Roskam has launched a website "Obama Voters for Roskam." The whiff of fear is in the air. Imagine that Roskam is trying to ride the coattails of Obama. What's wrong with this picture?
It takes a lot of courage, or gall, to through the leader of your own party, John McCain, under the bus.
So now, not only is Roskam a coward who will not debate, but he is now extremely fearful that the crowds at the polls are voting BLUE all the way on the ticket!
Many questions are unanswered about Peter Roskam's brief record in the Illinois sixth district. His failure to debate, defend or explain his record to the people of the district is disturbing.
Fact: he votes with Bush over 90% of the time. Fact: he votes in favor of tax breaks for Big Oil. Fact: he voted against veterans benefits. Fact: he is co-sponsoring a bill that will censor literature sold on military bases. Fact: he is against abortion even if the health of the mother is at risk. Fact: he voted against the bailout, twice.
The fact is that Peter Roskam doesn't deserve another term as our congressman. We need Jill Morgenthaler.
My good friend Colonel Jill Morgenthaler is the Democratic candidate for Congress from the Sixth District of Illinois. She’s running a strong campaign to unseat Congressman Peter Roskam. Those of us from Illinois know how extreme and how wrong Roskam is on almost every issue that matters to our nation – his support of Bush’s failed policies in Iraq, Bush’s giveaways to oil companies, and of course the deregulation that led to chaos on Wall Street.
Well, Morgenthaler finally has a website that works, and from it we learn she's building a small donor base:
Today, Col. Jill Morgenthaler's campaign for Congress announced contributions totaling $200,630 in the first quarter of 2008, the first full quarter of fundraising for the political newcomer. Morgenthaler is the Democratic candidate for the 6th Congressional District of Illinois.
[...]
Details of Col. Morgenthaler First-Quarter Fundraising:
Total Receipts: $200,630
Total Individual Donors: 567
Total Contributions $200 or Less: 359
Percentage of Individual Contributions $200 or less: 63 percent
I'd call that respectable. Roskam still raised 291K though. And he's got $967K on hand. So Jill's still got one hell of an uphill battle. But this is a respectable start.
Families here know what it's like to balance our checkbooks and pay our bills. Congressman Roskam doesn't seem to think Washington should do the same. On his watch, federal spending has spiraled out of control. But it's our money and it's my goal to get a handle on government spending, balance the budget and reduce the tax burden on Illinois families and businesses.
This Congress and this congressman have done nothing for Illinois families who are buried in bills that keep going up-taxes, groceries, a tank of gas, college tuition, paying the mortgage. They've done nothing to help small business owners who are struggling with high health care premiums and higher taxes.
And sometimes it's the things Congressman Roskam does do that frustrate folks back home. Like when Congressman Roskam voted to support President Bush rather than 300,000 Illinois kids when he vetoed their health care. This isn't about the money -- we can cover those 300,000 Illinois kids for a year for what we spend in Iraq in a week. For Roskam it was all about the politics. For me, telling Illinois kids they can't go to a doctor just to score a political point is about values. Send me to Washington and we'll have a congressperson who will lead the fight to make sure Illinois children get the care they need.
Congressman Roskam has been lock-step with President Bush and out of step with the folks back home. He's voted with the President over 90 percent of the time. When I'm elected to Congress, I will not forget the people I was elected to serve -- and trust me, they won't let me, because they're the people I've lived with most of my adult life. They're the friends I see in church on Sunday, the neighbors at the corner store. Other parents at my kids' school. The local business people.
Really dislike those diagonal stripes in the background, but at least she's coming out swinging.
MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE *************************************
Col. Morgenthaler's campaign plays a weird game of "will she or won't she"after having already announced that she will to local Democratic activists and party leaders. This leaves those of us in the trenches scratching out heads, then shrugging our shoulders, then thinking "whatever, at least someone seemingly credible is running". Perhaps we're thrown for a bit of a loop due to how a last minute candidacy was handled the last time around. None of us knew until she was in, while this time we knew Jill was in before she was. I think that may have been the appearance the Morgenthaler campaign was going for, anyway.
Last night I attended a petition turn-in and social event held by the York Township Democratic Organization. Ms. Morganthaler was one of several candidates who attended. These are notes from the event, and from the morning after.
Congressman Peter Roskam's supporters must fear Democratic Candidate Col. Jill Morgenthaler, because they just mailed a hit piece against her purporting to be from a group called the "Patriotic Democrats of DuPage." The piece is designed to look like it supports Jill - but then makes accusations designed to attack her and hurt her standing with Democrats.
Col. Jill Morgenthaler, most recently Illinois' Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety and Homeland Security Advisor, has entered the 6th Congressional District race as a Democratic challenger to first-term Republican Congressman Peter Roskam. Jill has over 30 years of military, government and private business experience, much of it focused on emergency preparedness, communications and business development.
Well, that sure takes away the "Democrats are weak" line of attack for Roskam. Let's hope she can do some damage and actually take the fight right at Roskam this time around.
Update 10-16-07: From Archpundit, here's where Roskam stands in the money race:
