Send a Bill to Congress

This weekend witnessed the autumnal equinox, and your LakeCountyEye was naturally engaged in that end-of-summer ritual that everyone pursues: round-tabling gathering signatures from phone books registered voters for nominating petitions. December 5 is the deadline for candidates to submit their petitions if they want to see their names on the March Primary ballot. And with signatures going for something north of a dollar each, this marks the busy season for operatives. Party-on dudes. Naturally your LakeCountyEye was to be found this weekend augmenting a blogger's brobdingnagian income by participating in this bi-yearly paper chase.

And a debt of gratitude is owed to the golden-age public sector pensioners at the McHenryCountyBlog for watching this blog while your LakeCountyEye was away. As readers of the McHenryCountyBlog are dimly aware ...

One of the writers of Lake County Eye apparently gets off on making derogatory comments about yours truly. When I wrote a story about Bill Scheurer's possible candidacy in the GOP primary in the 14th congressional district, an article appeared making fun of me and Scheurer.
Scheurer Challenges Lake County Eye to Put Up or Shut Up

The LakeCountyEye article indeed appeared to make fun of the thin-skin-libertarians at the McHenryCountyBlog as well as perennial candidate Bill Scheurer. Scheurer posted a response comment, indirectly confirming his intention to run in the 14th Congressional District Primary as a Republican:

The Third Man?

Scheurer, who has run for Congress in every election since 2004 with various parties and no success, could run as a Green Party candidate -- but that would require him to gather some 5,000 ballot signatures. The 600 hundred signatures required of a Republican candidate, no doubt, is much more appealing to Scheurer.

Anyhow, Scheurer's name could appear on the Republican ballot in the 14th along with declared candidates Randy Hultgren and Joe Walsh. In a three-way with Hultgren and Walsh, Scheurer would be lucky, on election day, to poll within the margin of error. Scheurer seems to relish the role of the spoiler but which candidate does he spoil: Walsh or Hultgren? The front-runner benefits in a crowded Primary, but it is difficult to pick a front-runner, here. Hultgren is the incumbent. But Walsh has the national soapbox.

Your LakeCountyEye is not aware of any Democratic candidates running in the 14th, which is surprising. Sure, the 14th was gerrymandered to be a Republican vote sink. But with the prospect of a Joe Walsh or even (with the help of divine intervention) a Bill Scheurer as the Republican nominee, the 14th would be a pick-up opportunity for any Democrat able to put together a professional campaign.

The big winners, naturally, are the ops gathering signatures at a buck a pop. Party-on dudes.