Cheri Bustos Wants Help To Fend Off Teabagger Bobby Schilling-- But Did She Earn It?

Cheri Baby

When the Democratic-led Illinois state legislature redistricted the congressional districts, Bobby Schilling looked like a marked man. The legislature cut out red area in Quincy, Decatur and Springfield and replaced them with blue areas of Rockford and Peoria. Schilling, who acknowledges Glenn Beck as his "leader," had first won his 17th district seat in 2010 beating Democratic freshman Phil Hare 53-43%. Although laughable prognosticator and conservative shill Charlie Cook was predicting Schilling would be reelected right up 'til the end, Cheri Bustos, a former East Moline City Council Alderwoman, beat him 53-47%. She rolled up big margins in the district's most populous counties: Peoria (64%), Rock Island (55%) and Winnebago (65%), leaving him doing well in small rural counties like Henderson and Warren.

An inconsequential backbencher, he went back to his family-owned pizzeria in Moline, Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza, and no one expected to ever hear from him again-- unless he decided to serve gluten-free pies.

But yesterday Cheri Bustos added to the speculation that Schilling is plotting a come-back bid. "All signs point to Bobby Schilling making a run against me to try and regain his seat in Congress," she wrote in a fundraising letter. "If he makes the jump, we need to be ready. Last year, Schilling and his band of Tea Party backers spent millions of dollars attacking our campaign with distortions and misleading ads. We succeeded, but only because of our grassroots strength."

And the rest of her letter is all about "Tea Party," "Tea Party, "Tea Party" and "send me money." I had high hopes for Cheri because at freshman orientation one of the congressmen I most respect said she was the smartest one he met. I suspect he's changed his mind since then. I sure have. Her over all, ProgressivePunch crucial vote score is 44.44, worse than any other Illinois Democrat in Congress, even worse than corporate shills like Dan Lipinski and Bill Foster. She didn't mention to prospective donors that she voted with Republicans on her committee to slash food stamps by $20.5 billion or that she joined the Republicans in an attempt to deregulate derivatives in return for support from criminal Wall Street banksters. And not only did she oppose the progressive budgets offered as alternatives to Ryan's Ayn Rand budget, she even voted against the moderate Senate budget. I can't imagine why she forgot to mention any of that! Nor why she didn't mention she voted to force through the Keystone XL Pipeline but unconstitutionally removing President Obama from the process.

It doesn't look like anyone is going to primary her, but what I expect will happen in 2014 is that Democratic base voters will just stay home-- the way they did in 2010-- and she'll lose the seat. Then the DCCC can start the whole process all over again-- recruiting a garden variety Democrat with no ideas and no strongly-held values (at least not on economic justice issues), persuading them that to raise money they have to sell out to Wall Street and that to win reelection, they have to vote with the Republicans. Nancy Pelosi claimed that Steve Israel, a complete failure as chair of the DCCC, is "reptilian" enough to do a good job. She's lost her mind. Israel is incapable of learning from his own mistakes and because of that Pelosi will never be Speaker again and we'll be stuck with Boehner until we wind up with something equally horrible like Debbie Wasserman Schultz or Steny Hoyer.

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DCCC Has A Candidate For IL-13, Chief Judge Ann Callis

IL-12 and IL-13 are two of the nine districts in the U.S. with exactly even PVI scores. They are the ultimate swing districts-- at least by the numbers. Of the nine, only three have Republican congressmen, NV-03 (Joe Heck), IA-03 (Tom Latham) and IL-13 (Rodney Davis). And Obama won all those districts last November except IL-13, which he lost 48.9- 48.6%, one of the closes races in he country. The congressional race was also one of the closest in the country, Davis winning 136,596 over progressive Democrat David Gill 135,309. The two were evenly matched, with Davis raising $1,400,451 (7% from small donors and 46% from PACs) and Gill raising $1,325,027 (30% from small donors and 22% from PACs). Outside spending tipped the race towards Davis. The DCCC and their House Majority PAC put $3,000,927 into the race but that couldn't match a plethora of right-wing groups from Nixon Jew counter Fred Malek's American Action Network's $1,482,559, the US Chamber of Commerce's $500,000, the NRCC's $1,532,442 and a flood of money from shady right-wing organizations like the New Prosperity Foundation, the NRA, Eric Cantor's Young Guns Network, and a gaggle of anti-Choice groups. They spent $3,663,124 attacking Gill and another $189,568 bolstering Davis. Outside spending in favor of Gill was about a million dollars less. That bought Davis his 1,287 vote margin.

