Democrat Foster wins Hastert’s seat — chicagotribune.com
In a stunning upset Saturday that could be a harbinger of trouble for the GOP this fall, a little-known Democratic physicist won the special election for a seat drawn to re-elect former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
David and I were driving back from a visit with our convalescing relation when we heard this on the radio and actually cheered and clapped and high-fived (safely) in the car. We’re not political geeks, it’s just that we’re happy when annoying funnymentalist conservatives get righteously trounced, with an extra generous helping of humiliations galore.
They both come back in the fall and we have to hear and see the ads all over again in the regular election. Foster’s TV ads were kind of snarky, using iconic images of cows saying “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!” to various questions about Oberweis’ positions.  Meanwhile, the radio ad I heard from Oberweis used the words “faith” and “values,” several times. It was a blatant clue, a coded message to the idiot-zealots who voted for Alan Keyes, who lost so extravagantly to Barack Obama in the 2006 Senate race. Ironically, Oberweis was passed over by the Illinois GOP in that same primary race when he came in second to Jack Ryan, who later bowed out in a colorful scandal. They brought Keyes in from Maryland to be the batshit-crazy candidate from the far-out-in-left-field Right.
Oberweis has frequently been criticized and was once even fined by the FEC for the extreme negativity of his ads, in each of his campaigns. In the first three tries, he never made it past the primary. This is the first time he actually made it past that hurdle, in about the safest Republican district in the state by previous estimates, having Hastert’s endorsement in his pocket.
And still he lost, on a cold Saturday in March when few but the most engaged voters (usually the extremists) were expected at the polls.
It is to chortle, and to gloat for a bit. But they have to do it all over again in November.
Still:
Bill Foster defeated Republican Jim Oberweis, who lost his fourth high-profile election in six years, following an expensive and highly negative contest.
Go cry, Ice Creamo Boy!
