*Crossposted from Generation X-Y Democrat Blog
Congratulations to Don Manzullo, the Republican Congressman from Illinois’ 16th Congressional District, for receiving "the treatment" from Huffington Post’s Ryan Grim in an article published last night titled "Don Manzullo: Worst Congressional Questioning Ever".
The article posted a video, which I have embedded below, showing goofy Manzullo trying to act tough, but not making any sense.
I happen to live in the 16th District, and I will be quite amazed if this man will be able to survive the 2010 election. This man has been elected numerous times now, by quite a wide margin in fact, because he USED TO live in a traditionally Republican area.
So why would the tide change? Very simple. Nearly all counties within the 16th District voted for President Obama in 2008 by 8%. To put this in perspective, in 2000 and 2004, Bush won this district by 11%. For the first time on record, McHenry county (where I live) voted for a Democratic Candidate for President. Voters are beginning to relate to progressive ideals, and I would venture to say that Manzullo won the 2008 race simply on recognition.
The DNC committed too much money and time to trying to oust Mark Kirk in the 10th Congressional District – a tough task since Kirk is actually liked by most of his constituents. I have met Mark Kirk before and, despite the fact I don’t agree with the guy on a ton of issues, he is a likeable guy. I was not at all surprised that he won convincingly in 2008. However, nobody I know in the 16th district finds Don Manzullo to be a great personality.
Manzullo represents a district that voted for Change, yet he has said "No" to everything his constiuents voted for. The man is clearly not doing his job, and he needs to go!