Talking Points Memo caught this item this morning:
"Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) has now been caught on several occasions exaggerating his military exploits and service in his race for the Illinois Senate [seat] once held by Barack Obama. But state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, herself a veteran, managed to bungle things pretty badly when she went on the local Fox affiliate to knock him around and said Kirk should 'come out and apologize to all the veterans, especially the veterans during the Vietnam era since that's when he supposedly served.' "
((Not a candidate diary but similar.) - promoted by wegerje)
Now is the time.
Jim Pistorius, a progressive democrat is running for Congress in IL 14th district. He will be challenging incumbent Bill Foster for his seat. Jim says "the people of the 14th district have spoken. Now it's time to have someone in office who will listen. When a king didn't listen to his people across an ocean; there were some who said now is the time to change things. A group of patriots stood up and said now is the time."
Jim will be the leader we all want and deserve. He fight for our children to receive a free college education; energy that is not dependent on oil; immigration reform that is fair to both the undocumented resident and to the citizens of this great country. He will champion the fight to bring back jobs the 14th district, and finally, he will fight to make government open and transparent to all our citizens.
My goal was to send a Republican to Congress from the 14th congressional district. That's not to say that I dislike Foster, Representative [Bill] Foster [D-IL 14], or have anything bad to say about him personally - that's absolutely not the case, by all counts he's a very nice gentleman, very intelligent - but he doesn't, in my estimation, represent the values of the district on various issues. He's not where the majority of the district is - fiscal issues being first and foremost in my mind. He's voted for many of the spending packages where, as far as I can tell, we have no revenue to back them up.
Hastert basically calls Foster too far left for the district. See the link for the rest of the interview...
Is does appear that Denny Hastert's son is thinking of making a serious bid the 14th Congressional District.
Given the penchant in Illinois for electing political dynasties this could spell trouble for Foster.
The district still has a Republican lean to it and it makes sense for a serious challenge before redistricting when it could be carved to be more Democratic friendly.
Not that we didn't see it coming--it was pretty clear that he bailed on us to beat the new "revolving door" rules--but the ABC News Report also did a rundown of the last few sordid years. Besides his part in the Foley scandal,
A 2003 letter Hastert wrote aiding certain Indian tribes threatened to draw him into the Abramoff scandal; Hastert denied wrongdoing. ABC News reported in May 2006 that Hastert had come under investigation in connection with the Abramoff probe. Justice Department officials initially denied he was under investigation, but later said he was "in the mix." No charges were brought.
In 2006, reporters and good government groups made hay over Hastert's involvement in funding a highway project, which helped him make $2 million when he sold land he owned nearby. Hastert's lawyer said there was no connection between the highway project and the land deal.
A 2005 Vanity Fair article alleged Turkish groups and individuals at the Turkish Consulate in Washington, D.C. had discussed funneling tens of thousands of dollars to Hastert in exchange for political favors; his spokesman at the time denied Hastert had any knowledge of Turkish groups and had done no favors.
This is very interesting, because I don't recall anybody besides certain bloggers ever referencing the Vanity Fair article before, yet Sibel Edmonds has been blowing her whistle in the wilderness for several years. Perhaps her documentary is starting to get some attention. I hope so, because allegations of corruption concerning our national security require thorough investigation. And if Denny Hastert took bribes, I want him in jail.
Bill Foster left me a voicemail message that he will be at the DeKalb Jewel-Osco store tomorrow morning at 11:30. I'd heard he was visiting with constituents at the grocery stores but did not know he was getting the word out this way. Pretty cool.
21st Century Servicemembers Protection Act - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to allow individuals called to military service to terminate or suspend a service contract, after the date of entry into service or the date of the military orders, if: (1) the service contract (such as phone, cable, Internet, or utilities) is executed before the individual is called to service for a period of at least 90 days; or (2) the person enters into the contract while in military service and thereafter receives orders for a change of permanent station to a location outside the United States, or to deploy with a military unit for a period of at least 180 days.
