"an Orthodox Jew, [he] is a staunch Israel advocate who favors a hard line against Iran"
We do NOT NEED anymore of THEM down there!
So much for VOTING OUT all INCUMBENTS, 'eh?
How come EVERY TIME you vote for "change" things get WORSE, America?
"Pointed exchange with Frank propels Harvard graduate in Illinois contest" by Alex Katz, Globe Correspondent | August 19, 2010
Dressed in a crewneck sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers, the third-year Harvard Law School student stood up calmly and approached the microphone at the Kennedy School of Government.
Little did he know this would be his political baptism.
Joel Pollak was there to question US Representative Barney Frank, who had just finished a speech on financial regulatory reform. Pollak’s query was provocative, but hardly impolite: “How much responsibility, if any, do you have for the financial crisis?’’
Frank, the powerful chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, pushed back hard, lambasting Pollak for asking an “accusatory’’ question, dismissing his arguments as “totally wrong,’’ and asserting that he was part of a “right-wing attack on liberals.’’
What a detestable piece of crap is Barney Frank.
He acts just like the Republicans he criticizes!!
Almost instantly, the contretemps, in April 2009, made Pollak, at 31, a conservative cult hero. The moment — later dubbed the “Crimson Clash’’ — became a YouTube sensation and sparked national media coverage....
Pollak, inspired by the encouragement he received from Republicans after his composed performance in the confrontation, has returned home to suburban Chicago to challenge another established Democratic lawmaker, US Representative Jan Schakowsky, in Illinois’ Ninth District.
“Everybody said they wanted me to stand up to her, like I did with Barney,’’ Pollak said in an interview.
Pollak, now 33, is up against long odds but remains undeterred. And as he vies to unseat Schakowsky, a six-term House member who has historically enjoyed a lock on the district, Pollak is trying to persuade voters that he is a formidable candidate for the House in his own right.
A fiscal conservative, Pollak said his top priority would be creating new jobs through tax credits for small businesses. He also wants to repeal the recently passed health care law, which Schakowsky strongly supported. On foreign policy, Pollak, an Orthodox Jew, is a staunch Israel advocate who favors a hard line against Iran. Also on his resume: He wrote a song called “The Ballad of the Tea Party.’’
I don't drink tea.
Many political analysts expect Democratic incumbents to suffer this fall amid voter discontent about the economy, federal spending, and the health care law. Pollak believes voters, even in his left-leaning district, are fed up with what he calls the “power-seizing’’ of the Democrat-led Congress.
“Pollak’s presenting a strong case for himself even under normal circumstances, and these are not normal circumstances,’’ said Donald Gordon, an adjunct lecturer in Northwestern University’s political science department. “The time is ripe.’’
No public polling data is available on the race, but other political analysts are not optimistic about Pollak’s chances. Both CQ Politics and the Cook Political Report predict that Schakowsky — who had 10 times the money in her political account as of June 30 — is safe in a district that hasn’t had a Republican representative since 1949. Voters in the Ninth District have also overwhelmingly supported Democratic presidential candidates — even George McGovern in 1972 — for decades....
Indeed, Schakowsky has yet to face a tough race. Since 1998, she has won at least 70 percent of the vote in every election except one. Even in 2006, months after her husband was convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion, she handily won reelection....
Schakowsky criticized Pollak for being a frequent guest of conservative radio and TV personality Sean Hannity, and for being a golden boy in the eyes of conservative bloggers such as Andrew Breitbart.
Related: Matters of Black and White
Pollak, who was born in South Africa and moved to the United States shortly after, has long been politically active, having worked as a freelance journalist covering politics and a speechwriter to the South African Parliament’s opposition leader. But he was not always a Republican.
Until recently, he fancied himself a Clinton Democrat.
You are getting SOOOO PLAYED, America!!
Politics is NOTHING but a S*** SCREEN to DISTRACT YOUR ATTENTION and make you believe you actually have a choice!
While an undergraduate at Harvard in 1996, Pollak interned for then-US Senator Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois, a liberal Democrat....
It wasn’t until the Democratic takeover of the US House under Nancy Pelosi in 2006 that Pollak shifted to the right....
So Pollak, who has authored two political books, went on to become a volunteer speechwriter for John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid and, ultimately, the student who made his name by taking on Frank.
After the Harvard clash last year, it didn’t take long before the Facebook friend requests and fan mail came pouring in. At first, Harvard Law School forwarded the letters to Pollak’s apartment. When they didn’t stop, the school told him to come pick them up. Today, Pollak said, he still gets approached by strangers on the train who ask him, “Aren’t you that Barney Frank guy?’’
I would not have recognized him were he standing next to me.
--more--"
Btw, readers, I AM of POLISH HERITAGE so I'm covered with the "provocative prejudice" of the title.
