Reflecting on Character Assassination

From the keyboard of former McHenry County Board member Ersel Schuster:

Character Assassination – DC to McHenry County

Many lessons could be learned from witnessing the US Senate Hearings on, now “Justice” Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court.

What began as a normal process, quickly turned into a national disgrace while the deep divide in the country played out.

Every dirty trick in the book played out as Democrats, their supporters and the media, desperately worked to sabotage this appointment.

As things evolved, the bitter and obsessive anger of those driven by their lust for power disgraced the country and permanently tarnished the good names of the candidate and others.

Just prior to the 10/6/18 Senate’s final vote on the appointment of Judge Kavanaugh, Dana Perino of Fox News interviewed Elizabeth Wydra, a principal activist representing the Constitution Accountability Center.

Ms. Wydra emotionally stated that if seated on the Supreme Court, he, Judge Kavanaugh, needs to be investigated.

When asked if she thought the persons who leaked Dr. Blasely-Ford’s letter should be investigated; in classic form, Ms. Wydra avoided the question, spinning her response back to her organizations’ plans to continue attacking the Justice.

This is a small illustration of the underlying, illogical message designed and planted in the minds of what appeared to be mentally challenged, screeching and mindlessly driven mobs we saw during these hearings.

During the last 20 +/- days prior to the 2018 local Primary Election, a list of false statements, repeated over and over in various publications, robo-calls, campaign mailers, television, Facebook etc., were aimed at taking down candidates; Michael Rein, Chuck Wheeler,Orville  Brettman, myself and Joe Tirio.

False statements assigned to these candidates included:

  • “insider dealings”
  • “slush fund”
  • “criminal indictments”
  • “an advocate of violence”
  • “a racist”
  • “…dangerous ideas put all of us at risk” and
  • “threatened the life of a county official”

All statements were false.

One statement: “life of a county official was threatened,” played out in headlines for months.

Mr. Jack Franks, the individual making this claim, cost county taxpayers thousands of dollars until he was called out by law enforcement in July 2017…

There were no grounds for his claims.

Fast forward, eight months later, March 3, 2018, witnessed was the very uncanny appearance of a coordinated, or miraculous “coincidence” in timing… was this same “threat” claim.

Mr. Franks, 3/3/18 in his own words, on his personal Facebook page, knowing his “threat” claim was false, stated:

“I’m glad that the source of the death threats posted against me on a local blog has been exposed.”

Seven months later, that same “planted ‘threat’ message” continues as a man uses it when responding to the 10/3/18 McHenry County Blog article: “Jack Franks Criticized for Loss of Temper:”

Warren Sanders on 10/03/2018 at 6:22 pm posted the following comments:

“An admonishment about tempers from the woman who issued death threats?

“That’s rich.”

Local, state or federal, false and malicious messages are intended to perpetuate, with malice, damage to any opponents who stand in the way of power-hunger politicians.

Before us is the 2018 mid-term election.

If the current, and horrific spectacle carried out during the Justice Kavanaugh hearings; and the dirty 2018 local primary election campaign have taught us nothing…

We deserve what we get…

Because the dirty political tactics have already begun ramping up for the 2018 general election.

Send a strong message…

Make your vote count November 6, 2018.


Comments

Reflecting on Character Assassination — 12 Comments

  1. Hey Ersel,
    One question: “Have you ever plead the fifth when questioned by law enforcement?”

  2. You have to wonder the motivation behind the useful idiots, perhaps imbeciles, who disrupted the Senate Judiciary hearings and then the Senate vote on Oct 6. There may have been as many as 100 over the days who screamed out loud at various times causing the Chair to have the Sargent at Arms escort them from the galleries and then were arrested. Who were the organizations and individuals who planned and paid for this?

    Not enough these imbeciles did screaming, some of them confronted and harassed Senators in the corridors and elevators of the Capitol Building. Not satisfied with their disruptions in the Capitol Building, many dozens of imbeciles stormed the Supreme Court building some of them pounding on the front doors and one or two climbing atop statues nearby.

