McHenry County Blog

Here’s the paragraph under the Fire Dog Lake headline above:

“UPDATE: Melissa Bean will vote yes, as well. So will Baron Hill, but I already counted him as a Yes based on other statements. So it’s 204-206, 11 undecided, 10 Stupak bloc.”

If you have called or faxed her office, it’s probably time to do so again.

Phone 202-225-3711, Fax 202-225-7830.  Politicians like Bean are notoriously nervous.  No one likes to fall off the constituent tight rope on which she is walking.

Of course, you could also volunteer for opponent Joe Walsh’s campaign.

The following press releases were received from 8th District GOP Congressional candidate Joe Walsh:

Bean Puts Party Politics Ahead of Constitution, Constituents:
Votes to Sanction Shady “Deem-and-Pass”

Joe Walsh

Melissa Bean

(Lake Zurich, Ill)– Yesterday, Melissa Bean voted down a bi-partisan effort that would have forced members of the House to cast their vote for or against Obamacare in the light of day.

In so doing, Melissa Bean, who voted for an even more expansive government takeover of health care last year, has endorsed the so-called “deem-and-pass” sleight-of-hand House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears intent on employing to get Obamacare passed on Sunday.

Twenty-eight Congressional Democrats joined every Congressional Republican in voting against allowing the use of this procedural gimmick.

Former U.S. Attorney Generals Ed Meese and William Barr had this to say about the “deem-and-pass,”

“The ‘deem and pass’ and similar options under consideration in the House of Representatives plainly violate at least the spirit of the Constitution’s bicameralism and presentment requirements.

“Those constitutional requirements were intended to ensure democratic transparency with a straightforward up-or-down vote in each House on all bills that become law.

“More importantly, these requirements were designed to ensure that the new national government actually followed ‘the consent of the governed,’ which the Declaration of Independence had declared before the world to be the only basis of legitimate government.”

In an age where both parties agree on the need for transparency and accountability from our government, Melissa Bean is still cutting backroom deals and obfuscating the process to put her party ahead of her district.

Melissa Bean is hiding from constituents because she cannot defend this unprecedented federal government power grab, nor can she explain the cynical political scheming she has promoted for the passage of legislation that will cost Illinois 169,000 jobs, raise taxes on small businesses, drive talented providers from the medical profession, and worsen the quality of care for Americans, the overwhelming majority of whom are content with their care. IPI Study

Whether she will listen or not, Melissa Bean needs to hear from you.

Call her office in Washington at:  202-225-3711 or email her at: Bean Email and tell her to vote her district not her party.  Her Washington Fax number is 202-225-7830.

Joe Walsh is the Republican candidate running against Democrat incumbent Melissa Bean in 2010 for the Illinois 8th Congressional District. Born and raised in North Barrington, a policy advocate, teacher, and business entrepreneur, Joe has spent his adult life advancing limited-government and conservative principles. For more information on Joe Walsh and his campaign visit www.joewalshforcongress.com.

In other news, Walsh says he intents to attend the demonstration outside Bean’s Schaumburg office.

His press release says,

“All week the Joe Walsh campaign has been calling for Melissa Bean to represent the interests of her district and vote NO on the President’s health care bill.

Demonstration earlier this week near Woodfield Mall.

“Like many citizens in the 8th, Joe is angry and frustrated with Congress for trying to ram through the federal takeover of health care this Sunday.  He will be representing his beliefs in-person at the rally from 12:30 pm to 1 pm.  Come out and talk with Joe and make your voices heard!!!”

The map below shows the location of Bean’s office:

Photo from a Rockford Tea Party rally.

The following press release has been received:

Announcing Tea Party Express on April 6th in Rockford, Illinois

(Rockford, Illinois) – March 17, 2010 – Join us for the biggest Tea Party Express national tour to date for one of only two stops in Illinois.

On April 6th at 1 pm in Rockford, Ill (home state to President Barack Obama and Senator Dick Durbin and of course Lincoln and Reagan) the Tea Party Express will stop in Rockford on the Tea Party Express Tour taking the Tea Party message across the nation all the way to the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 15th:

“You, the politicians in Washington, have failed We The People with your bailouts, out-of-control deficit spending, government takeovers of sectors of the economy, Cap & Trade, government-run health care, and higher taxes!

“If you thought we were just going to quietly go away, or that this tea party movement would be just a passing fad, you were mistaken. We’re taking our country back!”

