Marathon Pundit: Sun-Times gets it wrong on Schakowsky

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Sun-Times gets it wrong on Schakowsky

Yesterday the Chicago Sun-Times endorsed Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston), claiming she has served Illinois' 9th District well. Uh, no. While Democrats outnumber Republican, most residents of the 9th want ObamaCare repealed and are opposed to partial-birth abortion. Schakowsky, perhaps the most liberal member of the House of Representatives, supports both. While many people in the 9th don't know what union card check and cap and trade is, when I explain to them what they are, they oppose those those things. Schakowsky backs them.

Voters in the 9th have a better choice--Republican Joel Pollak.

In response to the Sun-Times pick, the Pollak campaign issued the following press release:

NILES, IL - The Pollak for Congress campaign has contested a false allegation made by the Chicago Sun-Times in today's editorial endorsing Jan Schakowsky for the 9th district.

"The Sun-Times was wrong to say that Joel Pollak 'completely runs afoul of the truth...in his effort to portray Schakowsky as insufficiently pro-Israel,'" noted Ashley Kain, Pollak's campaign manager.

"That is completely false. The Sun-Times cannot prove it. If you accuse someone of being untruthful, you had better be able to point to something they have said or done that is untrue. Apparently, the Sun-Times has confused its opinion with its facts.

"Joel has always told the truth about Jan Schakowsky's stance on Israel. He has publicly acknowledged (e.g. at his town hall meeting in Skokie on Aug. 12) that her voting record is good. Joel has, however, criticized Schakowsky's silence on certain key issues, and her questionable views and alliances. His exact position, as reflected in a statement he published on September 17th, is as follows: 'Jan Schakowsky is not anti-Israel, but she is clearly failing to lead on Israel.'

"His evidence is the fact that Schakowsky has said (Pioneer Press, Sep. 16) that she wants the U.S. to pressure Israel into making more concessions, that she has failed to speak out against the Obama administration’s confrontational approach to Israel, and that she has failed to indicate that she would support a military option against the Iranian regime if necessary to protect the U.S. and Israel.

"Joel has also pointed out that Jan Schakowsky held a fundraiser with the anti-Israel and antisemitic Helen Thomas (May 2010); traveled to embrace Manuel Zelaya, the anti-Israel and anti-semitic former leader of Honduras (November 2009); and took tens of thousands of dollars from the far-left group J Street, which opposes Israel at every opportunity and which was recently revealed to be supported by George Soros and foreign donors. Those are not pro-Israel actions.

"Voters can judge for themselves whether Schakowsky's views and behavior are pro-Israel enough for the 9th district. But nothing Joel has said about Schakowsky's stance is untrue.

"We do not agree with the editorial's opinions about Joel or his opponent, but we are not protesting those--only the completely false statement about Joel's portrayal of his opponent's views on Israel. Joel has stuck to the facts. In the spirit of fairness and accuracy, the Sun-Times must issue a correction."