WurfWhile

Last Friday So-Called Austin Mayor posted a blog entry at Illinoize, “Roskam Priorities v. 6th District Priorities” that pointed out 6th Congressional Candidate Peter Roskam had no health care policy posted on his new website - it was “coming soon.” One commenter, “grand old partisan” wrote,

“For the record, Roskam is in the process of revamping the entire site…. The point is, it’s not that Roskam doesn’t have positions or ideas on this issue, or that it isn’t a priority (or, for that matter, any of the other issues that are similarly “coming soon”); it’s just that his website isn’t complete. Is that an embarassment [sic]? Yes - for someone who has as much money, and has had as much time.
….
This is a pretty cheap shot, SCAM. And really beneath you.”

I beg to differ. It is an issue. Peter Roskam has raised over $2 million for his congressional campaign - and during the primary, he was largely uncontested because of his dominant fundraising to the tune of over $800,000. Yet, as late as March 26/2006 (yes, five days after asking voters to vote for him in the primary) Peter Roskam still did not have positions on the issues listed on his website. Now, four days after So-Called “Austin Mayor” posts his critique on his website and on Illinoize, I can still go to Peter Roskam’s campaign website and find that half of the six issue positions are “coming soon” (Border Security/Illegal Immigration, Lawsuit Reform and Spending).

If Peter knows his positions on the issues then he should tell the 6th District residents about them - it simply isn’t hard to post things up on a website - and voters deserves to know. If Peter doesn’t know his positions on the issues, then voters should ask themselves ‘why should we vote for someone who can’t address issues that matter to me this late in a campaign?’ Regardless, we can’t get over the issue of competence. One pro-Roskam commentator, Extreme Wisdom, responds to the post of So-called “Austin Mayor,” that politicians like Peter Roskam “ought to be telling the consultants to get their websites in order.” He’s right. If a professional politician like Peter Roskam with over $2 million raised to date cannot put his issue positions up for an entire primary season and then, with less than 60 days until the general election, cannot put his issue positions up on a website for at least the better part of a week, a task that would not likely take me more than an hour to post (generously), then he cannot “govern” his campaign. And if Peter Roskam fails to govern his campaign - if he fails to communicate in a basic way with residents in the 6th Congressional District, failing to address the issues that matter - how can they trust him to serve them in congress? It’s a basic failure - a lack of governing ability despite enormous resources.

During the primary (and after) Peter Roskam’s issue section of his website said he “will be outlining his vision to the voters of the Sixth Congressional District.” The voters are still waiting. They have waited too long to hear from Peter. Sixth Congressional Candidate Tammy Duckworth won’t keep them waiting on the issues that matter - she’s already got more than twice as many positions as Peter’s partially filled topics. Responding to the things that matter is one reason 6th Congressional District voters plan to vote for Tammy Duckworth - she makes their concerns a priority, where Peter fails them.