Find the Tollway at Route 20 south of Marengo or Kishwaukee Valley Road going west from Woodstock and you are on your way to Davis Park in Rockford. (Get a more detailed map across Boone and Winnebago Counties, if you take the Kishwaukee Valley Road route. You want to end up on Rockford's Spring Creek Road at the top of this map. There are lots of tricky turns.)

This family-friendly rally encourages all citizens who want lower taxes and less government to participate by bringing their American flags, patriotic attire, and signs to display the spirit of the Colonial Patriots of the 1775 Boston Tea Party, which lead to American Independence July 4th, 1776.

Here's a street map closer to Davis Park.

Re-affirm your commitment to our Constitution and our freedoms by being part of this energizing event on Tuesday, April 6th, 1:00pm, at Davis Park 329 S. Wyman Street in Rockford.

Guest Speakers include:

Joe Walsh at John O'Neill's corn beef and cabbage fund raiser.

RockfordTeaParty will also have a food drive to replenish the Rockford Food Pantry Coalition from 1 pm until the Tea Party Express Buses leave at 4:30.

For more information visit our website.

www.RockfordTeaParty.org

Joe Walsh

The following press release has been received from Republican congressional candidate Joe Walsh:

Bean Set to Vote Interests of Trial Lawyers Over Interest of Constituents

(LAKE ZURICH, IL)– With the Obamacare legislation nearing a vote, Rep. Melissa Bean (D-8) remains intent on representing the special interests that control her political party as opposed to voting the interests of 8th district families.

Bean, who received more than $31,000 in campaign contributions from trial lawyers during her 2008 re-election campaign, is set to vote for a federal government takeover of health care that, among other things, fails to meaningfully address increasing health care costs directly attributable to frivolous lawsuits and excessive jury awards.

“True health care reform requires tort reform,” said Joe Walsh, Bean’s Republican challenger.

“Unfortunately, Melissa Bean is in the pocket of trial lawyers.  She has put the interests of her large campaign donors ahead of supporting simple reforms such as caps on non-economic damages that would make health care coverage more affordable for 8th district families.”

Walsh cited a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services report that concluded excessive damage awards from medical malpractice lawsuits add between $70 and $126 billion to the cost of health care borne by Americans each year.

Experts say national tort reform is estimated to save $92 to $207 billion dollars per year on health care costs.  Yet, the trillion dollar Obamacare legislation provides only $25 million to ‘projects’ and ’studies’ looking at tort reform.

“The time for ’studies’ is over,” said Walsh.  “We need action on tort reform.  This problem of lawsuit abuse is particularly acute in Illinois where medical malpractice insurance premiums in Cook County, for example, are more than twice as expensive as rates in Indiana,” said Walsh.

“The failure of the Obamacare legislation to address tort reform and Melissa Bean’s failure to embrace common sense reforms that address the problem of lawsuit abuse highlight once again why we cannot afford Obamacare and we cannot afford to have Melissa Bean in Congress.”

The following press release was received from the congressional campaign of Joe Walsh. He is incumbent Melissa Bean’s opponent this fall.

Walsh to Bean on Health Care Vote:
Vote Your District Not Your Party

(Lake Zurich, Illinois) -  8th District Republican congressional nominee Joe Walsh today called on his liberal Democrat opponent Rep. Melissa Bean to swallow her pride and vote “No” on the Obamacare federal takeover of health care legislation nearing a vote in the House.

“For the first time in a long time Melissa Bean needs to listen to her constituents and vote her district,”  said Walsh.

“A government takeover of health care is absolutely the wrong approach to fix what ails with health care in America- and 8th district voters know it.

“Melissa Bean was not elected to represent public sector unions and march in lockstep with her party.

“She was elected to represent the interests of 8th district families and support policies that speak to their very real economic insecurities.  This legislation will worsen the quality of care we have access to and increase unemployment,” Walsh said.

The proposed takeover of health care that would cost Illinois 169,000 jobs, $4,418 per person, and shrink Illinois’ economy by 5.1 percent, according to a study by the Illinois Policy Institute.  This is against the backdrop of a state with 11% unemployment.

“A vote for this health care bill is vote against the economic interests of 8th district families, plain and simple,” Walsh added.

The legislation would also drastically reduce senior citizens’ access to the popular (and private) Medicaid Advantage program.

“I’m not in the camp that says the president is overly ambitious to take on health care,” said Bean, who votedfor the federal takeover of health care  late last year that passed the House by a slim 220-215 margin despite a sizable Democrat majority.

Town hall meeting on health care that Melissa Bean refused to attend, as she did all other public events discussing the subject last year.

