August 2010
08/31/10Right Nation 2010, Featuring Glenn Beck, to Take Place on Yom KippurIt’s a whopper of a public relations blunder. Speakers for Right Nation 2010’s “evening extravaganza” on September 18th at the 10,000-seat Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates include Glenn Beck, gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady, blogger Andrew Breitbart, Rep. Aaron Schock, and Tea Party leader Herman Cain. One problem: the evening convention, which follows an afternoon “activist training conference” for conservatives at the nearby Marriot Chicago Northwest, is on Yom Kippur, the holiest of the Jewish High Holy Days. Posted at 04:48 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (4) |
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08/31/10Top Political Prognosticator: Mark Kirk Will WinIn the Senate race between Mark Kirk and Alexi Giannoulias—a contest labeled “a toss-up” by Rasmussen—a leading political prognosticator in Washington gives the edge to the 10th District congressman. Stuart Rothenberg—a frequent guest on Sunday morning talk shows, an on-air election night analyst, and editor of the Rothenberg Political Report—is one of the go-to guys for nonpartisan predictions... Posted at 11:16 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (2) |
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08/24/10Blago: The View from WashingtonIf Rod Blagojevich has one hero in life besides Elvis, it’s Richard Nixon, and if there’s one newspaper that wrecked Nixon’s life and legacy it’s the Washington Post. How ironic, then, that the Washington Post is trumpeting almost the same line as Blago himself. The Washington Post of Pentagon Papers and Watergate? Yes. Last week, the paper ran an editorial titled “Federal prosecutors should not retry Rod Blagojevich.”... Posted at 07:50 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (1) |
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08/20/10The Prosecutors' Biggest Blunder in the Blago CaseThe key mistake in the government’s case against Rod Blagojevich happened right at the start of the trial, during jury selection, with the choice of a juror who ultimately became the sole vote siding with the ex-gov on key counts of the indictment. Sources say the holdout juror, an African-American retired state worker who had worked for the Illinois Department of Public Health, should have been dismissed... Posted at 01:09 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (4) |
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08/19/10Sam Adam Jr. and Sr. Are Out, Says a Top Defense LawyerThe father-and-son defense team that represented Rod Blagojevich in the ex-gov’s corruption case is likely to bow out before the retrial, according to a prominent veteran defense lawyer in town who knows the Adams well. My source, whom I interviewed after closing arguments in the case in late July... Posted at 12:05 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (7) |
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08/17/10Obama's Bogeyman, Americans for Prosperity, to Target IllinoisWhile Illinois is not currently on the most recent list of the 11 states (24 congressional districts) that the right-leaning Americans for Prosperity has targeted with a major ad campaign, an AFP rep for the state said that the group is planning a new project to bring its movement here... Posted at 12:38 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (3) |
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08/12/10Rostenkowski Reflects: His Thoughts on Kennedy, Daley, Obama, and MoreLast March, I met Dan Rostenkowski for lunch at Mitchell’s on Clybourn Avenue. Here, some highlights of our conversation, which covered more than 50 years of local and national politics and included his thoughts on Mayor Daley, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and more... Posted at 09:14 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (6) |
08/05/10Kirk Ex-wife: Mark Will WinYesterday, I ran excerpts of my conversation with Kirk’s ex-wife, Kimberly Vertolli, in which she discussed the “Svengali figure” behind his campaign, Dodie McCracken. Here, Vertolli offers her take on what would seem to be Kirk’s perplexingly unnecessary exaggerations. She adds that, despite some missteps in his campaign, in the race between Kirk and Giannoulias, she would vote for her ex... Posted at 09:53 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (18) |
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08/04/10Mark Kirk’s Ex-wife: ‘Svengali Figure’ Influencing CandidateHer marriage to Rep. Mark Kirk (R-10th Dist.) may have ended amicably in June 2009, and the two may remain friends today, but Kimberly Vertolli said that she will not “advocate” for her ex in his Senate run because she fears he is too influenced by a “Svengali figure” in his life—a former staffer named Dorothy “Dodie” McCracken... Posted at 11:53 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (19) |
Felsenthal Files is a blog by author Carol Felsenthal, a lifelong Chicagoan and self-proclaimed political junkie. Her focus here will be Chicago politics, which, in the age of Obama, extends to the national and international spheres. Felsenthal is a regular blogger for The Hill and The Huffington Post and has written several books, including Clinton in Exile: A President Out of the White House. Among her many stories for Chicago are memorable profiles of Michelle Obama and Rod Blagojevich.
