Blog For Stover

Looks like John Shimkus is running from the voters again. It's one thing, Mr. Shimkus, to give interviews to symphathetic reporters. It's quite another to actually be accountable to the people who elected you. You should be ashamed.

Letter to the Editor - Collinsville Heral
Sunday, October 15, 2006 10:08 AM CDT

TO THE EDITOR:

Voter education is a hallmark of the League of Women Voters. Illinois voters have come to rely on the League to sponsor nonpartisan candidates' forums and debates, open to all, as an effective way to learn about the candidates and their platforms.

The League of Women Voters of Collinsville is disappointed that both Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville), incumbent candidate for the 112th District in the Illinois General Assembly, as well as John Shimkus (R-Collinsville), incumbent candidate for the 19th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, have decided not to appear in a forum sponsored by the LWV-C on Oct. 16 prior to the Nov. 7 general election.

Hoffman, who agreed on Sept.25 to attend, changed his mind two days later. His scheduler stated that Hoffman would not commit until he heard whether his opponent, Carol Kugler, would be allowed to speak unopposed.

John Shimkus' scheduler stated that "given what happened this weekend," referring to the news of the resignation of U.S. Rep. Mark Foley's (R-Florida), Shimkus would probably not attend. He later said he would be out of town.
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One of the tenets of the League is "that democratic government depends upon the informed and active participation of its citizens." Both Shimkus' and Hoffman's decisions not to participate in the League's nonpartisan forum is a great loss for the voters of this community.

We hope that voters will see the importance of the information gained at these events and contact the candidates to encourage them to participate.

THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

Collinsville

And this one:

Candidates who actually attended forum should have been heard


Wednesday, October 25, 2006 8:09 AM CDT

TO THE EDITOR:

The League of Women Voters recently held a forum for all current candidates. This is no easy task to present for the voters in this area, and due to bad weather, the attendance was not as expected. Worse still was the fact that two incumbent candidates refused to attend.

Our present federal representative for the 19th District, John Shimkus, was not there. His opponent, Danny Stover, was present but not allowed to speak because of League rules. Mr. Hoffman, our state representative was not present either, but his opponent, Carol Kugler, was there. I think we should let the people who show-up speak. Shame on Shimkus and Hoffman.

JACKIE PETERSEN

Collinsville

And here's another couple of letters from voters - one from a veteran and graduate of West Point...

TO THE EDITOR:

As a resident of U.S. Rep. John Shimkus' (R-Collinsville) hometown, and with two sons, both graduates of West Point, currently serving in Iraq, I felt compelled to share my thoughts concerning Shimkus' involvement in a situation that has been prominent in recent national news.

As graduates of the United States Military Academy, the congressman, as do my sons, wears a graduation ring with the inscription "duty, honor, country."

I find not honor, but flaw of character in the choices made by Shimkus as chairman of the committee overseeing young teenagers in the House Page Program. Although Shimkus was aware of previous questionable acts, he chose not to do the right thing.

Thoroughly investigating the improper predatory messages sent to current and past teenage pages and sharing this inappropriate disgusting behavior with the entire committee was his duty. Shimkus chose politics over family values when he chose to protect a prominent Republican Party fund-raiser, U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who represents a wealthy Florida district.

The duty of any adult, much less a military officer, congressman and parent, would be to protect the children from this disgusting, sick individual. Shimkus' actions, or lack of, have harmed innocent children and inflicted more damage to the Republican Party than sharing the truth by exposing a pedophile using his public office to prey on young impressionable boys.

What's unbelievable is that Foley, an Internet child predator, was appointed chair of the House caucus on missing and exploited children. That, according to news reports, the Republican House staff warned the page class of 2001-2002 to stay away from Foley shows that Shimkus knew or should have known that children were in danger.

Shimkus' flaw of character not only dishonored the country, state and district, but dishonors generations of that "Long Gray Line" of West Point graduates whose leadership reflect their duty, their honor and our country.

CHAS MAYFIELD

Collinsville

And this one:

Candidate Danny Stover deserves your vote


Sunday, October 15, 2006 10:08 AM CDT

TO THE EDITOR:

For Illinois voters in the 19th U.S. Congressional District, the choice is crystal clear:

Danny Stover is pro-stem cell research. John Shimkus is not.

Danny Stover is pro-increasing the minimum wage. John Shimkus is not.

Danny Stover would vote against tax cuts for billionaires. John Shimkus voted for them.

Danny Stover would vote against despoiling one of our last major animal habitats, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. John Shimkus voted instead to drill there, thus endangering its wildlife.

Danny Stover would vote for research to develop alternative fuel sources. John Shimkus voted instead to give tax breaks to giant oil companies, who have no reason to search for alternative fuel resources that would put them out of business.

Danny Stover would vote against salary increases for Congress until the minimum wage is increased. Shimkus has accepted $31,600 in raises for himself while voting against increasing the minimum wage for working families.

Danny Stover strongly supports our troops and believes they are performing valiantly. He does not support a mismanaged war. Shimkus supports Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld in the most disastrous blunder in U.S. foreign policy history.

