Thursday, December 01, 2005

Shock: Schock veers left

Wow, that was fast. It was only a year ago that Aaron Schock was the wunderkind of the conservative movement.

But I have become suspicious in recent months that the ILGOP establishment has been bottle-feeding the boy combine kool-aid when he rebuffed six (count 'em six - 9/22, 9/23, 10/24, 11/14, 11/16, 11/21) phone calls from me asking him to sign on common sense pro-life bills.

One in particular is a no-brainer, even for social-liberals/fiscal-conservatives, aka moderates: a ban on public funded human cloning that has garnered 34 House sponsors (not all are listed yet) and even has Chris Radogno's guarantee to sign on as chief sponsor it in the Senate. (Even Blagojevich lied and said he was against human cloning before he hid it in his executive order.)

Yesterday Schock confirmed he's made a left sharp turn when he stood on the stage in Peoria at Judy Baar's announcement. There is no explanation for Schock to support a pro-gay special rights, pro-abort gubernatorial candidate over three conservatives - particularly one who is from downstate - except he has bid his down home values good-bye and lurched liberal in a quest for ILGOP power and fame.

The hearts of right-wing mamas across the state are breaking today.

35 comments:

Anonymous,  10:00 AM  

All in favor of a ban on cloning Jill, say aye.

Anonymous,  10:10 AM  

Jill,

Chill. Sounds like a personal problem.

grand old partisan 10:21 AM  

Jill, some people in politics fight the fights they can win. Some fight the fights that need fighting. In my mind, abortion politics in Illinois is neither for the pro-life side.

Even if - and that's still a pretty big if, even with Roberts and Alito on the bench - Roe v. Wade was overturned, it wouldn't make much difference given the current make-up of the General Assembly. So does it really, REALLY matter whether the Governor is pro-life or pro-choice?. For the most part, I would say no.

This election is about who can better GOVERN the state of Illinois. Who can better manage the hundreds of state agencies and programs, the thousands of state workers. Who can make the trains run on time, as the saying goes. If Schock thinks that Judy is that the candidate that can do that, then so be it. You can be a pro-life Republican without abortion being the deciding factor in ever vote/endorsement you make.

Anonymous,  10:23 AM  

If Jill walks in the woods, and starts whining like always, can you actually hear it?

Anonymous,  10:25 AM  

Jill--- what say as soon as we get our hoods and capes back from the cleaners we grab Clingy Cal and swoosh down to Peoria and look for new wingnut to runs against young Aaron in the primary.
Peoria Wingnuts Unite. Jill has declared young Aaron MUST go!

just jokin the distinguished representative will be gone any so save your gas and stay home

Anonymous,  10:45 AM  

He won't sign off on a bill to try and stop stem cell research? Stanek is right. He must be some insane lefty.

Anonymous,  10:49 AM  

I'm pro-Life and I actually have no problem with medical cloning by nuclear transfer. Unlike with normal stem cells fertilized by egg and sperm which clearly have a distinct human life to them, no cloned embryo has ever become a human (admittedly because testing to see if this were possible would be horribly unethical) and thus there is no way to really know at this point whether these species should be seen as a distinct human or as just cells from the individual they are cloned from. I think the latter makes more sense and I would totally support if all the money going to stem cell research were shifted to medical cloning research.

Anonymous,  1:12 PM  

Jill,

I hear your ideological twin, Rev. Fred Phelps, is coming back to Illinois. You must be excited. Maybe the two of you could go beat-up some of those "queers" together.

Yellow Dog Democrat 2:18 PM  

I find myself in the rare position of agreeing with Jill: Schock is flip-flopping like a fish out of water.

My only question: why is she surprised?

Schock flip-flopped several times on abortion during his race for the state house, some times opposing abortion in the cases of rape and incest, some times supporting it.

He also appeared to be all over the map on gay rights.

Schock is either a conservative wonderkid, pro-business moderate, or energetic reformer, depending on who he's trying to garner votes or money from at that moment.

Maybe while reporters are trying to pin Topinka down on abortion rights, they'll pin down Schock as well.

