Judy Biggert

IL-13: Harper Campaign Gets Out The Vote

Adam Doster — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:15:20 -0800

Rose, a freckled, brown-haired field organizer, laughed when I asked what time she got up this morning. "Three-fifteen," she said with a slight grin. "But we didn't get to bed until 2:30."

Over the past week, staffers like Rose and a bevy of volunteers for Democrat Scott Harper's 13th District campaign have worked at a frenetic pace. When I arrived at at their Naperville-based headquarters just before 6 AM, 60 canvassers were already out in the field, posting signs and passing out campaign flyers. Throughout the day, the campaign plans to run phone banks from 14 office phones, dispatch volunteers for election protection, and hit targeted precincts with GOTV materials.

According to Harper, his campaign's enthusiasm matches that of the district's voters. "I've been out to train stations and coffee shops and I've knocked on doors," he told me, standing next to his daughter who had flown in from New York City, "and it feels like a lot of people out there want change."

I later tagged along on a literature drop in Aurora with a group of canvassers -- all of them young, brimming with the energy one might expect from an upstart Democratic campaign. Spencer, a 16-year old high school junior, couldn't drive or vote, but he cut physics class to donate some of his time."If I can get one person to vote who wouldn't have voted otherwise," he said, "I think it partially counts as my vote." Throughout the weekend, only one of the four Harper canvassers had run into anyone working the ground for Rep. Judy Biggert, a fact they seemed to find comforting.

Yet none of them knew how Harper might fare. While the GOP incumbent seems to be winning the yard sign contest, the Cook Political Report downgraded the contest from "Safe Republican" to "Likely Republican" last night and Biggert herself expressed concern about the effect Barack Obama might have on the race.

It's still a long-shot, but with a big turnout and the Harper campaign's grassroots energy, anything is possible.

Biggert "Openly Worried" About "Obama Tsunami" (UPDATED)

Josh Kalven — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:51:01 -0800

In a segment on the 13th Congressional District race tonight, ABC 7's Charles Thomas reported that GOP Rep. Judy Biggert is "openly worried about the effect of Democrat Barack Obama on her reelection campaign." Thomas later featured a clip of Biggert playing up the potential split-tickets in the district (at least in terms of yard signs). He wrapped up the segment by reporting that the Republican incumbents in tight contests in the Chicago suburbs are "no longer criticizing the Democratic presidential candidate, not wanting to antagonize so many Obama voters." Watch it:

(UPDATE: The Cook Political Report has downgraded IL-13 from "Solid Republican" to "Likely Republican.")

Speaking of Obama's support in the 13th District, Huffington Post Chicago highlights a tidbit we missed this morning:

Harris Fawell, former congressman for the 13th Congressional District, is backing a Democrat for president for the first time in his life. The 79-year-old Republican said there's a good chance that Obama will carry the county.

"He's the best I have seen, the most qualified I've ever seen running for president," Fawell said.

Biggert's Shaky Debate Performance

Josh Kalven — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:16:35 -0700

Last night on WTTW, 13th District GOP Rep. Judy Biggert and Democratic challenger Scott Harper appeared together for a discussion that largely focused on the economy and ongoing financial crisis. Biggert's performance didn't exactly instill confidence, however. Simply put, she seemed a bit out of it.

Check out her answer to a question about taxes. Her argument -- this is no time for tax hikes -- is pretty straightforward and unsurprising coming from the lips of a GOP congresswoman. But watch as she appears to just lose her train of thought:

That's not the way you want to end a debate.

Earlier in the segment, she and Harper discussed economic concerns in the district and offered their thoughts on the various versions of the $700 billion bailout plan. Biggert's answers again lacked clarity and she came off as a bit unauthoritative for a five-term member of Congress:

As for Harper, it would have been nice to see him take a page from Dan Seals' book and not only talk about the need for taxpayer protection, but also assistance for homeowners and workers. That being said, kudos to him for bringing up the lack of regulation -- over bond ratings agencies and derivative markets -- and forcing Biggert to answer for it. Again, she rambled far too much in her response, distracting from whatever defense she was trying to get across.

