African American Republican Isaac Hayes running to defeat Jesse Jackson Jr. in Illinois 2nd cd

• ***6/26, American Thinker: "For the first time in decades, district residents are taking notice of the Republican candidate.

Earning the endorsement of the Kankakee City News, an African-American-owned newspaper with a circulation of 37,000, Editor James Taylor, Sr. keenly noted the obvious:

Mr. Hayes may have a difficult time convincing the majority to cast a vote for a Republican, but we also recognize that the high unemployment, street and gang violence and underserved schools and communities all have occurred under the representation of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.

City News had previously been a long-time endorser of Jackson's reelection campaigns.

Nevertheless, Hayes remains on the front lines of the Democratic firing squad, fighting in territory where uncontested liberalism pervades the citizenry like a bad rash. But he's fighting.

• At a community networking event in April, Hayes and his staff were booted by a bombastic local Democratic mayor (a contributor and vocal supporter of Jackson's). Despite Hayes and his staff's invitation to the event, the local official dismissed Hayes,
  
• calling him a "sellout" and just "another Alan Keyes."

"The way my staff and I were treated by the mayor is reminiscent of the 1950s, with a 'No Republicans Allowed' sign," Hayes responded. He later remarked in a statement that the incident "only reinforces my complaint that I was discriminated against because of my political views."

• Regardless of the vile racial overtones, such insolence directed towards Republicans is the norm in Chicago."...