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Colonel's
Corner - 3 Weeks to Go
If you think that Mike Bendas is the
best person to represent you in the US
Congress, it is very important that you
forward this Email to friends, neighbors and
the members of various groups that you know
within the 3d Congressional District. Ask
them to read it, and forward it their
contacts in the district. A list of the
towns and wards in the district is at the
end.
My opponent has a huge money
advantage, I have the citizens. But people
need to know my name and understand my
positions. My web site, http://bendasforcongress.com
has a great amount of detail for you and
your friends to consider.
The
election is only three weeks away and things
are starting to heat up. Rather than focus
on a single topic, I want to address a few
issues.
Vote NO on the Constitutional
Amendment to permit the recall of the
Governor. The Amendment is written to
“satisfy” the public, but the devil is in
the details. It is written in a way that
makes it impossible to use. To even get a
recall on a ballot, you have to get the
signatures of 30 legislators, 15 must be
from the Governor’s own party. Then you must
get roughly a million signatures (15% of the
total votes cast in the last election)
within 120 days. Eighteen states have
reasonable recall options, and they have not
been abused. Vote NO and make them go back
and give us a viable recall option.
Make sure that you vote. I spent 30 years in
the Army, 8 years on active duty and 22
years in the Reserves to protect your right
to vote. I have been to over 35 countries,
and many of them lack that right that we
take for granted. If you do not vote, you
are not using the most powerful instrument
of change that we have in America!
Study the candidates. The Republican Party
has fielded some really solid candidates in
Cook County and the State of Illinois, and
we do need a two party system in Cook
County. Roger Keats, who is running for the
Cook County Board President, and his running
mates are highly qualified. Bill Brady is a
solid businessman with great credentials,
and the folks running on the ticket with him
are excellent choices. We have all seen the
anti-Kirk ads. I do criticize Kirk for
exaggerating his military record (and have
told him so), but remember that he has
served his country unlike his opponent who
is attacking his military record. Compare
their overall records and I believe that
Mark Kirk is the better choice.
Evaluate the incumbent. Incumbents have huge
advantages, especially against a regular
citizen who wishes to serve. I, like many
challengers, lack the big contributor
connections hence depend on the average
citizen to get involved. Incumbents have
networks of contributors both corporate and
individual. But ultimately it is you, the
citizen, that make the choice of who best
represents your interests. Some incumbents
are notorious for doing very little until
the last few months before an election -
that should be a big red flag!
Consider Mike Bendas over Dan Lipinski. I am
running for the US Congress against a well
entrenched incumbent, Dan Lipinski. Here are
my concerns about him.
1. Lipinski
received the “family” seat from his father
in a blatant display of nepotism. With the
seat he received a network of contributors
and PACs (Political Action Committee) donors
from his father to ensure his election and
reelection.
Mike Bendas is a citizen like
you, who spent a long time serving the
nation and does not want to see all of that
work go to waste due to Washington’s
incompetence. I am disappointed with
Republicans, angry at Democrats. Mike will
introduce a Constitutional Amendment to
limit service in the House to 12 years and
to 18 years in the Senate.
2.
Lipinski is funded very heavily by the
unions, nearly $400,000 of union money. He
rewarded them by voting “Present” on the
stimulus bill (of course he knew that it
already had enough votes to pass), then
telling a Chicago reporter that 4/5’s of a
trillion dollars was not enough of your
money, he wanted more construction money. By
the way, Obama signed a Presidential
Directive that all construction projects
over $25 million (small number by federal
standards) must be awarded to companies with
a PLA (Project Labor Agreement), e.g. a
union. If you are not unionized, you are
frozen out of work on these huge projects.
By the way, PLA’s mean that the taxpayer is
paying a lot more for a project than if the
contracts were open to bidding by all
interested companies.
Mike Bendas
has no special interest monies. Friends and
supporters have dug into their pockets to
help out. He believes that all workers and
companies should have the right to bid on
federal projects. Mike believes that
discriminating against non-union workers is
un-American and unconstitutional.