As a liberal who's worked to get people elected that I thought I could trust, only to leanr they were someone else in office, you have my sympathies Jill.

grand old partisan 2:57 PM  

Yellow Dog, the only evidence Jill can cite that Schock may be waffling on abortion is that he won’t return her calls and has apparently endorsed Topinka – hardly damning evidence when put into perspective.

fedup dem 3:20 PM  

Ms. Stenek, you fail to realize that Rep. Schock is not a one-issue legislator. He realizes that to win re-election he must be at times pragmatical. Please remember that your choices in that particular district may be limited to Schock, who might vote your way 60-70% of the time... or a Democratic challenger who if elected, will oppose you on most every issue.

The fact is that Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, by virtue of her name and ballot experience, has the best chance among the Republicans to defeat Rod Blagojevich. This is not to say that the other GOP contenders have no chance; just that Topinka's chances of victory are the strongest. A strong candidate for the Republican at the top of their ticket will help Schock win re-election, and he knows it.

Unlike you, Schock has realized that he cannot win just with the votes cast from ideological circle. (If your side had a clear majority the issues would have been decided long ago.) I suspect we may be talkng about Rep. Schock long after you are regulated to a footnote in Illinois political history.

RANDALL SHERMAN
Secretary/Treasurer, Illinois Committee for Honest Government

Anonymous,  4:15 PM  

Schock's reelection race will definitely be a fun one to watch next year. It will be one of the most competitive in the state.

Anonymous,  4:23 PM  

Perhaps it was Schock's clone on stage with JBT.

Maybe we've already cloned human beings...homosexual, abortionist, dinosaur-believing clones with voting cards.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhh!

Fear and loathing on the flying monkey right. Love it.

Anonymous,  4:53 PM  

If Jill called you, would you return the message?

Yellow Dog Democrat 4:57 PM  

Randall -

It's no secret I'm pro-choice, but Stanek's criticism has nothing to do with Schock's position on abortion and everything to do with the fact that his position constantly changes, depending on the political winds.

If Schock truly is pro-life, why avoid the calls? Is it because Tom Cross is telling him he better support stem cell research if he wants help getting elected? If that's the case, just tell Stanek so.

Ditto on Topinka. If Schock really feels so strongly that abortion is murder, why is he endorsing the pro-choice Topinka, especially when there is a pro-life downstate Republican named Bill Brady running from his region? It is a fair question to ask.

It is hilarious to listen to the same moralists who criticize the Governor for his political doubletalk defend Aaron Schock.

Yellow Dog Democrat 4:59 PM  

P.S. Randall - I'd argue that Bill Brady on the ticket would be much more help to Schock.

Anonymous,  5:23 PM  

It always struck me that one sure way to piss off members of the legislature was to talk about personal interactions (or attempts at them) in public.

Perhaps it's called for from time to time in extreme circumstances, but generally, even positive interactions with legislators regarding particular pieces of legislation are kept semi-private.

It's a good way to get more people to hear the name "Jill Stanek" but not such a good way to actually get your policies enacted into law.

of course, that may be exactly the goal.

Anonymous,  5:37 PM  

"If Jill called you, would you return the message?"
- LMAO!!!

Anonymous,  5:40 PM  

"If Schock truly is pro-life, why avoid the calls?"
- Avoiding Jill isn't the same as avoiding the media, YDD. There are plenty of people who won't talk to her.

grand old partisan 9:18 PM  

Yellow dog and jill stanek….strange bed fellows indeed. YDog, I expect better that this from you. Endorsing a pro-choice candidate for governor is a betrayal of Schock’s pro-life views? Are you actually attacking him for NOT being a one-issue extremist? And, again, I think Jill is reading WAY too much into Schock not taking her calls. I don’t believe Schock has cast one vote or has said one word that contracts his pro-life position during his campaign. I don’t believe he ever said that he would or could never support a pro-choice candidate for office because he was so devoutly pro-life. Where exactly is the double talk?

YDog, this is dirty pool old man. It’s obvious that you are trying to fan the flames of division within the IL GOP, make pro-life Republicans think twice about getting behind the best (albeit not only) hope of unseating Blagojevich. And using poor Jill as a pawn to do it. Bravo, but for shame!

