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Remind me not to order whatever it is Roeser’s having… yowza. Lay off the Kool Aid.
Oberweis? Peraica?
Seriously?
Remind me again why partisan conservatives think the media is “liberal”….
Georgia George, ya forgot the blood-drippin’ fangs. Also.
(h/t Some guy who likes copyright laws but whose Halloween costume probably won’t include the Un(i/a)bomber… or a 19th C. British poet. Sadly.)
In her interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, conservative Gov. Sarah Palin claimed that she wouldn’t necessarily use the word “terrorist” to describe nuts who bomb abortion clinics. From a related MSNBC story:
Palin resisted the suggestion that if Ayers was a “domestic terrorist” — a standard line in her campaign addresses — then so were conservative religious activists who bombed abortion clinics.
“I don’t know if you’re going to use the word ‘terrorist’ there,” she said.
And here’s video of the exchange so you can judge for yourself. Note the “exasperated” sigh she gives after being asked the obvious question:
Yesterday, I wrote that the heart and soul of the conservative movement was cold, hollow and shriveled from lack of use. That was in response to Fran Eaton, one of Illinois’ conservative leaders, callously claiming that Sen. Obama’s visit to his dying grandmother was somehow simply a political stunt. Conservatives commenting on Ms. Eaton’s venom were even worse in their piranha-like partisan feeding frenzy. And this is apparently a nationwide phenomenon among conservative partisans who traded in their consciences for a few chips at a political poker table.
Madelyn Dunham, Sen. Obama’s grandmother, is his only living forebearer and the two are very close. Both his parents are dead and all of his other grandparents have also passed. Yet to desperate conservative partisans this dying grandmother — heroic in her own way — is nothing but a prop to be shat upon and used for their political gain in the final days of their weak, flailing presidential campaign.
So too apparently for Gov. Palin who sees some sort of distinction between bombing a building and bombing a clinic.
To put this in perspective: Would Sarah Palin still consider the 9/11 hijackers to be terrorists if there had been an abortion clinic in the World Trade Center…?
What the hell is wrong with these conservative partisans that they’ve lost all sense of decency and common humanity?
We’re all in this American community together: you, me, Sarah Palin, Madelyn Dunham, Fran Eaton, Barack Obama, my family, their families, your family, each of our friends and neighbors….
All. Of. Us.
When terrorists bomb an abortion clinic they’re bombing in our communities, in our states, in our nation.
When terrorists fly jets into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and try to also ram the White House or Congress they’re attacking not just New York or DC but all of us.
When one American’s grandmother is dying we can all respect her and her progeny, feel compassion and empathy for them, and honor her life’s work and deeds.
Those 50 stars and 13 stripes don’t represent one political philosophy over another or one batch of citizens over another.
Our flag… our nation… represents us all.
An attack on one is an attack on all. A death for one is a death for all.
No wonder Americans appear to be rejecting this modern, callous brand of John Birch conservatism in droves, as shown in poll after poll.
Roskam is allegedly abusing his Congressional franking privileges in the weeks leading up to Election Day. He’s a freshman in Congress for goodness sake! That didn’t take long.
This hypocrisy is what our tax money goes toward? And here the conservative partisans were whining last June just because Rep. Bill Foster’s Congressional mailers included (gasp!) information about what Rep. Bill Foster was doing for his constituents. More hypocrites.
Progress Illinois reports on the Public Citizen ethics filing and press release:
“Right up into October, just weeks before the election, voters have been receiving two-page color mailers paid for by taxpayers, with Peter Roskam’s name splashed all over them,” said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen. “Taxpayers should not be footing the bill to advertise Roskam’s candidacy for Congress.”
It is illegal for incumbents in Congress to send out mass mailings less than 90 days before an election. Alternatively, it is also illegal for Congressmen to frank mail that includes certain content (like photos of themselves, etc.) on correspondence that is considered smaller than a “mass mailing”. It appears Cong. Roskam could be violating one or both provisions by trying to thread what he may think is a needle-sized loophole. (Update: See scans here. Pages 7 and on of the filed complaint depict how Cong. Roskam has been digitally printing in custom info within a pre-printed space.)
When will the GOP make it official and just switch the elephant with a hippo?
More details to come if they “arrive in the mail”….