Biggert, House GOP Derail Bailout Proposal

Adam Doster — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:50:23 -0700

GOP Rep. Judy Biggert's response to the problems on Wall Street have been a little eratic to say the least. On Monday, the 13th District representative told the Daily Herald she was "certain a massive bailout is needed":

"This is one time where I don't think the free market can really resolve what happened," said U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, whose district covers suburbs largely south of I-88, the Reagan Tollway. [emphasis added]

Then she sent this email to the Southtown Star's Phil Kadner yesterday after hearing from constituents opposed to the Bush adminstration's $700 billion plan:

"I've received hundreds of calls and e-mails about this proposal in just a couple of days, and frankly, I share their concerns," Biggert said in an e-mail. "Congress needs to come up with better options."

So what were the options that Biggert and her House Republican colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee proposed, completely derailing what seemed to be a done deal? Less regulation and more corporate tax breaks. Via The Hill (emphasis added):

The Republican proposal backs the removal of regulatory and tax barriers to help facilitate the use of private capital to produce liquidity; temporary tax relief provision to help companies free up capital; and temporary suspension of dividend payments by financial institutions.

The free market can't resolve our problems, so let's take an approach that limits the government's role in solving the problem. Makes perfect sense!

There seems to be two plausible explanations for Biggert's approach here. On the one hand, she, like others in her party, may simply be a doctrinaire conservative. From the Politico:

According to one GOP lawmaker, some House Republicans are saying privately that they’d rather “let the markets crash” than sign on to a massive bailout.

“For the sake of the altar of the free market system, do you accept a Great Depression?” the member asked.

On the other hand, her motives may be purely political. As The Nation's Chris Hayes writes, the bailout is simultaneously unpopular and seemingly necessary. So it could be politically advantageous to oppose the bill, knowing that it will ultimately pass:

The optimal outcome for all lawmkers is to vote against the bill and still have it pass. That way you get to have your cake and eat it, too. But what we're dealing with something akin to a massive prisoner's dilemma. Everyone wants to get into the decision quadrant of voting against the bill and having it pass, but of course if everyone rushes for that quadrant, then the bill doesn't pass and it's self-defeating. If you're Pelosi and the Democrats you can't allow the Republican wingnuts off the hook by creating the space for them to crowd into the sweet spot, and then use the bill to run against you. That's why things are so tenuous and difficult to game out.

Everybody's gotta jump together.

Either way, it's pretty poor leadership.

DCCC Adds Scott Harper To "Emerging Races" List (UPDATED)

Angela Caputo — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:16:41 -0700

Based on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's (DCCC) latest decision to add the 13th Congressional District contest to its list of "emerging races," it appears that party leaders are increasingly confident that they have a shot at winning the Republican-controlled seat this fall.

Congressional Quarterly hinted that Democratic candidate Scott Harper was looking viable when it changed the 13th's status from "Safe Republican" to "Leans Republican" in July. "This a race to keep an eye on for signs of increased competitiveness," CQ reported.

Biggert seemed to be feeling the heat at the time. Days later, she released internal polling numbers to The Hill as evidence of her popularity among the district's voters.

An ability to raise some serious campaign cash -- $375,000 as of the end of June (plus $146,000 of his own money) -- is what put Harper on the radar of Democratic party leaders. Last spring the DCCC added IL-13 to it's list of targeted races, which showed that the party was serious about giving organizational and research support to Harper's campaign. The Herald News reported on this "national nod," noting that the DCCC hadn't ruled out naming Harper to its high-profile "Red-To-Blue" list later in the year. With the bump up to the "emerging races" category, the campaign moved one step closer.

Harper's campaign isn't releasing their most recent fundraising figures, but spokesman Max Flessner said today that they're expecting to post another record-breaking quarter." (The filing deadline for the third quarter is October 15.) Harper kept pace with Biggert during the second quarter, but at the end of June had about half as much cash-on-hand as the incumbent.

