by John Brown's Ghost

Sunday afternoon, the Kane County Republican Advisory Council and the Kane County Republican Central Committee hosted a candidates' forum for the 14th Congressional District.  Sorry about the photo to the right, it was the best that came out of my camera.  Amongst the crowd was a hack from the Foster campaign who tried to videotape the private event (like we wouldn't think a guy in a cardigan sweater with a video camera stood out).  I'm sure it was a welcome site for the Foster campaign worker to see at least 300 people attend a meeting and hear a fine slate of candidates, one of which will send his boss back to being a private citizen.

It truly was a great site to see that many people show so much interest in one congressional race.  After a contentious primary last year, it was heartening to hear the candidates express unity for whoever the primary winner will be.  As Ethan Hastert said, "Any one of these candidates would do a far better job than Bill Foster".  It is a safe bet that everyone in the room (well, except for the Foster staffer) agreed with that statement.  Think of it - 300 people came out on a Sunday afternoon to hear about the issues in a Congressional race.  I was really blown away by the crowd.  A second adjacent room had to be opened up, and even after that several dozen people had to stand throughout the discussion.  It was a testament to the fine job that the Kane County Republican Advisory Council did.  Hats off to Brad Urhausen, Andy Faville, Mike Kenyon, Ellen Nottke, Lisa Wagner, Carol Berger, and all of the others that helped put on this event. 

Four of the five candidates (listed by their appearance on the stage); Ethan Hastert, Jeff Danklefsen, Mark Vargas and Randall Hultgren, appeared at the event.  Jim Purcell was invited, but did not attend.

Each of the candidates answered five questions on government spending, war and global terrorism, the economic crisis and the cap and trade bill, health care reform, and returning funding to Illinois.  Additionally, each candidate was allowed to close with a two-minute statement.

A few of the more memorable moments were:

 - Mark Vargas talked about the challenges in Afghanistan.  He said that approximately 40% of the Afghanistan population is under 14 years old.  All that they have known their entire life is death and destruction.  In addition to listening to the commanders on the field who are asking for more troops, we need to teachthe Afghanistan people about economic growth and education so the young people have a chance for normalcy and won't think that war is the answer.

 - Randy Hultgren talked about keeping money in the pockets of taxpayers instead of sending it to Washington, DC, where we will only seen a tiny fraction of it coming back to us.  He also pointed out that it was an embarrassment that the only sector that is growing as a result of the stimulus bill is government, while all other sectors are declining and then the government uses the government job growth to tout the success of the stimulus bill.

 - Ethan Hastert mentioned the hospital administrators, doctors and health care workers that he has talked to since joining the race, and their concern about the health care bill.  He offered a four point plan of more choice and competition, allowing people to pool together in associations in the same way that business do, the need for tort reform, and increasing portability.

 - Jeff Danklefsen probably had the "money line" when he said that global warming was a farce and an excuse for politicians to dig into our wallets.  Speaking about health care, he also asked the crowd, "Does anyone think that this bill will pay for itself?  I don't".

If you have an opportunity in the next couple of months to hear these gentlemen speak, it would be well worth your time.  As said above, any of them would be far better Congressmen than Mr. Foster.  My sincerest hope, and the hope that was mentioned in theinvocation, is that all of them will have unity after the primary.  If we let personal opinions, cults of personality, and bitterness rule the day after the primary, then we will let Bill Foster become a two-term incumbent like Melissa Bean - a lot more formidable candidate to knock off, as our friends up north have discovered.