IL-14: Sue Rezin’s First Mailer with Discernment

Sue Rezin

Grade: “A-“

Number of Mentions of President Trump by name: 20

Number of mentions of McHenry County Blog: 2

COMMENTARY: The last mention count did not factor into the grade, but the overwhelmingly number of positive comments did. They can be read with the article Cal published on Saturday here.

Overall, if the comments in the Saturday article are any indications, Republican primary voters will be impressed with State Senator Sue Rezin’s introductory mailer. It’s detailed where she needs to be detailed, and introduces herself personally, professionally, legislatively and as a credible congressional candidate up to the challenge to flip the 14th district with a perfect electoral record to back it up.

It’s an outstanding mailer. Instead of repeating what the commenters over the weekend said, going to highlight positives not mentioned in the comments, as well as point out three or four portions of the mailer that can be better, particularly from an accuracy standpoint.

The mailer was not perfect, and a couple of inaccuracies prevented an “A” or “A+” grading. Discernment will show why.

Will pull in certain pages, but not all pages. Please view the Saturday article on Rezin’s mailer in the link above to view all pages.

Classic card games like bridge or whist includes a step of counting the trumps. Because of zero mentions of President Trump by name in State Senator Jim Oberweis’ first mailer from October, a count of President Trump being mentioned by name has become a necessity.

As stated above, Rezin’s mailer mentions the President by name 20 times, opposed to zero times in Oberweis’ October mailing. While a separate article for Oberweis’ 2nd mailer is forthcoming, his Trump count in the mailing hitting the street this past weekend is 2 times.

On the issues facing the electorate, Rezin’s mailer has several and she expanded on them in some detail, including:

  • Federal
    • Healthcare preexisting conditions
    • Immigration
    • Right to Life
    • Agriculture
    • Complementing her state record, tough for Underwood/Democrats to paint her as out of touch with mainstream voters
  • State
    • Healthcare preexisting conditions passed bill out of both houses of General Assembly
    • Right to Life
    • Agriculture
    • Taxes

The best part about the Rezin mailer, she used her “bullfighter”, “velvet hammer” and “verbal jiu-jitsu” on Congresswoman Underwood accurately and fully showing voters how they were fooled in 2018:

Not only did Rezin, in the middle of the 20-page mailing, remind voters effectively how the back-office, paper-pushing, no-contact-with-patients policy administration nurse was transformed into a doctor’s office based, scrub-wearing, stethoscope-slinging, clipboard-carrying patient-contact nurse through slick advertising and dishonest marketing, but she effectively tied her to the infamous Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) by noting how AOC came to Underwood’s defense with the Homeland Security Committee debacle Underwood did last year.

Something else effective the Rezin mailer did was the subtle repeating itself, knowing the average voter will skim through a lengthy mailer. For instance the perfect electoral record message is talked about fully, but there are brief reminders throughout the mailer.

Last of many positives, Rezin’s mailer reminded the reader of President Trump’s decisive action which resulted in justice being served on Iranian General Qassem Soleimani earlier this month:

In particular, this call-out of Congresswoman Underwood at the end:

“Now it’s time for Congresswoman Lauren Underwood to speak up. Does she support leaders in her party who want to take the disastrous Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama appeasement approach yet again?

“Or support strategically finding the most painful way to demonstrate U.S. resolve to the Iranian regime and other enemies around the world, by acting as decisively as President Trump just did?

“At least in foreign policy against a militant enemy that for 40 years has called America the “Great Satan,” can she be bipartisan for once?”

Last paragraph of Page 17 of Rezin mailer taken from January 3, 2020, statement
.

Rezin’s statement quoted above was released hours before Underwood responded to the Soleimani attack, in a very questionable statement, which was covered thoroughly in this article from January 4 here on the blog.

How Underwood handled the Soleimani action is in my honest opinion the weakest/worst Underwood has done throughout her time in Congress. To my knowledge, Underwood never said another word about it publicly.

Even worse than her accusation last May concerning the Trump Administration intentionally causing the death of children, Underwood looked her worst and Rezin pointed out her support for the President’s action.

