Today, the Daily Herald rendered the invaluable public service of introducing us to two Chicagoland GOP candidates for November’s midterm elections. 55-year-old Susanne Atanus, especially, appears to be a real piece of work.

Voters in the Republican primary will have two very different candidates to choose from in the 9th Congressional District, as David Earl Williams III and Susanne Atanus vie for the right to face Rep. Jan Schakowsky in the fall. … “I am a conservative Republican and I believe in God first,” Atanus said. She said she believes God controls the weather and has put tornadoes and diseases such as autism and dementia on earth as punishment for gay rights and legalized abortions.

Williams, 30, has his own issues.

He has a domestic violence order of protection that was filed against him by a Washington, D.C. judge in December. … According to a story published in the online newspaper Evanston Now, the allegations against Williams include that he tried to have the ex-girlfriend fired from her job and kicked out of school by impersonating her online.

He denies the harassment charges by his former lover, saying she is lashing out as a spurned woman, but the judge ordered him to undergo a mental-health evaluation and anger-management classes.

Though Williams, in the video below, seems to want to come across as poised and prepared, he can’t keep himself from grimacing, wincing, and guffawing at Susanne Atanus’ statements. It’s entertaining in the first minute, and increasingly irritating after that.

If I were a Republican-leaning voter in the 9th District, I’d be pretty pissed over such a paucity of reason, class, and choice.



