Open Letter to Congressman Shimkus

As our current representative in Congress it is your duty to the citizens of the 19th district of Illinois to hold the President accountable for intentionally misleading the Congress and the American people into a war of choice.

The release, of the Senate intelligence committee report on Iraqi ties to al-Qaida, prior to this war, makes apparent, the Bush Administration lied when it took this country to war. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Rice, Secretary Powell all made numerous false and misleading statements in the run up to the invasion of Iraq, despite intelligence readily available to the contrary.

The most solemn duty a president has, is to put in harms way, the young men and women of his country. This avoidable tragedy, has already killed and wounded over 20,000 Americans, and more than 100,000 Iraqis, and has cost the U.S. Treasury more than 300 billion dollars.

Never before in our history has any leader of our Nation exploited such an event as 9/11 with such smallness, such partisanship, such disunity, such contempt and such vindictiveness.

Never before in our history, has any leader of this country exploited a crisis by deliberately creating anger and hatred of Americans against other Americans.

Never before in our history, has any leader of our country surrendered in his challenge of inspiring our people to bravery and valor, or tried to make our people act like a timid and fearful nation.

Never before in our history, never, has any President of the United States so aggressively surrendered his moral authority as leader of the free world to create such worldwide anger, antipathy and fear directed not towards our enemy, but towards our President.”

The American people are disillusioned and angry, and for good reason.

In our system of government there is one President and Commander in Chief with unique responsibilities and duties. And historians will judge the greatest lie ever told by any man who ever held that post was this: On, May 5, 2003, he said, “The Ground War is Over” while standing on the decks of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Then he said, "major combat operations have ended", above and behind the president, who was wearing a green flight suit and holding a white helmet, the tower was adorned with a big sign that read, "Mission Accomplished." The greatest lie of all.

The man who campaigned as the Great Uniter, and declared himself the Great Decider, will burn in history as the Great Divider. George W. Bush will be impeached by the court of history, for using 9-11 to create fear throughout the land, rather than bravery, courage and valor.
But, that isn’t enough, America, can not face two more years of deception, two more years of dishonoring a spirit that had Democrats and Republicans singing God Bless America at the doors of our Capitol, to personally promote a politics so venomous, vile and vindictive that he fills the air with talk of treason and enemies lists compiled by hate filled supporters.
Its time to say, enough, it’s time to begin immediate impeachment hearings, its time to return sanity to our National Government.
Five years ago some of the finest Americans who God ever put on this earth gave their lives for their brothers and sisters, for their neighbors and families, for the country that they and we love so much, so deeply and so passionately. No one ever took a poll to determine whether these American heroes were Democrats or Republicans, because it does not matter.
As we honor the great heroes who left us, on that horrible day, five years ago today, we might all rededicate ourselves to what they stood for so valiantly.
I ask each of you at this moment, to honor those who have a timeless place in the American heart, who gave their lives for the greatest nation and the truest idea that has ever graced the earth. The men and women fighting in Iraq, the men and women of 9/11.
So again I ask you Congressman Shimkus are you the man elected to serve, defend and protect us? If you are, put aside partisan politics, and call for immediate hearings to impeach the most hated President in the history of this country.

Ron McBride
KnowItAll.blogstream.com

Editorial: Shimkus has broken promises, neglected district

Collinsville Herald
Wednesday, Sep. 13 2006

When people think about John Shimkus, especially in Madison County, several
things often come first to mind: He's a nice guy, he once considered becoming a
Lutheran minister, he's a Republican, and a graduate of West Point.

And they're fine attributes. It's easy to get the feeling he'd be a great
next-door neighbor.

These first thoughts might be changing, though.

During the Collinsville High School commencement this past May, a school
official spoke of how Shimkus is a CHS graduate. Behind me, I immediately
overheard a man whisper, "He broke his promise." Of course, the man was
referring to how Shimkus has broken his original campaign pledge to run for
Congress no more than six times.

In 1996, when Shimkus first ran for Congress, the Republicans were making a big
deal out of their Contract With America platform. They badly wanted to win
control of Congress, and described (accurately, in many cases) the Democrats as
entrenched Washington fat cats.

The cure they proposed was to promise the enactment of term limit laws, so that
neither Democrats nor Republicans could become the dreaded fat cats. It sounded
like a fine idea.

In addition to the platform, Shimkus promised to run no more than six times.
But, once the GOP gained congressional majority, they conveniently did not
enact the promised term limit laws, and Shimkus announced last year that he
feels free to run more than six times.