Anonymous,  9:26 PM  

You should have seen this coming. Wonderboy is not worth all these people gushing over. He is younger version of JBT. He is worthless and hopefully the GOP will write this district off and not fight for it. There are more conservative candidates that need the support! Goodbye Schock, enjoy your year plus left in Springfield.

Anonymous,  7:08 PM  

Representative Aaron Schock veers left--bullfeathers!

I want to correct several inaccuracies and false impressions from Jill Stanek's post and the posts that followed. As Aaron Schock's campaign manager, I know the real facts regarding all the issues brought up in these posts.

First, Aaron Schock is firmly Pro-Life with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, and always has been, agree with him or not.

Rep. Schock co-sponsored the Born Alive bill as soon as he took office.

Anyone who gets to know Aaron or even speaks with him at length on nearly any subject can feel the real depth of his positions on issues across the board and that his positions are well grounded in conservative principles.

It is absurd to say Aaron Schock "has been all over the map on gay rights." He has always opposed legislating special rights and firmly stated his opposition to gay marriage in the campaign.

When State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka came to Peoria for her announcement for Governor, Representative Schock attended but did not speak. He did not endorse her. When Senator Steve Rauschenberger came to Peoria to announce his candidacy for Governor, Aaron Schock attended and stood by his side as well. Jim Oberweis, Bill Brady and Ron Gidwitz have all attended Schock political events at Aaron's invitation. As someone in his first year of office, Aaron Schock is not going to try to tell life-long Republicans which Republican candidate to vote for in the primary for Governor.

Aaron Schock does regularly voice his emphatic and substantive disagreements with Governor Blagojevich's. Here is a an excerpt that a newspaper ran when covering one of Schock's speeches on June 28, 2005: "Rod Blagojevich is shamefully self promoting, ignorant of basic economics, fiscally reckless and infinitely more corrupt than any other governor in our state's history." Schock has never been wishy washy in stating his firmly held beliefs--to the media for all to hear.

With Tom Roeser on WLS radio in Chicago, Schock detailed his strong opposition to Blagojevich's stem cell research manuever that bypassed the legislative process. In doing so he again stated his firm, consistent opposition to government funded/permitted embyonic stem cell research. He is an advocate of stem cell research on donated umbliblical cord stem cells and is articulate in advocating for it and against destroying embyros. Yes, House GOP Leader Tom Cross is a fervent supporter of all kinds of stem cell research, but he hasn't imposed his views on this freshman legislator nor has he tried to. Cross also knows it wouldn't work if he tried all he could. So much for "IL GOP establishment bottle- feeding," or being told how to vote by House Leader Cross.

The fact is that Aaron Schock is a consistent mainstream conservative Republican with inovative ways to make conservatism appeal to people who usually look to the Democrats. He beat an 8 year incumbent Democrat in a 60% Democrat district without compromising any of his beliefs, but rather by making those beliefs appealing through superior articulation--just like Reagan did.

Rep. Schock works very hard and his on the go all over his district every day from sunrise to late evening. He receives upwards of 75 speaking invitations a week and 35 to 100 phone messages a day as well as numerous requests for meetings.

To answer the "Yellow Dog Democrat" post that wrote: Schock is either a conservative wonderkid, pro-business moderate, or energetic reformer, depending on who he's trying to garner votes from." Well pardon me but I don't find any of those three descriptions as mutually exclusive. What a "yellow dog democrat" really means is an unthinking Democrat, and if you don't think, you may not understand that a conservative, pro-business, energetic reformer is what this state needs most. What this writer most likely really finds offensive is that Aaron Schock beat a left-wing ideologue in a Democrat district.

Back to Jill Stanek--Representative Schock has not abandoned his principles because he hasn't had time to call back all lobbyists who want his time. To resort to an ad hominem attack in saying the "IL GOP establishment has been bottle-feeding the boy," is really beneath anyone who is in the public policy arena supposedly fighting for conservative principles. Disagree if you want, but please grow up and stop calling someone that hasn't called you back names. That is an immature and ineffective approach.
It is probably also the basis for the good organizations you lobby for to find a more professional, effective and level-headed lobbyist.

