Aaron Schock And Hypocrisy

Normally, when the words "hypocrisy" and "Aaron Schock" get mentioned in the same sentence, one would expect to hear another in the long litany of stories of how Schock votes against equality for the LGBT community while having sex with men himself. There's nothing wrong with Aaron Schock being gay, of course; it's the hypocrisy of being so anti-gay as a legislator that irks people. But Deirdre Hirner, the Democrat who's running against him in Illinois' 18th CD has a very different aspect of hypocrisy and Aaron Schock to share with us today. Below is a guest post she did for us:

There are some acts of hypocrisy so outrageous they cannot go unchallenged. They deserve our attention and our energy. At the top of the hypocrisy hierarchy are Republican candidates for Congress including my opponent Aaron Schock (R-IL 18), who have sworn to “repeal and replace” the health care reform legislation which will provide access for the uninsured and the uninsurable. Month after month, Republicans have shaken their fists and pounded the table in rhetorical fury to “government-run” health insurance, while they have availed themselves of-- guess what-- government run health insurance.

According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s website, the members of Congress “enjoy the widest selection of health plans in the country” through the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP).

The FEHBP has been tagged a “system of managed competition.” The federal government sets minimal standards that insurance companies must meet to participate in the program. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management then allows those participating companies, some 250 of them, to market their plans to approximately four million government employees. Sound familiar? Think Health Insurance Exchange – a transparent and competitive insurance marketplace where individuals and small businesses can buy affordable and qualified health benefit plans-- created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

A total of 248 members of Congress, 209 in the House and 39 in the Senate, voted to deny you, me, us access to the exact same type of health insurance benefit program they and their families have. Hypocrites one and all!!

Are you as aggravated and annoyed as I? If so, its time to get up and do something. Ask your Congressman or woman who voted against the health care reform act, just as I asked Aaron Schock, to cancel their “government-run” health insurance. And, yes, they can cancel!! All they have to do is fill out Standard Form 2809 and sign their name on the line in Part F. But they would have to exhibit some real leadership and integrity-- and we all know that is not in the cards!

Visit our website at www.dontbeahypocrite.org. You can find out whether your U.S. Representative or Senator said NO to giving you the same access to health care as they “enjoy” and, if they did, download Standard Form 2809 from the website. You can then readily get it into their hands, giving them the opportunity to give up exactly what they don’t think we need or should have.

Snarky Howie Update

Whether you vote against Schock because he's a hypocrite on sexuality or a hypocrite on healthcare, it's just important to vote him out of office. There are whispers now that he has ambitions of running against Dick Durbin for the U.S. Senate when Durbin's seat comes up in 2014. Imagine how odd it would look if Kirk wins this year and then Illinois winds up with two odd duck closets queens in the Senate!

Deirdre Hirner of Springfield, Illinois Challenges Aaron Schock, Washington's Most Eligible Closet Case

This is Deirdre; Aaron dresses more flashy

Here at DWT you never hear much about Aaron Schock beyond the fact that he's a slimy closet queen voting against gay people... and that he wears lavender and chartreuse shirts with pink belts and white hustler pants. But he's actually an exceptionally bad congressman representing working families who really need a good and competent person to speak up for them in Washington. I want to introduce you to Deirdre Hirner today, the former Executive Director of the Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group, the progressive Democrat who's stepped up to the plate to take on Schock-- and with no help, of course, from the DCCC. "DK" Hirner comes from a working family and understands having to work to make ends meet, the kind of candidate we like around here. She has over 20 years of senior-level experience in government and industry, working to bring disparate parties together to achieve resolution on complex matters through meaningful discussion and compromise. She has served on the senior staff of two Missouri governors, and understands the role government plays in our day-to-day lives. As a member of Congress, she told me this morning that her goal is to continue that practice and find solutions for problems, not to engage in partisan bickering. She refused to comment on Schock's "private" life. I asked her to write a guest post about why she would be a better representative for Illinois' 18th CD than Aaron Schock. Give it a look-- and if you like it consider giving her a hand to get her message out.

I am running for Congress because I believe the working men and women of Illinois’ 18th
congressional district and their families deserve a representative who will fight for them-- one who puts their interests above corporate interests, their interests above self interest. I am that person.

This district has an unemployment rate of over 10 percent, greater than the national average, and in some parts, the rate is over 12 percent. Congressman Schock’s own home town of Peoria has suffered tremendously in this recession, enduring a number of mass layoffs. More than 100,000 people, including 39,000 children seek emergency food supplies from the Central IL Food Bank.

As of today, 16 of the 20 counties in this district are on a Poverty Watch and Warning List. More than 50,000 people are unemployed people in the 18th district and more than 25,000 people live in extreme poverty.

At the least, Mr. Schock’s multitude of media appearances-- as on Top Chef, in GQ magazine and the New York Times Style section, walking the red carpet at the Country Music Awards-- is insensitive and disrespectful of the struggles that the people of IL’s 18th District are now engaged in.

Not only has Mr. Schock fiddled while Rome burns, he has walked in lockstep with the Republican Party and opposed any legislation that might ease the suffering of his constituents. Either way, he is uninformed or uncaring. And certainly not deserving of a second term.

What can I do? I wouldn’t turn away federal stimulus funds for IL. (Or have the gall to take credit for funds that flow into the district, as Mr. Schock has). I wouldn’t have opposed the extension of unemployment benefits or opposed health care reform or voted down assistance for small business loans.

Ask yourself-- what is really behind this slick media machine. I venture to guess not much. Just last week, his congressional office sent out a glossy brochure about his support of veterans. Not only did it cost the taxpayers $75,000, but in reality, the American Association of Military Officers, a non-partisan, independent organization devoted to improving military benefits, gave Mr. Schock a zero rating for his legislative efforts in support of veterans. And how duplicitous to spend tax dollars on a purely promotional effort like that when he recently took to the airways to decry the cost of signs for stimulus projects.

He is young man in a hurry-- but what we need now is a steady hand who has real life experience and long and hard-won wisdom.

I’m in this race because I know that there are worse things than losing an election, and that’s not having good representation in Washington for the good people of the 18th district.