Question of the day
Monday, Sep 8, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a Bobby Schilling press release…
It has been more than two weeks since audio surfaced where then-candidate Cheri Bustos (D-East Moline) promised to give back 10 percent of her pay if elected. She still refuses to answer whether she will follow through on that promise. That refusal continued Friday in an interview with reporters in Peoria—the same group of reporters she ran away from two weeks ago.
And honestly, we wish we could stop banging the drum on this, but she just won’t answer the question:
Reporter: Congresswoman Bustos, will you follow through on your promise to give up 10 percent of your pay?
Bustos: “You know, it’s a diversion from what I want to be talking about.”
Jon Schweppe, communications director at Bobby Schilling for Congress, released the following statement:
“Congresswoman Bustos continues to dodge simple ‘yes or no’ questions about whether she will give up ten percent of her pay like she promised—that’s $34,800 she owes us. Now she is dictating to the media what they will and won’t be covering.
“Congresswoman Bustos can end this controversy quickly with a ‘yes or no’ response—the people deserve an answer. Will Congresswoman Bustos follow through on her promise to give up ten percent of her pay? Or is she going to break her promise to voters? Yes or no?”
* She doesn’t come off great in the video…
* From what I gather, Bustos doesn’t want it to look like she returned or donated her salary because Schilling demanded it. There are some Democrats who believe she can win without dealing with this issue, so they’ve counseled her to ignore the whole thing. On the other hand, this isn’t going away anytime soon. Sooo…
* The Question: What should Bustos do about her 2012 promise? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
surveys & polls
And, yes, some of you will see a typo. I tried to fix it, but can’t get the fix to immediately appear. Sorry.
- Spliff - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:44 pm:
She should donate it to a charity that deals with job training for vets, and then turn it back on shilling for allowing businesses to leave the district under his tenure like the one in Freeport.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:46 pm:
===- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 21, 14 @ 9:37 am:
Congressman Bustos. You promised. Period. It was straight-forward, you said “yes” and you failed to do what you personally promised about something you could have very easily controlled.
This isn’t a couple hundred dollars.
This is an expensive car - $34,000
This is a down payment on a $170,000 home.
This is real money to people in the district.
This is a pathetic attempt to back-pedal on a pandering promise made, in hopes, possibly, others would forget. Embarrassing and pathetic response when your own words make your pandering seem even more disingenuous.
Own it. Eat it. Apologize for it. Move on from it.
All of you in handling this…Dopes.===
And…
===- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 21, 14 @ 1:12 pm:
Bustos needs to find a way out of this mess;
1) Pay the $34K+, directly from her own personal funds, ask for forgiveness.
2) Pay, say $50K, “half hers, half campaign”, whatever, butore than $35K, challenge Schilling to do the same. Hope that pivoting off what is owed is overshadowed by the gesture.
3) Stand put on this utterly Dopey idea of the Keystone Kops/Sgt. Schultz dance, and this will stick with ya for quite some time as a welcher, and someone whose word can’t be trusted when she completely controls the outcome.
That’s it. Those 3.===
So, To the Question,
Voted “Donate ten percent of her salary to a worthy cause”
Own it, be done with it, let “tomorrow” straighten itself out.
- Edwardsburg - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:49 pm:
She should have already paid it. It’s getting another round of headlines and negative press for her. As OW said, do the right thing, the thing you campaigned on and promised to do. Sheesh.
- walker - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:50 pm:
Donate. Never leave your opponent with a line of attack that can easily be removed.
- Ahoy! - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:54 pm:
Donate 10% to planned parenthood and challenge Schilling to do the same.
- Leprechaun - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:54 pm:
I casted my vote but give my time on the floor to Willy. He says it so much better then I could ever hope to.
- cover - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:55 pm:
If Bustos and/or her handlers had not chosen door #3 from OW’s post 2 weeks ago, she wouldn’t have this ongoing zonk… I voted for door #1.
Full disclosure, I’m not a resident of the 17th, so this doesn’t affect my vote. But this poor handling of a crisis of her own making could push enough undecideds to Schilling to turn the election.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:56 pm:
Donate $50K from your campaign acct, challenge Shilling to match it. Call it an oops.
