Schock talk

PEORIA -- Here's a very insightful post from Burt Raabe:

I went out to Toulon on Saturday (Aug. 14) to see Aaron Schock preach to the choir at a small town restaurant.  He seems to have lost weight since the last time I saw him. 

He gave about a half hour talk of the work he has been doing in Washington, fighting the evil Democrats and looking out for the people in his district, or so he says.  The audience was made up of about 20 local people, most of whom were seniors.

Then he took questions.  There were the usual Republican/Fox news concerns about immigration, taxes, health care.  It is sad to see people who are comfortable, safe, and on Medicare so concerned that no one else share that condition.

Congressman Schock is a highly skilled politician.  He can take a question and start with what sounds like a non partisan explanation and carefully lead his train of thought into Republican talking points.

He does not challenge the fear mongered assertions of his constituents.  Rather, he sort of gives a wink at them.  At one point, a man asked what was going to be doing about immigrants, claiming that they use “our” health services, schools, and don’t pay for anything.  Schock smiled and said he shared the frustration and went into a rather esoteric discussion of immigration legislation and what Mexican immigration law was like (I could not understand how that is relevant) but somehow ended with the image of a foreigner walking across the Rio Grande with a bomb strapped to their chest.  It seems like a terrorist would wait until they got into the US to build and strap on a bomb, but I digress.

I used to think Schock would be the next Roy Cohn, but seeing him in more intimate settings,  I see a resemblance more to Matt Hale.  His elderly, fearful, confused followers project their desire to understand onto him and he responds by reframing what they want to hear into a seemingly reasonable argument. 

Driving out to Toulon, I saw many pumpkin fields.  Almost all canning workers are Mexican -  American, almost all are native born from Texas who work here seasonally, although a few might be here illegally.   I thought of this when the man asked about immigration.  Of course Schock went with the fear.     -30-

Comments

[Sharon Crews]

How sad and how maddening! Many have seen this Aaron from the start. I didn't; therefore, he received my vote every time he has ever run for election for any office. However, Aaron has received his last vote from me. I made that decision just a few months after he went to Washington, D.C., when his self-serving mission became apparent to me.