wife center stage.

The meat, and the most positives of the mailer, is the comparison piece on the back page:

Positives:

  • Last three points utilized Underwood’s actual voting record in Congress, including the H.R. 1 “For the People Act”
  • All of the points are valid comparisons to varying degrees
  • Effectively begins to deconstruct the Underwood record

Opportunities:

  • Madigan used twice – 2nd reference should have been aimed at Governor J.B. Pritzker who is the real force behind the progressive income tax amendment
  • COVID-19 footnote appears to be directed at the wrong bill, H.R. 1425 which was a healthcare bill, not a COVID relief bill
  • Tax increases uses a nearly 2 1/2 years old Daily Herald story to an interview long before Underwood was elected to Congress (7 months) and while the tax increase comparison is valid, a more up-to-date reference would be in order.

Overall, the mailer is the first signs of life his campaign has shown, and the first time Oberweis is taking on specific votes of Underwood. It could have been better, and hopefully, Oberweis’ campaign will focus on the issues, including the more radical bills the House Democrats have passed during this Congress.

As was published from the Huntley Republican gathering on Wednesday in McHenry County Blog, Oberweis’ newspaper mailings will be returning for the fall campaign, and this is where it is hoped Oberweis can greatly expand upon Underwood, especially her pattern of behavior that she does not tell the whole truth.

But the biggest sign of life Oberweis’ campaign must show, and soon, is to be on TV with commercial advertisements during September, prior to the start of early voting on September 24. As many of Oberweis’ primary opponents learned earlier this year, a TV presence early, before the start of vote-by-mail ballots hitting the street, is crucial for a winning campaign.


Comments

IL-14: Jim Oberweis First Mailer — 12 Comments

  1. Too little too late from the Milquetoast Man, what a fool.

    Now it’s up to us to drag this entitled fools old sagging arse over the finish line.

  2. I found the ice cream line to be so silly that it’s difficult to continue on with the rest of the mailer.

    It’s one of those “first impression” moments and it doesn’t leave a good impression.

    Someone in my family described it as “insulting to people’s intelligence.”

    Which is a shame, because I agree that the content of the mailer is pretty good, especially the side-by-side comparison part of the mailer but actually the whole thing sans the “if you like his ice cream…” headline.

    There probably is some creative way to work in an ice cream analogy, but that wasn’t quite it lol

  3. Is Brady writing the copy, or somebody from the Underwear campaign?

    I’m not being funny, the Soros people do infiltrate opponent’s campaigns with their moles.

    Oberweis would be an easy campaign to infiltrate.

    He inspires nobody.

    His voters ALL HATE UNDERWOOD!

    They would vote for treefrog imported from Venezuela rather than her nursiness.

  4. Heard feedback at church about Oberweis mailer and thought it was very good.

  5. Did anyone happen to notice anything about what Oberweis actually plans to do if he is elected?

    I saw some vague generalities on the second page of the mailer about how he is going to end world hunger and bring about world peace.

    And just how and where has he been waging this relentless battle with Madigan?

    And does living in the same house for 42 years automatically qualify you for Congress?

  6. No congressperson can end world hunger and bring forth world peace. ☹️

  7. I don’t think it’s horrible.

    The ice cream line is kinda cheesy but not horrible.\

    I still think instead of or in addition to Pelosi, he should be trying make her out as a member of the squad.

    I’m glad the people at church like it but they shouldn’t be the target audience, they should already be voting for him as socialism is as anti-christian as it gets.

    That’s who is going to decide who wins.

  8. Neal, I hear where you’re going, and it was good to hear feedback from IL-14.

    I disagree that making Underwood out as a 5th member of the Squad.

    Everyone’s freshman Democrat is being tagged as a member of the Squad, and while Underwood’s voting record is to the left of the Squad members, the average/mainstream voters who will decide this race, likely do not know whom the Squad is.

    Oberweis needs to show how out of touch the bulk of Underwood’s record is.

    He started to deconstruct the record in this mailing, with Underwood’s support of “For the People” Act and free healthcare for illegals.

    He’s got to be quick to respond in future debates and the Chicago Tribune editorial board interview the specifics of legislation and how they are bad for the district.

    But ultimately, Oberweis has got to get on TV this month, and it needs to be in the next week and a half, if he is going to have any chance to compete with Underwood this fall.

  9. So. Many. Words. Very few people will read this.

    But the content is… fine, I guess. The comparisons are pretty silly, and most voters that Oberweis needs to appeal to – if they actually read all. the. words. are not going to be convinced by this.

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