Well it probably just fanned the flames more when Hare posted an "explanation" this weekend of his earlier comments on the Constitution and subliminally gave constituents the finger. And it certainly helps that his GOP opponent, Bobby Schilling, has been running a superb, disciplined campaign and pouncing on Hare.
The hardest part of winning that seat is that it's much harder to GOTV for our base in that district compared to their base. Our base is scattered throughout the rural blotches all over the district (though Quincy is a GOP stronghold), whereas the RAT's base is in the Quad Cities and the Universities.
Remember, before Judy Baar Topinka destroyed our state GOP (and then Andy McKenna ran it completely into the ground), we had a 11-10 GOP majority delegation in the U.S. Congress. If Illinois Republicans get their act together and can take out Bean, Foster, Halveston, and Hare (plus take Kirk's open seat), we'd go from a 12-7 RAT majority to a 12-7 GOP majority.
Some interesting background on Wikipedia showing how Schilling has been making this normally safe seat competitive:
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2010 candidacy
Inspired to run after the victories of Barack Obama and Hare in the 2008 elections,[23] Schilling announced his candidacy in April 2009[24][25] and officially filed for the Republican nomination in October 2009.[26][27]
He has vowed not to participate in the congressional pension program, to keep his private health insurance instead of the congressional plan, to donate any pay raises he receives, to limit himself to no more than 8 years in Congress, and not to vote for any bill he hasn't read.[28][29][30] "I'm not going to make a career out of this," he says.[31]
He has been campaigning across the district, holding several town hall meetings on health care reform[32][33] and being involved in many local events,[34] such as meet-and-greets[35], veterans' dinners[36], a state GOP luncheon,[37] and the September 12 Tea Party protest in Quincy, Illinois.[38] He has also campaigned with gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady.[39]
He said his campaign set an off-year fundraising record for a challenger in the 17th district, amassing about $89,000 in 2009, beating the $82,000 record held by 1998 candidate Mark Baker.[40] The campaign also raised more money in individual donations in the 4th quarter in 2009, receiving $53,567 in individual donations compared to Hare's $49,420.[41]
A blog post by conservative news magazine National Review called the race competitive, saying, "This is not a seat that has been on most analysts' lists of likely competitive races."[42]
Out of 64,141 total votes cast in each party for the February 2nd Illinois primary, Hare took 32,496 votes (50.66%) to Schilling's 31,645 (49.34%).[43][44] "After the results of yesterday’s election, one thing is clear: voters are ready for a clean break from the failed ideas of the past," Schilling said after the primary. "Voter turnout shows that my Democrat opponent and I nearly had identical votes."[45] Because of the close results, National Review said the race is "worth keeping an eye on."[46]
Schilling, largely viewed as the underdog in the race, says, “I knew it was going to be this way. I knew it was going to be a tough race. I really like being underestimated."[47]
Schilling says, "Everybody is focusing on why these guys are the bad guys instead of working together toward a common good."[48]
He has been featured in the Weekly Standard.[49]
A February 2010 poll by We Ask America showed Hare leading Schilling 39% to 32%, with 26% undecided.[50][51]
[edit] Criticisms of Hare
He has criticized Hare for voting in lockstep with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid[52] and for sponsoring a bill that would seek to create jobs from unused portions of the Troubled Assets Relief Program.[53]
He embarked on a "Bob's for Jobs" tour across the district to meet with employers and hear their concerns about the job market.[54][55] While on the tour he slammed Hare for taking the majority of his political contributions from outside the district.[56][57] The Schilling campaign noted that 85% of its contributions came from inside the 17th district.[58]
Schilling went on the offensive against Hare in April 2010 when a video surfaced showing Hare saying, regarding health care reform, "I don't worry about the Constitution on this, to be honest."[59][60][61] He goes on to incorrectly state that the words "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" appear in the Constitution.[62] When corrected that those words are actually in the Declaration of Independence, he responds, "Doesn't matter to me, either one."[63] Hare was also grilled for his claim that he read the approximately 2,700 page bill three times, which, at a minute per page, would take 135 hours, or 5.6 days, to read. Controversy erupted in the national media, with Fox News and Fox Business Network airing parts of the video on national TV and websites such as Drudge Report and HotAir.com linking to it.
Schilling slammed Hare for his comments, issuing a press release calling the statement "outrageous and ridiculous" and saying "this explains why Congress is out of control."[64][65] The Hare camp fired back, saying his comment was taken out of context and that "Congressman Hare served 6 years in the Army Reserves. He needs no lectures on fighting for the Constitution. He will continue to work to make health care more affordable and accessible, while also upholding his Constitutional oath."[66]
The Schilling campaign issued a second response, saying, "Rep. Hare showed his disdain and ignorance of the Constitution and is now blaming it on our campaign. The story here is that Congressman Hare doesn't know the difference between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and doesn't care about representing the people of the 17th District. I find it confusing that Phil Hare has the time to read the 2,700 page healthcare bill three times, but doesn't have the time to read the document that has kept our nation stable for the past 240 years. How sad."[67][68] Schilling said there wasn't anything to be taken out of context: "I think after he said what he said, you know, basically saying that 'hey, the Constitution...I don't worry about the Constitution.' And then he realized what he had just said, and I mean you could see that in the video."[69]
Schilling was mentioned by conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt, who called him "the happiest guy in the world" because of the negative attention the video has brought to Hare, on the news talk show Hannity
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