Previously, I discussed the battle to keep Phil Hare in IL-17.
The 4th stop of my tour: Illinois' 19th District, which includes most of Madison County (including Collinsville, Edwardsville, Godfrey, Highland, and Troy), Effingham, southeastern half of Springfield, Jerseyville, Centralia, Mt. Vernon, Salem, Fairfield, Vandalia, Olney, Harrisburg, and Metropolis.
Incumbent John Shimkus, who was (in)famous for walking out of the State of The Union speech over a year ago, breaking his two-terms only pledge, and for ruining Illinois, is trying to stave off a challenge from Tim Bagwell, a REAL longshot in this GOP/ConservaDem-friendly district. If you live in IL-19 and are Democrat, Moderate, Independent, or a moderate Republican, GOTV for Bagwell!
A Southern Illinoisan who is fed up with Shimkus on this post:
Shimkus the Jackass of Illinois
Growing up in Hamilton and Franklin counties, John Shimkus has been a continual embarrassment to our region. His cover up of the Foley page/pedophilia scandal and grossly ignorant statements concerning global warming should absolutely shame every Southern Illinoisan who voted him back into office. My father is a coal miner, my mother works a road crew, and I'm a teacher. He doesn't defend our interests He receives extremely low ratings from agencies supporting labor unions, education, civil rights, the environment, and agriculture.
Shimkus's sister at an Obama rally
just met Rep. John "Foleygate enabler" Shimkus' sister this evening and you'll never guess where ....
at a "Unite for Change" Obama house party in the heart of Shimkus' home turf! It's true Shimkus' sister is an Obama spporter!
I had met & chit chatted (no politics) with her earlier, but did not know who she was related to at the time. Shortly after my discovery, the "business" part of the evening started. After the video & meeting, I never did get a chance to meet up with her and ask about her "infamous" brother. Hopefully, at future events, I will get to ask some questions.
Twitter Jitters: Ill. Congressman’s Bible Tweets Raise Church-State Worries
June 10th, 2010
By Sandhya Bathija
Government-Sponsored Religion, Religion in Public Life
"I think most constituents expect their member of Congress to solve problems of war and peace, economic crisis, and not theological matters," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, AU’s executive director.
If I lived in southern Illinois and wanted a lesson in Christianity, like most people, I’d consult a Christian pastor, priest or theologian.
I definitely wouldn’t think to consult U.S. Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) or any other politician for that matter. Yet Shimkus seems to think he can be a one-stop shop – serving as not just a political representative but also a religious leader.
Why else would he bother to tweet Bible verses daily on his official Twitter page and quote Scripture passages on his official Facebook account?
For example, today, he tweets: "Psalm119:37-38 Turn my eyes from beholding vanity; quicken me in the way. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear."
And yesterday, he tweeted: "Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
Shimkus's Bible Tweets caused controversy.
Shimkus's challenger, who is a real longshot, Tim Bagwell, is an example of how a congressman should be.
An Example of a Real IL-19 Congressional Representative
U.S. House candidate Tim Bagwell, PhD (D-Olney), sent Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, a letter requesting an official investigation into the activities of the Save-A-Life Foundation. Three weeks before the election Dr. Bagwell is already working to protect the interest of the people of Central and So. IL. It is a job that John Shimkus (R-Collinsville) (i.e., Congressman Taxpayer Zero) refuses to undertake as a friend of corporate titans.
Tim Bagwell's issues:
Campaign Tabloid
Has No Plan for bringing needed
Jobs to Southern Illinois!
• Has No Plan for revitalizing American Industry!
• Is against providing wage equity for Women!
• Is against Healthcare Reform - He trumpets
being the party of "NO!"
• Is against Campaign Finance Reform. - He puts
"Corporate Interests" ahead of the Public’s!
Mr. Shimkus wanted to impress radicals on the Right by walking
out on the President’s speech. All he proved was that he had
no respect for the office of the Presidency
Everything from who he
hires to how his hires behave,
and how he behaves
leaves people feeling that
there is something "not quite
right" about John Shimkus.
• His job is to attend meetings
on our behalf. He walked out
on the President's health care
address. He walked out on his
constituents.
• When Congressman Mark
Foley was exposed as having
affairs with young Congressional
Pages, Shimkus mismanaged
the communication
leaving many to wonder why?
• His staffers caused the
Cannon House Office
Building to be shut down
when they brought in realistic
plastic guns for Halloween.
• He Tweets the Bible on
Twitter. Not even the most
conservative ministers who
serve in Congress tweets the
Bible on Twitter but John
Shimkus does.
