Quinn: Brady the Extremist

On Friday, the Quinn team released a statement following Bill Brady's official victory in the Republican primary:

The Republican nominee is from the extreme right wing of the party and far from the mainstream of Illinois voters.  In his legislative career, Senator Bill Brady has voted against the Family Medical Leave Act, equal pay for men and women, and raising the minimum wage.  He has also proposed repealing anti-discrimination laws, would ban all abortions -- even for victims of rape and incest -- and even voted against a bill funding mammograms and pap tests.  These and other extreme positions reflect Mr. Brady's misguided priorities, especially at a time when we need to rebuild our economy and prepare our workers for the jobs of the future.  He may represent the extreme fringe of the right-wing, but he certainly does not represent the people of Illinois.

Zorn followed up and received a list of Brady votes supporting the charge. Here are a few, but click over to Zorn for the complete list:

Brady voted against increasing the minimum wage. Brady voted against a bill that raised the Illinois minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.50 per hour.  It also provided for annual cost-of-living adjustments to the minimum wage.  The bill also allowed the Department of Labor to set a minimum wage rate for workers under 18 and did not cover any employees not covered under the federal minimum wage.  [HB 1954, Third Reading, 63-52-2, 3/18/99]
 
Brady voted against legislation to require insurance coverage of contraceptives. Brady voted against a bill that required health insurance companies to include benefits for outpatient prescription contraceptive drugs, devices and services.  It also clarified that it did not require coverage of services related to abortion.  The bill was signed into law by the Governor.  [HB 211, Third Reading, 34-23-1, 5/16/03]

Voted NO on SB 4 (2007) - Stem Cell Initiative  SB 4 created the Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning Prohibition Act which became law in 2007.  It permits research involving human embryonic stem cells allows public funding for stem cell research programs.   The law also Prohibits cloning or attempts to clone a human being, and it prohibits the purchase or sale of embryonic or fetal tissue for research purposes.

Instead of answering the charge, the Brady team seems more interested in refocusing the campaign message on jobs and the economy. From a press release:

Senator Bill Brady, Republican candidate for Governor, Monday said his campaign will focus on building an economic climate that fosters job creation and restoring integrity in Illinois.

"I'm running for Governor to help create jobs for Illinois families, to protect us from higher taxes and out-of-control spending and to stand up for what I think is honest," Brady said.

"The insider games and closed-door deals are going to end when I'm Governor. My administration will provide a clean break from the policies and the politics of the Blagojevich-Quinn administrations that have led to debt, deficit and disgrace."

Not surprisingly, the Brady folks don't want this campaign to turn into an examination of Brady's social conservative record. But the Quinn folks don't want it to turn into a referendum on the last decade of Democratic control of state government. Brady should have been hitting these themes on Feb. 3, instead of March 8. But considering how few Illinoisans actually voted in the primary, it's probably not too late to fight back against the Quinn team's efforts at defining their opponent as an extremist.

Tomorrow the governor is going to present his budget plan to the legislature. Brady is scheduled to follow up the governor's address with criticism and a plan of his own.