* I’m not sure what sort of a candidate would propose a 23 percent national sales tax, but state Sen. Randy Hultgren did several months ago, although he’s since walked away from it. Democratic Congressman Bill Foster takes him to task with a new ad…

…Adding… Hultgren’s response…

“For too long, both parties in Washington have spent far too much, with far too little regard for the future,” said State Senator Randy Hultgren, Republican candidate for Congress. “We need to restore fiscal sanity to our spending, starting with honest and realistic budgeting and serious-minded plans to balance the budget and pay down the debt. For our sake and for our children’s future, we need to get our fiscal house in order.

“Unfortunately, my opponent Bill Foster has been part of the problem out in Washington. Since he was first elected, our budget deficit has tripled. Bill Foster has consistently supported Nancy Pelosi’s big-spending agenda, and our district and our country deserve a representative who will work to cut spending and restore fiscal discipline in Washington.”

And the NRCC has a new ad blasting Foster…

The ad is part of a $1.7 million national buy by the NRCC.

* Grover Norquist endorsed Republican Bob Dold in the 10th Congressional District race…

Response from Dan Seals’ campaign…

“It’s no surprise that Dold is proud to have the support of an extremist like Grover Norquist, who called Social Security a Ponzi scheme. Norquist is a self-described ‘winger’ who was George Bush’s go-to guy in the attempt to privatize Social Security and yet another member of the radical right lining up behind Bob Dold.”

* Remember last Friday when I looked into claims by Republican congressional candidate Adam Kinzinger about a couple of signs with large pictures of politicians wearing Hitler mustaches? I concluded that the evidence wasn’t quite up to snuff.

But Kinzinger’s campaign has pushed hard to get this story into the mainstream and have done their best to connect the signs to Debbie Halvorson’s campaign. I received no less than eight e-mail messages from her campaign and stories sprouted up all weekend on conservative blogs, including Andrew Breitbart’s website. Here are a few more…

* Joliet Herald-News Ignores Story of Demonstrators With Nazi Signs

* Congresswoman Halvorson supporters carry Nazi signs

* Outrage of the day

* Democrat Rep. Halvorson (Illinois) Sponsors Protest Rally Calling Opponent a Nazi

* Dem Congresswoman’s Supporters Participate in ‘Palin-As-Hitler’ Rally

* Well, Media Matters was able to reach the person who made the signs. His name is Bill Preston and he claims he has zero affiliation with the Halvorson campaign and the people who protested the Americans for Prosperity rally last week…

Preston concurs, telling Media Matters, “I was just there.” He says that he went on his own to protest AFP and the tea party, bringing along “about five signs” depicting right-wing leaders with Hitler moustaches. Preston says that “the point of my signs is, why is it OK to have Obama with a moustache” but not those leaders shown in the same way. Media Matters has noted that tea party protestors have followed conservative media figures in invoking Adolf Hitler and the Nazis to smear President Obama.

Preston says that when he arrived outside the AFP event and saw other protestors, “I didn’t know who they were.” He says that he tried to hand out his signs to them, but with the exception of one person who, Preston says, briefly held a sign depicting Palin with a moustache, none of the other protestors would hold them; others would take the signs when he offered them, then try to hide them from sight.

In the video, several other protestors are seen trying to hold their own signs between Preston’s sign and the camera. According to Preston, it was clear to him that his signs made the other protestors uncomfortable, with the most vocal telling him, “Why don’t you find yourself another corner?” He says that he “regret[s] that people might associate my signs with the other people” who were there.

Halvorson’s campaign has since condemned the signs, saying that “the congresswoman would never condone anyone comparing Kinzinger or any candidate to Hitler.”

Preston says that he has no affiliation with the campaign, and that while he once was called and asked to go door to door as a volunteer, he refused because he doesn’t support Halvorson because she “supports the NRA.”

Unless somebody can debunk Preston’s direct claims, this story is over. The Kinzinger campaign needs to take a breath already.

* More congressional news…

* Hare, Schilling verbal sparring highlights candidates forum

* Schoenburg: Bachmann endorses Schilling in video

* Quinn, Foster, Giannoulias on campaign bus to Aurora

* VIDEO: Randy Hultgren on Fox Chicago Sunday