Before automatically committing to re-elect my congressman in Arlington, I went to see the new opponent’s website. Congressman Moran is good but not without his flaws. Bruce Shuttleworth is running for the VA 8 Congressional primary against Congressman Moran. Curiously, his “news” section on his website http://shuttleworthforcongress… is running as the 2nd item a press release from Congressman Steny Hoyer entitled “Hoyer Floor Statement on the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012.” The 3rd news article is “Hoyer Video Message on Teacher Appreciation Week.”
Strangely, Mr. Shuttleworth is not mentioned anywhere in these articles. Is Hoyer trying to run a stealth candidate against his Democratic colleague?
Or does Mr. Shuttleworth have staffers and/or suporters who love Mr. Hoyer so much that they use a long-shot candidate’s web-site to run pro Hoyer puff pieces?
What is going on?
Possibly, the first “news release” on Israel policy might be an attempt as a political attack on Congressman Moran who has angered the AIPAC lobby for his voting record on Israel. But the press release prominantly trumpets Hoyer’s unity with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on Israel-US security. Setting aside the facts that they both were huge cheerleaders for the invasion of Iraq and the long-term occupation of Afghanistan, oppose a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, and support Israeli settlements and many Arab dictatorships, why would any Democratic prospective voter be attracted to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on anything? Is he angling for the Cuban-American Democratic vote in Northern VA?
Can anyone come up with an explanation for the Teacher Appreciation Week Article focussed on Hoyer?
As an aside, note that Shuttleworth also includes an uncaptioned photo of children of the Lightening soccer team. Is Shuttleworth even in the photograph? I wonder if their (Science Focus?) parents are aware of their children’s implicit endorsement of Shuttleworth for Congress? http://shuttleworthforcongress…
Our society rampantly misuses children in advertizing for all manner of products and services as well as electoral and advocacy campaigns. But at least the kid’s parents are often aware and compensated. Can anyone guess who the the 2 adults are in the photograph?
So Shuttleworth is potentially exploiting children and signaling that he’ll support Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on Middle East policy. His chances were slim to begin with. His climb to victory has become steeper.
I am not trying to attack Shuttleworth personally. I don’t know the guy. And the website does provide some support for important progressive policies. If I have read too much into his website, I welcome corrective feedback. Maybe he is the victim of less than competant staff….
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