Aaron Schock remains a principled mainstream conservative focused on positive implementation of conservative policies. What Aaron Schock is not is a fanatic fringe lunatic bomb thrower, and no one tells him what to do, not even Jill Stanek.

Steven Shearer
Campaign Manager for Aaron Schock

Anonymous,  12:51 AM  

Wow, did he just compare Aaron Schock to Ronald Reagan? If Aaron Schock is Ronald Reagan, then Rod Blagojevich is Abe Lincoln. Please, don't give us that B.S. at first saying he's not trying to tell anyone who to vote for because he's only a first-termer and then in the next breath compare him to Reagan. How much does this guy pay you?

Anonymous,  8:35 AM  

I hope he doesn't pay him by the word. But based on that response, I think he might...

Anonymous,  11:15 PM  

here's a thought, maybe Schock is trying to represent all of his constituents. We're a pretty diverse bunch, therefore a pretty tough job. Try running for something and you'll quickly learn how few people you can actually please. Walk a mile in someone's shoes before being so critical.

Ms. Minni Rose 9:55 AM  

I'm not surprised. Aaron was too young and not set in his ways, he will shift from side to side. Just pray he gets his stability before he runs for Governor, lol. Or we are in for a real mess....

Anonymous,  7:30 AM  

This idea that a Republican is going to be a homophobic is backwards.

I hope Aaron is pro-gay rights. It makes me even more of a supporter of his rise to power.

Anonymous,  8:11 AM  

Who said Republicans have to be Pro-gay rights? If Schock has a decent bone left in his body, he would never vote 'YES' on any gay rights, instead he would say 'No' and uphold our country to higher standard.

Anonymous,  6:59 PM  

Did you know that Aaron Schock is actually gay?

That doesn't change anything in my mind--but don't you think it will change things in the minds of the GOP?

I think he is a very smart, qualified individual. What will be his test of character is when it gets public that he is gay, has a boyfriend (who actually attends some functions with him), and keeps it slightly well hidden (at least from the higher ups in the republican party...)

It's starting to be a pretty well known "hush hush" story...The Republican wonderboy is gay. What will Republicans do about that.

I know it wouldn't change my vote for him...but that's just me...

Sorry Aaron...I think it's important for the public to know.

Anonymous,  7:06 PM  

"There have been whispers downstate regarding Schock’s sexual orientation. However, when contacted by Windy City Times, Schock denied being gay. When asked, he simply said “No ... I’m not.”

This is exactly the response Aaron had to give to remain in Republican politics.

It's just too bad he had to lie and sell out who he truly is just so he still has a chance to be elected by Republicans.

Since he is gay, do you think he truly is Republican?

Anonymous,  7:06 PM  

REP. AARON SCHOCK IS NOT GAY, AND CERTAINLY DOES NOT HAVE A BOYFRIEND!!! I WISH PEOPLE WOULD BE MORE MATURE AND JUST TAKE A LOOK AT HIS VOTING RECORD!!... HE'S CLEARLY FULLY AGAINST GAY RIGHTS!! GET YOUR STORIES STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU PUBLISH THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE!!!

Anonymous,  11:05 PM  

Aaron is NOT gay. He is a VERY good and nice guy. I've met him. If you can't say something nice then dont say it at all.

Anonymous,  10:38 PM  

So are we Saying Aaron can't be gay, because he's a nice guy? So gay people can't be nice? That's an ignorant homophobic comment. I agree no one should go around "outing" Aaron, that's up to him if true. Everyone is saying he "doesn't have a boyfriend and that hes not gay", and that people should stop spreading rummors. Well how do you know he doesn't. By talking about it all your doing is spreading rummors in the oposit direction.

Anonymous,  5:14 PM  

Sorry folks, but Aaron is indeed gay. I know this personally because I have been introduced to his current partner (MALE) and know an ex of his also.

He needs to remain closeted and votes the way he does to continue his way down the political path, as has been done by numerous Republicans in the past.

I have a feeling he will win as long as he keeps avoiding debates by cancelling them as often as possible. The truth will come out (no pun intended).

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