Moderate Party Announces Iain Abernathy as its Candidate for Congress Against Melissa Bean

Was I surprised when I got this press release from 2006 Moderate Party candidate Bill Scheurer! I had expected him to run again against 8th congressional district Democratic Party Congresswoman Melissa Bean.

But, no.

Scheurer has recruited a retirement benefits guy, Iain Abernathy of Round Lake, to make the run.

The Moderate Party is a splendid name for an anti-war party, especially with those who know virtually anything about an election but that they hate the better known parties.

Bill’s wife Randi is running against Bean in the Democratic Party primary.

The press release continues to label Republicans and Democrats as the “corporate parties.” (I prefer the “power parties,” but Scheurer has more than a little logic behind his characterization, as any campaign finance report would show.)

New Candidate for Congress in IL-8TH

Iain Abernathy of Round Lake is entering the race for U.S. House of Representatives in the Illinois Eighth Congressional District under the Moderate Party banner.

Abernathy, a retirement benefits analyst, joins a field of five other candidates: Republicans Steve Greenberg, Ken Arnold, and Kirk Morris; and Democrats Melissa Bean (incumbent) and Randi Scheurer.

The Moderate Party — an independent federal party, with a platform of peaceful security and open democracy — achieved “established party” status in 2006, by gathering 15,000 signatures to get on the ballot and winning over 5% of the vote in the general election.

“We plan to keep the issue of peaceful security — disarming enemies by means other than war — in front of IL-8th District voters in the 2008 election,” says Abernathy. “Unless the Democrats reject the incumbent, the two corporate parties (Republican and Democrat) would leave us again with nothing but two pro-war candidates to choose between.”

Asked about a possible conflict if antiwar candidate Randi Scheurer succeeds in ousting the incumbent Melissa Bean in the Democratic Party primary, Abernathy replies, “We’ll just cross that bridge when we come to it. Our ‘Peace Over Party’ philosophy has broad appeal — not just to Democrats. We will find ways to give citizens of every persuasion an opportunity to cast their votes for peaceful security and open democracy.”

2006 Moderate Party candidate Bill Scheurer, husband of Democratic Party candidate Randi Scheurer, states he does not intend to run in 2008.

The IL-8th Congressional District covers parts of Lake, Cook, and McHenry — three key “collar counties” in the Chicago north and northwest suburbs.


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