When I was at YearlyKos, we learned that a group of Hastert supporters had begun a smear campaign
falsely attacking my voting record and I asked for your help in determining who these people were - you responded!
Our only response to date has been to hold a press conference in front of the Kane County Republican Central Committee office, in Geneva, IL and provide the media with my voting history.
While this is "old news" here in district, I wanted to let Kossacks know that we are fighting back.
More importantly, you started a fight against the third most powerful Republican in office, Dennis Hastert, and you should be proud to know that Hastert's most recent fundraising letter begins:
Just as temperatures heat up across the country, so is my reelection campaign for the House of Representatives.
This diary has two purposes. I am providing a campaign update and asking for your help in naming our campaign boat/float (not a swiftboat).
Let me begin by thanking our Press Secretary, Lisa Bennett (a fellow Kossack) for putting this together. The press conference was covered by the two papers that had published the negative letters, The
Beacon News and the Elgin Courier News.
Two of the Kane County Young Republicans, members of the group that were behind the attack, hid behind some cars and recorded the press conference.
You can see what the young GOPers are saying at Kurt Kojzarek's blog. I don't have time for this kid, and here are a few excerpts from my remarks:
My name is John Laesch, the Democratic Nominee running against Dennis Hastert.
We are standing outside of the Kane County Republican Central Committee office with the intent of drawing a clear line between the tactics used by the Republicans and the clean campaigning embraced by the Democratic Party.
Recently, right here in Kane County, the Republicans, with clear malicious intent, have gone back to their dirty tricks, lying about my only voting record, my personal voting history. Two recent letters to the editor were published in the Courier News and Elgin Daily Herald.
Both letters claim that I have never voted prior to the 2006 primary election."
In addition to letting the media know when and where I voted, I also let them know which campaigns I worked on.
I voted absentee in 1996 and did not vote at all in 1998 while I was deployed overseas with the United States Military. I have no way of double-checking an absentee ballot."
The records provided in the press kit show that I voted in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 and of course in 2006. Not only do I vote, but I voted Democratic - I am proud to be a Democrat!
Now that the Swiftboating has ceased:
We recently purchased a parade boat/float. It is an old pontoon boat that has seen it's way through many parades under the ownership of Navy Veteran and former State Senator, Bob Mitchler (R-Yorkville).
After testing the boats seaworthiness, we are going to make it parade-worthy. My brother and i are both union carpenters and tomorrow we will be repairing some of the wood and giving this beauty a paint job.
I am asking Kossacks to help name our boat!
The S.S. ________
Think patriotically and help out - some ideas have already been suggested and are below.
That would be the campaign mascot, Onyx.
Oh yeah... the Mapchangers competition for $5,000
I am currently placed #5 in Mark Warner's Mapchangers contest and we need to ensure a victory that will bring a $5,000 check to our campaign.
I would be thrilled if you could vote for myself and fellow Illinois progressive, Dr. David Gill. David Gill will be blogging with me here in the near future.
Thanks again for all of your support!
Respectfully,
John Laesch