At the end of December of 2015, I offered this advice to Congressman Joe Walsh about how to handle the abortion issue.
He did not follow it and lost to Tammy Duckworth.
Obviously, I don’t know that he would have won had he been aggressive on the abortion issue.
The problem with congressional candidates is that they follow advice on how to handle the abotion issue from national Republican consultants.
That advice, seen this year being followed by Peter Roskam and Randy Hultgren, is to ignore the issue, except for known Pro-Life supporters.
My suggestion then, and, earlier in 2010, to Bill Brady when he was running for Governor against Pat Quinn, was to go on the attack.
Ignore the approach that demonstrably has not worked for Pro-Life candidates.
That advice is basically to assume a fetal position and take all hits from the abortion industry.
I contend that is a losing strategy.
With that background, here is an article published in 2015:
Who’s the Extremist?”
A maniac shoots people at a Colorado Springs abortion clinic.
A Planned Parenthood employee is caught on camera talking about selling baby parts.
Revolted by both extremes, most people probably wish the issue would to away.
Democrats sent out emails to save Planned Parenthood both after the baby parts revelation and after the shooting.
Republicans held Congressional hearings on the undercover videos.
Democrats use abortion to attack Republicans as being extremists.
Meanwhile Republican consultants regularly advise candidates to identify the known Pro-Life voters and ignore the issue.
And Republican using that strategy lose.
The Democrats’ “extremist” label sticks.
2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady started getting hit over the head by the Pro-Choice Personal PAC TV ads about the first week of August.
I advised him to reply, but he pointed out that his poll numbers had gone up since the ad appeared.
My guess is there were some number of Pro-Life voters who found out he was against abortion from the TV ads.
For the entire campaign, Brady remained silent on the issue.
He lost to Pat Quinn by 31,814 votes.
Pat Quinn was supported by Personal PAC.
Personal PAC does not endorse a candidate if he or she favors any restrictions on abortion.
Consider the campaign ads against Joe Walsh when he faced off against Tammy Duckworth in his unsuccessful campaign for re-election:
“Joe Walsh, too extreme, without exception.”
An the ad pointed out the Walsh wanted to defund Planned Parenthood.
Walsh followed Brady’s lead, did not counterattack
He lost.
Could he have won by counterattacking?
In an email to the Chicago Tribune, Duckworth said she did “not support any restrictions on a woman’s right to choose or her access to safe, affordable reproductive health services.”
So, both Republican candidates were branded “extremists,” did nothing to defend themselves and lost.
They were like punching bags, swinging in the wind as a boxer pounded the life out of their candidacies.
There is a way to reply to someone who believes in no restrictions whatsoever on abortion:
Brand her or him “extremist” before she or her turns you into a pinata.
If a candidate being attacked by Personal PAC and/or the Democratic Party on abortion is as passive on the issue as a Mexican pinata, he should not be surprised if he gets the stuffing knocked out of him.
In his knock-down, drag-out fall campaign against liberal Independent Dee Beaubien, David McSweeny replied when attacked by Personal PAC mailings.
He had a mail piece that talked about her radical views on abortion.
David McSweeney’s piece continues on the back, listing specifics.
Beaubien is said to
- support taxpayer-paid abortions
- oppose parental notification laws (minors getting abortions without their parents’ knowledge)
- oppose mandatory waiting periods before an abortion
- support abortion on demand
- support partial birth abortions
How much more powerful could such a pitch be if it were on television with an ultrasound of a baby with a beating hear and an announcer saying,
“Not all of us are going to agree when this becomes a baby, but all of us are going to agree there is a baby before the baby is born.
“Tammy Duckworth believes that mothers should be able to abort their babies up until the day they are born.
“Now, that’s extreme.”
Run text along the bottom quoting what Duckworth’s told the Tribune:
“Duckworth said she does not ’support any restrictions on a woman’s right to chose or her access to safe, affordable reproductive health services.’”
Now, it would take a bold Pro-Life candidate to follow this advice and there have been none sighted in Illinois.
But when Republicans stop ignoring the issue of abortion, except to target known Pro-Lifers, they might even win some close contests.
= = = = =
And I’m republishing this because both Roskan’s and Hultgren’s are close contests.