- Wally - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 2:59 pm:
Why should Bobby have to donate anything, he didn’t make the pledge. This is ALL on Bustos.
- A guy... - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:02 pm:
Cheri….Just do what you said you would do. Don’t be cute. Don’t listen to any goof ball here suggesting a controversial donation. You have a chance to make a few good charities everyone agrees on happy. No campaign fund. Personal dough. 10%. That was the promise. Just keep it.
PS: It won’t just go away. You’re getting dumb advice.
- RIVoter - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:05 pm:
Rather than attack Bustos, Schilling should be explaining to voters his role in selling coveted US VISAs to wealthy Foreigners Nationals. Now that is a real issue!
- Carl Nyberg - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:05 pm:
Has anybody compared this to Blagojevich’s problem of making deals and then forgeting what he agreed to?
This goes to whether Cheri Bustos values keeping her word.
There’s no “I can get Republicans to move my bill” angle to this.
How does someone competent create this big a mess and not extricate herself promptly?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:07 pm:
===Now that is a real issue! ===
Hmm. You mean attracting foreign investment? You mean the very thing that Bustos apparently co-sponsored in the US House?
Yep. Big issue alright.
- anonymoose - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:13 pm:
Ouch…Ms. Bustos’ nervous chuckle during her response just kills her. If she wants serious discussion to focus on real issues…then she needs to make sure this entertaining circus has moved on to the next town.
- fed up - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:14 pm:
she should just admit it was just a publicity stunt to get some press and she was lying about giving up 10% of her salary. Everyone is used to politicans lying in Illinois.
- rubyga - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:15 pm:
Yes or no, Cheri. It’s a simple question. You break promises just like you break the backs of your hard-working constituents.
- VanillaMan - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:15 pm:
It would be scandalous to discover foreign investments like Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, BMW, and all those others!
Right here in the USA!
Monster!
- Esteban - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:25 pm:
She promised that she would do it and she can’t walk away from it because it’s a “distraction”.
She doesn’t want this still in the papers come late October.
- Carl Nyberg - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:30 pm:
Does the DCCC have an enforcer that calls people and berates them until the candidate does the right thing?
- Downstate - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:33 pm:
Unfortunately, this slip-up allows Schilling to eat away at her lead on the character and integrity issue that she must lead on. This allows him to continue to challenge her every where she goes, and every move she makes. I’d cut up $34,000 into about 50 separate checks and spread them around charities throughout the 17th CD. She could generate a lot of good will in the process. But Schilling has shown us how to take one term in Congress and cash in with his new EB5 job.
- Big Muddy - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 3:53 pm:
Just another politician that will say anything to get elected.
Who is shocked by this at all?
- Gooner - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:00 pm:
She screwed up.
If she fixes it, Schilling is not going to back off on the attack. Paying will not solve the problem. In fact, it is another reminder of her role and and it might make it worse.
My vote it is to ignore it and change the topic.
Fight on the ground of your choosing. Let Schilling fight on this, and she should chose another battle.
She needs to talk about something else.
- VanillaMan - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:08 pm:
She won with this pledge.
It ain’t nuthin’!
She ran on it. She repeated it. She is on tape. She is on record. It is irrefutable. There is no spinning on it. She tried. It doesn’t work.
Pay up and eat crow. Show humility and get the subject changed.
That is, if she wants to be reelect end.
- Wensicia - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:14 pm:
She should offer to donate the 10% to ALS if Shilling will agree to the Ice Bucket Challenge.
- Carroll County - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:20 pm:
My district, so here goes..Give 10% to a mix of charities.
I suggest giving to a Big Brothers/Big Sisters-type program in Sterling or Freeport, some more to the museum in Savanna, and a bit to Timber Lake Playhouse, a not-for-profit summer theater in Mt Carroll. Pick a few in Rock Island County too, if you have to spread it out to the big cities too…
Make it go away, but do it in style. Have some fun handing out big checks, Congresswoman.
Message has to be self-depreciating to make it go away. In 2 months, only the good stuff is remembered.