Provides penalties against anyone who: (1) holds property or funds of a person in military service who lawfully terminates a contract; or (2) violates the 6% limit on interest rates charged to servicemembers during a period of military service.
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.
We are proud of the work our fine men and women in uniform have accomplished in the field. They have done everything we have asked of them. We are forever indebted to their service and the sacrifice
their families have made.
Nothing would honor their service more than bringing them home.
Every year a group of fiscally responsible members of congress puts forth their fiscally responsible budget proposal. This year they were able to get a hundred votes for their budget. It's a budget that dares to cut sacred cows on the one hand and call for sacrifice on the other. Meaning that they are willing to make the un-popular call for tax increases where needed.
More specifically, we favor a budget plan that would:
* Save from $420 - $623 billion over the next 10 years by bringing our troops home and achieving U.S. military disengagement from Iraq;
* Save at least $68.7 billion in Pentagon spending by eliminating mostly Cold War weaponry and implementing GAO recommendations to eliminate DOD waste, fraud, and abuse;
* Repeal Bush tax cuts for at least the top 1% on taxpayers, thus raising at least $348 billion;
* Raise tens of billions of dollars in increased revenue by curbing corporate welfare and collecting underreported and delinquent taxes;
* Boost some non-military security funding to enhance homeland security and fight root causes of terrorism; and
* Increase funding for non-military peace and security spending at home and abroad, Hurricane Katrina recovery, renewable energy development, education, health care, veterans' health care, community development and policing, housing, food and nutrition programs, and child care.
With these urgent fiscal priorities in mind, we want a fairer, more humane, and more responsible federal budget plan for FY08 and ensuing years that truly addresses the needs and hopes of all the American people.
Bill Foster ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility. Indeed he claimed that he would be willing to work with the Blue Dogs because he was attracted to their calls for fiscal responsibility.
Well, Bill you have just blown your first chance to put your money where your mouth is. And it wouldn't have even been a hard vote to take because these budgets always go down without a peep from the so-called liberal media establishment.
You will get another chance next year, Representative Foster. So watch for it.
Bitterness doesn't fade away, it becomes your strength (+)
by: bored now
Tue Mar 28, 2006 at 14:55:55 PM CST
i've won campaigns. and not just a few. but while i cannot remember all the campaigns i've won, i remember every single loss. every one of them, they burn in my gut like a bad case of food poisoning.
around this point in the campaign cycle (after the primary), you always hear the winners conjoling the losers to let it go, suck it up, for the good of the team.
and, every time, i always think that anyone who says this has never really been involved in a campaign. they're completely full of it.
207 to 206 with 17 not voting. It doesn't get any closer than that. As Todd Beeton says at MyDD, we all know how Hastert or Oberweiss would have voted. We just need to look at Democrats Costello, Hill, Dingell, Clay and Skelton to see how "easy" it was for Democrats to vote the wrong way. Hats off to Bean too here. Johnson too is adding more fuel to his "Red Dog" status. Only this time it really counted.
QUESTION: On Ordering the Previous Question
H RES 1031 YEA-AND-NAY 11-Mar-2008 9:59 PM
BILL TITLE: Providing for the adoption of the resolution (H. Res. 895) establishing within the House of Representatives an Office of Congressional Ethics, and for other purposes
He just can't help himself. First the recount petition and now this. In the Beacon News'"Laesch is not in Foster's Corner," John Laesch just said buh-bye to the very Democratic organization he's helped to build in IL-14.
Calling Foster a conservative "Blue Dog" Democrat, Laesch said he would not be lining up behind Foster for the November general election.
Laesch is "Mr. Progressive" and Bill Foster leans too far to the right for his taste. I get it, but isn't it very bad form for someone to pledge non-support for a fellow Dem and to throw his hat into the ring for the 2010 primaries before the November general? How could he expect the Democrats ever to support him again after such a stunt?
Answer: somehow he will expect it, then complain bitterly when it's not forthcoming. It's some sort of perpetual underdog image thingy.
