Oh Illinois Democrats. Are you ashamed of your flag?
A recent study of Congressional representatives revealed that GOP'ers are 36 percent more likely to prominently fly the U.S. flag on their campaign web sites. Forty-seven percent of Republicans display a flag in the banner of their websites, the study says, while only 34 percent of Democrats do.
That's nationwide. We wanted to know if that’s true in Illinois, too.
So we looked at the congressional web sites of every member of our delegation. Turns out Illinois Republicans fly the flag even more proudly than their national counterparts. But Illinois Democrats -- they hate the flag even more than the average member of their party. Or they don't use the flag as a veneer and ultimately meaningless symbol of their patriotism. One of those!
Here's the rundown:
Bobby Rush (D-Chicago)
Flag. Former Black Panther has obviously given up trying to overthrow the government.
Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Chicago)
No flag. Baseball diamond, though. That's the Baudrillardian version of a flag, right?
Dan Lipinski (D-Western Springs)
Flag.
Luis Guiterrez (D-Chicago)
No American flag, but a photo of the Puerto Rican flag across Division Street.
Mike Quigley (D-Chicago)
Not only does Quigley fail to display a flag, but the photo of the Wrigley Field scoreboard is cropped to omit the American flag flying overhead. Communist!
Peter Roskam (R-Wheaton)
Flag.
Danny Davis (D-Chicago)
No flag.
Melissa Bean (D-Barrington)
No flag, but a photo of the roller coaster at Great America. Does that count?
Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston)
No flag in the banner, but flags in almost every photo on the slideshow.
Mark Kirk (R-Highland Park)
No flag. Photo of the Baha’i Temple. The congressman is wearing a red, white and blue tie.
Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete)
No flag.
Bill Foster (D-Geneva)
No flag.
Timothy V. Johnson (R-Urbana)
Flag. Vague Apple glimmer effect.
Don Manzullo (R-Egan)
Flag behind his head.
Phil Hare (D-Rock Island)
Posed in front of flag.
Aaron Schock (R-Peoria)
Cornfield where the flag should be.
John Shimkus (R-Collinsville)
Flag, but it’s tinted green. Still counts.
Jerry Costello (D-Belleville)
Posed in front of flag. Possibly being eaten by it.
Chicago Politics
The final tally: Democrats are a pitiful 4 for 12, for a score of 33 percent, while Republicans are a superpatriotic 5 for 7. The Illinois GOP’s score of 71 percent beats even the all-star Texas delegation.
Now we know who loves America. Or at least who loves flags.
