The McHenryCountyBlog, a WikiLeaks mirror website, has released from their underground nuclear bunker, a new trove of secret documents. The latest revelation comes from the spam folder of an unnamed source inside the Joe Walsh campaign. An email purportedly from the Eighth District Democrats & Independents urges recipients to show their support for congressman-elect Walsh: Our accidental Congressman, Joe Walsh, will be holding a series of "listening tour" town halls this month. I suggest we all go and give him an earful.There is nothing quite as snooze-worthy as one of these sparsely attended congressional townhalls. On a good evening expect to see someone whose Social Security checks are being sent to Yugoslavia and maybe someone else who needs their green card stamped. So your LakeCountyEye is not surprised that they are trying to gin up some last-minute turnout for the Eighth's newest congressman-elect:
Democrats Urge Democrats to Attend "Accidental" Congressman Joe Walsh's Town Hall Meetings
Some questions you might want to ask (or any burning question you have):Q&A is one way to inject some zest into a meeting of this sort. But your LakeCountyEye does recall one congressman who, when asked how much a gallon of milk cost in the district, was forced to yield to a staffer. That congressman, needless to say, is now in retirement.Democrats Urge Democrats to Attend "Accidental" Congressman Joe Walsh's Town Hall Meetings
- How will you bring jobs and businesses to the Eighth District?
- What is your plan for getting banks to lend to small businesses in the Eighth District?
- What do you think your win over Melissa Bean has given you a mandate to do in Congress?
- What do you mean by the revolution you talked about during the campaign and how do you plan to accomplish it in Washington?
- How will you vote when Congress is asked to raise the debt ceiling after you take office? (If they don't vote to do it, the government will shut down, as it did in 1994.)
- Will you vote to repeal Obamacare and why? (Yes, call it that to get an honest answer.)
- Do you think we should add $700 billion to the deficit over the next ten years just to give tax cuts to people making more than $250,000 per year? Since you are a deficit hawk, will you vote against such tax cuts even if Republican leadership asks you to vote for them?
Operatives may be curious to attend one of these townhalls. However unless you are a glutton for punishment and enjoy hearing a congressman pontificate by the hour, your LakeCountyEye suggests attending forewarned and forearmed with some of your own questions to ask.
| Ten Recommended Questions to Ask Congressman-Elect Joe Walsh |
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Operatives are reminded that they must phrase their questions in the form of a question.
19 comments:
Have you read the TP comments on the McHenry blogs. One non TPer called it right....Dems and Independents assumed Bean would win and got caught with their pants downs....the results of that accidental election has awoken a sleeping giant and Walsh is in for a challenging two years.
The election in the 8th will probably be studied for years to come with various conclusions as to why Bean lost and Walsh won. One of the reasons Bean won her first race against my former boss Crane was because she outworked him in the streets. She was everywhere talking to the voters. Crane was at the end of a long career and the best way to describe him was “Tired”. (Obviously a lot goes into that description)
Flash forward to 2010 and you see similarities to the Bean-Crane race. The reality is Walsh flat out worked Bean in this race. But there is another reason for the Walsh win and one that I think will keep him in office for a very long time, sincerity. If you asked Walsh a question you got an answer. You might not always like the answer but he didn’t duck anyone. Many of his detractors called him “crazy” and Beans ads fueled that myth. In 30 second sound bites anyone can be made out to be the devil. What the ads didn’t show, and one of the main reasons I believe Walsh won, is a genuine, sincere candidate telling people what he believed was wrong and what he would do to fix it. Walsh connected with the voters on a personal level and they liked him even if they always didn’t agree with him. Contrast that to Bean who went into her bunker and never came out until it was too late.
To the anon poster at 7:14am, the Independents were awake and they picked Walsh. The Indy’s are the ones that want to connect to the candidate not the party. Walsh spoke to them with sincerity and Bean didn’t show up. The Indy’s will be THE player in future elections and Walsh has a jump start on any opponent because of the type of person he is, the “Sincere Congressman”. This was no accident.
