I'm going to beg for
recommendations on this and I'm going to pimp the heck out of this diary. John Shimkus' opponent is woefully underfunded and outmanned. No one expected him to win, possibly still don't.
For as much as the Republicans want it to be, the Mark Foley issue simply is not about politics. It's about protecting our families. If John Shimkus and Denny Hastert couldn't protect 16-year-olds from a pedophile among their own Republican ranks, then how on earth can we trust them to protect us from our enemies, foreign and domestic???
And, as we know, we can't rely on the media to tell the truth. The Illinois media are horribly inadequate on the reporting of the Mark Foley issue. Both Speaker Denny Hastert (IL-14) and Rep. John Shimkus (IL-19, Congressman overseeing the Page Program) are getting off practically scot-free in their home state by the local media.
We have to tell the truth ourselves.
The Chicago Tribune got spun like a top by Hastert's staff over the weekend:
GOP leaders defend handling of page scandal
Aides to the speaker say he was not aware until last week of inappropriate behavior by Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), who resigned on Friday after portions of racy electronic messages between him and current and former underage congressional pages became public. But the aides conceded they could not be conclusive on the timing.
(emph added)
...cough...cough...bullshit...cough...
There's a pretty darn big difference between "last week" and "last year" and, as we're finding out, "five years ago" for them to "not be conclusive on the timing".
That is but one among many contradictions and oversights that the Illinois media, from north to south, are allowing to pass for "coverage" of Denny Hastert's and John Shimkus' role in this.
Rich Miller is the guru of Illinois political coverage and knows the ins and outs of the state from his journalist's perspective. He's pretty damning in his assesment of how Illinois media are covering both Hastert and Shimkus (or, more appropriately, not covering).
Miller's Blog "Capitol Fax", Oct 1: Illinois media getting beat, spun on congressional sex predator story * Updated x6 *
Miller's Blog "Capitol Fax", Oct 2:Swamp unspins, but other Illinois media outlets silent, scooped, spun
Miller's last line from his Sunday, October 1, post tells us what we need to do:
It's enough to turn your stomach. And since it was broadcast on C-SPAN, it's all on tape. Luckily for Shimkus, his opponent doesn't have the money to put this video into a TV ad.
Unluckily for John Shimkus we do have enough money to put that video into a TV ad. And among us we also have the talent to do so.
(In fact, Denny Hastert's opponent, Fighting Dem John Laesch, would like to hold a joint presser with Danny Stover but Stover cannot yet afford the $400 plane ticket.)
Take matters into your own hands (and wallets). Help Danny Stover (D) tell the truth about incumbent Republican John Shimkus and his shameful inaction for five years when faced with a pedophile.
Donate and Volunteer to Danny Stover.
If the GOP can't protect our children from one pedophile in Congress how can we expect them to protect our families from enemies... from lost jobs... from skyrocketing healthcare...
Action Plan:
- I'm going to look up media markets in the IL-19 district to find out how much newspaper ads and broadcast or cable TV placements may cost.
- We need volunteers to grab the video from C-SPAN (transcript) (is it linked somewhere online?). Post in comments if you find a link to video.
- We then need some video and print designer gurus to make 15- and 30-second spots and print newspaper ads to get the truth in front of the voters. We can start with YouTube and downloadable PDF flyers for now and if we raise enough money for Danny Stover maybe he can use our voluntary efforts for his campaign.
(Crossposted at Soapblox/Chicago.)