Walsh vs. Roskam: a contrast in integrity

Joe Walsh and Peter Roskam, Republican House colleagues and IL district neighbors these past two years, sure were a study in contrasts in this election.

The contrast is far more extensive than Walsh's loss to Tammy Duckworth by 20,000 votes and Roskam's win over Leslie Coolidge by 60,000 votes. Both Congressman supported, down the line, the same Tea Party agenda that doomed the Romney-Ryan presidential ticket: decimate the social safety net to fund more tax cuts for the 2% wealthiest Americans, strip away the protections that Obamacare is finally giving the 40 million folks with no or inadequate health insurance, fire as many public workers as possible not connected to the Military-Industrial Complex, and senselessly interfere with the critical need of 160 million women for choice and reproductive health services. Walsh wore his support for these destructive policies like a badge of honor and sought every media opportunity possible to promote them. Roskam, by contrast, was almost invisible to the public in his support of these bizarre, destructive policies, but worked furiously behind the scenes as House Majority Chief Deputy Whip, to implement them over the principled resistance of the Obama Administration.

Most telling was the contrast between these legislators regarding the now institutionalized, and most anticipated facet or our wondrous electoral process: public debates between the candidates. Walsh, to his great credit, never hesitated. He debated his opponent Tammy Duckworth early and often. He showed up and he spoke up for this Tea Party beliefs with no apology and no regrets, even when his cruel and ludicrous comment that abortion is never needed to save a woman's life created a national firestorm of criticism and contributed to the Democratic landslide, both nationally, and here in Illinois.

And Roskam? He not only refused to debate, he virtually ignored even responding to the invitations to debate from challenger Leslie Coolidge, from the League of Women Voters, from individual district residents like me who called his campaign headquarters time and time again without getting a responsible answer.

As offensive as Joe Walsh's conduct as 8th District Congressman was - belligerency to his constituents and the media virtually unprecedented for a Congressman - he had the courage and integrity to tell us and show us exactly who he is and what he believes. From his conduct as Congressman these past six years we don't really know who Peter Roskam is and what he believes other than that he is a career politician who will keep as low a profile as possible to spend a lifetime making a fabulous living serving his fabulously wealthy base.

When it comes to integrity as a politician, Joe Walsh gets my vote over Peter Roskam, hands down.

Also published in the Chicago Tribune, November 17, 2012

Ole Miss may need a new school motto

One of the weirder under reported stories of election night concerned the mini riot on the campus of Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) in Oxford, MS. Upon realizing that a new American demographic, representing a dwindling white majority, re-elected the first African American president, 400 students poured into Oxford streets shouting racial slurs directed at the President and burned Obama campaign signs.

As riots go this one was quite tame - no one was hurt and only two men were arrested for disorderly conduct. It did however, give pause to the notion that we've eliminated public expressions of intolerance for African Americans. It also conjured up memories of the worst university riot in American history, which occurred at the same Ole Miss campus just over fifty years ago on September 30, 1962. The cause then was the admittance of the first black, James Meredith, to the most segregated university in the most segregated state. That one was a duesy - 3,000 rioters consisting of Ole Miss students, joined by town folk and KKK groups from Texas to Florida fought hundreds of US Marshals with bricks, bottles, guns and homemade bombs. Two were shot to death and hundreds injured including 60 US Marshals, prompting President Kennedy to deploy 20,000 US Army soldiers from nearby Memphis to restore order.

I don't know what the Ole Miss school motto is, but maybe it should be changed to: "Ole Miss: where education is still a riot".

Also published in USA Today, November 16, 2012

Memo to GOP: preserve RINO's, ditch dinosaurs

The dinosaurs who roam the Republican landscape have, for the past four years under President Obama, been devouring RINO'S (Republicans in name only) with great relish. Disguised as Tea Party Patriots complete with tri-corner hats and grotesque signs bearing demeaning images of a first class President, they purged any Republican who expressed even an inkling of moderation and willingness to compromise with Democrats to improve our nation (hence the brickbat: Republican in name only). Some of these RINO's like Senators Richard Luger of Indiana and Olympia Snow of Maine, simply recoiled in a Jurassic Park horror at these looming carnivores and retired. Others, like moderate Missouri businessman John Brunner (who lost to bizarre rape commentator Todd Akin) braved the dinosaurs in Senatorial primaries and were served up as lunch with dinosaur tea.


