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Successfully (and Dangerously) Tweeting for Reform

Submitted by curtmercadante on Fri, 05/08/2009 - 21:42
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Republican Cook County (IL) Commissioner Tony Peraica is a reformer in a jurisdiction that doesn't appreciate reform.

But he fights on anyway.  

Tony is committed to using technology in a big way to reach voters, circumvent the mainstream media and push for reform.

He's scored major media hits on the local Fox affiliate and in the Chicago Sun-Times for his "live tweets" of County Board meetings.

Local reporters follow his tweets -- and he's building an online grassroots following that helped him do the impossible last week:  pass a full repeal of a massive sales tax hike enacted by the county board last year.

Bottom line:  this is the biggest Republican victory in at least a decade in the state of Illinois.

Unfortunately, Tony's aggressive reform efforts may have put him in danger.

On the same night the tax increase passed, armed gunmen fired seven bullets in Tony's neighbor's home.  The local police and county sheriff strongly believe those bullets were actually meant for Tony.

Does this type of fear tactic intimidate Tony?  Not a chance.  In fact, he's fighting back -- and using his online networks to do so.

I urge you all to learn more about Tony's (dangerous) fight for reform by watching the brief video below:

The Democrats Have Disqualified Obama

Submitted by curtmercadante on Sat, 08/30/2008 - 21:24
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An interesting thing has occurred as the Democrats have fired up their talking points in attacking Alaska Gov./GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin:  they have disqualified their presidential candidate.

How?

The Democrat argument against Palin focuses on her supposed lack of experience.  They are questioning her foreign policy credentials.  They are criticizing her two years as governor ... and being mayor of a "small town" in Alaska.

In doing so, they have completely disqualified their own candidate, Barack Obama.

In fact, one could reasonably argue that Palin has more experience than Obama.  Two years as chief executive of a state certainly prepares one better to be President than 140 or so days as a U.S. Senator.

A governor doesn't just give speeches and press buttons.  She makes executive decisions. She oversees numerous agencies. 

And Palin didn't just win election as the chief executive of Alaska - she actually accomplished something.  She has fought corruption in her own party.  She has worked to cut wasteful spending - including the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere."

Even as mayor of a so-called small town (which actually is one of the fastest-growing towns in Alaska) she had more executive experience than a backbencher state senator.

And let's not forget her stint on the state's Oil and Gas Commission - where she fought corruption and actually reformed a large government bureaucracy.

As Illinoisans, there's another big difference between Palin and Obama:  Obama talks about reforming government, but as a product of the Cook County machine, he has done nothing to actually reform Cook County politics.  His 2006 endorsement of Todd Stroger - and 2007 endorsement of Mayor Daley are proof of that.

Palin, on the other hand, has walked the walk.  She exposed corruption of her state party chairman on the Oil and Gas Commission. She exposed the corruption - and then campaigned against and defeated - her party's governor.  She helped launch the campaign of her Lt. Governor Sean Parnell against pork-happy U.S. Rep. Don Young - one of the architects of the "Bridge to Nowhere."

Palin actually embodies the "Change" that Obama only talks about.

Palin was not only a great choice for McCain - she is a new breed of Republican.  She actually fights wasteful spending, she communicates conservative principles and she works for reform - even if it means combatting the "good ol' boy" network in her own party.

In criticizing Palin, the Democrats disqualify Obama.  He was an ineffective "community organizer", a backbencher state senator, has barely served as U.S. Senator, and has absolutely no executive experience.

Looking for "Change You Can Believe In"?  Look no further than Sarah Palin.

 

Sauerberg2008.com v. DickDurbin.com

Submitted by curtmercadante on Sat, 07/19/2008 - 10:44
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As part of our regular efforts (at Prairie State 2.0) to monitor the regular online "goings-on" of politicos, policy wonks and political parties here in the Prairie State, we'll occassionally do head-to-head comparisons of the Web sites of these people and organizations.

Since we recently looked at the online efforts ot U.S. Senate candidate Steve Sauerberg, we decided it would be fitting to do a head-to-head comparison of his Web site and that of incumbent Dick Durbin.

As you can see from the graph above, Durbin has been pretty steady for the past year. Sauerberg's traffic started rising from his initial announcement in December 2007 and took a sharp increase right before the February Primary. That's not surprising, especially considering the aggressive email push by the state Republican Party.

Durbin's traffic over that same time has remained steady - not too high, not too low.  He is considered to be a safe incumbent, he had no Primary opposition, and the focus of all the Dems was on the Obama-Clinton matchup for most of the winter and spring.

What should worry Sauerberg, however, is the fact that now, just as his site traffic should be making a steady increase from now through Election Day - it is taking a dive.  Sauerberg and Durbin are on opposite trajectories - Durbin's going up, Sauerberg's going down.

Not a good place to be for an underfunded, underdog challenger.

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