McHenry County Blog won’t be covering the 16th Congressional District race between Don Manzullo and Adam Kinzinger extensively, but since Manzullo represents a significant portion of McHenry County now, I shall dip into it now and then, primarily from Manzullo’s viewpoint.

The following press release from Manzullo responds to something I haven’t seen, but we both can probably pick up the attack’s substance from Manzullo’s response below (the emphasis is in Manzullo’s release):

Rep. Manzullo Corrects the Record

[ROCKFORD] Congressman Don Manzullo (R-16) today said a news release issued by his opponent last week was so full of erroneous statements that it must be corrected piece by piece.

• Claim: The Freshman class came to Washington in 2011 and banned earmarks.

REALITY: Congressman Manzullo and his House colleagues voted in 2010 to enact a self-imposed earmark ban on themselves – a full year before Manzullo’s opponent and the Freshman class took office. Manzullo was consistently very judicious about requesting earmarks. He requested a limited amount and they were nearly always for infrastructure spending, such as roads. Unfortunately, too many Members of Congress abused earmarks and that’s why Manzullo in 2010 voted to ban them.

• Claim: In Fiscal Year 2008, Congressman Manzullo was among the largest earmarkers among his GOP colleagues from Illinois.

REALITY: In FY 2008, Congressman Manzullo was actually listed fourth of nine Illinois Republicans in securing earmarks. And the only reason he was that high on the list was because he was charged with a huge $59 million earmark (out of $64 million total) that year for a new federal courthouse in Rockford. That $59 million was requested by the U.S. Courts and the President because the existing courthouse in Rockford, which serves 10 counties and three Congressional districts, was a major safety hazard. It’s questionable as to whether courthouses should have even been considered earmarks because they are a requirement for the judicial branch under Article III of the Constitution. In FY 2009 and FY 2010, Manzullo was in the bottom 20 percent of all Members of Congress in terms of earmarks. Click here to view the database of earmarks from Taxpayers for Common Sense.  

• Claim: Congressman Manzullo’s record consists of big government ideas like bailouts.

REALITY: Congressman Manzullo had the opportunity to vote on three bailout bills, and he voted against every one of them. He has always opposed bailouts.

• Claim: Congressman Manzullo supports reckless spending.

REALITY: Congressman Manzullo is considered one of the most fiscally conservative Members of Congress from Illinois. Since 2007 alone, he has voted more than 700 times to cut $2.6 trillion in spending. Congressman Manzullo is consistently recognized by

• Citizens Against Government Waste,
• National Taxpayers Union,
• Americans for Prosperity, and
• many other conservative groups for his efforts to cut wasteful Washington spending.
• He maintains a lifetime 96 percent rating from the American Conservative Union.

In fact, in 2011, the only year Congressman Manzullo and his opponent – Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-11) – have served together, Kinzinger’s voting record proves he is the reckless spender.

An analysis of all spending votes from 2011 shows that Kinzinger voted 79 more times to spend $209 billion more than Manzullo.

The Washington Post said it best in a story last week on the campaign:

“Manzullo has a longer and more tried-and-true conservative record…”

= = = = =
After pointing out the top incumbent vs. incumbent race had disappeared when Joe Walsh decided not to challenge Randy Hultgren, here’s what the Washington Post said:

“Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) vs. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-Ill.): Manzullo has a longer and more tried-and-true conservative record, but it’s also been ages since he has had to run a real campaign.

“Kinzinger, meanwhile, just defeated a Democratic incumbent in 2010 and is seen as a young, rising star in the GOP.

“This district includes a lot of new territory for both men, so it’s tough to see who has the territorial advantage. The key then is how hard Manzullo campaigns and how much money he raises.”