From the Pollak for Congress Campaign (9th District)…
Niles, IL — MoveOn.org and Citizen Action Illinois, two far-left groups, have told their members to protest at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m., outside the fundraiser for Republican Joel Pollak’s campaign to unseat 9th district incumbent Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). The fundraiser will feature Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), ranking member of the House budget committee and author of the “Roadmap for America’s Future.”
In an e-mail circulated to activists, local MoveOn.org coordinator Jacob Hoag calls for a “Rally to Protect Social Security” outside the hotel, which will “protest the dismantling of Social Security and Medicare.
Pollak welcomed the demonstrators.
“The protest by MoveOn.org and Citizen Action Illinois is the latest sign that our opponents are running scared,” he said. “We have turned the 9th district into a competitive race in 2010.”
To drive up attendance at the protest, Hoag is claiming that the Pollak fundraiser is the “national kickoff” for Rep. Ryan’s “Roadmap” and the “beginning [of] a national tour to promote cuts to and the privatization of Medicare and Social Security.” Hoag also claims that 10th district “Candidate Bob Dold (R) who is running against Dan Seals is also using this event for a boost.” (Full text follows, below.)
These claims are false, Pollak noted.
“Paul Ryan is coming to Chicago to endorse my campaign, not to kick off a national tour,” Pollak said. “Bob Dold is not ‘using’ our event, nor has he even told us he is planning to attend–though he is certainly invited. And there is nothing in the ‘Roadmap’ about privatizing Medicare and Social Security. In fact, it calls for government-managed retirement funds, and measures to protect Medicare from financial collapse.”
Pollak noted that his opponent has close ties to Citizen Action Illinois through her husband, Robert Creamer.
“Mr. Creamer founded Citizen Action, and resigned after the FBI began investigating him for bank fraud and tax evasion–charges for which he was later convicted and sent to federal prison. Ms. Schakowsky still sits on the Policy Council of Citizen Action Illinois. It is likely she and her husband are coordinating this protest.”
Pollak added that he will be glad to provide copies of the Roadmap to demonstrators.
“I doubt that our friends from MoveOn.org and Citizen Action Illinois have even bothered to read the Roadmap. Schakowsky and Creamer are using lies to scare seniors and avoid a debate about the challenges facing our nation. Thankfully, seniors, and voters, are smarter than that. The 9th district is ready to vote for a fresh start in November!”
The Pollak for Congress fundraiser featuring Joel Pollak and Paul Ryan will proceed as planned at the Four Seasons Hotel, 120 East Delaware Place, Chicago, IL 60611 at 12:00 p.m. Tickets are available at http://www.pollakforcongress.com/paulryan.