The Dimkus Debacle

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/nation/story/9A2F7DDAC3823136862572CF0067840A?OpenDocument

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-soltz/theres-no-dying-in-baseb_b_47481.html

The sheer stupidity of the Cubs/Cards rivalry being compared to Iraq aside, the problem is that Shimkus just doesn't get it anymore.

The day he decided to ignore his promise to his constituents to only run for three terms, just because W asked him to, is the day he sold his soul. He consumed the power-flavored Kool-Aid without regard to what that might cost him. He hitched his wagon to Denny Hastert, joined the Beltway power structure, and ignored his own promises and responsibilities, both to his constituents and to the pages in his charge, in order to maintain that power.

God works in mysterious ways. There are paybacks to failing to do the right thing when that tempting carrot is dangled before you.

Tragically, he dehumanzied and destroyed his argument through a clumsy and silly analogy (as an aside, someone should tell him that there are a fair number of Cubs fans in certain parts of his district). Satire is not for amateurs, Mr. Shimkus. Leave it to Stewart and Colbert, please.

This is not a game. This is about war, which is about the deaths of innocents and soldiers. He made himself, and all of Southern Illinois by association, the butt of jokes when there's nothing funny here.

Frankly, I understand and agree with the Pottery Barn Rule he was so badly mangling, but instead of communicating that he made a jerk out of himself.

He's so out of touch that he's merely shocked and surprised by the backlash. He should be ashamed of himself -- for forgetting where he came from, for being too inarticulate to make an argument without some idiotic sports reference, and for turning himself and all of Southern Illinois into a punchline.

Interestingly, the (for lack of a better word) "newspaper" that covers a good part of his district has been stone silent about this matter, and has not responded to inquiries about why they thought his constituents didn't need to be informed.

www.thesouthernillinoisian.com

Maybe they are too busy covering the "high five" gossip in Springfield.