Danny Stover would vote for working families and the middle class. John Shimkus has voted in lock-step with the Bush-Cheney-Rove agenda for the super-rich. That could explain why Shimkus has received more than $1 million in donations from the super-rich and corporations.

In the Drum Institute Report on Public Policy, Shimkus' 2005 voting record on middle-class issues got a grade of 'F'. Danny Stover's voting record would have gotten a grade of 'A.'

There is much more, all of which shows why the working families of the 19th U.S. Congressional District have no voice and no representation in Washington. John Shimkus does not reflect their values.

Keep these thoughts in mind as you enter the voting booth.

SUSAN PENSONEAU

Collinsville

If you go through the LTE's in the local papers, they're all for Stover, and yet the papers' editorial boards are endorsing Shimkus. The local establishment is doing everything it can to keep Shimkus in office, but if the mass quantity of letters to the editor and the massive numbers of people marching with Stover in the parades are any indication, there's genuine, grassroots energy in this campaign! People are excited, and working around the clock. We aren't going to let Shimkus coast into victory!

Are you?

Posted by M.B. at 11:20 PM | Permalink

"By his own admission the past four weeks have been difficult, troubling and frustrating for U.S. Rep. John Shimkus," says the Southern Illinoisan.

I would hope so. Following allegations that Representative Shimkus knew, long before any other member of Congress, even another member of the page board, that Foley was having inappropriate contact with pages, I would hope that his life has been a little bit more frustrating.

This is from another "Shimkus is such a nice guy" article in the district. Never mind that the Post Dispatch has endorsed Danny Stover in a glowing editorial.

From his interview (linked in the first paragraph of this post), one thing is even clearer than before - John Shimkus is not on the ball.

Like his genius answer to the comment that October has been a terribly deadly month in Iraq -

Noting that October has been one of the deadliest months this year in Iraq, Shimkus said he believes the increase is taking place "to affect our election."

"The signal we will send if we just leave is to say that we are not committed to democracy and freedom," he said.
...
I think we as a world, not only as a country, will be harmed exponentially more by allowing a failed state to arise in Iraq."

First of all, who's been saying "immediate withdrawal," because his opponent surely hasn't been? From Danny Stover's "Issues" page:

We need to support our troops, but that does not suggest that we must blindly follow a president that we disagree with.
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We need to accomplish our mission with honor.

What about "accomplish our mission with honor" suggests "immediate withdrawal?" John Shimkus, once again, is mischaracterizing the nature of the argument.

Second of all – the people in Iraq are killing each other because they hate each other and have accepted a US-approved constitution that enhances discord between Shiites and Sunnis. They aren’t trying to affect our election. Do you really think the death squads are having a “Democrats for Congress” rally in Ramadi? It’s a ridiculous notion, a scare tactic straight from the Karl Rove handbook, to suggest that terrorists are hoping for a Democratic win.

Anyway, it is clear that Shimkus has no concept of the gravity of the situation in Iraq. For instance:

Shimkus also said he does not buy into the comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam, noting that the latter was a country divided in half while in Iraq "one percent of a population of 25 million will do anything, blow themselves up for a cause. I would rather win than retreat."

Denying the fact that there's a civil war doesn't make it untrue. Sunnis, Shiites - sounds a lot like a "country divided in half" to me (not exactly half, as the Sunnis are a minority, but they're killing each other at a pretty high rate on both sides), not to mention the lack of a good exit strategy. No end in sight? People killing each other with American troops stuck in the middle? That doesn't sound familiar at all. And these aren’t just the terrorists going after loyal Iraqis – these are Iraqis killing each other, every single day, because of age-old political and religious grievances. Not your run-of-the-mill one sided terrorism – it’s a civil war.

A little less angering, but no less a misrepresentation, is Mr. Shimkus even mentioning the GOP energy bill that he helped draft and saying that it proves his record on alternative energy to be a positive one. Maybe if you knew nothing about the GOP energy bill, you'd think that he's telling the truth. The real truth of the bill? It gives billions to big oil corporations with very few, very weak stipulations for research and development. It doesn't come close to the grandly touted goal of making America "independent of foreign oil." It is ridiculous, and John Shimkus knows it.

There is honestly too much in this article to challenge everything, but I'll leave you with this:

It is estimated that 1000 Iraqis died this month (October). Over 120 Iraqi police officers are killed or wounded every day. Iraqi deaths by American soldiers in combat, however, has decreased significantly since the start of the war - Iraqis are killing Iraqis. There are death-squads going around the cities kidnapping people from their homes and work for the purpose of killing them, based upon their Shiite or Sunni affiliation. This is a civil war.

What's worse? A lot of reports that death squad militiamen wear police uniforms. There is no control.

Our policies have failed in Iraq. The Bush administration, and rubberstamps like John Shimkus who have no stomach for standing up to failed leadership, are to blame. It's time to hold them accountable.

PS - by "his constituents asked him to seek another term," he means his most important constituent, President Bush, who personally asked him to run this year. A picture's worth a thousand words...

Posted by M.B. at 8:34 PM | Permalink