Will Schock skip first Congressional debate in Peoria?

UPDATE:  Aug. 28, 2008:  Apparently Schock will be a no-show at the World Affairs Council debate.  His campaign released a list of events, (scroll down to 'Politics...') and this one's not included. Most are private events, not open to the public. Many are forums, where candidates introduce themselves, and not debates where they question each other. Callahan's campaign has called Schock a "chicken" for taking this approach. Stay tuned.

PEORIA -- The Peoria Area World Affairs Council is sponsoring the first Peoria debate in the 18th District Congressional race at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10, from the Peoria City Council Chambers.

But will the GOP candidate, 27-year old state Rep. Aaron Schock show up?

He's "waffling," council executive director Angela Weck said in an e-mail.

The other two candidates, Democrat Colleen Callahan and Green party nominee Sheldon Schafer have agreed to attend, and the debate will go on with or without Schock.

It will broadcast live on WCBU-FM, the Peoria PBS affiliate, and web streamed as well, Weck said.

It's open to the public, and the audience must be seated by 6:45 p.m.

Schock has already dropped out of a proposed September debate at Eureka College, angering college and WCBU officials.  That debate has been canceled. 

His campaign has told people involved in that debate that the invitations were too numerous and had to be limited, a situation that apparently didn't trouble the other two participants.

Schock is supposed to appear sometime in October on WEEK-TV, in a debate sponsored by the Peoria Journal Star and the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria.

The Sept. 10 debate is to focus on foreign policy.  That may prove scary for Schock who made national news with the speech announcing his candidacy when he proposed sending Pershing nuclear missiles to Taiwan to intimidate China.

Relevant foreign policy statements from that lengthy speech are reproduced below.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

From Aaron Schock's announcement speech:

"Before Ronald Reagan became President, guerilla movements financed, organized and trained by the Soviet Union defeated American friends all over the world. We lost all of Southeast Asia, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Nicaragua and others were gravely threatened. Freedom was losing around the world

President Reagan wasn't willing to settle for just stopping the loss of freedom—he unleashed an offense that turned the tide, immediately stopped the loss and started winning again.

President Reagan funded and trained indigenous freedom fighters in Soviet satellite countries and from the beginning of his administration the Soviet Union was suddenly on defense, and began to lose around the world.

President Reagan came to the aid of freedom fighters:

UN1TA in Angola, RENAMO in Mozambique, the Contras in Nicaragua and the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan.

Additionally, President Reagan funded freedom movements such as Solidarity in Poland with CIA training in organizing, and all the equipment necessary to function.

Any freedom movement in a totalitarian country faces enormous difficulty in organizing against the unlimited resources of a ruthless state, Those freedom movements need help from free nations.   In Congress, / will advocate for them,

It is no secret that despite 28 years of the Iranian government's non-stop campaign to label the USA as the great Satan with huge billboards all over Iran, and constant propaganda to that effect, still 80 percent of the people love America and American culture. They don't buy the propaganda and they yearn to be free of the control of the unelected Ayatollahs.

If I am elected, I will propose a bill that will use the CIA estimate of how much money Iran gives Hezbollah in Lebanon each year, to spend the same amount from us to fund freedom fighters inside Iran who want to overthrow Amadinejad and the Ayatollahs. Let's turn the tables,

My plan will tell the Iranian regime that we will fund freedom fighters in Iran for the first year with the same amount Iran gave the year before to Hezbollah. The next year we will double that. The third year, if needed, we will triple the amount.

The money will go for CIA training of underground leaders in how to organize and prevent detection, satellite phones, communication encryption, communications equipment, radio broadcasts from nearby countries, and eventually arms. My bill will state that if Iran stops its nuclear arms program and stops funding Hezbollah then we will stop our program. But if they continue and say they are simply funding freedom fighters—which is what they call Hezbollah, then we will use their same arguments back at them to fund and train the majority of people in Iran who want to be free.

Already the economic sanctions against Iran are severe and are likely to lead to Amadinejad's defeat for re-election in 2009. Funding a freedom movement to overthrow the regime will cause massive turmoil in Iran. They will be on defense against their own people and we will be on offense. No American troops will be necessary. We will simply facilitate the people's overthrow of the Iranian regime just we did successfully all over Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, Ethiopia and Nicaragua. Without the need to commit American troops.

In the meantime, we need to pressure China and Russia strenuously to go along with the third set of more powerful economic sanctions against Iran. If China continues to be irresponsible about nuclear proliferation in Iran, we should tell them that if they do not care about proliferation—and since they are enablers of it in Iran, that if they don't change their position, we will sell Pershing nuclear missiles to Taiwan for their defense,

Non-proliferation will either be enforced universally or not at all—it is their choice. The Chinese will come around, I have no doubt." -30-