Bill Brady is getting the Poshard treatment

I used to think Bill Brady was the Republican's strongest candidate in the Illinois primary for Governor. He comes off as sincere, likable, and maybe honest enough to bring the kind of reform Illinois voters have been wanting for years. He comes from central Illinois, with its many moderate swing voters, in a year when all Democratic candidates are from the same city.

I wasn't worried about someone like Dillard or another Topinka who would probably play the same patronage and pay-to-play game as Blagojevich but for the other party. That's not what independent voters are looking for.

But I underestimated how little Brady is known in Chicago and the collar counties. He's about to get the Glenn Poshard treatment.

Poshard finished third in Cook county when he won the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1998. He was barely known in the region, so his first introduction to Chicago voters was through a series of negative TV ads unfairly painting him as too conservative for Illinois.

Poshard pledged not to take PAC money and didn't have the funds to respond. By the time he fought back with his own ads, it was too late. The one impression most of my Chicago friends still have of Poshard is that he's a very conservative downstater. He never had the chance to define himself or fight the race on his issues.

The same thing is starting to happen to Brady. Giving the conservative label to Poshard was a stretch but the shoe is a much better fit on Brady. Quinn is surprisingly disciplined about calling Brady a conservative extremist and pointing out positions that most voters disagree with.

But I don't think giving quotes to reporters is enough. If Quinn repeats George Ryan's tactic of running early TV ads he'll be the one who introduces Bill Brady to Chicagoland voters. The race could be over by the end of Spring if Quinn acts before Brady has the chance to raise money.

This is Pat Quinn's race to lose. The first big mistake he could make is alienating downstate swing voters by picking a Lt. Governor candidate from Cook or the collar counties. Finding a progressive downstater with a meaningful base of regional support should be a no-brainer. I can only think of half a dozen names who fit that criteria and three of them have expressed interest.

As long as he picks a good running mate, it won't be easy for Quinn to mess up his victory.