Cary Caparelli
Mr Caparelli is a private citizen so there is not a lot of information to go through. But I can be certain that I have been thorough because of the limited amount of information.
Conclusion-
This guy is an unserious candidate. Just because one feels politics is a broken system does not absolve you from service to your country or your community. He proudly claims he's not a career politican, and that's good. We need more non traditional pols. But show me what you've done that shows selflessness, service, charity etc. Show me that you have a passion for giving back rather than just being an opportunist. I don't see any on his site other than some board service, for a professional organization. (There's absolutely NOTHING wrong with board service in and of itself. But many movers and shakers use boards as a means to another end as oppossed to actually giving two craps about the non-profit. Mr. Caparelli sits on ONE board, the Illinois Port. Way to give back). Further, for something this important, representing your fellow citizens in Congress, he looks like he has put forth almost no effort, and is more than willing to inflate his credentials to win.
Analysis
If you go to his website you're immediately struck by how bad it is. This WOULD BE a minor issue if his profession was not MARKETING CONSULTANT. Keep in mind that someone who understands marketing knows they need to answer a LOT of questions about who they're talking to, what about, what the best way to reach them is, etc before they create a website or communication. This is an ugly website with very little informaion that could probably have been (and probably was) thrown together in under an hour.
Moving onto his biography page, he claims to have an "unparralleled education." this may be technically true, as in, no one else in the race graduated from Drake University or is a PhD CANDIDATE at University of London, there are several MDs, professors (PhD- one especially whose adviser was Nobel Laurreate sp? Gary Becker), adjunct professors etc. I would say his education, IS paralleled. And the way he lists PhD candidate is misleading. If you browse quickly, it looks like he's claiming to have a PhD. To defend his PhD, he asserts "GEOGRAPHY MATTERS" but does not really explain why or how it's relevant to the US 5th congressional district. One could make the argument that when representing a congressional district, ANY experience is relevant , and I would agree, but this is an incomplete idea. Much like the whole website.
I can't find a website for OMNI-Communique but here is the website for Illinois International Port. The address is this. For an organization that is headquartered here, I don't know how complex being a board memeber is. Still, the organization seems legit enough.
His statement provides no useful information.
But his endorsements page provides more examples of subterfuge. I read his "endorsement" from the Amici Journal. They don't endorse him. It's a news story. Although the story reads like an endorsement, they never say "endorse." If you read it, it's a pretty horrible endorsement. They only endorse him because he's an Italian-American. Money quote:
Despite a large base in metropolitan Chicago, the Italian-American community, here has not had one of its own in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. During that time there has been increases in both Afro American and Hispanic metro populations. However, there has been gains in representation made by Afro American, Hispanics, Irish and Jewish. These gains, at least in part, have been at the expense of Chicago’s Italian-American community.
Let's here it for the Amici Journal enciting a race war! And what grammar. As I looked around online to get info about the Amici Journal, it seems like it's a legit magazine celebrating Italian American heritgage. It looks like they print 4 issues a year. But the website looks like hell and I wouldn't be surprised if Capparelli knows someone there or even if he didn't, was able to send them a self written "story" that they would post. Whatever the case, the endorsement lacks substance.
He provides no statements from his celebrity endorsers although I don't doubt that they "endorse" him. But what the hell do boxers and racecar drivers know about the Illinois 5th congressional district?
The platform page is the best part of the website. He makes a few substantive statements about where he is on issues (plus) but is extremely vague on some areas (neutral). I liked that he's for term limits on reps.
Conclusion-
This guy is an unserious candidate. Just because one feels politics is a broken system does not absolve you from service to your country or your community. He proudly claims he's not a career politican, and I wholeheartedly will hear the ideas of non-politicians, but show me what you've done that shows selflessness, service, charity etc. I don't see any on his sight. Further, for something this important, representing your fellow citizens, he looks like he has put forth almost no effort, and is more than willing to inflate his credentials to win.