Prior to her vote last year, Bean, unlike most members of Congress (Republicans and Democrats), declined to hold any town hall meetings or public forums where residents could weigh in and ask questions about this legislation.

“Melissa Bean has made it very clear that if she is not interested in the opinions of concerns of those she was elected to represent,” said Walsh.

In his keynote address to the McHenry Medical Society at their annual meeting, Walsh said there is no way the country can afford the trillion dollar takeover of one-sixth of our nation’s economy.

“There are other ways to reform health care without sending our children and grandchildren into even greater debt and forever altering the doctor-patient relationship,” Walsh said.

Walsh said incremental reforms such as allow the sale of insurance plans across state lines increase competition among insurers and passing meaningful tort reform are key to reducing costs while protecting quality of care.

This morning the Daily Herald ran a story about how a two-bedroom Evanston condo owned by Republican congressional candidate Joe Walsh had been foreclosed upon about the time he was announcing his candidacy for Congress.

I note that no reporter was willing to have his or her byline on the Daily Herald article, at least on the electronic version I read.

Here is his reaction:

Statement by Joe Walsh Regarding Personal Financial History

Joe Walsh at the Thanksgiving Week GOP 8th Congressional District debate at McHenry County College sponsored by Patriots United and the McHenry County Young Republicans.

LAKE ZURICH, IL –   Our country faces critical challenges. I’m running for Congress to address those challenges. It is incredibly disappointing to me – and to the majority of voters in the Illinois 8th Congressional District – that the news media has focused not on these issues that matter to the future of our nation, but instead has consistently sought to ridicule, demean, and condescend to anyone who tries to challenge the status quo.

The politics of personal destruction is the reason we so seldom see legitimate “change agents” running for office.

I won the Republican primary by a large margin, despite being outspent because voters identified with my message. I feel like I’m losing my country and too few we’ve sent to D.C. are doing anything about it.

Here are the facts:

I am not a wealthy man – I never have been.  We have lived the past couple of years on a salary that averages $40K year, and which is more in line with the average family in the 8th. I believe that public service, including elective office, should be accessible to people of all income levels, not just the wealthy. Frankly, I believe that one of the reasons we have so many problems and we see so many bad policy choices made is because Congress is a millionaires’ club. Too many of our elected officials are insulated from the devastating financial impacts of the rules and regulations they impose on us.

I know all too well what 8th district families are going through to make ends meet because I’ve experienced some of the same difficult and humbling financial challenges. Like so many others in Illinois in recent years, and 1 in 9 Americans nationally, I know what it’s like to lose a home to foreclosure.

After graduating from the University of Chicago in 1991 with a Master’s Degree in Public Policy, I chose a career in public service, knowing that the salary levels would never make me wealthy. Instead, I got satisfaction from working as a social worker in inner city Chicago, teaching American history and government at community colleges, and running the non-profit Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund. After my first marriage ended in divorce, I purchased a condominium in Evanston to be my primary residence. This was back in 2004.

In 2006 I remarried  and realized that with our combined family of five children we needed a larger home. In 2006, I put the Evanston condo up for sale.

By 2008 with no buyers in a down real-estate market, I found myself struggling to keep up with two homes, and five children. I accepted responsibility for the situation and worked with my bank to foreclose on the condo.

It was my problem and I didn’t ask anyone to bail me out. Additionally in 2008, I tried to improve my financial situation by changing careers to work with a Chicago-based boutique banking group focusing on helping new and small businesses raise investment capital. I took responsibility for my circumstances and have endured the financial consequences while working diligently to abide by my obligations.

This experience helped me gain a better appreciation for the very real economic anxieties felt by 8th district families, many of whom are just a paycheck or two away from facing similar difficulties.

Frankly, the perspective I gained from this challenge helped me grow as a person and I believe will make me a better representative of working people’s interests in Washington.

I knew getting into this race that the local media would do Melissa Bean’s dirty work for her.

And the Daily Herald has now lived down to my expectations.

The media elites are part of a dysfunctional political establishment that has destroyed our economy in pursuit of reshaping America into a country working people don’t even recognize and cannot afford.

I got in this race to represent the people I grew up with, the people who go to work every day and who try to make ends meet.

While Melissa Bean hides from her constituents for fear that she would have to defend her radical left-wing votes for cap-and-trade and a government takeover of health care, I stand before the electorate in the light of day ready to present my views and answer all inquiries.

If enduring the ridicule of a few media types is the price I have to pay to demonstrate that a regular guy can stand up to the political establishment on behalf of middle class, working families, so be it.

