By: Diane Benjamin
Why is a Democrat running in the Republican Primary?
1)
Why is Adam Kinzinger trying to buy a local judge?
2)
What is just as disturbing as Adam Kinzinger, who hasn’t lived in the 11th Circuit for a long time, trying to buy a local judge, is all the democratic influence being peddled in this local judge’s race.
In WGLT’s silly story (https://blnnews.com/2022/05/13/wglt-silly-story/) they quoted “a representative of the Citizens to Elect Judge Amy McFarland” named John Kim. Having not heard that name in Republican circles before, I did some checking. This is John Kim:
Zoom in on the right side:
That is John Kim in the Biden Harris shirt walking in a parade for Tammy Duckworth. He is who Amy McFarland has appointed a spokesman for her campaign. You don’t need to FOIA his voting record to know that someone wearing a Biden Harris shirt walking in a parade for Tammy Duckworth is a hard democrat but anyone interested in doing so, go ahead.
3)
Mr. Kim’s involvement in attempting to influence the GOP primary doesn’t stop with being the spokesman for the Amy McFarland campaign. Did Kim write this email Amy sent on her government email? Is this even legal?
Less than 30 days remain to get out the vote for Judge Amy! We need your help to talk to voters and encourage everyone to vote in the Republican primary on or before June 28.
Here are two opportunities to volunteer THIS weekend:
Saturday, June 4 at 1pm
Meeting spot:
Evans Junior High Parking Lot
2901 Morrissey Dr.
Bloomington, IL 61704
Sunday, June 5 at 1pm
Meeting spot:
15910 Pebble Beach Rd.
Bloomington, IL 61705
We’ll divide into walk teams and spend about an hour knocking on doors, talking to voters, and leaving literature. No experience necessary – we will provide everything you need! Friends, neighbors, families/wagons are welcome.
- Why would anyone need to be “encouraged to vote in the Republican primary” if they were actually Republicans?
- Wanna guess who lives at 15910 Pebble Beach Road? You guessed it, John Kim.
- Does he wear his Biden/Harris shirt when he is walking door to door for Amy McFarland?
4)
Kim is not the only high profile progressive in town trying to interfere in a GOP primary:
Mathy has authored many social media posts describing exactly how much we need Amy McFarland on the bench. If you loved his policies on the city council, you’ll likely love her rulings from the bench.
David Gill, a four time failed progressive Democrat congressional candidate, not only endorsed McFarland but she shared his endorsement for the world to see and took money from his very progressive wife.
Our county GOP leadership has made public statements about the way the Irving campaign is operated. Will anyone in GOP acknowledge not just the money flowing into a local campaign from progressives (I’ve already written about that here ( https://blnnews.com/2022/05/01/don-knapp-vrs-amy-mcfarland/) but how much involvement local progressives and democrats are attempting to have in the selection of a circuit court judge in a GOP primary?
If not, maybe I’ll have to come to the GOP breakfast June 18th and ask the questions myself.
5)
If her progressive donors, progressive spokesman, relationship with someone who tried to unseat a GOP congressmen four times, and relationship with Adam Kinzinger aren’t enough for voters to see the light, see the pictures below. How many Republicans have campaign signs for a democrat in their yard? Duh, McFarland is a Democrat running as a Republican. Too bad the local GOP decided to abandon that accountability committee.
Want one more? Progressive liberal Bob Bradley wrote a Letter to the Editor supporting McFarland. I hope the local GOP likes Democrats picking their candidates!
Why do Republicans never run as Democrats?
Democrats know the county GOP leadership has been stacked with RINOs and pushovers who are too spineless to hold RINOs accountable. Because of this, Democrats run as Republicans without fear of the party doing anything.
A county GOP board member just hosted a Richard Irvin event last week. This proves my point about RINO’s on the GOP board and Democrats getting away with pretending to be Republicans. County parties elsewhere have protested Irvin’s events and have called Irvin out as being a Democrat.
Unless there is major turnover in the county GOP leadership then the local Republican party will soon become just a branch of the Democrat party. The Democrats know that it is easier to take over the local Republican party like this than to compete with Republicans every election cycle.
This is why the county has gone from red to purple.
The planned far lect takeover of BN/McLean County will soon.be complete. John Kim is employed by SF as a legal counsel in its Diversity, Inclusion. and Ethics Division. The same one headed up by a liberal black man that wanted SF agents to distribute perverted books to classrooms nationwide. Not surprisingly, Kim also has connections to Chixago and D.C. having gotten his undergrad at Wheaton College and being a professional member of 2Civility, a left leaning non profit dedicated to making white people a legal minority. He received his law degree from. American University, a bastion of the liberal left. Any questions?
