...last night at the Lake County Fair. (No, not the rock star. He must have been at a different county fair.) The Joe Walsh I met is running for Congress and seemed genuinely disappointed when I told him that I didn't live in his district. I asked him who he was running against and whether he was a Republican or a Democrat. "Tea Party Republican" was the enthusiastic reply as he shook my hand. I didn't feel like telling him that we were on opposite ends of the political spectrum; he seemed like a nice man and had his family with him so I just wished him good luck.After doing a little research, I found out that Walsh is the underdog in his bid to unseat the incumbent, Democrat Melissa Bean. Interestingly, unlike his two opponents -- Bill Scheuer of the Green Party is the other -- Walsh didn't even live in the 8th District until just a few months ago. It turns out that he'd been renting a house with his second wife in Winnetka after having been evicted from his foreclosed condo in Evanston in 2009. (Walsh had lived in Evanston since at least 1996 when he ran for the 9th District congressional seat and for the state House in 1998.)
Financial problems? Divorce? Foreclosure? Okay, so the guy's had a few setbacks. Who hasn't? (I think it goes a long way to explaining the whole tea party phenomenon. When the economy comes back -- as it always does -- these people will fade back into the woodwork.)
That's not all, though. Apparently, Walsh is also being sued by a former campaign manager who said he owed him $20,000 for services. And in May, his most recent campaign manager and a field director stepped down, saying "We're basically just done. Everyone is walking. We've just had it."
Again, Walsh impressed me as a nice enough guy and I wish him well. But I couldn't help thinking that someday we'll all look back on these days and say, "Remember the tea party? Those were crazy times, weren't they?"
Oh, and P. S., Joe Walsh, the rock star, wants Joe Walsh, the candidate, to stop playing his music at campaign events.
2 comments:
Good background reporting on this loser. What does he do for a living? Looks like he has had his share of financial problems. I wouldn't want him representing me. I would like to see more background information on these tea party republicans as we head into mid term elections.
Wanted to let you know I am still an avid reader of BOWG. I'm sure receiving comments is helpful.
Glad to have you as a reader.
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