McHenry County Blog

8/30/6 - When the U.S. Chamber endorsed the Democratic Party candidate in the 8th congressional district, I restrained myself from characterizing it as a “Chamber of Commerce mentality.” By that, I guess I meant the chamber “follows the money.”

Now, most trade associations follow the money.

The biggest contributors have extraordinary influence.

So, I would assume that big, multi-national businesses benefit the most from CAFTA.

In any event, it seemed unseemly when, right after the CAFTA vote, the U.S. Chamber held a fund raiser for Democrats like Melissa Bean.

The concept of “pay to play” comes to mind.

No, it’s more like a commodities exchange.

One places an order, gets the goods and pays later. (Of course, that analogy could be used in any legislative body.)

Now, the U.S. Chamber is making an “independent” expenditure of a couple of hundred dollars apparently falsely claiming she had voted for a bill that allows small business better health insurance coverage.

Of course, the ad fails to point out that the bill did not get signed into law.

Here is McSweeney’s press release:

PRESS RELEASE August 30, 2006 Contact: Jim Thacker 815-715-3130

Bean and US Chamber to highlight Flip-Flop on Labor for Labor Day Holiday - McSweeney calls on Bean to have "misleading" ads pulled

Barrington Township: David McSweeney, candidate for Congress in Illinois' 8th Congressional District, is calling on incumbent Melissa Bean to pull the "misleading" ads being run on her behalf. Two weeks ago Factcheck.org, a bi-partisan watchdog organization, compared US Chamber ads being run on behalf of Congresswoman Bean to phony "sweepstakes promotions".

"A couple of weeks ago Melissa Bean and the US Chamber were criticized for running a 'misleading' ad pointing out that the insurance benefits to small business claimed in the ad did not exist. There were also reports by some insurance providers of inquiries made by small business owners who had seen the ads thinking that the program was in place. Now, without regard to the truth, they continue to run the same ad," said McSweeney.

"I am calling on Melissa Bean and the US Chamber to pull these misleading ads.

“They are spreading false information and giving false hope to small business owners who may believe that Melissa Bean has solved their problem when in fact it does not exist.

“Melissa Bean did vote for the bill that she is given credit for in the ad but the irony is that minutes before she voted for the motion to 'recommit' or kill the bill," said McSweeney.

"At the risk of overusing the word 'irony', the US Chamber is running the ads because Melissa Bean barely cleared the bar by selling out her union supporters to get the Chamber's support. Previously, Melissa Bean had told the unions that she would vote against CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement).

“We also understand that Melissa Bean filled out a questionnaire stating that she would vote against 'NAFTA-like agreements'. Then she took money and support from the unions and after the checks cleared the bank she flip-flopped on the Cafta issue and voted for it," said McSweeney.

"We now know what the price was for Melissa Bean's flip-flop; nearly one million dollars in 'misleading' ads funded by big business. The final irony is that the ads, bought at the expense of a labor betrayal, are running during the Labor Day holiday," said McSweeney.

David McSweeney resides in Barrington Township within the 8th Congressional District with his wife Margaret and their two daughters.

Maybe this fight has more aspects than the public realizes.

There is a move quite far afoot to build a 1200 foot wide, ten-lane $36 billion super-super Interstate 35 highway/railroad from Mexico to Canada with a major “inland port” in Kansas City.

According to a Pat Buchanan World Net Daily August 29th column, the Wall Street Journal has bought into an integration of North America similar to what has happened in Europe. He quotes Les Dobbs and comments on congressional testimony of the Vice Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on North America:

This is a "mind-boggling concept," exploded Lou Dobbs. It must cause Americans to think our political and academic elites have "gone utterly mad." What had detonated the mild-mannered CNN anchor?

(Vice Chairman) Robert Pastor…had just appeared before a panel of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to call for erasing all U.S. borders and a merger of the United States, Mexico and Canada in a North American union stretching from Prudhoe Bay to Guatemala.

Under the Pastor-CFR plan, the illegal alien invasion would be solved by eliminating America's borders and legalizing the invasion. We would no longer defend the Rio Grande.