Not when he can play some of the district's news media like freakin' violins.
Witness this piece on the Web site of the Northwest Herald in Crystal Lake, wherein the following two sentences lead the story:
The U.S. House of Representatives will consider a transportation bill this week that includes $250,000 to extend Algonquin Road west of Route 47. U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill., secured the money for the project, which he said would ease traffic congestion in one of the region’s fastest-growing areas.
But, of course, the bill hasn't yet been approved; hence, the money is not yet "secured." And when you do all the math, the money turns out to be only a little more than one-half of one percent of the total cost of the project.
And when you plow through the rest of the political B.S., you learn that the whole thing is in the beginning stages of a preliminary phase and that the project won't be completed for years, if ever.
You see, all a congressperson has to do is order some minion to issue a press release, and the local media -- or most of them, anyway -- will rush it into print or on the air, no matter if it's real news or not.
The so-called reporters on such stories are not much more than stenographers.