Shimkus has not only turned his back on the platform, which helped elect him,
he's broken his personal promise to the 19th District. He says George Bush and
GOP leaders want him to run again. So, has John Shimkus himself become an
entrenched Washington fat cat who no longer effectively represents the citizens
of his own district?

For the record, I'm neither Democrat nor Republican, neither "conservative" nor
"liberal." I'm independent, middle-of-the-road, and that's how I like it. But
I've never voted for a Democrat for office of president -- not until the last
election, that is. I'm appalled and saddened at how far the Republican party
has fallen, nationally and in Illinois.

Fortunes have changed since Shimkus was first elected. His campaign fund has
grown and grown. Official records put it at $1,170,500 cash on hand. (It's hard
to imagine how much cash that is, so I did the math, and it'll buy, free and
clear, 58 brand new 2007 family sedans at $20,000 a pop.)

That's a lot of clout for a politician to walk away from. Incumbents with that
much money tend to beat the pants off anyone who puts up a challenge. And if
Shimkus kept his promise, a Democratic candidate might have nothing between he
or she and a seat in Congress but blue sky and sunshine.

That thought must scare George Bush silly. Is it any wonder Bush encouraged
Shimkus to "abandon ship" on the promise?

So what about his record in Congress? Shimkus tells us in weekly e-mail
newsletters about lots of pork he's brought home. That's what politicians do,
isn't it?

There's almost nothing in his newsletters, or his congressional Web site,
explaining where he stands and what he's doing about major pressing issues of
the day. Other legislators of both parties have taken the lead on crucial
issues such as immigration, congressional corruption, global warming and
conflict in the Middle East.

You'll find hardly any reference to our troops, who are doing difficult,
dangerous duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. If you'd like to have some dialogue
with Shimkus, through an open forum town hall meeting, you're out of luck. He
doesn't have them. (Sen. Barack Obama has held 50 of them across the state in
less than two years in office, and plenty of Republicans have them regularly,
too).

And, I figure it's unlikely Shimkus will ever debate his Democratic challenger,
Danny Stover; Shimkus has nothing to gain by public debate, only a lot to lose.
You can't hide behind a pile of cash in a debate.

It sure looks as if Shimkus wants to stay in office, yet wants to avoid
anything that puts him, and his record, front and center for public view.

About the only way to get a sense of what Shimkus thinks is to look at his
voting record, and it's consistent and predictable as it can be. He votes for
whatever George Bush wants, even for HR 5970, also known as the "Paris Hilton
Estate Tax Relief Act." If Shimkus can't find the nerve to vote against even
that, is there anything, at all, ever, that he wouldn't fetch and carry for
Bush?

I wish Shimkus' West Point education bettered his service to the citizens of
the district and the nation, and, very sadly, it does not. Shimkus, of course,
supported the Bush's administration's trumped-up rationale for invading Iraq.
So did lots of other Republicans and Democrats.

But there were intelligent, thinking persons of both political parties who saw
through the hype. John Hostettler is one. Hostettler is a Republican,
Christian, social conservative who represents the neighboring 8th District in
Indiana.

He voted against the invasion of Iraq, and said why on the House floor:
"Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I must conclude that Iraq indeed poses a threat, but
it does not pose an imminent threat that justifies a preemptive military strike
at this time." He cited, among many sources, Saint Augustine, that war should
not be conducted without necessity.

There you have it. It took character, courage, and moral integrity for a
conservative Republican Christian congressman from the Midwest to stand fast
against the tide of hype from the Bush administration, and to push back against
Bush's desire to invade Iraq.

Hostettler refused to take the politically easy course of action, and followed
good judgment instead. Now, that's what I call real character and integrity
when you really need it the most.

Hostettler exemplifies what Theodore Roosevelt meant when he said, "Patriotism
means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President."

John Shimkus acts as if he doesn't get it.

And the clinkers arrive in a long line. Hostettler had presence of mind to see
through the hype, yet he has no West Point education, and has never served in
the Armed Forces. Had John Shimkus (and others) had such judgment and
integrity, over 2,600 of our precious troops wouldn't have died, and many more
wouldn't have had arms and legs blown off.

Hundreds of billions of dollars would have been conserved for any number of
important uses right here at home, or saved for a rainy day or two. How did
Hostettler set the call so right, but Shimkus get it so wrong? Where's Shimkus'
West Point education, not just when it adorns his resume, but when you'd think
it would benefit our country and our armed forces?

