December 2, 2011. Evanston. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) will be facing a formidable challenger during the upcoming primary election. Making his second attempt to unseat Schakowsky, Simon Ribeiro of Evanston is poised to give the Congresswoman a run for her money. And this time, he’s taking the fight to her own turf, the Democratic Primary.
Two years ago, the Evanston teacher and lifeguard unsuccessfully ran for Schakowsky’s Congressional seat as the Green Party candidate. In that three-way race against Ribeiro and the Republican Joel Pollak, Schakowsky received 66 percent of the vote. While that total was enough for victory, it was far from an overwhelming endorsement of Schakowsky. This time around, she may be even more vulnerable.
Surprise
When the Illinois Board of Elections revoked the Green Party’s ballot access this year, Party officials filed a lawsuit claiming the Board had absolutely no legitimate reason to do so, other than a blatant and flagrant attempt to protect and assist incumbent Republicans and Democrats. While the Green Party will most-likely eventually win their case, it will do them little good this time around and will be too late to reinstate their candidates on the ballot. So much for free and fair elections.
Even though all three parties had the exact same status, the Board of Elections changed the rules so that now, Democrats and Republicans only need to collect 600 signatures to run for office while Simon Ribeiro, all independents, the Greens, Libertarians and everyone else, need to collect 5,000 valid signatures. Handicapped with that attempt to shut him out of the system, Simon Ribeiro decided to challenge Schakowsky as a fellow Democrat.
A Green-leaning, independent Democrat is probably not what Rep. Schakowsky was hoping for in a challenger. Not being part of the political establishment in Illinois, Ribeiro isn’t a Machine politician like Schakowsky. He won’t have the endorsements and financial support of mob-linked ward bosses, previously indicted lobbyists or the men with last names like Cullerton, Madigan, Burke and Daley.
Right candidate at the right time?
Owing nothing to the notorious Machine and indebted to no one but the voters, an independent Simon Ribeiro may be able to ride the tidal wave of ‘reform’ right into Illinois’ 9th Congressional House seat. At a time when more and more incumbent and Machine politicians are retiring rather than try to defend the establishment and status quo, Schakowsky may have a difficult time explaining to the voters how she’s not part of the problem in Washington. Congress currently has an embarrassingly low approval rating – last clocked at a dismal 18 percent. Included in that 82 percent disapproval rating is Rep. Jan Schkowsky. The question is – will Ribeiro be able to capitalize on the voters’ anger and distrust of incumbent politicians.
Jan Schakowsky isn’t without her own baggage either. Most recently, the Illinois Congresswoman took her personal fight with former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince to the floor of Congress. Making national headlines, Schakowsky accused the defense contractor and its former CEO of murder in a 2007 firefight during the Iraq occupation in which 17 Iraqis were killed. On the floor of Congress this week, Schakowsky refused to let the incident go, insisting that if Mr. Prince wasn’t currently living abroad, “he too would now be facing prosecution.”
In reality, as Prince’s spokesperson Victoria Toensing rightly points out, Mr. Prince has "never committed nor ever been charged with any crime." In fact, company CEO's generally aren't held criminally accountable for shootings involving low-level employees in which the CEO had nothing to do with. But that shows Congresswoman Schakowsky’s possible panic. Trying to deflect attention from her own record and criminal incidents in her own relationships, Schakowsky is attempting to play the victim, insisting that she is the target of the “attempted intimidation of a member of Congress.”
What did Prince’s spokeswoman Toensing say to “intimidate” her? Perhaps it was this statement in the letter to Rep. Schakowsky demanding she cease and desist in her obsessive campaign of revenge against the former CEO:
“Your caprice in making a false and defamatory statement about criminal culpability is particularly galling in light of your husband's guilty plea to federal fraud and his time in prison. One would think you would be sensitive about falsely accusing others of criminality."
Schakowsky’s challenger in this upcoming Democratic primary, Simon Ribeiro, is a Washington outsider who grew up in the northern suburbs. He’s stayed clear of the mud-slinging and accusations of criminal activity plaguing the six-term Schakowsky right now. Instead, he’s sticking to the issues and attempting to show the voters of Illinois’ 9th Congressional District that it’s time to put an end to the politics of old. A new face for a new day – one without all the political debts, questionable connections and negative campaign tactics.