Add to it that the local GOP is split into 3 basic factions – each as catty and petty to each other as possible with only the thinnest veneer of civility. They would rather stand firm in their ego and beliefs and withhold support from their own party nominee rather than be on the winning end of an election.
#LeadershipFailure
Judge Amy put up a 4×4 sign right next to Don Knapp’s, probably without permission. It had been removed. Where is the integrity?
Democrats who run as republican have none
Exactly, Trojan horses don’t need any integrity, they are simply empty vessels filled with the destructive ideas they bring and hope to get a treat from their masters for being the Trojan horse.
Yeah, our local courts aren’t TV courtrooms. Take a hard pass on Judge Amy. She can apply for her own TV show if she wants to be a judge.
The good news is that the Knapp signs are everywhere. Now I know why he’s so damn popular.
I’m concerned about the tone and substance of this article. I’ve worked with Judge McFarland for years. I am not a personal friend of hers. I don’t socialize with her. I’m a conservative. I don’t agree with this article. There’s a baseless suggestion in this article that Judge McFarland will make horrific liberal decisions if she’s elected because of her perceived political leanings. She’s been a judge for years. Instead of engaging in innuendo, why not discuss her activity as a judge? A good and experienced judge is worth a lot and I believe Judge McFarland is both. I have never perceived Judge McFarland playing politics in any of her decisions. From what I’m reading, she may be well left of me politically but it has not made any difference in the courtroom. From my experience with her in the courtroom, I wouldn’t even know her political leanings. Why? Because that doesn’t factor into her rulings. Politics are not discussed.
She’s very hard working and fair. She really cares about what she does. If someone is going to suggest that she’s some political hack, I think they should pony up the evidence. What I’m hearing in the article is that we should vote for someone to be a judge, regardless of experience and performance, solely because of their perceived or real political leanings. As a legal practitioner and citizen, I want a good judge. I don’t know anything about Mr. Knapp’s ability to be a judge and the article doesn’t suggest the author does either. The article suggests that because he’s more conservative that this will translate into him being a better judge. Really? Is that how it works? We would all be better served by a more thoughtful evaluation of the candidates. This article just seems like it’s the same old political attacks. Very disappointing.
She should have run as a democrat. Why didn’t she?
I don’t know. We don’t talk politics. Maybe she’s a Republican that has more liberal social or political views than do I. Maybe there are things about the Democrat party with which she really disagrees and, on the whole, she feels more at home with the Republican Party. I just don’t know.
We constantly bemoan the politicization of the bench and then go on and on about someone’s political views when they are running for a judge. I’m sure there are plenty of conservative people with whom I disagree on other issues but that wouldn’t make them poor judges out of hand. Don Knapp did some things during COVID that I did not like and which did negatively affect one of my clients. I suppose I could hold that against him. I’m not going to as a general matter. No one’s perfect and each person’s job calls them to make judgment calls and not everyone is going to like them. I hope, as a Judge, he wouldn’t take the same stance on the health department’s closures as he has as the State’s Attorney because it wasn’t especially conservative. I don’t believe he showed good discretion there.
My main reason for responding to this article is that I’m concerned about political activism from the bench and focussing on someone’s political leanings suggests that political activism is what is desired. Judge McFarland makes reasonable rulings. Sure, I disagree with her rulings sometimes but that happens with other judges. I’ve never felt that my client got a bad ruling because Judge McFarland is a closet leftist. As far as I’m concerned, every single judge who rules against me is wrong, regardless of political affiliation. 🙂
Republicans don’t enlist help from a guy in a Biden Harris shirt. She never attended gop events until she decided to run. Republicans don’t run in democrat primaries, she shouldn’t be in theirs
I frankly don’t care about the politics. I want a good judge. She’s a good judge. If you want to criticize her for her work as a judge, that will be fair. Compare her activity as a judge against what you think Mr. Knapp would do and that will give us something to think about. Just don’t fall into the same old partisan political attacks. Based on the article, I don’t have anything politically in common with many of those folks but we don’t put judges on the bench to be politicians. Maybe they see Judge McFarland differently. Maybe they are thinking too politically was well. This doesn’t mean she’s not a good judge.
Would have been fun to compare them in November! She blew it
Thank you for the exchange. it was very pleasant and respectful.