A not-so-friendly response to a political ad about friendship
It seems like this friendship could have been one-sided.
A TV ad running for Democratic congressional candidate Betsy Dirksen Londrigan features a person identified as Stephen, who says U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, “was a friend of mine.”
He says he donated more than $1,000 to Davis, but then says Davis’ “other friends,” who he identifies as “corporate special interests,” wrote bigger checks – totaling in the millions – and Davis “voted with them on health care.”
“After I saw Rodney celebrating his vote to gut protections for pre-existing conditions, I was done,” he states, as a picture of President Donald Trump and members of Congress including Davis is shown.
Davis has voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but says it has proven unaffordable to many and he wants coverage for pre-existing conditions covered in any replacement.
Stephen is shown walking with Londrigan, saying he has “a better friend, and you will, too” with her.
Turns out Steve Groll, 52, a lifelong Pana resident and principal of Southfork High School-Junior High in Kincaid, is the person in the ad.
He is now a Democratic precinct committeeman, served two years on the Christian County Board in the early 2000s and ran for a couple of countywide offices, the first in the 1990s. He says he knew Davis through friends who went to Millikin University with Davis.
“I don’t dislike Rodney at all,” he said. “I think he’s a good guy. I just don’t like the way he’s voted.” He also said he thinks President Donald Trump is “a pathological liar,” and “If Trump gets re-elected, Betsy is certainly not going to have to worry about standing up to him,” where Davis seems to need to make a calculation about the president of his own party, making Davis“not as vocal” or not “taking more courageous stands” when needed.
Aaron DeGroot, spokesman for Davis, said it is “very dishonest” of Londrigan’s campaign to call Groll a friend of the congressman.
“Mr. Groll is a Democrat political operative in Christian County … so it’s no surprise he’s supporting the Democrat candidate for Congress,” DeGroot said. “I don’t know what Londrigan believes, but contributing to a political campaign doesn’t turn that person into a ‘friend.’ It’s sad that Londrigan has to lie like that in paid advertising.”
Groll responded later that once Davis was appointed to the GOP ballot for Congress after the primary in 2012 (and after former U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, dropped out of the race), he backed Davis.
“In fact I believe I walked in a couple of parades for Rodney, had his sign in my yard, and even participated in phone banking for him that year,” Groll said.
Speaking of Trump, the Londrigan campaign Thursday issued a statement, after revelations from a new book, “Rage” by Bob Woodward, about how the president dealt with the COVID-19 threat early this year. The release said Trump repeatedly lied about the virus and downplayed its seriousness, and by not calling out Trump, Davis was “blindly following the lead of Washington Republicans who concealed the true threat. …”
Asked about that Friday on WMAY radio, Davis said: “If there’s any one person to blame for not responding to this pandemic as well as we should, now that we know more about a disease that no one on earth knew existed a year ago, it would be bipartisan blame, and everyone in D.C. should be blamed. What I find frustrating is that we have a Bob Woodward, who obviously makes a lot of money writing books. If the debate in the 24-hour news cycle echo chamber is that somehow President Trump cost American lives by trying to make sure that he didn’t create a panic in this country, my question then is, at what point is it Mr. Woodward’s responsibility to let the American people know months ago, rather than waiting for a time that he can make more money for his book, closer to the election.”
Davis also linked Londrigan to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, as does an ad the Davis campaign began running last week. A similar theme was used in the 2018 Davis race against Londrigan, which the incumbent won by less than a point.
Madigan hasn’t been charged in a crime and says he has done nothing improper, but is named “public official A” in a deferred prosecution agreement in which Commonwealth Edison said it gave jobs and contracts to Madigan associates to curry favor with him.
The Davis ad calls Madigan “the most corrupt politician Illinois,” says Londrigan is “part of Madigan’s machine,” and her campaign “is bankrolled by Madigan and his henchmen.”
Madigan chairs the Democratic Party of Illinois. The ad says Londrigan refuses to call for his resignation, and she “would make Washington more corrupt.”
Background information from the Davis campaign notes that Londrigan has a joint fundraising committee with Madigan and in 2018, Madigan spent more than $293,000 on behalf of Londrigan’s campaign. Both examples involve Democratic Party of Illinois functions – and Madigan chairs the state party.
“No one is above the law,” Londrigan says of Madigan. “We deserve transparency and answers from our officeholders, and if these allegations are true, then any officeholder involved should step down immediately.”
Given that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is also helping fund ads running against Davis, DeGroot says it is “very hypocritical” of Londrigan to claim not to accept corporate political action committee money, when the DCCC does.
Londrigan has said limiting her own campaign by not taking corporate PAC money is “a step in the right direction.”
Londrigan spokeswoman Eliza Glezer said the Davis ad shows that despite his years in Washington, “Rodney Davis still can’t come up with a single positive reason for people to vote for him so he’s resorted to launching desperate and misleading attacks instead.”
Congratulations
Congratulations to the family of Mayor Jim Langfelder on the recent wedding of his son, Justin, 28, to Lindsay Nation.
The Sept. 3 ceremony, officiated by Circuit Judge John “Mo” Madonia, was at the home of Nation’s parents.
“Couldn’t ask for a better daughter-in-law,” Langfelder said. “She’s a well-grounded person.”
The newlyweds have a 5-month-old daughter, Lylah Kay.
About a dozen people attended the wedding, given the pandemic, but there’s a hoped-for renewal of vows for a larger crowd next year.
Contact Bernard Schoenburg: Bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com, 788-1540, twitter.com/bschoenburg
