The 14th Congressional District was tailor made for the GOP. Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert had it drawn up to include the fringes of suburbia and a wide swath of the rural prairie, extending almost to the Iowa border.
When Hastert retired early it was supposed to be a boon for republicans; a chance to serve for nine months before the November elections and be on the ballot as an incumbent.
But when I told my wife Bill Foster won the election on Saturday she said, “Well, I guess Hastert’s plan didn’t work out after all.” Right she is.
Foster is a Fermi Lab scientist and the part owner of a theatrical lighting company he and his brother started when Bill was only 19 years old.
He was on the radio this morning and mentioned two specific things: He supports health insurance for children and a draw down of troops from Iraq.
Oberweis loses again. Both sides had huge support from the respective national parties. We would get three or four campaign pieces a day for the three weeks leading up to the campaign. And the robo-calls drove us nuts. Even Laura Bush called.
The ads were awful. Foster ran a radio ad saying that Oberweis supports “tax breaks for rich people like Paris Hilton” while the national GOP had a soundbite of Foster saying, “There isn’t anything that can’t be made better by throwing money at it.” They then went on to explain that the money would come from taxpayers and taking money away from our troops.
Ads on both sides were pathetic, contrived, and insulting.
In a rather funny endorsement John McCain came out to Illinois to hug Oberweis. (Now wait a minute. Obewies is strong on enforcement when it comes to illegals and McCain is a Kennedy sort of guy. Strange endorsement indeed.)
When Hastert retired early it was supposed to be a boon for republicans; a chance to serve for nine months before the November elections and be on the ballot as an incumbent.
But when I told my wife Bill Foster won the election on Saturday she said, “Well, I guess Hastert’s plan didn’t work out after all.” Right she is.
Foster is a Fermi Lab scientist and the part owner of a theatrical lighting company he and his brother started when Bill was only 19 years old.
He was on the radio this morning and mentioned two specific things: He supports health insurance for children and a draw down of troops from Iraq.
Oberweis loses again. Both sides had huge support from the respective national parties. We would get three or four campaign pieces a day for the three weeks leading up to the campaign. And the robo-calls drove us nuts. Even Laura Bush called.
The ads were awful. Foster ran a radio ad saying that Oberweis supports “tax breaks for rich people like Paris Hilton” while the national GOP had a soundbite of Foster saying, “There isn’t anything that can’t be made better by throwing money at it.” They then went on to explain that the money would come from taxpayers and taking money away from our troops.
Ads on both sides were pathetic, contrived, and insulting.
In a rather funny endorsement John McCain came out to Illinois to hug Oberweis. (Now wait a minute. Obewies is strong on enforcement when it comes to illegals and McCain is a Kennedy sort of guy. Strange endorsement indeed.)
And W called them both “true conservatives.”
There is a rematch in November between Foster and Oberweis, this time for the full two year term.
In the meantime, the Dems will get Foster a couple of showpiece items to present so he can have a record to run on. Never mind that he is a Freshman in Congress or that he ran on a promise to ignore the party and vote the issue. We shall see.
As I testified in the US Senate 2.27 robo calls are an epidemic and are invading voters privacy.
ReplyDeleteWe received many complaints about Oberweis and robo calls his campaign made.
Our members are taking a stand and saying enough is enough at the National Political Do Not Contact Registry at StopPoliticalCalls.org.
Here is a quote from a member this morning:
"I find it very frustrating... I tend to get calls at the WORST time. I have a one year old daughter, and it NEVER fails that the phone will ring when I put her down for a nap or for bed. Also my vote is PRIVATE... so who do you think you are calling with a survey to find out who I am voting for!!! Stop calling me."
Regards,
Shaun Dakin
CEO and Founder
http://www.stoppoliticalcalls.org
Shaun,
ReplyDeleteThe calls I get are from surveys (and I always wonder if there is a political message or a sales pitch at the end), Lifesource bloodbank, and the politicians.
It irks me that they allowed themselves the right to disturb us but denied businesses. I wish you luck with your efforts.