* From a Martin Ozinga congressional campaign press release…
This morning, the Ozinga campaign was notified that the Vice President will not be able to attend today’s scheduled reception at Marty Ozinga’s home. The campaign is referring all media inquiries to the Vice President’s press office
* The campaign did take at least one call, however…
Seré did not know the specific reason for the cancellation, and was unsure whether the $500-per-person luncheon would go on without the vice president or be rescheduled.
* From the VP’s office…
STATEMENT FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT’S PRESS SECRETARY MEGAN MITCHELL
Vice President Cheney will no longer attend a campaign event for Marty Ozinga in Homer Glen, IL today.
During a visit with his doctors this morning, it was discovered that the Vice President is experiencing a recurrence of atrial fibrillation, an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of the heart.
Later this afternoon, the Vice President will visit George Washington University Hospital for an outpatient procedure to restore his normal rhythm.
Do a Google news search on Ozinga’s name now, and hundreds of news stories pop up from news outlets across the country and around the world. Previously, an Ozinga search would pop up only a few local news stories.
Cheney is going in for an outpatient procedure this afternoon to fix an irregular heart beat. Since these outlets are reporting on Cheney’s health, it logically makes sense to report the Ozinga connection as well.
The potential good for Ozinga:his name is being circulated on an international level.
The potential bad: his name is now linked on an international level with Cheney, who is quite unpopular at the moment.
North Shore Democratic congressional candidate Dan Seals’ campaign on Tuesday defended using an Iraq War veteran with ties to the 9/11 conspiracy movement in a new TV ad attacking Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk for supporting the war.
Seals spokeswoman Elisabeth Smith said she didn’t “really see what is so controversial” about using Caleb Davis in the ad. Davis, 25, is a Peoria native who spent five months in Iraq as an Army diver and got an honorable discharge in 2004.
Last June, the Peoria Journal Star reported that Davis wore a black T-shirt proclaiming “Investigate 9/ 11@911truth.org” while sitting at a table at a Peoria library where books, fliers and DVDs supporting conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks were on display. The organization argues the government’s version of the terrorist attacks is fraudulent and offers a “Top 40 Reasons to Doubt the Official Story” and an “Official Coverup Guide.”
Kirk, who was in the Pentagon when the airplane crashed into it Sept. 11, 2001, called on Seals to stop airing the ad.
* Meanwhile, the AP has a new story on GOP congresscritter hopeful Aaron Schock…
Aaron Schock, a Republican state lawmaker making a strong bid for an open U.S. House seat in central Illinois, once notarized documents with false dates while helping his parents set up tax shelters, his own father testified in federal court.
The backdating raises the possibility Schock committed official misconduct, a misdemeanor under state law.
The issue came up in the July trial of three people accused of selling sham trusts and financial packages. The Schocks were victims of the scheme and were accused of no wrongdoing.
There is no indication that Schock or his parents benefited financially from using the incorrect date, and Schock’s father testified that he used it because that was when he first set up the tax shelters. In an interview with The Associated Press, Schock did not dispute his father’s testimony.
Callahan says the document raises questions about her rival’s conduct and judgment. Schock says the controversy is all part of a political ploy to make his campaign look bad.
Area political pundits are torn as to what effect the information about state Rep. Aaron Schock notarizing documents with false dates could have on his current bid for Congress.
But they agree the timing - just three weeks before the three-way race for the open 18th Congressional District seat - is not good.
“It’s terrible timing for him, but it’s maybe not as bad as it could be because there’s time to put up an explanation,” said Brian Gaines, a professor at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs. “It sounds like it’s something he could certainly need to explain and could potentially throw him off track.”
I guarantee that if Schock were the underdog in this race, and there was undisputed court testimony saying Colleen Callahan fudged a date on documents, in apparent violation of state law, Schock’s campaign Steve Shearer would be whispering the ear of every reporter in the 18th District.
* Democrat Jill Morgenthaler has a clever new Internet ad slamming Republican incumbent Peter Roskam over his position on in vitro fertilization…
* Related…
* Council defers talk on charging for dignitary visits
* Marty Ozinga: “I still feel like I’m middle class”