And both opponents Sean Casten (who likes abortion to a gall bladder operation) and Lauren Underwood (who is a full-blown abortion supporter up to the day before birth) are subject to attack as being “extremists.”
LOL – please, PLEASE, Peter Roskam – take Cal’s advice. Ignore the fact that the vast majority of the 6th CD is pro-choice.
Run on an aggressive anti-choice platform. That will work REALLY well.
And McSweeney absolutely did not win because he called Dee a radical on abortion.
Cal, can you point me towards Fasten comparing abortion to a gall bladder operation or Underwood endorsing full term abortion? Google isn’t helping me.
Google takes me here when I put in “Casten, gallbladder”:
http://www.chicagonow.com/dennis-byrnes-barbershop/2018/07/hey-sean-casten-a-fetus-is-not-a-gall-bladder/
Emily’s List does not endorse those who would restrict abortion:
https://www.emilyslist.org/candidates/lauren-underwood
Great comment Cal; I totally agree.
To quote Jack Nicholson: “They can’t handle the truth”!
Challenge them with the truth.
Losing issue here, Cal.
The only thing it will do is rile up his base, but he needs to do more than just attract his base given the fact that Trump actually lost the district. Pushing the abortion issue too hard could alienate moderates.
It might make some realize Roskam is far more socially conservative than the average 6th district voter.
I think he should point out Casten’s comparison of Trump to Bin Laden. Trump might not be popular there, but he’s more favorable than Bin Laden… And most people realize how goofy it is to compare the two.
The stuff abut Madigan is overplayed and unoriginal.
It’s not high quality meme magic.
It’s low-effort and pretty dumb!
I’m predicting a Roskam loss.
What do y’all think??
Sure, bud. It was one of the FIRST things that popped up on Google when I searched, but whatever. (I actually found this link inside an article that was towards the top, but point is it was very easy to find.
Are you sure you’re using Google [as opposed to nothing at all]?)
Anyway, the important thing is that you, Joe K, have the link…because knowledge is power, man!
I’m sure you’ll post about this unsound analogy all over social media now!
“Casten likened abortion to a “medical procedure like a gall bladder surgery,” while Roskam argued taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for procedures they don’t support” (Chicago Sun-Times).
And Joe, I too remember when my gall bladder was born.
It’s now entering the fourth grade!
Those gall bladders sure do grow up fast, I tell you.
What our society really needs is more stable, monogamous, heterosexual relationships, so that we can give births to more gall bladders and save social security for the elderly!
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/roskam-casten-debate-abortion-guns-trump/
Yup, typical strategy, approve adding 1,500,000,000.00 to our debt, and increasing our budget deficit giving the money to the rich, then run on abortion rights.
Unbelievable!
“Pro-Choice” was the term that liberals and leftists chose to give abortion a nice, clean, apple-pie, hot dog, American flag flavor.
100 percent of women and girls who become pregnant HAVE to MAKE A CHOICE.
A choice to have the baby or a choice to kill the infant in the womb.
An honest labeling of these choices needs to be established.
A woman or a girl will either be “Pro-Life” or “Pro-Death”. The “Pro-Choice” label is honestly “Pro-Death”.
‘An American’ is Zahorik, who’s allegiance is to Obamanation
Hey, tell Roskam to post a black and white photo of Mike Madigan in his ads…that will do it!
LOL – I’m quite confirmed that Zahorik would never say the crap that An American says.
**100 percent of women and girls who become pregnant HAVE to MAKE A CHOICE.
A choice to have the baby or a choice to kill the infant in the womb.**
Cool. Glad you admit that woman should get to make that choice.
We are pro-gallbladders! Remember how great of a journalist and blogger one of those turned to be. Stay tuned…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, meow, meow, meeeeeeeeeoooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…
Yes indeed. Every woman and girl who is pregnant gets to make a choice. Most align with the Republican/Conservative position and CHOOSE Pro-Life and life for the infant. A small amount align with the Democrat position which is to allow the killing of the fetus and CHOOSE death for the infant.
According to a Democratic candidate named Casten it is not a big deal to kill the infant. He equates the abortion and death to not much more than a gall bladder operation.