Illinois Senate: Could Mike Ditka Win For the 'Pubs?

[liberalpragmatist]

http://www.thehill.com/news/070804/ditka.aspx

Okay, so the Repubs are talking about running former Bears Coach Mike Ditka for the Illinois Senate seat.

Shit.

Listen, I'm not panicking, and it may appear that way on paper. I still think Obama'd be favored. But I really do think it will be competitive and far more bloody than we'd like. A Ditka win doesn't look impossible. Never underestimate the power of stupid people. You know, the kinds of people who vote for someone because they're famous and kind of "cool"? (Can anybody say "Schwarzenneger"? And I'm not even an Arnold-hater.)

The fact is, Arnold's one thing. Though I don't support him, he's a moderate Republican who's governor, not affecting national policy. I don't want ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE idiot Mike Ditka as Illinois Senator, no matter how good a coach he was! Especially when we have someone like Obama - a fantastic candidate who has the potential to be the next RFK.

Ditka strikes me as somebody who could do better than expected in the Chicago area, esp. amongst white working class voters and do well in S. Illinois.

Can anybody persuade me that my thinking is wrong?

[liberalpragmatist]

1. Oh, and here's some other stuff:

Check out the reaction of some Illinois'ers: http://www.southernillinoisan.com/rednews/2004/07/10/build/top/TOP002.html

And check out this shockingly incoherent babble from him:
http://www.illinoisleader.com/opinion/opinionview.asp?c=17544

"Well my platform would be what the people want. I hate to say that, that sounds so generic, but what do people want? You talk about banning smoking. Okay, why don't we ban abortion? Let's talk about things that are really important. You know you talk about, well, you think one thing can harm your health, the other one takes a life.

Come on here, you know you're talking to a guy that is ultra-ultra-ultra conservative. So you know people who don't like that, you won't like me one bit. But I think I'm about what the majority of this people in the country are.

I believe this country was founded under God. I think people who say it wasn't are crazy. But that's their biz; you know, that's me.

What you see is what you're gonna get. You're not going to like all of it. But you're gonna like some of it, and maybe you'll like enough of it to say okay this guy is all right."

[jean]

3. ha - this tiny sample of his brain-mouth connection is reassuring

with the emphasis on the a-s-s part. Let them get Ditka out there yapping this kind of crap. He'll drive up voter participation!

[MikeG]

5. This is a guy who, while playing football for Pitt, when a fight started

took off his helmet, handed it to a teammate, said "Here, hold this", and then joined the fight.

[MikeG]

2. He should try for quarterback.

I hear Levitra makes you able to throw a football through a tire from real far away.

[gauguin57]

18. your levitra post

made Crystal Light lemonade come out of my nose! LOL!

[JHBowden]

4. "A vote for Ditka is a vote for Bush."

That's all Obama needs to say.

[bluestateguy]

6. How about those videos of him abusing players?

Make for some nice ads.

[No2W2004]

7. Sure,

Ditka will NEVER NEVER NEVER give up the cushy lifestyle of celeb golfing tourneys, chatting on sports radio stations, schmoozing the VIPs at his resturaunt, and doing the occasional "motovational event". True, if Ditka did run, he would be a strong canidate based on his fame, but he wouldn't do it! He's an old guy on two artifical hips who's a couple pork chops away from another grabber. He likes what he's doing now, he doesn't want to deal with politics.

Hypothetically speaking....who'd win?: Da Coach vs. Mayor Daley & the CPD?

[billybob537]

8. 2 pork chops away from the next grabber!

rotflmfao

[buycitgo]

9. CNN keeps bringing it up

just saw the same clip for the second time in an hour

It was from a Bush rally in 2000.

I was THERE (with an AWOL sign hidden under a W sign....individual A - O - L letters to go with the W, but nobody would hold them up with me), and yelled at him as he left early

he was introduced by George Ryan as the greatest Bear football player ever. Here he is, folks: Dick Butkus!

you should have heard the crowd's stunned reaction

killer stuff

[FredScuttle]

10. Methinks the GOP voters in Illinois won't quite understand this

Meet (potential) candidate Mike Ditka...supporter of same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, and awkward, awkward photo ops




of course, he may try to embrace this to show his "sensitive" side to swing voters


however, I think any Ditka campaign would end very similarly to the typical Saints effort when he was there

[troublemaker]

11. there are things which ought not be fed

[BlackVelvetElvis]

12. I spoke with my friend in Chicago today

She told me that Ditka paid for a year of air fare for a fetus in a jar. This fetus was one that a pro-life group took to rallys (their little mascot). It couldn't be carried as cargo, so it had to have it's own seat.
Has anyone heard anything about that?

[gauguin57]

19. if that thing about the fetus

is true, I'm going to bed for the next seven days. With the covers over my head. I don't even know what to say.

If it's true... nice "respect for life," there, Mike. Fetus in a jar. Sheesh.

But I will get out of bed when they feature the fetus-in-the-jar on the reality show, "Airline."

"Tonight on 'Airline,' a very angry celebrity coach argues with Yolanda at the ticket counter over his Frequent Fetus Flier Miles."

[Guaranteed]

13. We'd have to go after the stress issue.

He has a temper, high-blood-pressure. Can he handle the high-profile, extremely important position of being a US Senator? I mean, you have a bad day as a football coach, and you lose a game. You have a bad day in the US Senate, and you invade a country that was no threat to you.

[Hailtothechimp]

14. He won't give up his TV gig or his Levitra endorsements. n/t

[sandraj]

15. Ditka is a household name

in and around Chicago and has some "local celebrity" power going for him. But I don't see him as a serious contender. Downstate, and up near the Wisconsin border, people are either St. Louis fans or Milwaukee fans. I'm not sure he'd get all that much support outside of the Chicago area.

Obama has a good support base in Chicago, including affluent suburbs where people typically are conservative and vote Republican. Many downstate democrats favored Dan Hynes over Obama back in March, but I doubt that would hurt his chances against Ditka.

For reference, here's a story about the March vote...

http://www.illinoistimes.com/gbase/Gyrosite/Content?oid=oid%3A3000

In an astonishing landslide victory, state Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago, garnered some 54 percent of the statewide vote to win the nomination. While Obama edged out party favorite Hynes by just 200 votes to win Sangamon County, his overwhelming support in Chicago made the downstate vote almost irrelevant.

"I was shocked that Obama won as handedly as he did," Timoney admitted the next morning. "Chicago and Cook County won it for him. It would have been impossible for anyone to overcome his numbers out of Chicago."

[Hubert Flottz]

16. Mite Dickya is going to run!

I could see the wild eyed greed on my TV!

[Ruffhowse]

17. God I hope he does the smart thing....

...and stays out. That's all we need is another celebrity puppet legislator being led around by handlers that tell him what to do everyday.

[CaTeacher]

20. if the arnold could win--

so could he. But he would be getting into the race a little late.