All these Tea Party dinosaurs managed to accomplish, or more appropriately, wreck, was the sure GOP bet to takeover the Senate and turn it into a 55-45 Democratic majority (including 2 independents who will caucus with the Democrats).

If the GOP doesn't want to disappear as certainly as the reptilian dinosaurs, its leaders better put their remaining RINO's on a preserve that's off limits to the human dinosaurs still rampaging incoherently on the GOP reservation; and pray they can coax a new breed of RINO to test the GOP waters. And if really smart, they will not add any Kool-Aid.

The only thing we need to suppress is....voter suppression

Email Print 1 Comment Novermber 6th is the day that all Republicans, Democrats, Green Partiers, Socialists and Independents become small "d" democrats, who, by exercising their right to vote, have a say in the future direction of our democracy. When billions of souls around the globe live in tyranny with little or no freedom, one would surmise that the turn out here would approach 100%. Only 61.6% of eligible voters exercised that right in 2008. The 38.4% who didn't amounted to 82,000,000 people. As bad as that number is, an estimated 90,000,000 will skip the polls in this presidential election.

Alas, some millions of those 90 million will result from the most disturbing development in the 2012 election: state voter suppression laws. During the past two years many states passed measures to make it harder for Americans, particularly African-Americans, students, the elderly and disabled folks to exercise their fundamental right to vote. These measures include requirements to show a government issued photo ID, documentary proof of citizenship, shortened early voting time frames, repealing of Election Day registration laws, and making it more difficult for third party organizations to register voters. All these anti democratic actions have been dubbed laws in search of a problem as voter fraud is virtually non-existent. In fact, these measure themselves are the only voter fraud we should be concerned about.

Every one of us who cherishes our democracy should not only vote, we should rise up against each and every attempt to create a 21st century version of the poll tax and Jim Crow voting restrictions. The legislators who promote them trample upon and diminish our 236 year old noble experiment that all the people, not the powerful elites, rule our democracy

Four more years only costs your vote

A gloomy mood Sunday enveloped me till I opened my Congressman Peter Roskam's pre election email. The title alone convulsed me in laughter that lightened my troubled soul:

           Americans cannot afford another four years like the last four

Roskam, of course, was making his last minute pitch for electing Mitt Romney as President and Peter Roskam for IL Sixth District Congressman. Yet, here are some of the folks who can afford four more years of President Obama and two years of an IL Sixth District Congresswoman who supports his policies:

Five and a half million new private sector workers employed by 32 straight months of private sector job growth

40 million previously uninsured for health care who are now starting to realize the roll out of benefits that will eventually give them a medically insured future

Many thousands of folks who are benefiting from the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which extends opportunity for redress of pay discrimination by unscrupulous bosses

Millions of gay citizens who finally have a President who has their back in their inevitable and inexorable struggle to gain marriage and sexual orientation equality.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers who no longer fear serving another tour of duty in the lost, but mercifully ended Iraq war

The one hundred sixty million women whose right to reproductive choice and health is being protected by a sensible, compassionate and morally responsible leader

Two and a half million seniors who are celebrating the closing of George W. Bush's infamous "donut hole" from his Prescription Drug giveaway to Big Pharma in 2003.

The hundreds of thousands students who will have access to an education from doubling of Pell Grants paid for by ending billions in subsidies to banks

The millions of American auto and parts supplier workers whose President had the audacity to declare to those cheering on collapse: "Not on my watch"

I could go on but I've accounted for most Americans, virtually all of whom can afford four more years of President Obama. Funny, I couldn't find a single one, other than Congressman Roskam, who can't. And whenever the blues become my only songs, I'll open up Roskam's pre election email, Americans cannot afford another four years like the last four, and the world will be sunny again.