I'm sure Shimkus and Hostettler don't try to figure out which of them has basic
grasp of Christianity. I've asked myself, on the question of whether to invade
Iraq, "What would Jesus have done?" All I'll say is that Hostettler must have
earned himself a very clear conscience.

I'm trying to see how the citizens of this district benefited by Shimkus'
support of Bush's Iraq invasion, but the account rings up huge negative
balances. Bush had a budget surplus when he entered the White House -- now Bush
has borrowed and spent us back into red ink hell, hundreds of billions of it in
Iraq.

Troops from our district are sweltering, getting horrible wounds and dying in a
place which is one ocean and one sea away.

The Washington Post's "Faces of the Fallen" Web site shows 106 Illinoisans who
have died as a result of the Iraq invasion, of whom eight had hometowns in our
district.

Our troops are being placed repeatedly in the crossfire of warring factions of
people who just don't think like George Bush. Our troops have done their job
very, very well.

Bush hasn't done his job so well, so why are our troops, and their families,
paying the heaviest prices of all for Bush's poor job? There's something
seriously wrong in this picture, and John Shimkus isn't doing, and won't do, a
thing about it.

It'd be justified to send Shimkus packing on Election Day, for no other reason
than to enforce the promise he made to us. But there are more reasons to send
him packing, chief of which are that he doesn't represent the people of our
district any longer and can't say no to Bush, no matter what the cost or how
poor the judgement.

He's become the entrenched Washington fat cat he said he wouldn't become. He
gives constant and unconditional support to George Bush, whether it gives
super-wealthy families of the nation a whopping tax cut, results in the misuse
and abuse of our armed forces or breaks his promise to the folks back home.

If you want you voice in Washington to be a hand puppet for George Bush,
Shimkus is the man. If that's unacceptable, praise our Founding Fathers and
veterans for ensuring your right to say so and vote so.

If, after the next two years, Danny Stover has represented us well, we can give
him another term; if not, we should send him packing too.

D.R. Brown is a Maryville resident.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/neighborhoods/stories.nsf
/madisoncounty/columns/story/1AB800213C66C407862571E6007BB02D?OpenDocument

With a war in Iraq gone horribly wrong and a Republican attack machine determined to smear those who speak out.

And when I hear someone assault me verbally about not supporting our troops I get real upset.

First not only do I support our troops, I have a son who is one of those troops.

Next what these do gooder conservative blind men don't seem to get is that the war on terrorism isn't fought in Iraq, its fought everywhere including right here at home.

In view of all the 9-11 hoop-a-la yesterday, you would think that it would be evident that more people have died domestically than in combat in Iraq.

So I say to you idiots that have no idea what you are talking about WE ARE THE TROOPS!

We meaning you, and you and I we are the troops who are everyday making drastic changes in how we do things, making sacrifices that our dubba in Washington cares not to acknowledge unless he can make political hay out of it.

The Republican Party and its candidates are struggling hard to hold on to power in these elections. They'll throw everything they've got at our candidates. Including calling them Nazis and worse if there is anything worse.

Lets all work together, lets all let them know WE ARE THE TROOPS, lets vote Democratic in November and send a clear message to the Bushites everywhere that its no longer business as usual, its time for change, because we the American People have had enough.

WE ARE THE TROOPS!

Ron
www.WeDemocrats.com
www.uslinx.com

Today we remember many things.

We remember where we were. We remember the scenes on television.

We remember the victims who were murdered. We remember the families and loved ones they left behind.

We remember the heroes who charged into danger to save lives.

We remember a moment of unity at home and around the world, where people rallied around a single mission and a common sense of justice that must be done.

Today we face many challenges at home and abroad. And too often it's too easy to be distracted by the politics, the pundits, and the posturing.

We must always remember that the dangers we face know no political party, and the solutions and leadership we need now go beyond ideology.

We must meet these challenges head-on -- remembering to stand together in action as we live together under threat. We are all Americans.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

We will not be silent.

Today we remember many things.

Ron
www.WeDemocrats.com
www.USLINX.com

Karin Johanson, Executive Director, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
(DCCC) has sent out a message about the organization's Voter Turnout Fund. It is supposed to help Democratic House campaigns at least 50 Congressional districts launch their volunteer programs with Action for a New Direction Day.
It is the most sophisticated and robust volunteer and get out the vote (GOTV)program ever executed in a midterm election. They are coordinating local volunteers to knock on an average of 25,000 doors per district. This event occurs on September 09, 2006.

If volunteers sign up, they are supposed to hear from the local, critical Democratic candidates who need help the most. The DCCC's recruitment goal is 40,000 volunteers willing to make phone calls, knock on doors, and pass out campaign fliers. The effort is for stopping the destructive agenda of Bush and his Republican rubber stamps is to vote for change on Election Day.

Unfortunately, only a select few candidates will receive the financial and volunteer support. That is not the message the DCCC is giving to everyone either.

According to James Carville and Paul Begala, the difference between victory and defeat on Election Day this November depends on what every person across the country is willing to do. The DCCC chooses to ignore and withhold support for over 100 candidates. They read this latest message and know exactly what it means. The words are there. They need not expect assistance for TARGETED races ONLY. Even MSNBC's report on the Democratic challenger races only
mentioned and three of the candidates: Patrick Murphy (PA-08), Francine Busby (CA-50), and Tammy Duckworth (IL-06) (showing her three times). None of these candidates need the exposure on national TV that all the other Democratic candidates need.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the DCCC have certainly contacted many voters and potential volunteers throughout the districts with Republican incumbents. The script is simple: They are raising money for the Democrats running for the Congressional Districts and especially the 10 open Congressional seats in the country. Not exactly true. The pitch is disingenuous
- several people already report that the DCCC tells them THEIR candidate will receive part of those funds raised. Guess again. Only TARGETED (operative word) candidates like Patrick Murphy (PA-08), Francine Busby (CA-50), and Tammy Duckworth (IL-06) get the money - literally millions of dollars of support.
They have already given these few candidates so much money. They can afford the big media buys the rest of the candidates can only dream of. They can afford to do all the right things to get their names out, and then on top of it, the DCCC will help them knock on doors.

The rest of the candidates get the usual line: In order for them to target races, candidates need to raise at least $750,000 first (others hear $300,000, $350,000, $700,000, etc., whatever number sounds good for that day).
Therefore, the DCCC is actively taking desperately-needed money OUT of Congressional Districts without putting any money back in them. None of these candidates have received any telephone calls from anyone.

Additionally, the DCCC and DNC doe not support campaigns other than listing them on the websites. The DCCC robs many candidates and generously supports a few. If Dan Stover (IL-19) or any other unsupported Democratic challenger is not receiving any help, there is no point to donating money and time that is better spent in-district. The end result is an exclusive Democratic club that
is indicative of the Republican Party.

Many Republican and Democrats voting Republican probably feel that most of the candidates will be puppets for Nancy Pelosi. Democrats do nothing but raises taxes and increase government (funny, sounds like the ghost of No. 41 and the past few years with a Republican Majority). They also do not want to see her as Speaker of the House (not that Republicans are doing anything different or better). People need to understand that when the DCCC ignores and fails to
support Democratic candidates, the organization gives new meaning to ZERO.
Over 100 Democratic Congressional candidates have ever met Nancy Pelosi, spoken to her, or received any form of correspondence from her.

On the contrary, the Party ignores and withholds financial support for candidates that are more in touch with constituent values. Winning on Election Day means that they travel to Washington, D.C., with independent thinking.
Their job will be to represent the people (as opposed to multi-million-dollar corporate interests) of their districts and the interests of this country in Congress. No more. No less. Some have said they would support a line item veto or a similar method to restore budgetary control. Others have suggested a
return to the legislative policy that new spending proposals have to be budget neutral (i.e., offset with an offsetting revenue reduction). These suggestions certainly beat the current Republican policy of Borrow and Spend.

Many of the Democratic candidates receiving nothing but a cold shoulder have addressed the issue of cut and run versus stay and die. Two words: Exit Strategy. Policy should involve other Arab states in the region. It should consider destabilizing the Middle East since current disastrous Republican policy created new generations of terrorists and destroyed any good will the U.
S. had left in that part of the world. It has successfully crippled the American military, which already needs rebuilding. In one of his recent news conferences, President Bush said the next president will have to figure it out. Leadership -- no. Blatant passing the buck - absolutely!

EVERY candidate is visible. EVERY candidate needs and deserves financial support and volunteers -- not just a select few the DCCC chooses to target.
The Party needs to do EVERYTHING to support EVERY candidate to create a real message for the voter that will resonate Atlantic to Pacific, reddest state to the bluest state.

The DCCC's excuses for creating an elite congressional club do not work. For real change, Democratic Party attitudes and behaviors have to change (stop lying to voters is a good start!). Local candidates deserve local voter resources and a Contract with Reality!

Ron McBride
www.WeDemocrats.com

Tags: Democratic Party, Republican Party, DCCC, DNC, James Carville, Paul Begala (all tags)