• He hired staff from the
George Ryan administration
who took immunity
from prosecution.
"
"
• John Shimkus votes against
Women. He voted against
Wage Equity for Women.
He voted against the Lilly
Ledbetter wage equity act.
• John Shimkus even votes
against your pets. He voted
against the law that would
require the additon of bittering
agents in anti-freeze that
would protect Dogs and Cats.
Foley was forced from office. Speaker Hastert
resigned. Congresswoman Kelly lost her re-election
bid. Shimkus kept on running.
Healthcare
The U.S. House of Representatives will soon vote on health care reform legislation. This legislation will make health care affordable for the middle class, provide security for seniors, and guarantee access to health insurance for the uninsured ¡V while reducing the federal deficit by over $100 billion over the next decade. This analysis examines the benefits of the legislation in the 19th Congressional District of Illinois, which is represented by Rep. John Shimkus.
In Rep. Shimkus's district, the health care reform bill will:
Improve coverage for 415,000 residents with health insurance.
Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 167,000 families and 14,300 small businesses to help them afford coverage.
Improve Medicare for 121,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.
Extend coverage to 26,500 uninsured residents.
Guarantee that 7,900 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
Protect 1,200 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.
Allow 54,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents¡¦ insurance plans.
Provide millions of dollars in new funding for 29 community health centers.
Reduce the cost of uncompensated care for hospitals and other health care providers by $71 million annually.
Jobs
I am the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 19th District. I first ran for Congress in 2004. A part of my platform at that time looked 20 years into the future toward the construction of commuter rail lines linking the communities of Mt. Vernon, Vandalia, Salem and Centralia to the Bi-State Metro system that serves the greater St. Louis region. Even allowing the 20-plus years, the plan was somewhat ambitious for our region.
Since 2004 our economy has undergone enormous changes. Millions of jobs have been lost, largely in the manufacturing sector. Unemployment, energy costs, environmental concerns and a growing population are stark realities we must now address. My plan for commuter rail reaching deep into southern Illinois remains difficult to imagine, especially on its own in the absence of a larger national effort to build a transportation network that is both "green" and reduces energy consumption and dependence on foreign oil. Such an effort would directly contribute to a cleaner environment, create jobs, and transport people to their jobs and back to their homes.
A problem for southern Illinois if such a plan were to be implemented is that we have been shorted for the past 14-plus years, during a time of communications and technological growth. Our broadband and cellular services are spotty and have been a reason for lack of growth in our region. In order to bring the railways and factories back to southern Illinois, we need to bring better broadband to the region. Just as in the 1930s rural America was electrified through rural electric cooperatives, I propose an initiative of rural broadband cooperatives to serve those areas that are ignored or underserved by the major providers.
Congressman John Shimkus has allied himself with "free-market" practices that ship jobs overseas. These practices favor stockholders over consumer incomes. Sometimes the marketplace needs a push in the right direction. The right direction is to revitalize American manufacturing through a national plan for the railways.
Shimkus embraces "party of no":
Rep. John Shimkus: God decides when the "earth will end":
We've repeatedly documented Rep. John Shimkus' ridiculous positions on climate change. During a House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing earlier this week, the downstate Republican was in rare form. Speaking to British global warming denier Lord Christopher Monckton, Shimkus made a novel argument that because plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, limiting our man-made carbon dioxide emissions would actually kill the world's plants. Watch the exchange here:
SHIMKUS: It's plant food ... So if we decrease the use of carbon dioxide, are we not taking away plant food from the atmosphere? ... So all our good intentions could be for naught. In fact, we could be doing just the opposite of what the people who want to save the world are saying.
The National Wildlife Fund quickly dispatched with this looney theory:
Do Shimkus and Monckton think plants only came along after humans learned how to start burning fossil fuels? In reality, it's quite the opposite -- since we started getting really good at burning carbon-based fossil fuels, forests have started getting really good at catching fire.
And to back up all this nonsense about global warming pollution being great for plants, they cite the Cambrian period? A time when there were no land plants?
But what about Shimkus' random declaration at the end of the above clip that "the earth will not be destroyed by a flood"? To understand that one you've got to go back to his opening statement, during which he read various Bible verses, before concluding: "The earth will end only when God declares its time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood." Watch:
Shimkus might just edge out Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL) for the "most embarassing congressional hearing performance of the week" award.
Shimkus: 'Corporate Titans Are My Friends':
Shimkus' latest straw man: CO2 is not toxic:
Shimkus calls Obama's energy plan "the worst assault on democracy & freedom", worse than 9/11