Where Rezin needs to improve mailing

As stated at the beginning, Rezin’s mailing did have some inaccuracies, most minor, with the exception of this paragraph from page 12:

“While indulging in endless investigations of the Administration, Lauren Underwood and Congressional Democrats in control of the House have squandered their majority by not passing any legislation dealing with the priorities of the people such as high prescription drug prices, a badly needed national infrastructure plan that President Trump has prioritized, or securing our borders.”

Page 12 of Rezin mailer
.

Just as was done when Oberweis’ TV commercial had discernment applied, Rezin’s mailer applied a similar message that is wrong.

The Democratic controlled House did pass, as Democrats always like to point out, “over 400 pieces of legislation, 275 bipartisan”.

While Republican primary voters will not agree with what the Democrats passed, they did pass H.R. 3, Elijah Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act and H.R. 987 Protecting Access to Affordable Health Care, Lowering Rx Drug Prices Act, to, from Democrats’ view, deal with high prescription drug prices.

And Underwood’s sponsored legislation, H.R. 5444, Lower Insulin Costs Now Act, included in Appropriations H.R. 1865 and signed into law by President Trump, cannot be ignored. The whole truth of H.R. 5444 is it complemented the Trump Administration’s Food and Drug Administration implementing the American Patients First insulin initiative of the President’s, by reclassifying insulin from a “drug” to a “biologic”, which is explained here.

Full explanations aside, to say the House Democrats did nothing on prescription drug pricing is inaccurate.

Immigration legislation has been passed, too, including:

  • H.R. 6, American Dream and Promise Act
  • H.R. 2203, Homeland Security Improvement Act
  • H.R. 3239, Responding to the Humanitarian Situation at the Border
  • H.R. 3525 (Underwood sponsored), U.S. Border Patrol Medical Screening Standards Act, Electronic Health Records funding included in Appropriations H.R. 1158 and signed into law by President Trump

Those listed above are the more controversial legislation. There are plenty more which include legislation passed by voice votes in the House.

Rezin could have pointed out the failure to pass legislation which the Senate would support and the President would sign in the context of the above page 12 reference would have been accurate. As written, it was inaccurate.

Similar language was used on page 18 of the mailer repeating the claim of Democratic inaction on page 12.

The other opportunity which will bring differences of opinions is Rezin’s claim to the 100% Pro-Life voting record on page 3. Many pro-life activists believed her 2018 vote to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the state senate was a vote against Right to Life because how pro-abortion politicians and liberal judges would use the ERA to make abortion-on-demand the Law of the Land.

Clearly, Rezin’s pro-life record is night and day from Underwood’s, in spite of Underwood voting twice for the Hyde Amendment in 2019. From Rezin’s point of view, the ERA and perceived threat to Right to Life laws is a perception she does not share.

Maybe adding a couple of sentences with that belief would have strengthened her claim concerning ERA and showing Rezin’s belief in the difference of opinion while strengthening her 100% Pro-lfe claim.

The only other call out is minor, and that is the Time Next 100 recognition was last fall, not last spring.

With this introduction to Sue Rezin, one can only look forward to what her next mailings and/or broadcast made-for-TV advertising will contain. Underwood, Oberweis and Marter were the targets of her comparisons when used.

Whether other candidates including Ted Gradel, Catalina Lauf or Jerry Evans become targets of her “verbal jiu-jitsu” will depend how the campaign progresses and if polling suggests voters need comparisons with them.

Given how effective Rezin’s first mailer is, her future mailers will be anticipated reading.


Comments

IL-14: Sue Rezin’s First Mailer with Discernment — 8 Comments

  1. This piece alone makes the case for Sue Rezin to be the nominee.

    Beautifully executed piece of campaign mail.

  2. Voted to double the IL Gasoline Tax and voted for the bad ERA Bill. She’s not for the People. Either is Oberweis. But these two have more money than God. I won’t let money dictate who I’m voting for in this race.

  3. Voted to double the IL Gasoline Tax and voted for the bad ERA Bill.

    She’s not for the People.

    Either is Oberweis.

    But these two have more money than God.

    I won’t let money dictate who I’m voting for in this race.

  4. Trexler, I heard about her Wheel of Misfotune appearance too. Everybody gets $1000 tho.

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