Good news out of the Chicago ex-burbs this weekend as Democrat Bill Foster staged a huge upset in Saturday's special election, winning the race for retiring Dennis Hastert's seat. While he's bad on immigration, Foster is no Blue Dog, and this is especially valuable in a district that broke for Bush 55 percent four years ago. Is it a bellwether? Could be. But it certainly proves that the NRCC and the GOP brand are in shambles, Jim Oberweis is a terrible campaigner, running hard on health care and Iraq is valuable for Democats, and Obama brings the ruckus.
Adam Doster, a contributing editor at In These Times, is a Chicago-based freelance writer and former reporter-blogger for Progress Illinois.