Progress Illinois

We had to chuckle yesterday as we read this tweet from GOP Rep. John Shimkus:

According to The Hill, around the time Shimkus was complaining about being "stuck" on Capitol Hill, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Michael Arcuri (D-NY) were introducing a "legislative branch appropriations bill and a rules committee report respectively."

So why is Shimkus' tweet chuckle-worthy?  Because a little over a year ago, he used that same Twitter account to complain that Democrats were eschewing their responsibilities by leaving D.C. for August recess:

Of course, when the House reconvened in September 2008 and Speaker Pelosi held a vote on a compromise energy bill that expanded offshore oil drilling (the issue Republicans had been pushing in August), Shimkus twice tried to adjourn the chamber before the vote could be taken. 

What a piece of work.

We've written repeatedly in recent days about GOP Rep. John Shimkus' ridiculous behavior at President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress.  The downstate congressman walked out of the House chambers before the address had ended, citing "frustration" with Obama's purported lack of bipartisanship.  Yesterday, the State Journal-Register's Bernard Schoenburg noted that Shimkus had put forth a "code of conduct" during his first run for Congress in 1996, adding: 

“I will lead by example,” one part of that code said, “always building up my fellow citizens, and not tearing them down.”

Some might question the example he set last week.

Today, the Journal-Register's Chris Britt published a new cartoon lampooning "Shamekus."  Take a look.

Since walking out of a joint session of Congress last week in a huff because he didn't like President Obama's speech, GOP Rep. John Shimkus' child-like behavior has generated plenty of headlines around the country. Over the weekend, the State Journal-Register's Bernard Schoenburg dug deep into the vault and provided some useful historical context:

It’s times like these when I think of Shimkus’ first winning race for Congress in 1996 — when he touted the “citizens’ code of conduct” he had fashioned for himself .

“I will lead by example,” one part of that code said, “always building up my fellow citizens, and not tearing them down.”

Some might question the example he set last week.

We unearthed more of that pledge, which indeed raises more questions over whether Shimkus -- who has defended the Bush administration's use of torture, fudged the facts about the health care crisis and climate change threat, and protected big polluters at the expense of the nation's health -- is measuring up to his own standards.

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Yesterday afternoon, amid all the hubbub over Rep. Joe Wilson's (R-SC) outburst, the Tribune's Marc Silva pointed out that Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) had actually walked out of the House chambers during President Obama's Wednesday speech to a joint session of Congress. 

Family emergency?  Bathroom break?  Nope.  He just didn't want to listen anymore:

"Congressman Shimkus was frustrated that the president was not offering any new ground and left with just minutes remaining in the speech,'' spokesman Steven Tomaszewski said.

Yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jamie Riley wrote in response: "Wilson offered an apology to President Barack Obama today. Now it’s Shimkus’ turn to apologize."  Sounds right to us.  It's fine to disagree with the president. But at least have the decency to hear him out in full.

The incident also caught the attention of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, who briefly discussed the matter with Lawrence O'Donnell last night.  Watch it:

Meanwhile, Philosophe Forum -- a blog based in Shimkus' 19th District -- notes that the congressman has a Democratic challenger in 2010, Tim Bagwell. 

When it comes to the health care refom debate, GOP Rep. John Shimkus thinks liberals are using disingenuous figures to describe the size of the nation's uninsured population. "Forty-five million [people] sounds worse than than 15 million," he said on Springfield talk radio station WMAY yesterday morning. When asked where he got the 15 million figure, he cited a recent New York Times editorial that attempts to break down the unemployed population. Unfortunately, Shimkus didn't read the paper too carefully.

Here's his first oversimplication:

Internal mp3

SHIMKUS: One-third [of the 46 million uninsured] are people as you say that are either young adults in the job market they feel they are never going to get sick so they’re not purchasing. And the other part of that third are folks who make on average $75,000 a year or $88,000 for a family of four who could afford the private insurance market but they are making the decision not to do it. That’s one-third.

The Times cites census data showing that 9 million (19 percent of the uninsured) come from households with incomes of $75,000 or more. But the paper also recognizes that "many of these people live in 'households; that are groups of low-wage roommates or extended families living together." In other words, despite their aggregate household income, many lack the resources to purchase insurance on the open market. Only 4.7 million (10 percent) live in families that earn $88,000 for a family of four, which experts consider the threshold of affordability.

Of the 13 million people (28 percent) in their 20s living without insurance, the Kaiser Foundation also found that just 10 percent are college graduates and 5 percent have incomes above $60,000 a year. "Many of these younger people," the Times writes, "would be helped by reform bills that would provide subsidized coverage for the poor and an exchange where individuals can buy cheaper insurance than is now available." 

But you probably won't hear Shimkus citing that conclusion any time soon.

Here's his subsequent embellishment:

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During his remarks at the state fair yesterday, Rep. John Shimkus fully embraced the Republicans' growing image as the "party of no," declaring that "Just say no" is going to be the GOP's "chant from now until Election Day, because we've been saying no for a long time." 

Well, good luck with that, congressman.

SHIMKUS: You know there's a chant going on in America right now. And you know, it's really not a Republican chant yet. But it's a Republican chant by the grassroots America that are attending thousands of townhall meetings. And as congressmen enter these townhall meetings, what is the public saying to them? They are saying, "Just say no. Just say no. Just say no."

