Democrat Ben Lowe Responds to Peter Roskam’s Hysterical Funding Pitch with Gentle Humor

On April 4, 2010, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Peter Roskam, Peter Roskam's Corporate Agenda, by RSR
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We received a breathless fund-raising email from Peter Roskam last Monday. Apparently his huge stash of corporate cash is not sufficient for him to buy enough attack ads this fall to crush his unfunded grass roots Democratic opponent and he needs to beg his constituents for their hard-earned dollars so that he can return to Washington and vote against any bill that might actually help them. Here is the way Roskam’s message began:

The Democrats are out of control. Never in my life did I anticipate serving in a Congress that is poised to take over 1/6 of our nation’s economy through the procedural slight-of-hand known as reconciliation. With the Democrats’ passage of the Senate bill in the House of Representatives, the stakes for our country have gotten even higher. But the fight to defend our healthcare system from a government takeover is far from over – in fact, it has just begun.

Because that is what this election year will be – a fight against a Democrat political machine powered by liberal “back room” politics and I believe Americans like you and I have seen enough. We’re tired of watching the Administration cut deals with members of Congress to secure votes on a health care bill that the vast majority of Americans know to be irresponsible, misguided, and even harmful. Here in the Illinois 6th district, we know dirty Chicago politics when we see it, and it’s time to put an end to this madness.

Just a tad over-dramatic, no? We think Roskam should at least get some sort of literary award for fitting so many slurs into two short paragraphs. Roskam is, of course, ridiculous. There is no government takeover of healthcare, only an insurance regulation bill that will float a lot of new business to the insurance companies. Reconciliation is a parliamentary technique that Roskam’s own Republican party has used repeatedly when they held the majority. And Roskam’s Democratic opponent this fall can only wish that he had the support of a “democratic political machine” – he is, so far anyway, pretty much dependent on a small band of volunteers from the district who are fed up with Roskam’s obstruction and bullshit. If you want to see a political machine, look instead to the Republicans who control Du Page County Government and the big corporations like Exelon and Bank of  America who fund Roskam’s campaigns in expectation of influence over his votes on environmental legislation and banking regulation.

Anyway, we got a smile when we received a fundraising email in response from Roskam’s opponent, Ben Lowe of Wheaton. Bent sent this out on April 1st and his message displays a great deal of plucky humor approopriate to the day:

Hi, I thought I should introduce myself.

My name is Ben Lowe.

I’m the out-of-control, liberal, left-wing, big-government, backroom deal-cutting, game-playing, dirty Chicago politician, engaged in a hostile, irresponsible, misguided, harmful, insane government takeover of health care, that your Congressman, Peter Roskam, warned you about in his recent fund-raising letter.

My naive mother is crushed to learn what I have become since I left the gentle protections of her tender bosom, for the corrupting influence of Wheaton College, the twisted machinations of suburban Wheaton, and the left-wing radicalism of a Midwestern evangelical church. My pastor-father cannot figure out where he went wrong! It must be the extreme liberalizing result of Wheaton College’s student life policies, with its exuberant embrace of swing dancing. Or perhaps the consequence of a nature-goddess worshiping environmental-studies college major and profession. Or maybe the effect of a socialist-inspired radical experiment in communal living among the drug-addled, prostitution-riddled projects of blighted Wheaton and Glen Ellyn.

Fortunately for you, Congressman Roskam is not alarmist, but reasonable, commonsensical, and conservative.

Albeit hard-up for funds. After all, he currently has only $547,000 or so left in his campaign war-chest after spending as much on an uncontested primary, and that may not be enough when stacked up against my whopping $2,000 campaign account balance. It certainly is not enough to finance limitless television and radio ads, and a steady stream of life-enhancing robocalls. Donate big, donate often, for the free government postage granted to Washington politicians, the free publicity generated by news media interviews, and the other perks of incumbency are not enough to overcome the threat that I pose to our town, our district, and our American way of life.

This is going to be a tough race. True, Obama won this district with 56% of the vote. And though his national approval rating has fallen to 46%, one can never be too careful in defense of our country from liberal political schemes and harmful government borrowing and spending (which are immeasurably more insidious than the private-sector plagues of deregulation-induced, recession-causing, finance-industry implosions of our economy, or the oil-and-power-company pollution of our environment, the health-industry abuse of the uninsured poor, or the lawyer-enriching tort-cases with enormous verdicts against medical professionals).

Health care reform, in particular, has progressed at break-neck pace in the century since that radically-liberal, communist-inspired, former-Republican Teddy Roosevelt first proposed it in 1912, along with his other nefarious strategies, such as occupational safety, child-labor laws, minimum wage, and Sundays off.