I hereby rescind my previous comments indicating GOP State Rep candidate Christine Prochno is a good person.
I understand the swirl of a race can make some folks rather heady and Ms. Prochno may be a decent human being outside of the campaign world. But, this week’s last-minute mailer (see here; 1.6Mb PDF) from the Illinois GOP spewing acid at Mark Walker over his citations from a dozen years ago goes beyond-the-pale.
As soon as this piece of birdcage liner hit mailboxes yesterday, Mark’s wife cut a robocall tape defending her guy against the scurrilous tripe because it doesn’t just highlight his past transgressions but ties Mark’s mistakes to stats about DUI killings and injuries despite the fact Mark didn’t harm anyone. He has admitted to his bad judgment those many years ago and, having learned from his mistakes, hasn’t had a drink since and has been a vocal advocate for safe, sober driving.
I can see pointing out that these violations are on his record and using it as a point of reference or comparison for a campaign — everyone’s human and three DUIs is serious business. But to drag in the deaths of innocent people when Mark had nothing to do with that takes it straight to the gutter. It’s reprehensible that the GOP would tarnish their memories so.
Note too that this vitriolic mailer is quite hypocritical given the DUIs that members of the Republicans’ own caucus have committed recently … Biggins, Dunn, Mitchell, Ed Sullivan. The worst Ed Sullivan got was a picture of a bicycle on then Dem-candidate Nancy Shepherdson’s website because the judge had ordered his car taken away, and even that piece of clip art didn’t stay online long as it was.
None of those facts, apparently, gave the Illinois Republican Party pause. Obviously, IL-GOP still hasn’t figured out that such acrid character assassination attacks are turning out to be a big-time self-inflicted negative this election year (just ask John “pals around with terrorists” McCain and reference his tanking favorability ratings). Of course, the GOP is making a habit of cherry-picking a fact, adding a barely related half-truth, and turning it all into an outright lie — which Ms. Prochno calls “simply politics as usual”. No wonder so many people, already tired of “politics as usual” anyway, are growing more and more disgusted at the elephant party’s legion of smears from the Federal to the local levels.
The Daily Herald called out Mark for the harsh tone of the Dems’ campaign against Chris a few weeks back. Since then his campaign actually did dial it down a bit even as he continues to stake out strong positions contrasting his principles to hers. Now, however, the Herald is slamming Chris Prochno for the newly angry tone of her party’s attacks (and this commentary was published last weekend before the latest attack was lobbed):
Turnabout’s unfair play
A few weeks ago, we slapped Mark Walker’s hand for unseemly direct mail attacks against Christine Prochno of Elk Grove Village in their battle for State Rep. Carolyn Krause’s seat. Walker, an Arlington Heights Democrat, has toned down some since then. But the Republican Party’s gone completely off the wall on behalf of Prochno with an ugly series of unfair and dishonest direct mail attacks against Walker. Christine, please elevate your campaign. (emphasis added)
And, as if the needlessly over-the-top mailer itself weren’t bad enough, it included Mark’s driver’s license number and home address for thousands of neighbors to see thanks to the GOP’s carefully designed layout (I blocked it in my scan). …Just in case any identity thieves in the Republicans’ large mailing universe got bored this week.
Mark has atoned for his sins and tried making amends over the past 12 years as best he can. The GOP’s partisan response to that effort is pathetic and, like McCain’s flailing attempts to sling sewage, may quickly backfire.
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Full disclosure: I’ve known Mark Walker for years. He volunteered for the military to serve in Vietnam, has had a successful business career since then and is also quite active in civic affairs to improve our community as a volunteer.
I’m proud to be supporting Mark’s candidacy for State Rep by going door to door for him and talking to folks about what a great person and solid leader he is.
I’ve also met Chris Prochno and, up until this week, respected her even as she campaigned against my friend….