- Louis G Atsaves - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:25 pm:
She stepped in it. Only one way to clean it up. By donating 10% back as promised.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:25 pm:
Donate it however you want. A man’s, and a woman’s, word is their bond.
- Peoria guy - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:33 pm:
Yeah, she is simply embarrassing herself now. She seems lost.
- Belle - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 4:39 pm:
Donate the 10% to whatever charity of your choice and toss in another 1-5% for each month that has passed for interest. This looks so bad.
- Ray del Camino - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:01 pm:
She should have said, “Oops, thanks for reminding me” the first time it was brought up. Agree–spread around the dough, make it a little fun, challenge Schilling to bring up real issues and answer for the whack-job Tea Party GOP who he would strengthen.
- Sunshine - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:08 pm:
Ignore Schilling and carry on… but donate silently to a number of good causes. If you must, leak it next month.
Being called on a promise can be pretty tough sometime but this is all about your promise, “your word”. Trust is pretty much all you have. Lose that and you lose the confidence of everyone.
- econ prof - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:11 pm:
I get that she doesn’t want to look like she gave into Schilling’s demands. But she should’ve thought about that when she decided to lie to her constituents.
- Anonymous - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:30 pm:
It has little to do with the 10%. Her trustworthiness is the question here,
- Coffee Cup - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 5:56 pm:
Her word is her bond. I have taught my kids (all grown) that if you go back on your word, then your credibility goes out the back door. Your credibility is everything in business (and politics).
- Arizona Bob - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 8:22 pm:
I believe the biggest issue here is what price she puts on her honesty and integrity. 34 grand is chump change compared to what the lobbyists will offer to give her after she’s done with Congress if she “plays ball” with them. Isn’t it amazing how many pols sell their souls for thousands when they control TRILLIONS?
In oil pipelines, shockwaves multiply with distance from the source of sudden stops of slugs of oil. Seems the same rule applies to politics.
- steve schnorf - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 8:47 pm:
“Give in to Schilling’s demands”? Who gave her that crazy thought? This isn’t Schilling’s demand, it’s her own promise. Seems to me she has 2 choices. One, “I mis-spoke”, and that one won’t fly. Two, pay it, and there are plenty of good suggestions on here on how to do that. Do it quick! Get this behind you so you can follow your campaign strategy, not spend your time responding (very poorly) to this issue.
- HareCutter - Monday, Sep 8, 14 @ 9:05 pm:
She needs to keep fighting it till November 5th and then after she is unelected, it all goes away….along with her political career. She will join the ranks with Phillip G. Hare the guy who didn’t worry about the constitution.
- rga - Tuesday, Sep 9, 14 @ 12:14 am:
She promise now keep it Bobby kept all his promises to his constituents - if something like the $34,000 plus why should we not believe she will do that to a larger amount - u might not think so Bustos, but people will remember what u say.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Sep 9, 14 @ 7:50 am:
give it to lane evan`s rock island arsenal in his name (i voted for you),or buy pizza gift certificates?this looks like bobby made you do it
- VanillaMan - Tuesday, Sep 9, 14 @ 8:54 am:
What is the matter with her?
How big is this woman’s ego?
She is too proud to admit when she is wrong?
What kind of congressperson is she if she cannot deal with her own promises and gets called on it?
If this is how she behaves, then she has exposed herself as not public servant material. She has made this a lot worse than it needed to be. Shame on her.
- Gooner - Tuesday, Sep 9, 14 @ 9:05 am:
Interesting that Vanilla Man views this as a Very Very Very Big Deal, but views Rauner advocating for a tax policy that favors the rich as nothing at all.
If this was a Republican, VMan would be calling this meaningless.
- ANON - Tuesday, Sep 9, 14 @ 3:08 pm:
I’m confused. People are acting like Cheri campaigned on this promise and was running commercials and making speeches based on it. This was an interview with the Tribune Editorial board and the clip was just discovered a few weeks ago.
If anyone can find me one person that actually voted for Cheri based on this 10% promise then I will be in shock. The reason nobody voted for her because of this is because nobody knew about it.
I understand the Schilling campaign is in a tough spot right now but this is just a little absurd.