3.
Lipinski is a co-sponsor of Card Check which
is extremely discriminatory against workers.
It eliminates the right of a worker to vote
for a union in a secret ballot election. Ask
yourself why the unions want to eliminate
the right of workers to vote in a secret
ballot, an American tradition, for the right
to form, or not form, a union.
Mike
Bendas opposes Card Check. It gives the
union bosses the ability to coerce employees
to sign a card, but no option to vote no in
a secret ballot.
4. Lipinski has
voted with Nancy Pelosi’s leadership team
95.4% of the time over the last 18 months
(this includes all votes including
procedural and conference votes), which is
somewhat left of the center of the House
Democratic party which itself is well left
of the center of American politics. He has
portrayed himself as a conservative, yet his
record is that he has supported the massive
spending bills for the last six years.
Mike Bendas is a true fiscal
conservative. Nancy Pelosi is so far left
that she is off the scale. She has dragged
the House Democratic party to support an
extremist agenda. Lipinski generally falls
in line on critical issues.
5.
Lipinski is not a member of the Blue Dog
Democrats. The Blue Dogs are fiscally
conservative Democrats who support a strong
national defense. His father was a Blue Dog.
He is not. He votes with the liberal Pelosi
wing the vast majority of the time.
Mike
Bendas will work with conservative Democrats
tired of the Pelosi yoke. I will ask the
Blue Dogs to permit me to join their
meetings.
6. Did you receive any
mailing from the Congressman last year, a
non-election year? I do not recall any. But
I have received three mailing during this
election year, all of them paid for by you
and I, the taxpayers. I estimate that the
cost of sending mailings to 260,000+
families in the district was at least
$500,000 of YOUR money by using the
Congressional franking privileges for
“non-political” communications.
Mike
Bendas will communicate regularly, not just
before an election.
7. Lipinski
flip-flopped on health care. Frankly, I have
no idea where he stands on health care. He
voted multiple times for its passage, then
at the last minute did not vote for the
final bill, which, of course, already had
enough votes to pass. And I understand that
he will not commit, as I will, to working to
repeal that law and to replace it with a
plan that tackles the problems directly
without creating a national health care
system.
Mike Bendas opposes the health
care plan. He will fight to repeal it and
replace it with one that permits free choice
even across state lines, transportability,
permanent COBRA, torte reform and
competition.
Mike Bendas is a West
Point graduate, a retired Army Colonel who
commanded the largest aviation Brigade in
the Army responsible for 2100 soldiers, $2
billion of equipment and a $100 million
budget. I understand fiscal responsibility
and accountability. I am a strong fiscal
conservative who supports cutting spending
to reduce the deficit. My web site, http://bendasforcongress.com
has the details. Take a look and give me
your thoughts. And if you have other ideas,
email me!
Again, if your forward this
Email to others in the district, you are
helping the campaign tremendously. And if
you want to make a difference and to help
out, or to put a sign on your lawn or in a
window, Email me and
mike.bendas@bendasforcongress.com.
3d CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Area around
Midway west of Pulaski to city borders
Berwyn
Beverly
Bridgeport
Bridgeview
Brookfield
Burbank
Burr
Ridge (eastern half that is in Cook County)
Chicago Ridge
Cicero (very southern part)
Countyside
Forest Park (most of it)
Forest View
Hickory Hills
Hodgkins
Hometown
Indian Head Park
Justice
LaGrange
LaGrange Park
Lyons
McCook
Merrionette Park
Mt Greenwood
North
Riverside (eastern half)
Oak Lawn
Palos Heights (west of Harlem)
Palos
Hills
Riverside
Smaller area around
Marquette Park
Stickney
Stickney
Suburbs
Summit
Westchester
Western
Springs
Willow Springs
Worth (the
northern and western parts)
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Bendas
For Congress