A few weeks ago, I wrote an article
Let's Nail Dennis Hastert and Bury Bush, DeLay, Frist and Rove with New Tough Organizations.
That eventually led me to the interview I did today with John Laesch, who looks like, with funding and a strong grass roots base, he could have a chance against Hastert.
One fact that offers hope-- in this congressional district, Barrack Obama took an average of at least 60 percent of the vote. In addition, more and more of the district is experiencing suburban sprawl, from Chicago, which produces a more liberal electorate.
After publishing the article, I quickly received a response from the campaign manager for
John Laesch, a progressive who has declared he's running against Hastert. He also told me there are other candidates who want to run on the Democratic ticket, Ruben Zamora and Joe Serra.
Serra also e-mailed me. I offered to interview both Laesch and Serra. Laesch's team followed up. I haven't heard back from Serra who told me he needs help, but that he expects a campaign team and website to be in place shortly.
So far, from what I've seen and heard, Laesch looks like he's in the lead, with a campaign manager, web site and a busy schedule building the grass roots base it will take to engage in the daunting task of doing battle with the speaker of the house. He tells me that only once before has a speaker of the house been unseated.
It's a long shot, and clearly, the Republicans will pour millions into this race. But who knows how far the nation's disenchantment with right wing Republicans like Hastert will lift the chances in this race?
Laesch, 31 and unmarried, has a profile that could work well in the mostly rural, farm district. He grew up in Africa, where his parents were missionaries.
I asked him about stories from his life that define who he is, what he stands for. He remembers, in Africa, bringing kids who needed medical health home all the time and says that this experience has translated, into his adult life, so he is a person who cares, who goes out of his way to help people who need help. Compassion-- real compassion is a characteristic that shined through in my 90 minute interview.
He was an intelligence officer in the middle east, briefing admirals, seeing the same kinds of information that Bush and the congress saw. He was medevacked out of the Middle east, but because of security reasons, he can't talk much about what happened. He does say that the experience turned him against the war.
He didn't think the evidence was convincing. He worked as a volunteer on the Kucinich campaign. That means a lot to me, since I also volunteered for Kucinich. It helps convince me that he has a track record supporting the progressive vision. He's comfortable calling himself a liberal.
Laesch sees his campaign as one that will attract national attention. He knows he needs to bring in serious money to make it happen. He thinks it will come from all over the US, and has begun reaching out to Democratic bastions.
So... kosfolk, what do you think? Check out his site
http:/www.john06.com
He needs visibility-- interviews on progressive talk radio, to be included with the other military candidates who have returned from the middle east, fundraisers, volunteers....
Wouldn't it be nice to see Hastert dumped and replaced by a progressive?