We’ve got to slow this speeding snail before it breaks the sound barrier!

Now is the time for incremental reform!

I urge you to reduce government spending today by contributing to Congressman Roskam’s campaign fund!

Or join us instead, and help bring reason and common sense back to congress. We cannot win without your support.

Yours,

Ben Lowe

Advocate for informed political debate

Democrat for Congress, 6th District Illinois

Ben is a fine person. We’ve met him. We’ve read his book. We are certain he would make an excellent Representative for the 6th District. If you are tired of the Republican obstruction and corporate money that is crippling our nation’s ability to cope the very serious problems it faces, please consider giving your time and/or money to help Ben’s campaign.

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6th District Congressional Candidate, Democrat Ben Lowe, Reacts to Jobs Numbers

On April 2, 2010, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Economy, Peter Roskam, Unemployment, by RSR
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We received this statement today from Daniel Salcedo, Director of Communications for Ben Lowe, the Democratic candidate running to replace Peter Roskam this fall as U.S. Representative for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District:

Wheaton, IL April 2, 2010. Candidate for Congress Ben Lowe released a statement regarding the job report published today by the Labor Department. The report shows that the US economy added 162,000 new jobs in March, with less than 30% (48,000) being temporary census positions. This result is in stark contrast to the over 700,000 jobs that were being lost this time last year, and signals the largest creation of jobs in the past three years.

“Today’s job report clearly shows that, in spite of Republican obstruction, the strategic steps taken by the Obama administration have indeed turned the tide of the economic recession that began during the Bush presidency. The economic stimulus, while enormous by all measures, was necessary to stabilize the damage that rampant deregulation of financial markets had wreaked upon the entire economy. The stimulus saved the country from a repeat of the 1930’s depression era, and the eventual profits from the TARP program infused even more funds into small businesses, generating new jobs.

While today’s employment report is encouraging, it shows an economy that continues to struggle, with businesses of all sizes wary to expand, lest the recovery is fleeting. The best economic forecasts available, and taking into account the costs and savings of the healthcare bill, offer confidence that the economy will continue to grow following the steps that the Democratic Party has been implementing and the Republican Party has been largely rejecting.”

We agree with Ben’s assessment and are growing weary of Peter Roskam’s trash-talking about the economy and about Democratic initiatives. Roskam is not interested in constructive solutions but only in sabotaging economic recovery for his own short-term political gain. His conduct ill serves the people he was elected to represent, working families who are now struggling because of the economic crisis provoked by failed Republican policies of deregulation and discredited ideology of trickle-down economics.

We encourage our readers to visit Ben’s campaign website to learn more about his candidacy and to make a donation to help Ben fight Roskam’s campaign of misinformation so heavily funded by banks and insurance companies.

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Congressman John Shimkus Commends Non-Believing Constituents to the Nether Region

On February 5, 2010, in Peter Roskam, Religious Freedom, by RSR
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The Republicans in Congress have begun to embrace Twitter with great enthusiasm. Recently, we have seen Peter Roskam and John Boehner bragging to anyone who would listen about how the GOP had a far greater representation on Twitter than the Luddite Democrats. Roskam, in particular, has been gleefully tweeting about his tireless efforts to help the nation’s bankers and brokers cope with these trying economic times. I like following the GOP on Twitter. Helps me keep abreast of their latest mischief and talking points.

Representative John Shimkus of Illinois’ 19 District and, seemingly primarily an agent of the nation’s coal companies, is one of the more interesting of the GOP tweeters. He starts each day by tweeting a bible verse carefully selected to edify his followers or to chastise Democratic infidels.

I found today’s selection a little disturbing:

Psalm 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that do good

Now, I don’t doubt Representative Shimkus’ expertise in the realm of corruption. And I have no complaint about his expression of his religious beliefs in the course of his duties as a Congressman. And I don’t have a problem with Christians in government – in fact I am enthusiastically backing a committed Evangelical candidate, Ben Lowe, to replace Representative Peter Roskam in the 6th District. I do have a problem with the sort of Christians who use their “faith” to justify all manner of intolerance, to trample the religious freedoms of others, to justify unjustifiable social and economic structures, and to absolve themselves of any responsibility to make better the lives of their fellow human beings who are suffering because of that structural injustice.

I think that Representative Shimkus’s selection of scripture today, if not deliberately provocative and triumphalistic, certainly demonstrates an insensitivity to the fact that we live in a pluralistic society under a Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion (or freedom from religion) to everyone, non-believers included.

