3 congressmen take the stage in Dixon
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| Congressman Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, then a candidate, addresses the Republican National Convention at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 4, 2008. (AP) |
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DIXON – The two Republican candidates for the 16th Congressional District seat have sparred over who is the most conservative.
But Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Manteno, didn’t take shots at each other during speeches Friday night at the 23rd annual Reagan Day Dinner at the Dixon Elks Lodge.
Each was given 5 minutes to speak to the crowd of about 250.
Manzullo, 67, who has represented the district for 20 years, stressed his experience as an asset for the district. He said his chairmanship of a subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee has helped bring jobs to the area.
He said Rochelle wouldn’t have its intermodal hub without him, noting the hub has received $1.5 billion in private investment and brought thousands of jobs.
“Those jobs spill into Lee County,” Manzullo said, adding that Manufacturing Magazine has called him “Mr. Fix-it.”
He said he doesn’t live far from Dixon, and that he has always had his phone number listed in the White Pages.
“I don’t have a private number. I believe in being close to the people I represent,” Manzullo said.
Kinzinger, 33, who currently represents the 11th District, announced his candidacy in the redrawn 16th in early October. After redistricting, the 16th includes all of Lee County.
Kinzinger joined the U.S. Air Force after the Sept. 11 attacks, saying he wanted to help with America’s defense.
He has flown combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I’m one of the only congressmen allowed in flight status in recent memory,” he said.
Kinzinger, elected in 2010, said he and other GOP freshmen have changed the conversation in Washington – from how much more will the government spend to how much it will cut.
He said the country spends more on interest on the national debt than it has on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The dinner’s keynote speaker, U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, didn’t say in his speech which of the two candidates he supported. But he wore a Kinzinger tag on his lapel.
He compared the present to the late 1970s. During both times, he said, the country suffered economic malaise and uncertainty about the future.
Schock said both the Republicans and President Obama believe in fairness. Obama believes fairness means everyone getting the same thing, while the GOP understands it as everyone receiving what they work for, he said.
“Our friends on the other side of the aisle aren’t evil and they don’t hate America. They’re just wrong,” he said.
He said Republicans should fear House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi as much as they should Obama, calling Pelosi a “tough chick.”
During the GOP dinner, cakes and other pastries were auctioned off to raise funds for the county’s Republican Party. A blueberry pie in the auction was reserved for the family of Lance Cpl. Adam Devine, 21.
Devine, a Marine, was wounded in action Dec. 28 by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. The 2008 Dixon High School graduate lost both of his legs from above the knee and has been using a wheelchair.
State Rep. Jerry Mitchell, R-Sterling, offered the highest bid for the pie – $825.
A hat was passed around, and combined with Mitchell’s donation, the party raised more than $2,200 for Devine’s family. Devine is married and has an 8-month-old daughter.
The dinner was sponsored by the Lee County Republican Central Committee.
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