The DCCC was never all that comfortable with the very left-of-center Gill, an outspoken progressive. The Democratic Establishment-- both in Chicago and in DC-- had pushed hard for conservative Democrat Matthew Goetten in the primary. This cycle they weren't taking any chances that Gill might run again and got Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to appoint Gill Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday-- just as the DCCC choice for the nomination, Third Judicial Circuit chief judge Ann Callis, stepped down to run for the seat. Her official announcement came today.

Gill said Quinn had approached him a few months ago about the post, and he told the governor he'd have to give it some thought; he said he had been considering another Congressional campaign since his narrow defeat on election night. But, he said, he knew he couldn't do both.

"Ultimately it boiled down to deciding which of the two seemed to fit better for me now," Gill said. "I think I can make a significant impact in terms of helping people access health care and implement the Affordable Health Care Act in Illinois."

The DCCC had tried to recruit Callis to run in IL-12 when Jerry Costello announced his retirement but she declined and conservative Democrat Bill Enyart beat Republican Jason Plummer 51-43%. The DCCC and their House Majority PAC spent more helping Enyart-- $3,221,178-- than they spent on Gill. Callis has been a judge since 1995 and has a good reputation across the spectrum.

"Ann Callis has done a tremendous job as chief judge," said Madison County Board Chairman Alan Dunstan. "She's changed the image of Madison County a lot in terms of the judiciary. I've worked with her very well in the past and wish her the best in the future."

Among Callis' endorsements in her most recent judicial retention campaign: Shimkus, who had nominated her veterans court program for a national award. Shimkus said at the time that Callis had earned the respect of both parties for her reforms in the court system.

There are two important facts there. First off, Gill nearly won because he was so strong in Champaign County, where he beat Davis 57-43%. But he couldn't overcome the GOP tide in equally-sized Madison County, where it was Gill who wound up with 43%. That margin, with the big wins for Davis is the more rural counties and Gill lost the election. Callis is well-respected and well-liked in Madison County and should do much better there. The second fact is what a big advocate Shimkus has been for her. You might recall that Davis, who lost all his early campaigns (for state legislature and then for mayor of his hometown, Taylorville, is a total creature of Shimkus and worked as his campaign manager and then as a Shimkus congressional staffer. "Chief Judge Ann Callis has earned my respect and the respect of Republicans and Democrats alike for the reforms she initiated to improve our local court system and for the innovative programs she has launched," said Shimkus when he backed Callis' run for reelection. "I was so impressed by the establishment of the veterans court that helps troubled veterans get their lives back on track that I nominated the program for the national Paul H. Chapman Award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice.”

People I've talked to in the district have told me Callis is a middle-of-the-road Democrat who is likely to do exactly what the DCCC tell her to do. "She's better than Davis," is the most positive comment I could find. The other Democrat in the race, University of Illinois physics Professor George Gollin, is a less conventional Democrat-- far more progressive and way too independent-minded for anyone like Steve Israel to ever support. He donated generously to Gill's congressional race-- as well as to fellow Illinois physicist Bill Foster. Callis' political contributions have only gone to Obama. She's perfect for the DCCC.

There are some who are surprised that Callis would want to run for Congress, a pay cut from her salary as a judge. She also has been mentioned as a possible federal court judge or even an Illinois Supreme Court candidate.

But she certainly would be an intriguing candidate. No one I talked to could recall a sitting circuit court judge giving that up to run for Congress.

