Rep. Lipinski's real strength is his chief of staff?

There is just so much dreck in Illinois that it is impossible to keep up. Which is why I'm glad Erick Erickson of Red State sent me the below e-mail.

Before we get to that, I'd like to add that this is just another example of Chicago political nepotism. In the spring of 2004, Bill Lipinski, a longtime Democratic congressman in a district covering Chicago and its southwestern suburbs, ran in the Democratic primary and easily won a ticket to the general election. But he apparently had no intention of running in that contest--Lipinski engingeered it so his son, Dan, then a college professor, would take his place on the ballot. Had the younger Lipinksi run in an open Democratic primary on his own credentials, he would have had a tough battle. Since Illinois' 3rd Congressional District is heavily Democratic, Dan Lipinski coasted to victory that fall.

From Erick's e-mail:

Let's have some fun this morning.

Remember how the Democrats ran against the Culture of Corruption in 2006? Well, get a load of this story:

Congressman Dan Lipinski's Chief of Staff, Jerry Hurckes, has been sitting on the Board of Trustees of Oak Lawn, IL since 1999. During that time, and each time he's campaigned for re-election, the chief of staff has campaigned on how much bacon he's brought home. Again, this is not a Congressman, but a chief of staff to a Congressman.

Things have come to a head in Oak Lawn after a meeting last week. The Board of Trustees wanted to consider hiring a lobbyist and Hurckes went ballastic, hurling accusation at the Board that they were trying to do an end run around him.

This guy has never been elected to Congress, but he has been taking credit for things his boss has done.

I say we all call Congressman Lipinski this morning at (202) 225-5701 and ask when his Chief of Staff became Congressman Hurckes. When they tell us he has not, we should be sure to ask why then is Jerry Hurckes taking credit for bringing home the bacon to Oak Lawn. Is the Chief of Staff more powerful and influential than Congressman Lipinski?

Could be. The younger Lipinksi isn't popular, he weathered a tough primary challenge last month.
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Ill. Green Party seeks to remove white supremacist from ballot--but what about McKinney?

An odious turd named Richard B. Mayers of Berwyn has filed the necessary papers to be placed on the Green Party ballot in the 3rd Congressional District. Mayers is a white-supremacist and if he wins the primary over Jerome Pohlen, who is endorsed by the state Green Party, Mayers will appear on general election ballot of the district, which encompasses Chicago's Southwest Side and parts of the western and southern suburbs.

The Chicagoist has a rundown on Mayers here.

Naturally the Greens want nothing to do with this trash, and want him off the ballot.

The Decatur Herald & Review has an odd article about Mayers and the Greens objections--but without saying what's so objectionable about Mayers.

"We don't want him on the ballot because of his past activities" is what Illinois Green Party spokesman Patrick Kelly said.

However, as bad as Mayers is, if his--to use a famous Nazi badgering technique--"papers are in order," the Greens can't kick him off the ballot because of his hateful views.

Bad in my opionion, but not as awful as Mayers is Cynthia McKinney, who will be on the Illinois Green Party ballot. McKinney, the first black congresswoman elected from Georgia, surrounds herself with race-baiters. Including her father, her bodyguards, and her campaign manager.

Before he assumed his title of Savior of the Earth--something Green Party members care about, Al Gore was a presidential candidate. During the 2000 campaign, McKinney complained that Gore's "Negro tolerance level has never been too high." Donna Brazile, an African American woman, headed Gore's campaign in 2000.

This YouTube video shows McKinney playing the "racial profiling card."

The Greens however don't seem to mind McKinney appearing on the Green Party ballot a a presidential candidate.

There was one objection made with the Illinois State Board of Elections about McKinney. It was made by Richard B. Mayers.

Can't we all just get along?

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Mark Pera, IL-3rd and the GOP

Today's ST,

Mark Pera stopped in Chicago's Mount Greenwood recently to mingle with the community.

As a candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, Pera wanted to introduce himself to voters. He was warned about the potential for an unfriendly reception. Pera is a pro-choice Democrat from Western Springs. Mount Greenwood represents the heart of a heavily working-class Catholic - and by extension, pro-life - voting base. U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, a pro-life Democrat, serves the area in Congress.

But Pera said he was surprised at the level of enthusiasm for his candidacy and the cynicism that still exists over the way in which Lipinski was placed on the ballot. Lipinski's father, former U.S. Rep. William Lipinski, retired from Congress in August 2004 when it was too late for an outsider to get on the November ballot.

The elder Lipinski personally called upon the committeemen in the district to appoint his son as his replacement. Not only that, William Lipinski had arranged for a Republican challenger to fill the opposing slot - a challenger who had no intention on campaigning or winning the election.

When the wealthy are flocking to the Democrats, doesn't it make sense for the IL GOP to quit making deals with Democrats and start seriously campaigning among people sympathetic to their principles?

xp Bill Baar's West Side

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