Illinois Representative Jeanne Ives issued the following announcement on Aug. 19.
Over the weekend, shocking photos from a fundraiser for State Senator Martin Sandoval (D-Cicero) surfaced. The images show a mock assassination of President Trump with a semiautomatic rifle. The display appeared to be planned entertainment for Sandoval’s guests, who paid a minimum of $250 to attend his golf outing in Winfield.
While the incident was widely condemned, there was a conspicuous silence from prominent Democrats, including Sixth District Congressman, Sean Casten. Jeanne Ives, a Republican candidate for Congress (IL-6) released the following statement in response to the event and her opponent’s choice to look the other way:
“We have truly arrived at an ugly moment in American history when adults increasingly choose to use or mimic violence, rather than offering thoughtful policy arguments, to make political points.
“Whether the bad actors are Antifa, Proud Boys, the white supremacist thugs arrested for making threats over the weekend, or a State Senator, physical threats, violence or mimicing violence is reprehensible, unhelpful, and totally ignorant. Events like Sandoval’s should be universally condemned, as it was by Gov. Pritzker.
“Sean Casten has had days to disavow the disgusting images that arose from the Senator’s fundraiser. Casten’s silence is nothing new. He was similarly silent when his self-described ideological mentor Dan Savage said he wished all congressional Republicans ‘would f--king die.’
“Under pressure, Savage later apologized. Under pressure, Sandoval has now apologized. Casten withheld comment in both cases. Their apologies notwithstanding, does Casten think their rhetorical choices and theatrical displays are appropriate?
“A songwriter and former Democrat, Ryan Moore, penned a piece for the Des Moines Register recently, saying, ‘What has happened to the Democratic Party? It seems everything it disagrees with, it claims is racist or a symbol of hate...Far too many Democrats believe the First Amendment only applies to the opinions they agree with.’
“Casten is the worst kind of hypocrite as he won’t hold himself and his fellow travelers to the same standard he correctly suggests his political opponents abide.”
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