Contributor Archives: rdfeldman
Blog Featured: David Plouffe: Il-Sen One of the Most Important Races in the Country; Alexi the Best Person for the Job
ShareThisNews: Planned Parenthood Says Dold Is Not Pro-Choice
After initially refusing to meet with Planned Parenthood or even submit the questionnaire requesting their support, Republican Congressional Candidate Bob Dold was rejected by the pro-choice organization after he finally made his positions known.
According to an update posted on Planned Parenthood Illinois Action’s blog, following a press release and news reports demonstrating his evasiveness and anti-choice support, Dold subsequently submitted his questionnaire. His responses were “not in accordance with the endorsement criteria of PPIA.”
In the original post, PPIA stated, “there is only one pro-choice candidate running in the Illinois 10th Congressional District: Dan Seals.”
“Voters deserve to hear the truth – not double-talk and brazen pandering,” said Seals campaign Communications Director Aviva Gibbs. “Bob Dold tells his base that he is ‘the clear conservative choice’ but tells moderates that he is ‘pro-choice.’ We’re glad that he finally agreed to be held accountable by Planned Parenthood, though it only exposed what we already knew: Bob Dold is not pro-choice.”
In a new radio advertisement, Dold refers to himself twice as “socially moderate,” despite actively soliciting–and receiving–the backing of far-right organizations like the Illinois Federation for Right to Life and local chapters of the Tea Party.
Planned Parenthood also pointed out that Dold opposes reform measures to close the Medicare donut hole and prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage to individuals with preexisting conditions or dropping coverage when you get sick.
Seals is proud to have the endorsements of Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Human Rights Campaign, Associated Firefighters of Illinois, American Federation of Teachers, and Joint Action Committee (JAC-PAC), among others.
Blog Featured: Jennifer Bishop Jenkins for Cook County Board
In his novel, Kaddish for a Child Not Born, Imre Kertész tells the story of a man who, like the author in real life, had survived Auschwitz. The narrator relates how once in the concentration camp he was too ill to get his own meal–a meager portion barely enough to sustain him. A fellow prisoner brought the narrator’s meal, the other man not only risking his life to do so, but also missing the opportunity to eat a double portion and increase his own chances of survival. Years later, the narrator still wonders “… why did he do it?” The narrator can understand evil as the way of the world. It is the conscious choice of doing good that he cannot fathom.
While many of us face serious challenges in daily living, few have had the misfortune of contending with the violent and senseless death of a loved one. If we had, would it change our view of the world? Would it make us bend to cynicism or instead, like the narrator’s companion, defy evil through acts of goodness? Read More
Blog: “I simply misremembered it wrong”—Mark Kirk, June 3, 2010
Few top ten lists match the audacity of Mark Kirk’s top ten lies about his military record. Kirk (1) falsely claimed he served “in” Operation Iraqi Freedom; (2) falsely claimed to “command the war room in the Pentagon”; (3) falsely claimed to have won the U.S. Navy’s Intelligence Officer of the Year award; (4) falsely claimed to have been shot at by the Iraqi Air Defense network; (5) falsely claimed to be a veteran of Desert Storm; (6) falsely claimed to be the only lawmaker to serve during Operation Iraqi Freedom; (7) falsely claimed to have been shot at in Kosovo; (8) falsely claimed to have been shot at in Kandahar; (9) falsely claimed to have been repeatedly “deployed” to Afghanistan; and (10) falsely claimed not to have violated Defense Department rules on mingling politics with his military service.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_06/024281.php
Rather than address the deficiencies in Kirk’s character, Kirk’s supporters tell us that even without the lies, embellishments, and misrememberings, Kirk has a good military record. They’re missing the point. Kirk’s military record is relevant only because he lied about it. If Kirk hadn’t revealed himself to be a serial exaggerator, his military record, whatever it is or isn’t, would be utterly irrelevant.
Most of us have never served in the military. I would never disrespect anyone for serving in the military, but neither would I hold lack of military service against anyone. Military service is not a prerequisite for holding public office, nor is military service—or the lack thereof—an indicator of how well someone will do in public office. Read More
