IL Democratic Senatorial Debate.
I had recorded and finally got to watch the entire IL democratic senatorial debate that took place a couple of days ago. To me it was important to watch for a variety of reasons. I had been undecided for some time now. Initially, I was considering voting for Alexi Giannoulias, but his support for the escalation of the war in Afghanistan had made me re-think the whole thing.
Interestingly, I think that there are now some new developments that suggest that the winner of the democratic primary will almost certainly be the next US senator from IL. Although the presumed republican nominee, Mark Kirk, is a formidable opponent he has been weakened big time by the attacks of another republican candidate. Andy Martin has been running radio ads in Chicago, claiming that Mark Kirk is gay. Although such ads clearly reflect bigotry on Martin's part, they have hurt Mark Kirk enormously as he may well now lose the teabagger and religious right "conservative" vote in the general election. Those people will most likely stay home in the general election instead of voting for Kirk. In fact, things have gotten so bad that Kirk has been afraid to show up in the republican debate tonight, and he will skip it.
Anyway, here is what I thought of the candidates after watching the democratic senatorial debate:
Cheryl Jackson: She is a good candidate and has good positions, but she is not aggressive enough. She is running second in the polls now after Giannoulias, but I doubt she can win. She will not be the strongest choice in the general.
David Hoffman: He was very disappointing in my opinion. I was very willing to switch my support to him, but I was not impressed at all. Very negative. It seems that his all candidacy is about attacking Giannoulias. He does not come across as a progressive and learning in the debate that he worked in the past for neoconservative William Rehnquist was even more disappointing. He won the endorsement of conservative Chicago Tribune, but I dont consider that a positive. It is almost a negative. His position on Afghanistan not very clear either.
Jacob Meister: He is a very good candidate, but has no real chance to win in November. I liked him and his style better than Hoffman, but can not win.
Robert Marshall: He lost his way and he went to the wrong debate. A right-wing republican calling himself democrat. Far right positions on many issues. Not a serious candidate.
Alexi Giannoulias: He is an impressive candidate. He came across "senatorial" and he was very good on issues relating to the economy. He was a little lucky that the Afghanistan war was not discussed, but he came across as very strong and effective. He will be the strongest candidate in November.
In summary, in my opinion Giannoulias won. Despite my total disagreement with his decision to support the Obama Afghanistan war escalation, I will vote for him in the primaries. He is progressive and strong on many issues. He will make a great senator.
Interestingly, I think that there are now some new developments that suggest that the winner of the democratic primary will almost certainly be the next US senator from IL. Although the presumed republican nominee, Mark Kirk, is a formidable opponent he has been weakened big time by the attacks of another republican candidate. Andy Martin has been running radio ads in Chicago, claiming that Mark Kirk is gay. Although such ads clearly reflect bigotry on Martin's part, they have hurt Mark Kirk enormously as he may well now lose the teabagger and religious right "conservative" vote in the general election. Those people will most likely stay home in the general election instead of voting for Kirk. In fact, things have gotten so bad that Kirk has been afraid to show up in the republican debate tonight, and he will skip it.
Anyway, here is what I thought of the candidates after watching the democratic senatorial debate:
Cheryl Jackson: She is a good candidate and has good positions, but she is not aggressive enough. She is running second in the polls now after Giannoulias, but I doubt she can win. She will not be the strongest choice in the general.
David Hoffman: He was very disappointing in my opinion. I was very willing to switch my support to him, but I was not impressed at all. Very negative. It seems that his all candidacy is about attacking Giannoulias. He does not come across as a progressive and learning in the debate that he worked in the past for neoconservative William Rehnquist was even more disappointing. He won the endorsement of conservative Chicago Tribune, but I dont consider that a positive. It is almost a negative. His position on Afghanistan not very clear either.
Jacob Meister: He is a very good candidate, but has no real chance to win in November. I liked him and his style better than Hoffman, but can not win.
Robert Marshall: He lost his way and he went to the wrong debate. A right-wing republican calling himself democrat. Far right positions on many issues. Not a serious candidate.
Alexi Giannoulias: He is an impressive candidate. He came across "senatorial" and he was very good on issues relating to the economy. He was a little lucky that the Afghanistan war was not discussed, but he came across as very strong and effective. He will be the strongest candidate in November.
In summary, in my opinion Giannoulias won. Despite my total disagreement with his decision to support the Obama Afghanistan war escalation, I will vote for him in the primaries. He is progressive and strong on many issues. He will make a great senator.
posted by Nevum @ 10:08 AM
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