Republican David McSweeney, who is challenging incumbent Democrat Melissa Bean in Illinois 8th Congressional District, held a rally out in Schaumberg today. I'd say there were probably 200 people or more crowded into the banquet room, which is not a bad showing for a Congressional event. The crowd seemed energetic but also a bit tense: as were waiting for the dignitaries to arrive word was circulating about Speaker Hastert' s impending press conference and what news it might bring.

For his part, candidate McSweeney appeared energized as well, and it didn't take long before he answered the question of whether he would be willing to touch the Foley matter at all. After saying that he would fight to reform Congress if elected (and also promising to slash Congressional salaries and pensions by 25%), McSweeney told the crowd he wanted to know why Mark Foley hadn't been arrested yet. The room applauded approvingly.

McSweeney went on to say there should be "zero tolerance" for that type of behavior, that Republicans shouldn't hide from the scandal and that he supported a "full investigation" as well as replacing the current House Ethics Committee with an independent panel that could deal with these type of situations more effectively.

The big draw for the event was Mayor Rudy Giuliani (making his second fundraising turn for McSweeney this year), who appeared along with former Illinois Republican Governor Jim Edgar. Giuliani didn't mention the Foley scandal at all, and he spent his time speaking almost exclusively about the importance of having a Republican majority in Congress to help continue fight an aggressive War on Terror.

McSweeney has an uphill fight on his hands against Bean. If the Foley scandal does depress Republican turnout he's done. But if it doesn't, or if the details of the scandal shift enough to somehow leave voters in this conservative-leaning district (Cook PVI R+5) disgusted with the whole lot in Congress and McSweeney can effectively sell himself as an outside-the-beltway reformer, he still might have a chance.