Sen. Dan Kotowski has earned the nickname “The Tiger” down in Springfield for his tenacious hard work. The Daily Herald recognizes that effort and endorsed Kotowski today (not yet online):
Voters have distinct choices in Sen. Dan Kotowski of Park Ridge and Republican Mike Sweeney of Arlington Heights. Where Kotowski favored gambling expansion in what ended up a failed budget resolution, for example, Sweeney opposes more gambling to prop up “out of control” spending. Sweeney is right about Springfield, of course, in sentiments echoed by voters across the suburbs. But the Daily Herald does not see Kotowski as the problem. Instead, Dan Kotowski has shown independence and resilience at a time when most lawmakers have been relegated to do-nothing status by the powers that be. He should be sent back to continue his work. (emphasis added)
PS… The problems alluded to in this blurb are real. To wit: The major problem in Springfield is Gov. Blagojevich whom Kotowski very publicly declared he would not vote for in 2006 (even as he himself ran for the Senate seat). And, regarding the Stroger tax in Cook County, Kotowski has prepared legislation that would require voter approval for any such tax increases.
For background on Sweeney’s hypocritical, flailing campaign against Kotowski… see my take here or ArchPundit’s comments here and here.
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Full disclosure: I know Dan and am actively volunteering for him. I look forward to voting for him so he can continue to represent me, my family and our principles in our state’s Capitol.
Apparently the Mike Sweeney campaign isn’t too worried about looking hypocritical…. The 29-year-old has been attacking Senator Dan Kotowski (33rd district) all year over the issues of pay raises and taxes. Today the Senate Republicans dumped a bunch of money into Sweeney’s moribund campaign account in order to attack the workhorse Kotowski with a wacky ad.
Sweeney and the Republicans want to talk salary? Fine. The facts are simple:
Kotowski –
- Sen. Kotowski actually co-sponsored (with Sen. Susan Garrett) this year’s action to block legislative pay raises, ticking off Emil Jones in the process. There was some question over the summer of whether or not Jones would it let go through but he did and the vote was 47-nil to stop the raises. (HLR 0132)
- Kotowski gave some of his salary away in the form of a scholarship. Maybe Mike Sweeney should ask Maine South grad Maggie Wave about it sometime. (The Pioneer Press and Daily Herald reported on this last spring so it’s not like Sweeney couldn’t have easily found out about it… if he actually cared about his would-be constituents that is.)
- Kotowski also refused the stipend that was given to legislators last year because of the governor’s idiocy with his past-the-deadline budget goofiness. By the by, Kotowski famously didn’t vote for Blagojevich’s reelection in 06.
Sweeney -
- Mike Sweeney works full time as a manager for a local Walgreens store. He likely makes a decent annual salary in that position; nothing wrong with that.
- But, on top of his regular, work-a-day salary from Walgreens Mike Sweeney also rakes in another $22,000+ from the taxpayers of Elk Grove Township because he is their appointed, part-time Township Clerk.
22k from the taxpayers as a part-time guy who works another job full-time anyway? And he’s attacking the incumbent on salary increases (increases that the guy worked to actually block)…?
Get a new talking point.
- But wait, there’s more. Sweeney hasn’t just been yelping about lege salaries. He’s also been griping about raises.
Yet sure enough his own $22,000 taxpayer-funded salary is actually … you guessed it … a raise over last year, and the year before, and the year before. Yes, fair readers, Sweeney’s been taking in taxpayer funded payraises every single year he’s been a Clerk including this year while he’s been complaining out of the other side of his mouth about payraises in Springfield (even though those raises actually got killed thanks to Kotowski and Garrett).
- Another little aside on Elk Grove Township and use of tax funds… The Republican-led Township trustees have also seen fit to mail out their township newsletter to a bunch of folks on the south end of Wheeling Township (which neighbors Elk Grove) for well over a year. Amazingly, these Wheeling Twp denizens also happen to live in the 33rd district. All that extra printing and postage for people who don’t even live in that township is just a coincidence, I’m sure.
…Speaking of taxes, Sen. Kotowski has sponsored legislation to strike back at Todd Stroger’s stupid sales tax. Since he’s so anti-tax (even though his fellow party members on the Elk Grove Township board seem very ready to literally throw tax money out the window) Mike Sweeney might want to look it up and learn something about the job he’s seeking.
It’s all well and good that both Kotowski and Sweeney actually agree (in word, if not in deed) on these issues. But Kotowski has the record of actually doing something more than just talking about salaries and taxes, as opposed to Sweeney who has happily double-dipped on both his full-time salary and the gravy train of his taxpayer-funded salary and annual raises for part-time work.