The issues facing our country are too serious to allow a couple of cheap shots to get me off my message. I’m grateful for the support of  fellow Republicans, specifically Gene Dawson, who told me this morning, “I’m behind you 100%.”

I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing since the day I started this race – talking to real voters about bringing real change to Washington D.C.

The McHenry Township Republican Central Committee organized February 15th.

Here is the leadership team that was selected:

• Chairman: Rick Mack
• Vice Chairman: Kathleen Kuchta
• Secretary: Marsha Nelson
• Treasurer: Craig Adams

8th Congressional District Committeeman Gene Dawson, 8th Congressional District Republican candidate for Congress Joe Walsh, and State Representative candidate John O’Neill spoke seeking support from the precinct committeemen and guests.

Field Director Richard Cape is seeking volunteers to help remove Melissa Bean from Congress:

Hello to all,

Now that the smoke has settled and the primary is behind us, I would like to send out a sincere Thank You to everyone who helped make Joe’s victory a success. It took a lot of hard work and dedication, but in the end it all paid off.

We are in the process of building a well organized team to take out Melissa Bean. We plan on opening offices throughout the district in the very near future. We will need to expand our Army of volunteers to get the message to the voters and defeat Bean in November.

If you would like to join our efforts in taking the 8th district back, please contact me at rick@joewalshforcongress.com or rcape71@aol.com.

No matter what your abilities, schedule or location, we have a spot for you to help.

We are in motion now and we are not going to stop until we win this seat back in November.

Thank you for all your support,
Richard Cape
Field Director
Joe Walsh for Congress

The following press release has been received from 8th congressional district Republican candidate Joe Walsh:

Walsh: Wow, Bean just doesn’t get it
Republican Responds to Rep. Bean’s Daily Herald Interview

Joe Walsh speaking at the biggets political meeting during the 8th congressional district GOP primary campaign. Photo by Ryan Provenzano RyanProPhotos ryanprophoto@hotmail.com

(Lake Zurich, Illinois) – February 20, 2010 – Joe Walsh, Republican candidate for Congress in the Illinois 8th, today said “Melissa Bean is amazingly out-of-touch with her constituents. She arrogantly dismissed the economic hardships most of her constituents are going through right now and she dismisses their anger and activism at speaking up against this government’s spending,” in response to Bean’s comments published Feb. 19 in the Daily Herald.

Rep. Bean said there is not a current “conservative resurgence” and “doesn’t see the pendulum swinging back this year.”  As reported in the Daily Herald, Bean “bristled” at calling the tea party a “movement,” pointing to the attendance of only 1,000 people at the National Tea Party Convention in Tennessee. “I remember being on the (National Mall), there being 1 million people for the (Obama) inauguration. That is a movement,” Bean said. “I don’t see a comparison.”  Last September over 2 million Tea Party supporters marched on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

“She doesn’t understand what’s going on economically right now, she doesn’t understand the depth of voter anger and passion that’s out there, and she doesn’t understand at all the meaning of and power of the tea party movement,” Walsh said.

“The tea party movement has nothing to do with party,” Walsh said. “It consists of every Republican, Independent, and Democrat who has had it with this reckless spending. It’s too late for Melissa Bean. Last year when voters in her district first voiced their concerns, she hid from them. Now, that it’s an election year, she comes out and dismisses them. The train has left the station and Melissa Bean chose not to get on it and there is nothing she or any other Democrat incumbent can say or do this year that will change that.”

Democrat Melissa Bean voted yes for cap-and-trade, healthcare, bank bailouts, and two stimulus packages.

Note: Melisaa Bean interview Feb 19, 2010 with the Daily Herald editorial board: (http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=360335)

Joe Walsh at the Patriots United Thanksgiving Week Republican primary forum.

Melissa Bean

Popping into my inbox this morning is this Congressional Quarterly analysis of marginal congressional districts.

Better chances for Republicans nationally, poorer for Democrats.

Democrats defending 42 marginal districts, Republicans 7.

Locally, 8th congressional district incumbent Melissa Bean drew this comment:

“The ratings also upgrade the re-election prospects for…Reps. Melissa Bean (Ill.)…who were once in the crosshairs of GOP strategists but now seem safe.”

That is the district where Joe Walsh won a convincing primary victory capitalizing on TEA Party activists.

The only other Illinois districts mentioned were

• Illinois’ 10th — Leans Democratic to Tossup (Mark Kirk’s Northshore district)
• Illinois’ 13th — Likely Republican to Safe Republican (Judy Biggert)