Schakowsky’s Downside
Jan Schakowsky is known for her unconditional support of President Obama and his policies. The Chicago Tribune even calls her, “one of the more partisan members of the House.” With the floundering economy, dismal jobs picture and his bailout of Wall Street, President Obama doesn’t have the Midas touch he did two years ago. In a Congressional district with such a large Republican and independent voter base, Schakowsky’s tactic of hooking onto the Obama juggernaut and riding back into office on his coattails may not work this time around. And if Schakowsky has to run on her own accomplishments and positions, she’s in trouble.
Bank Bailout
Nothing is more unpopular with voters right now than Washington’s never-ending bank bailout. Voting against her own principals, Schakowsky says she, “reluctantly voted in favor of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).” Adding to her Republican credentials, Schakowsky also supports giving corporations more incentives, tax breaks and even cash to help motivate them to create jobs. Swinging back to her progressive label, Rep. Schakowsky also says her number one suggestion for turning America’s unemployment crisis around is another round of taxpayer-funded stimulus spending.
Teachers Union
Making waves throughout the southern reaches of the 9th district, which covers large areas of Chicago including the lakefront’s Gold Coast, Schakowsky stands diametrically opposed to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on the issue of education. Schakowsky not only opposes vouchers and all other forms of alternative education, she is an unconditional protector of public schools. In fact, one of her main campaign promises is to secure support for a taxpayer-funded bailout of the teachers union. The Congresswoman uses slightly altered language to get it past the voters however, saying she supported a House bill that “provides $10 billion dollars to help prevent teacher layoffs due to massive shortfalls in state budgets.”
Immigration
Schakowsky, recognizing that one-third of her district is made up of immigrants to the US, co-sponsored the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for American Security and Prosperity Act. Conservatives have called the legislation an “amnesty program”.
Nancy Pelosi
Rep. Jan Schakowsky is an unapologetic supporter of the polarizing former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Commenting on the progress Congress has made in policing itself of corruption and ethics violations, Schakowsky says, “Through the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, we have more stringent ethics standards and new processes that will help root out corruption.” For those readers that missed it, two weeks ago Rep. Pelosi was named in a massive insider trading scandal. Thanks to Schakowsky’s and Pelosi’s “stringent ethics standards”, insider trading is actually legal, but only for members of Congress. Read the article, ‘Insider Trading is Legal for Congressmen’ for details.
The Ribeiro Revolution
Schakowsky’s challenger, Simon Ribeiro, has a message for the Congresswoman and for the voters. He’s taking on the 12-year incumbent and he’s armed with two weapons, “Fairness and Truth”. Being a regular citizen and not a career politician, Simon Ribeiro combines the ‘common sense’ of conservatives with the ‘compassion’ of progressives and tops it off with the support of independents rather than the Democratic Machine.
Ribeiro makes for a formidable opponent with his local roots and impressive education. He holds a masters in secondary education, a bachelors in political science and an associates from Oakton Community College. Showing his origins within the district he’s now asking for the privilege to represent, Ribeiro is a graduate from Evanston High School in the near north suburbs.
Bailouts
Candidate Simon Ribeiro’s difference of positions with Rep. Schakowsky is evidenced nowhere more than the recent bank bailout and Obama stimulus program. Two years ago in the Chicago Tribune candidate questionnaire, Ribeiro showed his political foresight when he stated his opposition to the bank bailout TARP, as well as the Obama stimulus program which many labeled as nothing more than a bailout of the government employees unions. Schakowsky apologetically voted in favor of the bank bailout and not only voted for the stimulus, but repeatedly voices her support for another round of taxpayer-funded stimulus spending.
Energy
Rather than concentrate his energy attacking current energy providers, Ribeiro’s says he’d rather concentrate on fixing the problem of energy dependence. His position is that of encouraging the ever-growing use of green technology. That includes “solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geo-thermal, and other clean, unlimited resources.”
Jobs
Taking the Ron Paul opinion, Ribeiro attacks the little-understood Federal Reserve system which allows non-government entities to control our nation’s money. Rather than pay banks like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs tens of billions of dollars to circulate the country’s currency, Ribeiro believes the US should bring that responsibility in-house where corporations aren’t allowed to fleece the nation’s monetary system with no control or oversight by the American people. Taking the reigns out of the for-profit banks’ hands, according to the candidate, would free up trillions of dollars in funds – funds that would be used to invest in business, new ideas, a growing economy and the millions of jobs that would come with it.
