If you saw the front page of the latest edition of QUAD CITIES LABOR NEWS, you probably noticed an article under the headline, WHAT’S WITH ALL THE BILLBOARDS? Unfortunately, the article beneath the headline fails to offer a truthful answer to the question and, in fact, stinks of desperation.
The article begins with the following inaccurate description of the nonprofit group behind the placement of election-focused billboards in the Quad Cities area:
Perhaps you’ve seen them. They disparage Phil Hare while saying little about who is paying for them. The group behind the billboards on 11th Ave. in Rock Island and River Drive in Moline is a front group for Bobby Schilling called Veterans4Schilling.
In the remaining paragraphs of the labor union rag, truth seems to be an afterthought.
In the second paragraph, for example, it’s claimed that “The Federal Election Commission has already filed a complain against Veterans4Schilling for unethical practices” and it’s alleged that the group changed its name to Veterans4Constitution after the complaint was filed.
First, everyone knows the Federal Election Commission did not file any complaints. It was an operative of Hare — one James L. Moody — who filed the Aug. 27 complaint with the FEC. Second, one needs only read the complaint to see that Moody directed his “beef” at Veterans 4 Constitution, not Veterans 4 Schilling.
As for the claim that appears in the third paragraph (i.e., that none of the Republican candidates endorsed by the veterans group were veterans), I’d love to find out why Robert Enriquez, the GOP candidate for Illinois Secretary of State, doesn’t qualify as a veteran in the eyes of the labor folks. After all, he served as a Marine Corps officer and completed two overseas tours.
Perhaps the largest omission in the article — and in all of Hare’s campaign literature/advertising for that matter — is the fact that Republican Bobby Schilling is no stranger to labor unions. Not only did he serve as a union steward for Local 191 of the United Paperworkers International Union from 1983-87, but he served as treasurer for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union from 1987-95. In short, he understands how unions work.
Now, back to the matter of those billboards.
In short, the billboard messages paint Hare in the light of truth and are based on a number of incidents involving the the 17th Congressional District’s incumbent Democrat. Below are some examples:
1. On Dec. 15, Hare sided with the Obama Administration when he told a national television audience that terrorists at GITMO should be moved to Thomson, Ill.;
2. On April 1, Hare was captured on video saying, “I Don’t Worry About the Constitution”;
3. Four months ago, Hare reportedly told one of his aides to follow a constituent and get his license plate number so he could find out who he was;
4. On Aug. 27, Hare had one of his operatives file a complaint against Veterans4Constitution;
5. During a Labor Day parade in East Moline, Ill., he told a local television reporter he had received death threats, but never filed a police report, leading many to believe he was seeking sympathy; and
6. Throughout the campaign season, Hare has upset veterans by calling himself a veteran despite the fact that “veteran” status is, according to the federal government, “reserved for a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.”