[Note: I am reluctantly allowing comments. If it turns out badly, I'd prefer you try to see me as a martyr for the First Amendment. But I'm not terribly optimistic.]
Update (wegerje) And here's his first vote:
H R 2082 23 YEA-AND-NAY 11-Mar-2008 7:01 PM
QUESTION: Passage, Objections of the President Not Withstanding
BILL TITLE: The Intelligence Authorization Act of 2008
Override Bush veto of anti-torture bill. Democrats
I was part of the effort of NDFA's drive to boost turnout in the critical race which Bill foster won on Saturday.
The headline about the election in the Chicago Sun Times was
BOMBSHELL
That was accurate.
Of the 8 Republicans who are in the US House from Illinois currently, 6 received a lower percentage of the vote in '06 than Hastert did. Only on the far-west edge of the 14th CD is there anyone who is represented by a Democrat in the legislature. Putting as money much into Republican open seats with lower winning margins in Illinois as the RNCC put into this losing race would take more than it has on hand. Never mind the other 49 states.
My experiences after the jump.
first of all, congratulations to bill foster, our newest member of congress. it will be kind of weird calling him congressman. and congratulations to his staff and all the volunteers who helped elect foster. what a tremendous achievement!
foster's election is vindication of all those who believed that a serious democratic candidate with a great campaign organization could turn il-14 blue. and now we have! it is also vindication for the plan that bill and tom put together, and especially the networking they did to create a solid pool of campaign workers who went out and delivered the vote for foster. this should serve as both proof of what a good campaign can do and an example for the local democratic parties and their future candidates.
it's probably too early to really dissect how bill foster won denny hastert's open seat but we can put some things into context.
Foster won the majority of counties (wins in bold):
City of Aurora: 65% to 35% Bureau: 47% to 53%
Henry County: 38% to 62%
DeKalb: 56% to 44%
DuPage County: 50.6% to 49.4%
Kane County: 51% to 49%
Kendall: 50.3% to 49.7% Lee: 44% to 56%
Whiteside: 55% to 45%
Final Result: 568 of 568 Precincts Reporting - 100%
Bill Foster (D): 53% (52,010) Jim Oberweis (R): 47% (46,988)
Foster's party entrance befitted the stunning win over perennial GOP bridesmaid Jim Oberweis. He topped Oberweis by just more than 5,000 votes, unofficially, across the 14th Congressional District to fill the remainder of retired Rep. Dennis Hastert's term.
"Back in the lab, this is something we'd call a pretty successful experiment," Foster deadpanned to start a 14-minute victory speech.
[...]
Surrounded by his two children, ex-wife and Democratic leaders ranging from Kane County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Guethle to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Foster renewed his pledges to provide health care to all and work to change direction in Iraq.
Foster also received a congratulatory call from Illinois' other U.S. senator, Barack Obama, who has made "change" the theme of his presidential campaign.
"Change started right here in the 14th District," Durbin told the crowd, then credited Foster for withstanding a million-dollar barrage of negative ads from Oberweis.
Change is the theme indeed! So now lets see just how long Mr. Obama's coattails actual are and get the race for the nomination over.
I just received this in an email blast sent out by DuPage County Democratic Chairman Bob Peickert:
Our lawyer doing legal support for the Foster campaign in DuPage today has discovered that the TSX machines in at least 3 locations display the word REPUBLICAN when the cards are inserted. The ballot is correct but the subliminal effect is disturbing. Remedial efforts by the DuPage Election Commission are forthcoming but the machines were not immediately shut down when this was discovered. In one poll, the offending area of the display was covered with masking tape and at the other they were told it would " say Republican" but "just to ignore it". We are not saying the Commission is cheating but merely that it would not look much different if they were. WE CAN BEAT THE MARGIN BY HELPING RIGHT NOW.
Isn't it interesting that every time an electronic voting machine in a close election has a "glitch" that it is more likely to read "Republican" than "Democrat". There has to be some law of averages that is just getting laughed at in the frequency of these "mistakes" in the GOP's favor.