Here’s a Kotowski campaign press release from last Thursday. A bit more pertinent today:
Dan Kotowski for Senate | October 9, 2008
Republican campaigns against pay raises, can’t run from the fact that he accepted three pay raises as Elk Grove Township Clerk
Republican Mike Sweeney has run on a campaign pledge to refuse legislative pay raises, but as Elk Grove Township Clerk he collected three taxpayer-funded pay raises over the last three years.
The three percent pay raises applied to all elected township officials for the years 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, resulting in a nine percent pay raise for Sweeney over the same period.
According to Resolution No. 2004-11, which was approved in 2005 by the Elk Grove Township Board of Trustees, the pay raises were scheduled to kick in each May. In press releases and newsletters to voters, Sweeney has accused state legislators of lining their pockets at the expense of taxpayers.
State Sen. Dan Kotowski has a record of opposing pay increases in the Illinois Senate. He went against his party leadership and led the fight to blockthe legislative pay raise proposed by the Compensation Review Board. In fact, Kotowski was achief sponsor of the resolution, which passed in September and stopped the pay increase from going into effect.
Kotowski also returned to the Illinois Treasury the stipends provided to him during legislative overtime sessions last year. He also contributed $3,000 from his salary to a local educational scholarship.
Kotowski said his opponent’s statements are another example of the misleading, negative campaign that he has run this far.
“My opponent has tried to mislead the voters about my record. He has presented few solutions and presented as his single biggest issue a promise not to accept a legislative pay raise, but he’s already accepted three as township clerk. How can the public trust him to keep this campaign promise if he is says one thing and does another?” Kotowski said.
And here is Mike Sweeney’s two-faced attack:
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Full Disclosure: Regular readers know I’m a Kotowski supporter. New readers may not. I’ve been supporting Dan Kotowski since his first run in 2006 and am volunteering and endorsing him again this year. He’s accomplished more in his first two years in office (15 bills passed and signed into law improving everything from safety to healthcare to veterans’ issues) than many of Springfield’s politicians do in their entire career.
Dan Kotowski has earned my trust and support and I’m happy to help him when and where I can.
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UPDATE: ArchPundit is more concise than I in taking the Republicans to task for their mud-slinging hypocrisy.
…Larry obviously did not inherit the talkiness gene from his mom, unlike me. 
NESSY HEADLINE: GOPUSA ILLINOIS Editor Dave Diersen makes it clear that he has no problem with GOP candidates John McCain and Mark Kirk or the Republican National Committee accepting thousands upon thousands of dollars from anti-American hypocrites who pal around with unrepentant domestic terrorist Ayers or McCain’s and Kirk’s and the GOP’s relationships to those well-heeled terrorist sympathizers.
http://capitalfax.blogspot.com/2008/10/gopusa-illinois-daily-clips-october-10.html
(…Ain’t Conserv-O-Logic™ fun? Milton-Bradley ought to get rights on making this a word game. The holidays are coming up.)
Sadly (and in all seriousness), GOPUSA ILLINOIS Editor Dave Diersen also makes it clear he has no problem with a highly partisan activist taking taxpayer money to freelance as a supposedly non-partisan Election Commission spokesman.
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PS: Everyone already know Diersen was full of it, but apparently he’s also completely heartless … playing the Levite during his neighbors’ hour of need. From that same GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletter:
SUBURBAN LIFE
– DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: Democrats get 45,000 people who lack job skills and/or lack job experience and/or who have severe health, financial, and/or other problems to come to DuPage County to “live in poverty” and 121,000 to live “one paycheck away from being homeless.”
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/glenellyn/homepage/x1452590143/-Sleep-Out-Saturday-raises-awareness-of-homelessness
Very sad indeed, not too mention un-Christian and just plain cold. Clearly, he has no interest in being his neighbors’ keeper when they’re down on their luck. If only all of those whom he walks over could be as privileged as him to live on a pile of poop, his sheer lack of compassion might then go unnoticed.
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UPDATE: Your GOPUSA ILLINOIS Editor does a bit of creative editing but by and large actually reported at least one report fairly accurately at the very tail end of this morning’s GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletter. Good on ya, mate.
Fun with numbers. I’m not sure how accurate that is, but if it’s true… wow.