You can watch our July interview with Harper here, as well as read an earlier conversation from May.

(H/T Swing State Project)

UPDATE: DCCC Midwest press secretary Ryan Rudominer released the following statement on Harper's addition to the list:

"Congresswoman Biggert has ignored the economic needs of middle-class families and she's going to be held accountable for rubber stamping President Bush's failed agenda. In stark contrast, Scott's running an aggressive grassroots campaign and like Democratic Presidential nominee and Illinois Senator Barack Obama, Scott represents much needed change in Washington."

More On Biggert's "Dictator" Accusation

Adam Doster — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:17:34 -0700

We caught Republican Rep. Judy Biggert yesterday describing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in rather unflattering terms for not allowing an up-and-down vote on offshore oil drilling. Turns out, Biggert wasn't alone. The Center for American Progress' Wonk Room has compiled a full list of House Republicans who have tried to brand the California Democrat as a dictator or tyrant since the chamber adjourned earlier this month. My personal favorite? This strange historical analogy, courtesy of Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC):

“When the people of France were starving, they went to the queen and said, ‘The people have no bread.’ The queen’s answer was, ‘Let them eat cake.’ That is not the kind of answer we expect from the leader of the people’s house in the United States of America.”

The irony, of course, is that the House Republicans have committed more than their fair share of obstruction during the 110th Congress. The Republicans attempted to force the House to adjourn repeatedly before August 1. Republican senators have filibustered energy legislation well over 10 times. Conservatives have outright rejected the so-called "Gang of 10" compromise, too. Here's Grist's David Roberts:

Meanwhile, McCain has refused to support the compromise. House Republicans have refused to support the compromise. Rush Limbaugh and his band of dittoheads are going absolutely ballistic on the compromise, flooding the legislators responsible with angry phone calls and claiming that it's going to sink McCain's presidential campaign.

Republicans have also abused a parliamentary maneuver called the "motion to recommit," which gives the minority a final shot to amend a bill before it's voted on by the body -- effectively delaying, modifying, or killing the legislation. From CQ:

So far, Republicans have racked up 116 motions to recommit during the 110th Congress, more than double the previous record of 56 set by the 109th Congress. Of those motions, 24 were adopted, far more than the previous record of six during the 106th Congress.

While Biggert and her cohorts play the victim, it's important to remember that the Republican minority has wielded a remarkable amount of power since the Democrats won back Congress in 2006. Indeed, if Pelosi is a dictator, she's doing a sorry job of consolidating power.

Biggert: Pelosi Is "Being The Dictator" On Drilling

Adam Doster — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:45:10 -0700

What's gotten into the House GOP's drinking water? So enthralled with their worthless plan to drill for more oil offshore, congressmen from across the country have infused their rhetoric with a little extra dose of hyperbole. Rep. Don Manzullo thinks the GOP's empty chamber stunt could be "America’s greatest hour." Minority Leader John Boehner said Americans "will hang" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she doesn't call for an up-and-down drilling vote. And this morning on WLS' Don Wade & Roma, 13th District GOP Rep. Judy Biggert joined in on the Pelosi-bashing fun. Listen here:

Internal mp3

What the American people want is for us to work together to come up with solutions, not to have Nancy Pelosi being the dictator. This is a democracy.

And Biggert isn't the only House Republican choosing to describe Pelosi this way. Check out this clip (caught by the Center for American Progress) of Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) during an August 6 appearance on C-SPAN's Washington Journal:

As Josh noted last week, the suggestion that the Democratic leadership is somehow infringing on the GOP minority's rights by adjourning the chamber for August recess is tough to swallow. After all, prior to August 1, the Republicans repeatedly attempted to force the House to adjourn, as the Washington Post's Dana Milbank recently reported. Furthermore, if the Republicans want to raise a ruckus about obstructionism, maybe they should look to the U.S. Senate, where the GOP minority has blocked a record number of bills favored by both the Democratic majority and the American people.

