McHenry County Blog

The following press release and statement from Cindy Sheehan was received from 8th congressional district congressional candidate Bill Scheurer. Note that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is making a mailing aganist Scheurer.

“Peace Mom” Cindy Sheehan, who became a leading antiwar voice after her son Casey was killed in Iraq, released a strong statement endorsing Bill Scheurer for Congress in the hotly contested IL-8th Congressional District. (Full statement appears below.)

“This is really great,” says campaign volunteer Jean Paskilades. “Many of us first met Bill at some of the peace vigils for Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey last year.”

Scheurer, whose own son also served in Iraq, is the pro-peace, pro-labor, independent Moderate Party candidate running against Democratic incumbent Melissa Bean and Republican challenger David McSweeney. Both these candidates have supported the Iraq war from the start and expressly reject any timetable or other conditions for its end.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which carried out a nine-month operation to try to keep Scheurer off the ballot, is worried by Scheurer’s campaign. Last week, they filed an expenditure report with the Federal Elections Commission for a mail piece opposing him, rather than Republican McSweeney as is their usual practice. (If anyone gets this mailing, please get it to me.)

Also, a new poll shows Scheurer’s percentage of support has doubled with voters in less than a week. Scheurer claims he is doing even much better than these polls suggest.

“We keep telling people these are not real polls,” says Scheurer. “They are more like focus group surveys. They do not ask the ballot question.”

Members of Scheurer’s own campaign committee have received calls from pollsters that do not even ask about his candidacy. This omission will likely come to an end soon.

The campaign is set to release its first voter outreach calling program this week.

“We have done no advertising,” says Scheurer. “Unless you count our dozens of ‘Honk for Peace’ roadside flash parties and hundreds of ‘Vote for Peace’ yard signs.”

What follows is Sheehan's endorsement:

Cindy Sheehan: Make One Democrat Pay!

Having failed to stand up in opposition to the Iraq war in the first place, and failing to offer a strong peace platform now, the Democratic Party nevertheless is about to reap big gains from the blood of my son Casey and others like him.

We have an opportunity to make at least one pro-war Democrat pay the price for selling out on the war. We must send a message to pro-war politicians of both parties.

Our friend Bill Scheurer, editor of The PeaceMajority Report, co-founder of VotersForPeace, and longtime member of Military Families Speak Out, is running an explosive grassroots campaign in the IL-8th Congressional District against first-term incumbent Melissa Bean, a pro-war Bush Democrat.

People throughout this suburban, mainstream America district are blasting their horns, and flashing thumbs up and peace signs at Scheurer campaign “Honk for Peace!” roadside flash parties. The local news has given great coverage, and “Vote for Peace” Scheurer yard signs are popping up everywhere like dandelions in spring.

Because of Bean's clear support for big money and the wealthy, Scheurer also has strong support from organized labor, which compliments Bill's support of peace.

I urge all citizens is all districts to vote for peace candidates, no matter what party they are, but in Bill Scheurer, there is a clear choice for peace.

We in the nationwide peace community can help. Vote for Peace!

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