We can do this thing!

Just about anybody who reads this should know that J. Dennis "I see nothing! I know nothing!" Hastert is in deep trouble because of his actions inactions in l'affaire Mark Foley. Just today, the Decider-in-Chief decided to grace us with his presence in Chicagoland to, in the words of the Chicago Tribune, "boost the campaigns of two Republican candidates as well as to raise the spirits of House Speaker Dennis Hastert."

And just why might Hastert's spirits be in need of a boost, you ask? Well, this might have something to do with da Speaker's depression:

That's a brand-new campaign commercial for Hastert's Democratic opponent, John Laesch. It's going to be airing on cable TV stations all across the 14th District, starting tonight.

And then there's this new poll (PDF link), via Big Orange. The poll shows John trailing Fat Denny by a mere 10 points, 52%-42%. As a point of reference, in the 2004 congressional contest (sorry, no direct link is available; scroll down to IL-14), Hastert beat his Democratic opponent Ruben Zamora by more than 2:1 (69%-31%).

Driving around the county, I can count the number of Hastert signs I've seen on the fingers of two hands--and have fingers left over. Most of them are the tiny variety, instead of the great hulking behemoths Hastert typically uses. And it's been very interesting to notice how many houses along my route to and from work have signs out for other Republican candidates, but none for Hastert.

Lastly, just tonight I got an e-mail from John Kerry's Keeping America's Promise PAC. They've woken up to the fact that there's a competitive race here in the heartland, and that we've got a chance to kick Hastert's fat arse to the curb with the rest of the Republican trash, right where it belongs. So they've added John Laesch to their fundraising list.

For the first time since Hastert first ran for Congress in this district in 1986, I think we've got a solid chance at beating him. John Laesch has been doing an outstanding job, criss-crossing the district, making appearances anywhere they'll have him, talking to anyone who'll listen, and assembling a crack campaign staff that knows how to get the most bang out of the fewest bucks. John's said all along that the only thing keeping him out of the lead in this district is the fact that not a lot of people know his name--despite the fact that he's the only Democratic candidate to run against Hastert in my lifetime whose name I actually knew before I stepped into the voting booth on election day to cast a vote for him.

So here's the pitch. (You knew there was going to be one.) If you've got a few pennies you can spare, send them to John. He'll use them to buy some more airtime for that commercial, and to make new ones to help get his name and his message across to the voters of this district who are crying out for a change. I've you've got some time you can spare in the next three weeks, come on out and volunteer. I'm sure they can manage to find you something to do. Talk to your friends about John, and see if they can help out. And if you know anybody in this district, make absolutely sure to talk to them, encourage them to vote for John on November 7.

Like our man says, it's time for a change. Long past time, if you ask me.

Comments

[andante]

My extra pennies are few and far between these days and dividing them between worthy candidates is something of a nightmare.

But you better believe a good many of them went to Laesch. My own Rethuglican rep is safely ensconced, but good candidates like Laesch can give him a severe case of indigestion.

[Michael]

I hear you on that, andante. Seems like every day I'm getting another mailer or another couple of e-mails, asking if I can support this or that great candidate, or this worthy cause. And I wish I could support them all, but the sad fact of the matter is, I'm not independently wealthy and I don't have a goose that lays golden eggs or a tree upon which money grows for the picking in my back yard. If I gave to everybody who asked me to, I'd have to start asking for money just to make ends meet every month. Doesn't help matters any that my rent effectively doubled this summer, or that because I moved I'm driving more and thus (a) had to buy a new(er) car a couple of weeks ago and (b) have to buy more gas to put into it since I'm driving 10 miles each way to and from work now instead of one.

Guess we should both just stop bitching and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, eh? As if! But thank you for helping John put Fat Denny "I see nothing! I know nothing!" Hastert out to pasture.