U R Grasping. At. Straws.

Rep. Manzullo currently has zero (zilch, nada) references to “Republican” or “GOP” on his campaign homepage.

None. Not even so much as an elephant.

I largely agree with you - but I think anyone putting “Democrat” prominently on the literature that they hand out isn’t really hiding their party affiliation (or is doing a poor job of it) even if it pretty much isn’t on their website. You’d have to argue a difference in audience and an effort to target to convince me of such planning - and I’m just guessing (it is a guess) that it’s not happening here. That said, Abboud does seem to be minimizing the import of party affiliation.

Drew, I was unaware of the connections you mention and while I haven’t checked out everything, I do believe that Robert G. Abboud’s father is A. Robert Abboud, and that the elder Abboud did lead First National Bank of Chicago and later First City Bancorporation of Texas. The accusations against the elder Abboud are quite sobering, and if true, the younger congressional candidate Abboud should address his stance toward them, if he hasn’t already.

Scott Summers may be a well-meaning candidate with admirable ideas - but after viewing Summers’ announcement speech I think he has his work cut out for him to run a competitive race.

Robert, it isn’t personal, but only fair to ask you to stay on topic. Your most recent comment is pretty tangential to the topic at hand, but I’m not going to make a federal case out of it.

Take care.

ROBERT JONES

http://politicsnewsnetwork.typepad.com/politicsnewsnetwork/the_mccain_doctrine/index.html

Scott Summers looks like the only good progressive candidate in IL-16.

I get the reaching out thing, but you shouldn’t really hide your party affiliation should you? Bill Foster didn’t and the 14th is fairly Republican.

OneMan I did find “Democrat” on the home page in Bob’s flier at the beginning, “As an engineer, Democrat Bob Abboud [pdf]…,” but to your larger point, clearly Bob thinks he can attract a lot of Republicans and Independents. From what I know of the district, which is limited (although I have relations in the area), that strikes me as smart.

Robert, I have removed your comment not because I disagree strongly with it (although I do), but because my post had nothing to do with Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, Reverend Jesse Jackson’s relationship with Obama, or learning either Spanish or English in any context. I support everyone’s right to comment in a civil manner - but only if it’s on topic.

Take care.