Schakowsky silent on Iraq election even though balloting took place in her district
Cross posted on Marathon Pundit.
My representative in Congress is Jan Schakowsky of Evanston. As I've noted before, she's part of the far-left wing of the Democratic party. Proof? Well, in January, she called for an immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
Thursday, elections took place in there. Turnout was very high, and even in the Sunni areas, the level of violence was low.
Of course, Jan being a liberal means she is for "the people," yet she has not issued a statement on these elections. Quite ironic.
Especially since one of the 15 polling places in the US for Iraqi expatriates (and one of just three in the Midwest) was located in Schakowsky's 9th District.
Pictured above is the Caldo-Assyrian Community Center, located just south of Golf Road in Skokie. From Monday through Thursday, Iraqis living abroad traveled there to exercise their recently gained right to vote, something that would've been impossible if Saddam Hussein was still in power.
Visiting Jan's web site this evening, there is no mention that a small part of history was being made in the heart of her district.
Not even local pride, I guess, can encourage Jan to speak out if it makes President Bush and the Republican Party look good.
14 comments:
James...Have a good one too.
Has Schakowsky been to Iraq? Many Reps have. You'd think she could have at least sent some one to congradulate the Iraqis voting in her district. Told them she was proud to host their polling place for them.
does schakowsky congratulate voters in poland every time they vote? or israel? or, hey, how about america?
i don't know about you, but i expect more from my representative in congress than the sheer frivolity desired by mr. ruberry.
furthermore, there's nothing (yet) to suggest that this is the kind of thing that deserves congratulations. in the past decade or so, democracy in divided countries (like yugoslovia and the soviet union) has led to their breakup. it is clear that iraq is far more ethnically divided than either yugoslovia or the soviet union before their breakup. i don't think that we should be congratulating iraq *if* it is on course for eventual demise.
moreover, the theory that democracies are peaceful, and won't attack other countries, has clearly been found suspect. while there are several examples of democracies attacking other democracies, as well as democracies initiating war, the u.s. (a democracy) unwarranted (and illegal) invasion of iraq -- under false pretenses, no less -- should put to rest any belief that democracies are inherently peaceful countries. we are left with this blind faith in democracy, not a prescription for peace.
and don't forget this mess about the iraqi government forming it's own secret prisons for the purpose of torture.
then you have the problems associated with the iraqi election itself: complaints about insufficient numbers of ballots in the sunni area (home of the iraqi insurgency) and not enough polling places. that will certainly do little to circumvent the insurgency, which we are told is the central aim of these elections. it is also interesting to me (having served this role in haiti), at least, that this election was not monitored by international election monitors.
finally, given the number of parties competing and the likely outcome, it seems that there's a good chance that iraq will be more divided by this election, not less. if iraq can't form a stable government, the insurgency will no doubt be given hope. we just don't know.
but ruberry's point is noted: it was a great photo op for the president, and schakowsky didn't congratulate him for it. that's shocking, simply shocking! i suppose john will not be happy until schakowsky gets an aircraft carrier and puts a banner on it saying, "mission accomplished!" (oh, wait, bush spoke too soon. perhaps jan is wise in holding her tongue!)
reading your posts, john, i'm beginning to think that jan schakowsky is a pretty smart lady! who knew?
We need more Democrats like Joe Lieberman who put partisan politics behing them. A free, prosperous Iraq (that would be the envy of other Middle Easterners) would greatly benefit our interests.
And it'd be better for the people who live there.
Unfortunately, some people are so blinded by hatred of our prez that they can't rationally on this issue.
I suspect Schakowsky may well be a bit preoccupied to note such things as the absentee Iraqi voting being held in her district. After all, the sentencing hearing for her husband Bob Creamer is scheduled for this coming Wednesday (December 21) in Federal Court here in Chicago.
A more pressing subject will be whether or not Creamer will sing like Caruso, and give the feds something that they can use to nail other corrupt officials. This may well affect Schakowsky, since she was a board member of Creamer's organization.
RANDALL SHERMAN
Secretary/Treasurer, Illinois Committee for Honest Government
Chicago
On December 15, 2005, a call went out to alex of Jan Schakowsky's office. A local boy Patrick D. McDonough of the 48th Ward got on the ballot for State Central Committeeman of the 9th con. Alex seemed not to happy that not only is Patrick McDonough of Hired Truck Fame running but Frank Coconate is running for a second black eye and slap in the face to money man Bill Marovitz. I think the public is going to find out just what a SCC really does.
I love being lectured to by the warmonger crowd, who have been wrong about this disastrous war from the get-go. Rep. Schakowsky and countless others, including myself, knew that at best, an invasion of Iraq would cost the US dearly in terms of soldiers' lives, moral authority, and national treasure, to say nothing of its effect on the Iraqis. Unfortunately, we were right, and even more unfortunate, the Bush administration's handling of Iraq has been far, far, FAR from "best case."
Under the criminally inept, freed-from-the-bounds-of-reality war management of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld, the costs have been staggeringly higher than the US public and Congress were repeatedly promised repeatedly (e.g. "soldiers will be greeted with flowers in the streets," "reconstruction won't cost more than a few billion, because the oil money will pay for it," "we know where the WMDs are," etc ad infinitum).
If you think $300 billion and 2,100 American lives are worth one Iraqi election, you and I have far different priorities for this country's people and resources. Does anyone remember Osama bin Laden any more? The Bush administration clearly doesn't, not that they ever really cared that much about truly fighting terrorism in the first place. This has all been a powerplay and ego trip for them, with horrifying results.
I've only been right about Iraq and Bush's war from the beginning (unfortunately--I'm not happy that I'm right, not when being right means people are getting hurt), so you should definitely ignore everything I'm saying now.
What were you right about anon? Can you point us to something you said a while back that was right?
Are you on the record here anywhere?
No one knows for sure whether a Democratic Revolution fostered in Iraq and Afganistan will bring Liberal Democracy to the middle east.
But as of today, it looks pretty good.
If Bush successful, it will be a very very different world. And one for the best for the middle east and I believe the United States.
Schakowsky should have saluted the courage of some brave people.
Anyone who considers Afghanistan a successful example of Bush administration nation-building is beyond help. I'll let the following speak for itself.
"As the year nears an end, bombings and shootings continue almost daily in the south and east. Such incidents have claimed at least 1,400 lives in the past year - the highest toll since 2001." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4457876.stm
Bush, naturally, is "staying the course"....by announcing that the US troop contingent in Afghanistan will be cut by 20% next year. No cutting and running there!
On a small van in front of South Elementary School in Crystal Lake:
God Bless the Whole World
No Exceptions
and
No War and Occupation
and
Out of Iraq NOW
And, two ribbons:
Support Our Troops
Bring Home (Our Troops, I think).
Seen the day after Iraqis finished voting.
Ooops. I forgot that the only job of a member of Congress is to be a cheerleader and rubber stamp for the President. I guess you'll want to vote Republican next time.
Ooops. I forgot that the only job of a member of Congress is to be a cheerleader and rubber stamp for the President. I guess you'll want to vote Republican next time.
Shouldn't Jan be happy for the Iraqi people? As a lib, as I noted before, she is supposed to be "for the people."
Mark Steyn has a column today echoing my sentiments on the Dems' Iraq quagmire.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn18.html
Maybe Bob Convict Cramer can make some money in Iraq
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