Biggert Joins The "Texas Tea Party"

Josh Kalven — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:19:56 -0700

The Hill is reporting that GOP Rep. Judy Biggert was among the new arrivals in Washington, DC today, as House Republicans continued their effort to bring Congress back into session so that their offshore drilling bill can receive a vote. As we noted yesterday, Republican Congressmen Peter Roskam, Mark Kirk, and Don Manzullo have also been participating in this bit of political theater.

This morning, Biggert and several of her colleagues joined former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at a press conference to announce a new GOP-sponsored poll purportedly showing that the public supports their actions. From The Hill:

Pollster David Winston of the Winston Group told House Republicans at a morning briefing that 68 percent of Americans want a drilling vote before the end of the 110th Congress. He also said the GOP is winning generic ballots by 12 percent on energy policies when the Republican and Democratic plans are compared, a source in the room said.

I'd be interested to see the wording of that question.

But while we're on the subject of energy-related polling, here are some recent findings that fly in the face of the GOP assumption that the public supports their pro-drilling mantra. In a July poll by Belden Russonello & Stewart, 76 percent of respondents said that "investing in new energy technology including renewable fuels and more efficient automobiles" was a more important government priority than "expanding exploration and drilling for more oil":

As Huffington Post's Sam Stein also mentioned today, 63 percent of the Belden poll respondents said that opening up public lands to oil and gas drilling was "more likely to enrich oil companies than to lower gas prices for American consumers."

Biggert Releases Internals, Harper Hits Back (UPDATED)

Josh Kalven — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:45:44 -0700

The Hill has an interesting article out on internal polling released by 13th District GOP Rep. Judy Biggert. The mid-June survey by American Viewpoint Inc. shows her leading Democratic challenger Scott Harper by 25 points and puts her approval rating at 67 percent. The Harper campaign begs to differ:

Democrat Scott Harper’s campaign disputed those numbers, citing its own polling data, which it says shows the incumbent’s job approval below 50 percent. [...]

Harper’s campaign manager, Sarah Topy, said the Biggert campaign’s decision to release the poll underscored the race’s competitiveness, arguing that Harper is the most serious challenger Biggert has ever faced.

“This is a real race,” Topy added. “Voters are tired of failed leadership and the Bush-Biggert agenda.”

Who knows what the actual landscape looks like in the 13th at the moment. But Topy is right that Biggert's decision to release internal numbers -- to a national outlet, no less -- proves that she's feeling some serious pressure in the wake of Harper's competitive second quarter fundraising.

UPDATE: The Harper campaign has released some of their own 13th District polling numbers (conducted by Fako & Associates between July 15 and July 17). The highlights:

- 71 percent of respondents feel the country is on the "wrong track."

- Biggert's approval rating dropped by 48 percent in November 2007 to 43 percent.

- Democratic affiliation is gradually increasing in the district, while GOP affilitation is dropping.

HuffPo: No Economists Support Drilling As Solution To Gas Woes

Adam Doster — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:27:16 -0700

Conservative bloggers, various GOP members of the Illinois congressional delegation, President Bush, and John McCain have all called for more oil drilling to lower gas prices in the short-term. We did our best to beat back this shaky contention, but alas, we're only bloggers. There has to be some expert out there who can prove us wrong, right?

Not quite. According to The Huffington Post's Sam Stein, it was impossible to find any economist -- from the left or right -- willing to back the proposition that offshore drilling could have a short-term impact on the market dynamics:

The Huffington Post took on the task of finding an expert who thought that Americans would, within the next decade, receive relief at the pump from McCain's plan. Querying the entire scope of the ideological spectrum -- and putting aside the debate over whether or not offshore drilling was sensible policy -- the consensus seemed to be that if the presumptive GOP nominee was persuading voters that he could help decrease their gas bill, he was either living in a political fantasy or being disingenuous.

Maybe Rep. Mark Kirk read Stein's piece. After calling for more drilling off the coast of Cuba, he and Rep. Judy Biggert released an energy proposal yesterday that doesn't include a single mention of additional drilling.

(h/t David Roberts)