On Tuesday, Scott Brown and the Republicans were talking about how the Massachusetts Senate seat was the "people's seat" and did not belong to any political party. Now less than 72 hours later, the NRCC is predictably singing a different tune. They're now insisting that the Illinois 14th CD (Bill Foster's seat) rightfully belongs to them.
From the Trib:
"The environment has changed and is no longer favorable for the Democrats," said Tom Erickson, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. This is a very important seat for us, and we want to make sure it goes back into Republican hands where it belongs."
Emphasis mine. Or course that's inconsistent with what they were crowing about on Tuesday, but these are Congressional Republicans we're talking about, so that shouldn't come as a surprise.
The good thing for us is that the Reps have another increasingly ugly primary on their hands. Maybe not as bloody as Oberweis/Lauzen in 2008 but it's getting there. If you don't know, these are the two candidates this time around:
Ethan Hastert Son of former Speaker Denny, 31-year old Hastert is going after the teabag crowd with an anti-tax, anti-abortion, anti-spending message. He's also bringing in money from all over the place, although this is causing some voters to label him as a carpetbagger. Ethan's also got some baggage from the Bush years. Starting in 2001, he worked out of Dick Cheney's office as a special assistant to Scooter Libby. He was also arrested for DUI during that time.
Randy Hultgren From Winfield, in the far east portion of the district, is state Sen. Randy Hultgren. Somewhat more moderate and far more low-key, Hulgren is running on a platform of bipartisanship and claiming he has the ability and willingness to work with Democrats. Hultgren is trying to latch onto the anti-carpetbagging sentiment that Washington is trying to dictate the outcome of the race. Unfortunately, he hasn't made any friends in the teabagging community. To them he's viewed as too pro-tax, too liberal, and too friendly with Democrats.
Whoever wins, it's clear the NRCC doesn't view IL-14 as another "People's Seat", but rather as a Republican seat that they're entitled to. Let's re-elect scientist and businessman Bill Foster instead: