Jan Schakowsky Draws A Pair Of Fringe Crackpots

Today's Illinois Republican Party… very sad

Any list of the most effective and dedicated progressives in Congress wouldn't be complete without 8 term Chicagoland icon Jan Schakowsky. The former public school teacher has been representing IL-09 since 1999, a safe (D+15) blue district that covers the north end of Chicago's lake front from just above Diversey Harbor, through Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka, across to Northbrook, Des Plaines and way out west to Arlington Heights. Although some progressives grouse she is too ready to give Obama's less savory agenda items the benefit of the doubt, the only Member of the House with a higher lifetime ProgressivePunch crucial vote score is Wisconsin freshman Mark Pocan (98.52). Schakowsky's is 96.49, ahead of Raul Grijava by .02 and fractionally better than Jim McGovern, Judy Chu and Donna Edwards. In other words… she's awesome. Voters in her district seem to agree. She has beat her GOP challengers by over 70% in every reelection contest she's ever been in except two-- and she won each of them with 66%, still landslide territory.

This year, two crackpot Republicans are vying to run against her, though neither has even the remotest chance of getting to 40% in a general election. Neither is a traditional Republican and neither will get any help from the NRCC, not because the NRCC hearts Schakowsky but because these two are insane, even by NRCC standards. Perennial Republican candidate Susanne Atanus, wants to abolish the S&P, Dow Jones and Nasdaq in order to move the economy forward and has publicly stated that God controls the weather and has put tornadoes and diseases such as autism and dementia on earth as punishment for gay rights and legalized abortions. A friend of mine in Evanston told me that people consider it un-PC to laugh at her because she's such a sad excuse for a person. "God is angry. We are provoking him with abortions and same-sex marriage and civil unions. Same-sex activity is going to increase AIDS. If it's in our military it will weaken our military. We need to respect God."

This year Atanus is debating a Navy vet about half her age, David Earl Williams III. He claims he used to be a Democrat-- and like 69% of the voters in IL-09 cast his ballot for Obama in 2008. Then he discovered Ron Paul and it was love at first sight. Needless to say, he wants to abolish progressive taxation and replace it with a flat sales tax. Williams, who has a domestic violence order of protection that was filed against him by a Washington, D.C. judge last month, doesn't agree with the kook about her antigay tirade-- at least not fully. I guess in RepublicanWorld this would be considered "moderate."

"I've served with people who were gay during, 'Don't ask, don't tell' and you aren't worrying about if someone is gay or not, you're worrying about if you're going to live the next day," Williams said.

Williams said he believes marriage should remain between a man and woman, but adds that the government should stay out of the marriage business and leave it up to churches.

Among these two nuts, there doesn't seem to much much rhyme of reason in terms of one adopts one policy and the other adopts another-- just desperation to show they're someone, albeit incoherently, different from each other.

On immigration, Williams said he doesn't believe in amnesty but would like to see a path to citizenship for immigrants that could include work visas or military service. Atanus said she believes in open borders and that people should be able to travel freely without passports.

While Williams said he is not OK with the NSA listening and reading American phone calls and emails, Atanus said she thinks domestic surveillance is necessary for national security.

Williams does not want to raise the minimum wage while Atanus said she thinks it is needed to get the economy moving.

Dream opponents for any normal incumbent!