I believe that Representative Shimkus owes his district an apology and that he should be more careful about his selections in the future. The non-believers in Representative Shimkus’ district are entitled to representation too.

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Lets Make 2010 Peter Roskam’s Last Year in Office

On December 30, 2009, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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The holiday season is always a pretty expensive time for me what with gift-buying and travel and this year is no exception. But when I received an end-of-the-year appeal today from Ben Lowe’s campaign today, I cracked open the piggy bank and sent him an extra donation in order to help him meet his fundraising goals.

In the 6th District, we are presently represented by one of the most extremely conservative members of Congress, Peter Roskam. Roskam does not share the values of the majority of the district he is supposed to represent. In fact, Peter Roskam uses the privileges of his office and our own tax dollars to actively campaign against policies like universal health care that will benefit the citizens for whom he is supposed to be a voice.

2010 could be the year that we bring Peter Roskam’s mis-representation to an end. We have a fine progressive Democratic alternative in Ben Lowe. The harsh reality, however, is that Roskam is well-funded by the corporate interests he represents and has a history of running agressive campaigns. In order for Ben to get his message out, he will need funding from all of us who want better representation for the 6th District. That’s why I’m doing as much as I can to help the Ben’s campaign. I hope you will be generous in your support as well.

Lowe for Congress

Happy New Year!

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RSR Meets with 6th District Democratic Candidate Ben Lowe

On December 21, 2009, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Healthcare, Peter Roskam, Peter Roskam's Corporate Agenda, by RSR
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I was pleased to have had the opportunity this past Thursday to meet face-to-face with 6th District Congressional Candidate, Democrat Ben Lowe of Wheaton. I sat down with Ben, and with consultant Kevin Spidel of Patriot Strategies, who, as you may remember, managed the 2006 primary race here in IL-06 for Christine Cegelis, another fine progressive candidate. In the picture above, Ben is signing my copy of his book, Green Revolution.

I have to say that I am very impressed with Ben. He is a warm, intelligent and articulate person with very progressive ideals coupled with a healthy dose of political realism. I think he has the potential to speak to the concerns of a wide variety of 6th district contituencies and bring them together to defeat Roskam, who caters to big corporations and offers nothing to help a district experiencing exceptionally hard times. Ben’s discussion of issues like healthcare and immigration reform and global climate change in terms like “justice” and “human rights” is music to my ears. I can’t wait to see Ben elected. (I kind of wanted to bring him home with me but Kevin intervened).

In the time before the primary, Ben says he will be heavily focused on getting out to meet folks in the district and listenening to their concerns. He is anxious to meet with groups, large and small, and encouraging anyone who is interested to host a coffee for friends and neighbors to get together with Ben.

Ben reports that he is also heavily focused at present on fundraising, a necessary evil when running against an opponent like Roskam who is well-funded by big corporations and extremist interest groups. Ben says that fund raising efforts are starting out well but he has a long way to go. Please consider making whatever donation you can afford through Ben’s website.

I am hoping that the more distinguished bloggers covering the 6th district who follow Roskam will getto know Ben and help to get the word out about his candidacy. Come on Progress Illinois, Prairie State Blue, Bridget in the Sixth, Wurfwhile, Heartland Progressive – this is a great progressive candidate. He deserves your support – or at least your consideration. Peter Roskam is the worst. Lets not allow him to coast to another re-election.

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Peter Roskam Displays Contempt for Unemployed – Votes Against Benefits Extension

On September 24, 2009, in Economic Justice, Peter Roskam, Unemployment, by RSR
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On Tuesday, September 22nd, the House voted on H.R. 3548, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009. The bill providers for an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits in states where unemployment rates exceed 8.5%. Illinois is one of those states, with an unemployment rate of about 10%.

Peter Roskam voted against the benefit extension.  He was alone among the Illinois delegation in doing so. The measure passed by a margin 331-83, garnering a substantial number of Republican votes. Even Shimkus voted for the extension.

I heard on the news the other day that there are about 6 job-seekers for every available position on average.  In an economic environment like that, the vote to extend benefits was a no-brainer.  Peter Roskam’s “No” vote demonstrates once again his almost sociopathic lack of empathy for the plight of his constituents suffering in the aftermath of the economic disaster wrought by the Roskam/Bush brand of anything goes capitalism.

So my question for my fellow 6th District residents:  How long are you going to keep voting for this arrogant prick? Haven’t you had enough?

Nice to see Bridget Dooley weighing in against Roskam again. And she has great music.

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