Not to be rude, but where's this Abboud dude?

It's been a couple of months now since Barrington Hills Mayor Bob Abboud announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Don Manzullo in the race for Congress in the 16th District of Illinois.

Since then, however, Abboud has been silent. Oh, he's got a Web site (such as it is), but there's nothing new on it. All manner of issues and events have arisen in recent weeks, and we hear nothing about them from this guy.

If Abboud is going to have a chance to win in this traditionally Republican district, he'd better get off his tractor pretty soon. (At least his dog seems eager for action.)

Why does Don Manzullo hate our troops?

If Democratic challenger Bob Abboud doesn't hit Republican incumbent Don Manzullo (of the 16th Congressional District in Illinois) with stuff like this, I doubt that he can win.

The House voted 229-194 yesterday in favor of a bill that would require active duty forces to be guaranteed that their time at home match the length of their deployment. National Guard and reservists would be home for three times the length of the deployments.

The bill would allow the president to waive these requirements to meet the national security needs of the country, and allow service chiefs of staff to allow for the voluntary mobilization of members. These requirements would apply to those serving in Iraq.

The bill also expresses a sense of the Congress that the goal for the time between deployments for regular components should be one year deployed to two years at home station, and the goal for the reserve components should be one year deployed to five years at home station.

Manzullo voted against this measure.

By the way, the bill now goes to the Senate, where it previously was supported by a majority of members but was blocked by a Republican filibuster.

Might Manzullo not run again?

According to this Web site, there is "speculation" that U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, an eight-term Republican from the 16th Congressional District of Illinois, won't run again next year.

The site links to a piece published Tuesday on RollCall.com., but it's available by subscription only, and The Rascal is not prepared to subscribe.

Democrat Robert Abboud of McHenry County announced Monday that he's running for Manzullo's seat.

Can Bob Abboud defeat Don Manzullo?

Barrington Hills Mayor Bob Abboud (right) announced Monday in Rockford that he'll seek the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo next year in the 16th Congressional District of Illinois.

Does Abboud have a chance in what's considered a fairly safe Republican district?

Well, according to somebody named Sean on the Swing State Project (I can't provide a direct link, because the post at issue is gone), a Democratic victory is not out of the question:

What a Democrat must do to win the district is not that hard. They must run at least even in the small counties along the Wisconsin border like Boone, Stephenson, and hold Manzullo to about 53% in Jo Daviess, 55% in Carroll, and to 58% in Ogle. As for the big population centers, they have to win big in Winnebago county(about 57%), and hold Manzullo to 56% in the district's portion of McHenry county.