Rep. Ed Sullivan
Sorry to disappoint you Barney, but the 'listening tour' in Fox Lake went extremely well and was very orderly. Joe chose to overlook many who had already asked questions and look towards someone who hadn't, thus spreading it around the crowd. If any of your operatives were there, they were probably able to get their question answered. You fail to give him the credit he is due for a guy with a 3% chance of winning. Maybe we will see you in Lake Zurich on Saturday asking YOUR questions and getting you on camera. For those who want to listen to the entire 1.5 hour Q&A in Fox Lake, you can view it at:
http://www.district116.org/2010/12/05/joe-walsh-at-fox-lake-front-park-meeting/
I should have written SUNDAY in Lake Zurich, not Saturday
ed....While Walsh may answer the question, you are wrong in that you may not like the answer...it is about telling the truth. Walsh was down-right wrong on several of his answers.....the most blatant one is that he said tax-cuts pay for themselves, when the reality is tax-cuts never pay for themselves. He may get away with pulling the wool over the eyes of voters in Fox Lake, but it will catch up with.
Yes he out-worked Bean!
No he won't be around for years to come!
Walsh is an accidental Congressman. If he is re-elected, then he may get rid of the Accidental Congressman.
No to the Independents picking Walsh. The majority of the district did not vote on 11/2. It was base vs. base.
hi Ed,
There are some eerie similarities between Crane v Bean and Bean v Walsh. Also no doubt sincerity is a big arrow in any politician's quiver. Walsh was able to build a loyal & energetic base of support that neither McSweeney or Greenberg were able to achieve.
-BB-
hi CatMan,
There is an art to pulling off one these public townhalls and emerging unscathed. Just make sure there are staff posiitioned between the officeholder and members of the public; for vetting purposes. Crane had it down. I don't think Bean ever figured that trick out. She used to do those meet'n'greets in front of the Jewel stores without a safety net. The oppo guys were able to get close to Bean too many times and she was spooked.
-BB-
Walsh sincere? Really, Ed? Go tell that to his mortgage lender. One of the main reasons he is living in his congressional office in D.C. is that his credit sucks. I have a niece who works for a major property manager in D.C. and she reports that Walsh is definitely on the full-year's-rent-up-front list.
Walsh lacks the basic honor to stand up to his obligations. He does, however, posses a used car salesman's veneer of sincerity. Pity that you and so many bought it.
As for you, Catman, please explain the District 116.org website. It gives the impression of having some connection to the Round Lake School District of the same name and number, yet they claim that web site has nothing to do with the school district. The web site seems instead to be a Walsh love-fest. So, what's with the goofy name deception?
BB,
I was around on staff during the ’92 election. I worked with Kirt Johnson which was right before Eric Elk. Obviously Elk knows a thing or two about controlling an appearance. There is no doubt in what you say. The difference is even in the later part of Cranes career you couldn’t spook him. Bean handled the pressure all wrong. She also misjudged a very angry electorate.
LCTruth,
How do you identify an independent? Both parties obviously have to throw out the turnout of the ’08 election and make comparisons between ’10 and ’06. If we say limit party voters to say triple R/D that would mean there was a net gain of some 18K hard R voters in the 8th district under your analysis of the Indy’s staying home and this being a party line vote. Bean to Bean was plus 4K in total votes and McSweeney to Walsh was plus 18K. I thought you Democrats prided yourselves into thinking you were turning this area Blue? So which is it? Is this area turning Blue or did the Indy’s come out and vote for Walsh?
Anon 5:39,
If Walsh has the sincerity of a car salesman then that will come out and he will be gone. Where have we seen that in a politician forgetting where they came from? I just don’t buy it. As for the mortgage issue I encourage you to continue to attack people that are having difficulties in today’s economy. My unscientific theory is that just about everyone can relate to this issue either personally or because someone close to them is having trouble.
Rep. Ed Sullivan
Anon,
First of all, a District is nothing but a set of boundaries. Within that District, various organizations may function such as a grouping of schools (elementary, middle, high). A fire department could also function within that same District. A park organization could function within that District. Yet, each would have its own identifying name. For example the Round Lake Area Consolidated School District better known as simply RLAS. Many businesses operate within a District as well.
I'm not sure how long you may have lived around here but many years ago there were several attempts to consolidate the four Round Lake villages, making the 'new' town the second largest in the County. The last effort was made by a young man who was born and raised in R.L., named Charlie Johnston. He even suggested a brand new name rather than using one of the village names, just to rid the area of the stigma it had (has). All of these attempts failed. The point of bringing this up is that the four villages do NOT have a single source for getting information easily. They all have different websites. There is a site for the park district, five village sites, a site for the library, a site for the local Township, a site for the schools, etc. Since I have owned this URL for almost nine years I felt it was time to 'consolidate' ALL the local entities under a one-stop site for easy consumer access. It currently shows links and contact information for just about anything and everything in the area including FREE advertising for local businesses.
