Renner Media Appearances
ArchPundit
Listen to Tari Renner on Illinois’ Biggest Radio Show!
The Spike O’Dell Show
WGN Radio AM 720
Monday, July 12, 6:40 AM
Watch Tari Renner on TV!
CBS 2, Chicago
5:00 PM Today!
Illinois Congressional Races
Now That’s the Way to Make the Hotline!
Gracias guys:
According to Amnesty International, when the courts blocked Gen. Rios Montt from standing as the FRG candidate in the ’03 elections, the general warned that he could not contain the anger of his supporters, and “thousands of people travelled to the capital in vehicles reportedly belonging to or hired by the FRG to protest. Paramilitaries and rioters armed with machetes and clubs brought the center of Guatemala City to a standstill in what became known as ‘Black Thursday.'” www.archpundit.com reports, “Even the Bush administration threatened sanctions if Rios Montt had won” in ’03. Since Weller sits on the International Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, “he can’t be unfamiliar with Rios Montt’s record of brutality nor his future wife’s complicity in those affairs… There’s both a conflict of interest and a conflict of morality” (archpundit.com, 7/8)
Note–this was from the House Race Hotline
Weller Marriage is Hitting Bigger
WBBM picked up the story on Weller’s marriage to a genocidal General’s daughter.
A few things here.
First, the fact that she is his daughter isn’t a problem until one realizes she is the leader of his party in the Guatemalan Assembly and so her involvement isn’t simply that of a daughter, but of a key political aide.
Second, at a minimum this raises conflict of interest issues with his position on the International Affairs Committee. This woman is at odds with the Bush administration on human rights even.
Third, there is a moral conflict I can’t resolve and maybe it is just because I know so much about what this woman’s father did and what her party has been about, but to ignore that throws everything away in terms of Democracy and human rights. One can’t condemn Saddam and then say that a chief political lieutenant of a human rights disaster is irrelevant to one’s personal morality. If she had been some traditional Central American woman with no public policy role maybe that would be different, but this woman is a the leader of the damn party in the Guatemalan Assembly.
Your Daily Crane Is In Trouble Statement
Osmond emphasized the need for party unity, because U.S. Congressman Phil Crane [R-Wauconda] ?is in trouble.? Osmond stated that Crane?s fall opponent is campaigning aggressively and that a poor showing in the U.S. Senate campaign could hurt Crane who appears next on the ballot.
Speaking of International Affairs Committee People
New advertiser—Christine Cegelis joins us to the left and she is challenging Henry Hyde and his exorbitant staff. Go take a look.
Rios Montt
It’s Illinois day over at the Stakeholder with stupid Republican tricks (not all inclusive of Republicans) taking center stage. They cover the impending nuptuals of Jerry Weller to Genocidal Dictator’s daughter Zury Rios Sosa .
Rios Montt’s attempted comeback was aided by his daughter who runs his party in the Guatemalan Assembly. Worse, she was part of his campaign when he said the following:
Days later, after General R?os Montt’s warning that he could not contain the anger of his supporters, thousands of people travelled to the capital in vehicles reportedly belonging to or hired by the FRG to protest against the ruling. Paramilitaries and rioters armed with machetes and clubs brought the centre of Guatemala City to a standstill in what came to be known as “Black Thursday”. General R?os Montt and the FRG denied any responsibility for the riots.
In August of 2003, indigenous opponents of Rios Montt were harassed by armed men. This fits with the pattern during Rios Montt’s term as President when indigenous Mayans were slaughtered in the thousands others have just disappeared. Somewhere around 600 villages were destroyed.
Rios Montt is the worst kind of monster. He attacked campesinos for no other reason than they were inconveniently in the way. One of my guides when I was in Nicaragua was married to a Guatemalan who had been abducted and tortured and had several people close to him disappeared.
The Pantagraph reports that the Weller office is dismissing this being a problem
“This is like any other couple,” Lovelace said. “One may be from one political arena, another from another political arena. That’s all it is.”
“As Congressman Weller says, ‘Love knows no boundaries.’ So, it’s beyond politics,” Lovelace added.
Beyond politics except that Weller sits on International Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. So he can’t be unfamiliar with Rios Montt’s record of brutality nor his future wife’s complicity in those affairs. And how can he live with it? There is both a conflict of interest and a conflict of morality.
Even the Bush administration threatened sanctions if Rios Montt had won in 2003.
Phil Crane’s in Trouble
Weller’s problems will come later, but the DCCC has a post about how the Republicans are steering money to endangered incumbents. The question is how does Crane even become an endangered incumbent?
At this point he isn’t even pulling in PAC money and the national party has to coordinate it for him. How checked out is that?
The least he could do is bring back more to the district than a tan
Now, that is a good line. Catchy and it’ll stick when the guy says things like this:
Crane dismisses the criticism, saying he’s been back in the district 24 of the 26 weekends this year. “I don’t understand it. They’re not in my district. Our offices are available constantly.”
The passive voice in discussing constituent service is one of the true danger signs of an incumbent–actually, now that I think about it, that might be an interesting thing to test using some of the new content analysis software.
Skoien piled on:
“First of all, I think Phil will be fine,” said Skoien, who unsuccessfully challenged Crane in 1992 and 1994. “But having said that, he does need to spend a little more time in the district. He does need to get back with some voters. He’s been doing his job in Washington and he needs to pay a little attention.”
What job is that in Washington? Talking about the Old Goldwater days? Railing against whole language instruction making claims that are 30 years out of date? Or remembing Petey Fitzgerald when he was 8 and Crane was starting in Congress?
Bean has raised around $500,000. Crane has only $500,000 on hand–a small sum for an incumbent. It’s really bizarre to only have slightly more on hand….
So let’s thin the herd in this one and go donate at the upper left to Melissa Bean!
When One Goofball Isn’t Enough
Liberal Agit-Prop directs us to our dynamic duo of Moon-units. Representatives Davis and Crane who introduced the following last year
H.CON.RES.124
Title: Promoting national unity and family renewal.Calls for establishment of a Year for National Unity and Family Renewal to invoke the intercession of God to bring about national unity, national reconciliation, and family renewal in the new millennium.
Can just any billionaire cult leader get a special bill passed?
Jerry Weller Marries Genocidal General’s Daughter
I couldn’t have made this up.
WTF?
From a great new blog in Illinois: Chillinois, even better if he wasn’t a Sox fan.