"I think the work that she is doing (as a judge) is wonderful," Gill said. "You know, she's been doing it for a long time. Life is short. It doesn't surprise me when people look to do something else for their fellow man."

As the chief judge in the 3rd Judicial Circuit, she has name recognition in several counties in the southern end of the district, she has contacts and money (she self-funded her campaign for judicial retention last year and her father, Lance Callis, is a Granite City trial lawyer who made millions by investing in the Argosy Casino in Alton, then selling his shares in 2005) and she has a good reputation.

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Republican Party Civil War Roils Illinois And Alaska

Joe Miller is back

Right wing extremists moved to take over the Republican Party apparatus in Illinois and Alaska. They failed in Illinois and, predictably, succeeded in Alaska-- just in time for the reemergence of neo-fascist politician Joe Miller. And recently, teabaggers nearly succeeded in taking over the Republican Party organization in Michigan and is angling to do just that in Ohio. We'll come back to Alaska in a minute. First Illinois.

The state party chair, Pat Brady, an ally of lightly closeted Rep. Aaron Schock (who is eager to run for governor), had told the state's Republicans that if they're going to win statewide elections they need to be more inclusive and welcoming. Earlier in the year he had backed the marriage equality bill in the state legislature. So, of course, radical right elements within the party, calling him "divisive," tried to oust him this past weekend. A long closed door session resulted in a compromise: Brady will not seek another term but can remain on as a lame duck chairman.

In Alaska, party chairman Debbie Brown didn't fare as well... although the situation seems still fluid, bitter and murky. Brown is pretty hard right and she claims it was the "Old Guard" that has been fighting her. The actual vote to oust her came from teabaggers allied with Palin and a contingent of libertarians. She claims her ouster and replacement by retired Army Colonel Peter Goldberg was illegitimate.

State Republican chairwoman Debbie Brown, a self-described "strong conservative" who shuttered party headquarters in midtown Anchorage as a part of her war with the party's old guard, says she is still the party's leader despite "shenanigans" by its executive committee, who removed her from the job on Monday.

...The leadership upheaval followed months of infighting pitting longtime party leaders against activists including supporters of former Governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, former Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller, and libertarian-minded supporters of Ron Paul, the former candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

But national politics have little to do with the turmoil among Alaska Republicans.

"This is much more specific to Alaska than it is a reflection of the national issues," said Gerald McBeath, a political science professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Brown has found herself at a national Republican meeting in Los Angeles this week alongside her appointed successor, Goldberg, with both identifying themselves as head of the state party-- and both denied that title at the meeting, she said in a text message to Reuters on Friday signed "Debra Holle Brown, Chairman, Alaska Republican Party."

The national Republican leadership "decided the best solution, for all parties, was to deny Alaska a Chairman's seat," she wrote.

Brown's ouster followed a similar move in January against her fellow Tea Party ally Russ Millette. He had been elected to succeed longtime chairman Randy Ruedrich, who left the job voluntarily.

Ruedrich had long feuded with Palin and Miller.

Miller, who is mulling a 2014 campaign against Democratic Senator Mark Begich, defended Brown in an essay published on his website, Restoring Liberty. He said charges against her were spurious and that she had been the victim of "a kangaroo court-type proceeding orchestrated by long-time party bosses."

Miller, a product of Alaska's Tea Party and various secessionist and militia movements, announced "an exploratory" committee for the Senate seat held by Mark Begich over the weekend. Republican Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell is also running for the nomination. Miller won the GOP nomination in 2010 but then lost the general election to incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski, who had launched a successful write-in bid. She's generally viewed as a mainstream conservative. If he were elected, he would probably be the furthest right member of the Senate.

“The choice before Alaskans in 2014 will be stark. Voters must choose between the easy lies of an insider politician or the hard truth of a reformer,” he said. “As of the writing of this article, I am unaware of another potential candidate who has demonstrated a willingness to challenge the status quo, and confront the culture of corruption that reaches to the highest levels of American government.”

If he wins the nomination, which is likely, Murkowski will be in an awkward position.

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