Republican candidates for Illinois governor Richard Irvin and Darren Bailey debate before the Chicago Tribune editorial board, Tuesday, May 17, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Many years ago my big brother, Tom, taught me a trick I use every time I see a TV commercial about candidates in the race for Illinois governor.
We were watching a ballgame and when commercials came on between innings, he muted the TV.
My advice is to not only mute TV commercials but to ignore all political advertising. Political ads often are distorted, misleading depictions of candidates. Few forms of messaging are more divorced from the truth.
Voters ought to independently research candidates to decide who is most deserving to hold public office. Experience, education, endorsements, testimonials, voting records and other background should reveal more about a person than hollow promises, statements about hot-button topics and other claims in commercials.
Yet, when people ask me about the June 28 gubernatorial primary, they often want to know my opinion about claims in TV ads. Is GOP hopeful Richard Irvin really tough on crime? Did Republican Darren Bailey vote for President Barack Obama?
Is Irvin a Republican In Name Only, or RINO, who called incumbent Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker a “great friend and great leader?” People ask what I think about TV ads that claim Irvin called President Donald Trump an idiot and bigoted racist in text messages and wrote, “And I hate Trump too!”
Good luck trying to escape the flood of TV ads as the primary election enters the home stretch. Illinois gubernatorial candidates and political action committees have spent more than $70 million on TV ads this cycle, Politico reported Thursday.
Hopefully, TV stations raking in windfalls from political advertising will invest some of the revenue in resources to develop more thoughtful and comprehensive political reporting and analysis to help voters make informed choices.
Irvin, the Aurora mayor backed by $50 million of billionaire Ken Griffin’s money, has spent $26 million on TV ads. Pritzker has spent $17 million. The Democratic Governors Association has spent another $15 million attacking Irvin and trying to boost Bailey, who is considered a weaker opponent to Pritzker in the November general election.
Conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein has pumped more than $9 million into Bailey’s campaign for the Republican nomination. Uihlein, co-founder of the Uline shipping and business supply company, has given another $8 million to a group backing Bailey and running Irvin attack ads, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Irvin made news this week when his campaign pulled TV ads from Downstate markets to shift more resources to the Chicago area. The Irvin camp made the move after political operative Dan Proft announced that a poll showed Bailey leading Irvin 27% to 20%.
Jesse Sullivan polled a distant 13% in the survey of 600 likely GOP voters. Gary Rabine notched 12%. Proft made no mention of Republican gubernatorial candidate Max Solomon of Hazel Crest, who continues to get about as much respect as the late comedian and actor Rodney Dangerfield.
It’s only one poll, but the results appear consistent with a prediction I made two months ago that Bailey would beat Irvin in the primary and lose to Pritzker in November.
I believe it is more clear now than in April that Irvin has no path to victory in Illinois and that Griffin’s $50 million in campaign funding support is a colossal waste of money.
I miss the old days when tycoons with names like Rockefeller and Carnegie donated money to build libraries, museums, concert halls and other cultural destinations. Today’s billionaires seem more interested in using their wealth to elect candidates whose primary objective is to support tax breaks for the ultra rich. The elite seem intent on stroking their egos, increasing their obscene share of wealth and create division among lower classes. We can thank the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission for reversing century-old campaign finance restrictions.
That’s why ordinary citizens are besieged by with TV commercials attacking various candidates. Millions of dollars more are spent on glossy mailers, internet ads, billboards, yard signs, robocalls and other advertising.
The lack of restrictions on political campaign spending stokes division and harms democracy.
The amount spent on TV attacks ads this cycle is stupid because opposing interests seem to cancel out whatever gains hope to be realized through spending on messaging.
One would think Irvin would have bought himself a lead in a poll with the $26 million spent on TV ads, except that Pritzker and the Democratic Governors Association has outspent him by $6 million.
This is just the primary, folks. After June 28, we still have more than five months until the general election in November. Regardless of who wins the Republican nomination, the victor and his supporters are likely to spend tens of millions of dollars on more TV ads this summer and fall.
Oh boy, I can hardly wait. My thumb will get quite the workout using the remote to mute the television.
Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.