-By Warner Todd Huston
Brad Schneider is running for Congress in Illinois against 10th District incumbent, Republican Robert Dold. Schnedier claims he’s a “businessman” and is running on the pretext that, according to his campaign literature, he’ll “bring his business expertise to Congress.” Yet, this “businessman” has reported no income at all for the last three years from the very small business he claims is his primary occupation.
How is it that one can claim to be an expert businessman yet have no income from his business? That is a question that at least one 10th District constituent wants answered.
In his literature, Schneider claims that he’s “worked with small business, helping them grow and succeed.” He’s also said, “I’m a business guy. I like using numbers to solve problems and help people.”
Consequently, in his disclosures, at appearances, and on questionnaire forms, Schneider lists Cadence Consulting Group, LLC as his primary occupation.
Yet, despite claiming that Cadence Consulting Group, LLC is his chief source of income, he’s reported no income at all from the company for the last three years.
As The Washington Free Beacon notes, a local voter has filed a complaint with the FEC over the discrepancy.
“He’s been selling himself as a small business owner who consults and represents” multi-million dollar corporations, “yet from January 1st of 2010 to the present he’s reported zero income” from Cadence, said Lou Atsaves, a local GOP activist who petitioned the FEC in August to investigate whether Schneider violated disclosure laws.
FEC rules require a candidate to disclose his source of income received during the election cycle and Schneider does note income from other sources, but the very business he features in his campaign literature is not listed as one of them.
Mr. Atsaves, wonders why Schneider claims Cadence Consulting Group as his chief occupation yet reports not a penny of income from that firm.
“If he’s making money, then he’s being dishonest with his filing, and if he’s not, then he’s being dishonest with the constituents,” Atsaves said
“Something is wrong here,” Atsaves insists.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is also curious about the whole situation.
“It is obvious that Brad Schneider isn’t being honest with Illinois families,” Katie Prill, a NRCC spokesperson, told the Free Beacon. “Brad Schneider wants to say he is a successful businessman, but the documents he provided from his campaign to prove that show otherwise. Illinois families deserve to know what the truth is when it comes to Brad Schneider’s shady business background.”
If Schneider can’t even be honest with his potential voters as he runs to become their congressman, how can anyone expect him to be honest once he goes to Washington?
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, RightPundits.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDaily.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.
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