Over the years I have used the URL in an effort to remove Superintendent Cliff Houghton from the schools prior to the State finally taking them over. He had an iron-clad contract and the school didn't have the funds to send him packing along with a continued paycheck. The URL has gone through several uses and at one time was even offered to the student body since the school itself had to comply with State regulations on the URL they were required to use. The students had already moved on with a Panther pride type of URL so mine went back into the parking lot. As more time became available and my interest grew to fire it up again, you see what you see now. I'm sorry if you feel that it represents the school district but you might try Googling "District 116" and you will see that there are so many District 116's out there ranging from schools, fire departments, to State House districts.
Since you have such strong feelings about things happening in our area and on the political front, why not fire up your very own blog and start posting away. That is what we did and we welcome all who stop by to comment, even those like you who wish to remain anonymous.
Barney and I tend to disagree on many issues, yet we each have an RSS feed to each others site. That is what we do in a democracy. I'm looking forward to commenting on your blog when you let us all know what the URL is.
Happy Holidays
Ed - you forgot to add, "so there"
;-)
Catman, you just hit on another biggest waste of taxpayer's money....1 zip code, 4 Mayors, 4 Boards, 4 Police Chiefs just to start!
Ed: "As for the mortgage issue I encourage you to continue to attack people that are having difficulties in today’s economy."
Um, most people having difficulties don't move from a foreclosure to a mansion. And 99.9% of them aren't asking to hired as a member of congress. Really. What's wrong with a little personal accountability? Now that he's getting a big raise, is Walsh offering to repay that loan? Or is going to make the taxpayers continue to cover that that mistake for him? And as for you, it's so nice to see someone with TWO taxpayer funded jobs defending someone who merely walked away from his responsibilities leaving them, ultimately, to all of us taxpayers to assume.
As for you, catman, your long-winded blibberblabber above fails to address the basic issue: the web site and the tags that are posted on every story therein indicate a subject matter relating to the Round Lake School District 116, but they are not in any way related to the schools. That you believe you have some legitimate beef with the school district is irrelevant. You continue your deception. You and Walsh both seem to have a rather flexible definition of truth and honor.
Catman: People aren't commenting on your blog. They are instead suggesting that when your comments are read, that people understand the kind of individual who is making them. In the past I have agreed with some of the things you've said here and on TA. But, after following the link on your profile I have to agree that you are engaged in a pattern of deception. I consider that now whenever I see your posts.
I also recall Mr. Sullivan's jobs whenever I see his posts.
Anon 11:23,
I do not need to defend Congressman Elect Walsh in this matter. He never ducked the issue when he was asked. If this were ’06 the issue would have had more play in a campaign but in 2010 it did not. There were two Lake County Democrat candidates running for office that had problems paying their property taxes. One of them took quite a bit of money from the IFT union to boot. Their Republican counterparts did not whack them for it because of exactly what I just posted. My point that you are missing or choose to ignore is that in running a campaign in today’s environment it is a mistake to hit people on these issues because too many people are having financial problems or know someone that is or are barely hanging on. You may want to go back and re-read what my original post was about. How a candidate got to be elected.
Rep. Ed Sullivan
I think I need to post an editorial reminder to dispel some misconceptions. This blog was started 3 years ago by a friend that posts under the handle Bemused. At the time Bemused wished this blog to be a collaborative effort and recruited me and a few others. I've penned the majority of posts here the past year, but Bemused remains the owner of the blog.
-BB-
Ed....it is about ethics and integrity. Elected officials should be held to a higher standard. As far as Walsh's fiscal indiscretions it wasn't a campaign issue. Bean never used it against him in her campaigning although some of her supporters did as well as the press.
Anon 7:51,
Are you saying "winkwink" that Bean didn't know "winkwink" that her supporters "winkwink" were attacking Walsh? Maybe you are right. She sure didn't come out and stop it.
So you want to institutionalize treating elected officials different than everyone else? Boy that is a slippery slope. Where in the constitution does it say elected officials should be treated differently, for better or worse. You think there are elected officials that believe they have an entitlement now hold them to a different standard and watch that sense of entitlement grow.
Rep. Ed Sullivan
Walsh may have gotten enough votes to win, but in a two-way race, Bean would have won. Don't forget that 6500 votes were siphoned away by a Green (liberal) candidate. Those votes would have gone to Bean or stayed home. But surely at least 300 of them would have gone to Bean. Walsh is, indeed, an accidental Congressman. And he knows it.
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