Jan 24, 2008

Washington Post - Why Buy the Cow

Jan 24, 2008

Washington Post - Why Buy the Cow

If you thought the presidential campaign was nasty, get a load of the GOP primary in the special election to replace the former speaker of the House, J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). This race has it all: entrenched bitter enemies, dirty money, ice cream and dead cows (but not real dead cows).

One of the candidates is Jim Oberweis, Hastert's personal choice and the heir to a dairy fortune who has spent millions of his own money to run unsuccessfully for statewide office three times. His opponent is state Sen. Chris Lauzen, who has returned about $100,000 in donations from an Illinois company that was sued by the federal government over allegations of widespread sexual harassment.

Oberweis has viciously attacked Lauzen over the tainted contributions; Lauzen has repeatedly bashed Oberweis for being nothing more than a spoiled, rich ice cream maker.

Lauzen's recent mailings attacking Oberweis ran the message: "Good ice cream . . . yes; Good candidate . . . NO!" But the cartoon background was the best part of the mailer: Cute dairy cows rolled over dead in a pasture. It may be the first dead-cow mailer in political campaign history.

No one is having more joy -- schadenfreude alert! -- watching the bloody Republican primary than House Democrats, who hope that the divisiveness on the GOP side will give them a chance to win a traditionally Republican seat. Which is why the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hopes its GOP friends will keep ignoring Ronald Reagan's golden rule that "thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican."

"The Republicans here have not just forgotten Reagan's 11th Commandment; they have used stone tablets to whack each other," DCCC spokesman Ryan Rudominer says with a hint of elation.

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