Now, Republicans -- that is going to be our chant from now until Election Day, because we've been saying no for a long time.

As an aside, notice how Shimkus -- after bringing up "control of the House of Representatives in D.C." -- kind of dances around the issue of the Senate race.  He doesn't even say the word "Senate," let alone mention Mark Kirk's name.

As Adam highlighted in his round-up earlier today, the health care debate has really been picking up in Illinois. Numerous editorial boards chimed this week and, with the exception of the Tribune, were largely on the same page in urging the congressional delegation to hold more public forums on this issue, and quickly. We've plucked out some choice excerpts:

The Peoria Journal-Star urges Rep. Aaron Schock and Sen. Dick Durbin to jump into the fray:

[C]ongressmen and senators ought to hear passionate discussion and be able to see just how divided America is on this. They ought to understand just how many unanswered questions there are. And they also ought to hear both sides of things clearly - and so should the people who are going to be affected by whatever final product comes out of Congress. Who knows, a few minds might even be changed.

The Belleview News-Democrat reminds Reps. John Shimkus and Jerry Costello that their job is to subject themselves to even the most contentious meetings:

They are not just a chance for the congressmen to learn, but for the public to hear and help make informed opinions.

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Here is our latest round-up of health care news:

Biggert Promotes Euthanasia Lie

Last night in Naperville, Reps. Judy Biggert and Mark Kirk entertained questions about health care reform at a town hall forum. No violence or rowdiness was reported -- after all, both are strongly opposed to the Democratic proposals -- but Kirk, who's now a U.S. Senate candidate, continued to suggest that health care reform would harm people with life-threatening illnesses and would cost the government too much money. Biggert, on the other hand, took her criticism one step farther. According to the Daily Herald's editorial board, the Hinsdale Republican joined the Palin brigade, passing around literature claiming that the bills working through Congress would lead to end-of-life euthanasia:

Misinformation will continue to abound. At a forum Wednesday in Naperville, guest speaker U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, a Hinsdale Republican, distributed a flier stating the Democrats' proposal will require counseling of seniors that might encourage those who are seriously ill to "give up." Later, she admitted to Politics & Projects Editor Joseph Ryan "that was a little inflammatory."

This is a tendentious myth that has been widely debunked. The language in multiple bills actually says that physicians will be paid through Medicare to counsel elderly or terminally ill patients about what medical interventions they would prefer near the end of life. The sessions would take place once every five years and would be completely voluntary. As Jonathan Cohn writes, health care opponents are "swiftboating health reform." Sadly, Biggert knows that this criticism is ridiculous. So why is she distributing such an obvious lie?

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Kansas-based Koch Industries is the "largest private company in the United States" and, as Wonk Room's Lee Fang recently explained, a prolific patron of right-wing lobbying efforts in D.C.:

Koch Industries, the oil and gas behemoth, bankrolls the astroturf groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks. These groups were instrumental in orchestrating the anti-Obama tea party protests, where thousands gathered to display racist signs directed at the President, absurd calls for an impeachment, and more recently, protesters hanging Democratic leaders in effigy. In addition to the anti-Obama protests, these groups provide a useful front for industries as they hire dozens of field staff to spread misinformation about clean energy and bus people around the country to create the guise of public distrust of global warming. Koch has funneled its money not only to these astroturf efforts, but has been a prolific leader in all the aforementioned strategies that industries pursue (Charles Koch even founded the Cato Institute, a leader of global warming skepticism and has spent nearly $4 million in lobbying this year alone). 

Here in Illinois, one particular Republican congressman has benefited from Koch's deep pockets: hardcore climate change skeptic John Shimkus.

During the 2008 election cycle, the downstate representative received $10,000 from the company's PAC.  And according to the committee's most recent FEC filings, Shimkus has so far received $3,500 this year, despite no evidence of a strong Democratic challenge to his seat (this includes a $1,000 check on February 27 and a $2,500 donation on July 27).  Apparently, when it comes to making friends in the oil industry, it pays to put on this sort of display:

Republican congressional leaders seem to have distributed some talking points to GOP congressmen before leaving Washington, D.C. for the August recess.

Yesterday, Rep. Mark Kirk made the baseless claim that the uninsured population is not as large as the Democrats claim it to be. His figures are almost identical to the Heritage Foundation's unsourced "Liberal Myth" primer on health care. On KTRS Radio today, Rep. John Shimkus repeated a similar line. Listen here:

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SHIMKUS: If there are 45 million uninsured Americans, how does that break down? It breaks down into about a one-third being young adults who probably could pay for some health insurance coverage but they're super-human and they don’t want to. One-third are citizens who have access to government plans but they're not taking advantage of them -- either they don’t know about them or they're just not accessing them. So the bottom third are the ones we really have to be concerned about, who are in essence the working poor who cant afford it. Half of those might be illegal immigrants. The other half -- 8 to 10 [million] -- could be those. How do we address that problem?

For our rejoinder to this flawed breakdown of the uninsured population, check out this post from earlier today.

In dismissing a large chunk of the uninsured as individuals who can afford health insurance but "don't want to" pay for it, Shimkus and Kirk ignore one of the most outrageous side-effects of our private insurance system: the numerous Americans denied coverage due to preexisting health issues.

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