    These actions went far beyond the First Amendment Rights of free speech and are repugnant to law abiding and patriotic Americans no matter their political affiliation.

    The question remains. WHO were the individuals and/or groups who organized the ridiculous demonstrations of idiotic behavior?

  3. Once again Shuster blesses us with her all-knowing (IHOM) opinion. This women, who must still be re-living the 1950’s and longing for those days, continues to hoist up her paper dragons so her “wisdom” can be spread to knock them down. She has the president’s talking points down pat. All democrats who participate in expressing themselves are “mobs.” Only republicans display the correct qualities. The nasty things KLATU BARADO NIKTO stated under an assumed name were tracked back to her but the states attorney said because it was an elderly couple he did not feel it constituted a serious threat. What goes around comes around. Yet here she is excusing her bad behavior again. She lost an election. Now she demonizes everyone and everything. Do you think anyone on the county board would be able to function to her satisfaction? She will keep up the criticism because it feeds her ego no matter what decisions are made.This country needs to come together and find issues of common ground. The bright spot on the horizon is that some
    day her narrow minded thinking, along with the president’s, will be long gone. Hopefully the divisions they have created will heal. And, yes, I am a registered republican who never misses a vote but I’m not blind to the faults of Shuster, the current administration and the hatefulness ithey engender. Half this country is made up of democrats who have the same values as republicans, God, family and country. Meeting on those common grounds, America will be the great country it always has been.

  4. The foundation of all relationship, from womb to nations, is respect.

    This nation has two fringe elements who show little respect for anything or anyone and a media whose interest seems to be in trying to portray the wackos as the majority.

    If people would stop watching entertainment “news” and talk to their neighbor they may find we are still a middle of the road nation and community.

    There are a few trolls here who have zero respect for themselves so they feel free to share their inadequacy publicly on a blog comment section.

    There is nothing real about that sort of stupid as these self same people won’t be as idiotic or disrespectful in person.

    Unless we shut off the idiot box and start engaging in respectful relationship with the world around us we are doomed to the fate of all nations which fall to decadence, violent failure.

    Kavenaugh wondered whether our nation would survive this dangerous historical period for exactly this reason.

    As long as we have people pointing their fingers at others and describing them in the most despicable terms with zero evidence to support the sociopathic statements our society shall degenerate into having no other recourse for this incivility but to eradicate it or fall into the dustheap of history.

    You can only control yourself.

    Do so.

    Or reap history.

  5. Although I believe that Ersel was very unfairly maligned in this instance I would have to disagree with her characterization of the Kavanaugh hearings.

    Brett acted like a spoiled petulant child, much like Jack Franks did in the above described “threatgate” incident.

    Neither of them should hold any public office.

  6. Someone else tried to comment with the name “Spotlight,” but I did not allow it.

  7. Dear Mrs. Klaatu Barada Nikto: “We deserve what we get…” Thanks for that wonderful phrase which summarizes the everlasting impact of this sunshine blog on the good citizenry of McHenry County. I have learned a lot from you and your honorable respect for decency, truthfulness and responsible political comment. The fact that you were unmasked as the irresponsible charlatan that you are, does not take away the great respect all sunshine commenters feel for you. Keep up the good work. Thanks to your work, the 1950’s will be back here before we know it. Stay tuned…25 days…tic, tock, tic, tock, tic, tock, meeeeeoooooowwwwwwwwwwww…

  8. You’d never guess these outraged snowflakes who are so offended by poor Kegger Kavanaugh’s hearings were the same people who chant “Lock her up” every chance they get.

    The people who spent two years grilling Hillary Clinton over…uh…anything they coukd?

    The GOP- dishes it out and then cries like a baby when it’s time to take it.

  9. We have become a country of perjury. We need to decide if we will prosecute character assassination or not. I have been a victim of it and would like to address it legally but we need Judges and States Attorneys to decide that we must hold our principles and values to a much higher level.

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