Three years ago moderate Democrat Melissa Bean toppled longtime conservative stalwart Phil Crane to represent Chicago's northwest suburbs in Congress.
Crane overstayed his welcome.
Last week Bean was one of the few Democrats who voted for the Iraq war bill that President Bush signed yesterday, something that did not go unnoticed by the Scheurer family of Lindenhurst, Illinois. Bill Scheurer was a 2004 primary opponent of Bean's, and angered by her support of the CAFTA bill--a bill that greatly benefited the constituents of Bean's Eighth District--Scheurer against Bean in the 2006 general election representing something called the Illinois Moderate Party.
He got over 5 percent of the vote, which makes it easy for his "party" to get on the ballot next year and oppose Bean again.
But that's not good enough for the Scheurers. An anti-war zealot like her husband, Randi Scheurer plans to oppose Bean in the Democratic primary.
Bean was targeted by the national Republican Party for defeat in 2006, but she topped her well-funded opponent. True, it was a bad year for the GOP, but Bean's congressional seat with her name on it appears to be safe, barring reapportionment problems if Illinois loses a seat after the 2010 census.
Sadly, reapportionment appears to be my best hope in ridding my radical congresswoman, Jan Schakowksy, from Congress. But my guess is that Republican Mark Kirk, who represents Chicago's North Shore, has the most to fear after 2010.
The Sheurers operate a web site, Honk4Peace.org. Whereas they may support peace, they certainly don't respect peace and quiet.
Hat tip to Cal Skinner at the McHenry County Blog for the story.
Technorati tags: politics Illinois Congress Melissa Bean Schakowsky anti-war activism Democrats
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