Ribeiro offers a second off-topic suggestion that he says will create jobs - a single-payer healthcare system. Without including a mandate to force people to participate, Ribeiro’s stated plan would simply group all uninsured Americans, including Medicare and Medicaid recipients, into one massive patient alliance. What would be the largest grouping of American insureds, would according to Ribeiro, have unprecedented negotiating power to use the free market system to press for more competitive and affordable healthcare costs. Freeing up hundreds of billions of dollars in spendable income for Americans would increase demand for products and services across the economic spectrum. That growth in demand would, again according to the candidate, create an explosion of new jobs.
Simon Ribeiro’s third suggestion for creating jobs again takes an around-the-block approach. Supporting an end to our nation’s current wars and normalizing relations with America’s historic adversaries, Ribeiro believes the “peace dividend” would remove hundreds of billions of dollars in military spending and other support costs which could otherwise be used to grow America’s economy with the benefit being the creation of millions of new jobs.
Tax Reform
Ribeiro favors a simplified tax system in which distinctions like capital gains and income are combined into one category called revenue. Eliminating all the hated taxes like city stickers, property, sales, tolls, state ID’s, title transfers and all the other burdensome and mandatory specialized taxes, Ribeiro would replace them all with two taxes – a 30 percent gasoline tax and a graduated income tax. Ribeiro’s income tax plan would assign a tax rate of zero for anyone earning under $150,000 per year. Above that amount, rates begin at 10 percent for earners of $150k to $200k per year and tops off with a tax rate of 50 percent for the highest earners making more than $100 million per year.
Property Taxes
As stated above, but deserving another mention, Simon Ribeiro would abolish property taxes. As this author has pointed out many times, mankind has fought and died for thousands of years to obtain the right to own their own homes. Yet here in 21st century America, we’ve given that right away without a second thought. Campaigning on the promise to support an end to property taxes, Ribeiro may find an outpouring of support from his district’s senior citizens, a group hit hardest by the recent economic collapse.
Immigration
One area Ribeiro and Schakowsky share basically the same opinion is the area of immigration. Ribeiro supports protecting the border and at the same time, providing immediate legal residency status to those illegal immigrants that have, “demonstrated positive contributions to the economy and society.”
Senior Citizens and Social Security
Raising eyebrows across the political spectrum, Simon Ribeiro takes his support and defense of his district’s senior citizens to a whole new level. Not only does the candidate oppose raising the retirement age in an attempt to cut Social Security costs, he actually supports lowering the retirement age back down to 60. That, he says, will free up more jobs and at the same time, provide support and assistance to more seniors.
The outcome of the race may hinge on the number of opponents Schakowsky faces. A large number will split the anti-Schakowsky forces. If Ribeiro can limit his competition and frame the race as a one-on-one choice between himself the reformer, and Schakowsky the status quo establishment, he may be able to pull off an upset.
Congresswoman Schakowsky, for her part, may be underestimating voter outrage with Washington insiders like herself. Over the past two weeks, Rep. Schakowsky has been in the headlines for two incidents, neither of which has anything to do with her campaign for re-election. The first incident was her bizarre obsession with Erik Prince that culminated with a speech on the floor of Congress in which Schakowsky announced she was the target of a secret conspiracy.
The second incident the Congresswoman earned headlines for last month was her involvement in the Republican Presidential primary. Possibly at the behest of the Democratic National Committee, who has also targeted GOP front-runner Mitt Romney with negative campaign ads this week, Rep. Schakowsky wrote and published an open letter to former Governor Romney. In it, she praises the conservative Republican for his courageous and progressive stance on universal healthcare. In what was a coordinated, national attempt to discredit President Obama’s probable opponent for the White House, Democrats like Schakowsky publically embraced Romney, hoping to alienate him from his conservative Republican base.
While the Ribeiro-Schakowsky race is shaping up to be a David vs. Goliath fight, Ribeiro’s grassroots and independent base may surprise the over-confident Schakowsky, especially if she keeps ignoring her own race and involving herself in the GOP Presidential primary. The Illinois 9th Congressional district includes Mount Prospect in the west to Winnetka in the east and as far south as Chicago’s near north side lakefront. For more information on Simon Ribeiro’s candidacy for US Congress, visit his website at SimonForCongress.com.
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