I have known and liked Brad Schneider for 15 years, so I am disappointed to see his campaign using the same dishonest smear tactics about Israel against Ilya Sheyman that he and others used against Dan Seals and other Democrats for a decade. This is destructive for Democratic unity and for our chances in November- especially when we know there is no daylight between Brad and Ilya in their strong support for Israel.
The Schneider camp knows that candidates can't control all the positions of their supporters and endorsers, but they continue to try to use the views of some endorsers as a wedge. This misleading, disingenuous, and manipulative, and it should be beneath them.
Finally, using a position from a high school debate to smear Ilya Sheyman - a Jewish refugee who fled religious persecution and who has family in Israel shows the depths to which this campaign has sunk. As the mother of an accomplished high school debater, I know these students must argue all sides of every debate subject and are often called on to develop arguments in opposition to their true beliefs. Are Schneider supporters actually taking a stand against high school debaters? Building cases is part of learning and developing skills at research, analysis, and argument. I can't fathom how anyone would make this argument and expect informed voters to take it seriously.
I'll add that Mr. Schneider told me several months ago, when I planned to support him, that he had this high school debate information about Mr. Sheyman. We discussed how high school debate worked and that the information was uninformative and unusable, and he told me he would never use it. Clearly he has left it to others to publicize this absurd criticism, an act that reeks of desperation. I expected so much better, and it saddens me to read letters like Mr Kirshenbaum's.
Voters seeking honest and progressive representatives in Congress should join me (and the Sierra Club, the National Organization for Women, six state legislators, and numerous unions including those representing the teachers and the nurses in our district and many others) and support Ilya Sheyman, the proven progressive with a track record of standing up for our shared values.
Nancy Pred
Winnetka
SH
8:39 am on Tuesday, March 20, 2012
I read Mr. Kirshenbaum's letter and it seems like he just found the information on the Stevenson Debate page. I would also add that it wasn't a matter of debating another side of an issue; Ilya signed a bill that was patently anti-Israel. We should also remember that this was only 6 or 7 years ago, which (when the candidate is 25) isn't that long ago.
But that is not at the heart of the ridiculousness of your letter. It entirely overlooks the $200,000 attack campaign that has been run by Ilya Sheyman. To claim it was merely "outside groups" that the Sheyman campaign cannot control is ridiculous! I received negative attack mailers and phone calls from the Sheyman campaign (the mailers had "Paid for by Sheyman for Congress" at the bottom! The Sheyman campaign has also created and paid for smear websites that are lightyears from the truth.
Finally, for the Sheyman campaign to claim that they have no control over MoveOn, the DFA, the PCCC, PDA, or other groups is absolutely insane! The Sheyman Field Director, Matt Blizek, worked for the DFA right up until he joined the Sheyman campaign in the fall. Also, Ilya worked for the DFA and MoveOn and to claim that he did anything except welcome their intrusion into the race is ridiculous. The Sheyman campaign has hosted DFA leaders (like Jim Dean) at events and even brought Howard Dean in. Just look at this album! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150678676744236.410314.164462034235&type=3