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Schock admits his suggestion to sell nuclear arms to Taiwan was a mistake

Posted November 13, 2007 10:00 pm

Karen McDonald

State Rep. Aaron Schock regrets his his proposal to sell nuclear arms to Taiwan as a way to get China to go along with U.S. policy toward Iran, he said Tuesday, adding he "went too far."

"I have listened to knowledgeable people on this issue and they have said I am on the right track with a proposal that has a great chance to diffuse the crisis without military conflict, but that I was wrong to include the possibility of selling nuclear arms to Taiwan …," Schock said. "I made a mistake and I'm admitting that."

Schock discussed his plan during an announcement speech last month as a means to force China to vote for a third set of sanctions against Iran as the threat of Iranian-produced nuclear weapons draws closer. His comments came under fire by media and his opponents, who called them reckless, though Schock's campaign initially defended the policy.

"(Congress) is not a place where one can shoot from the hip when it comes to complex issues of foreign policy in this important time for our country. Once you cast a vote in Congress you can't take it back," said Ryan Steusloff, a spokesman for John Morris.

Though Schock's statements undoubtedly damaged his campaign for the 18th Congressional District seat, area analysts say he can recover.

"This is the kind of thing that should be a deal breaker. This is not just a mistake. (Schock) is certainly such a prohibitive favorite and has such strong name recognition and financial support I think it's quite possible he could potentially recover from this," said Tari Renner, chairman of the political science department at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.

"He certainly couldn't continue down the path of making a statement that could lead to World War III. It certainly was a smart thing given what he did tactically. Somebody along the way made it clear to him that this is so extreme and so irresponsible you have to back down."

To further pressure Iran to stop its nuclear arms program and funding of Hezbollah, Schock said he would propose a bill to fund freedom fighters inside Iran. "The answer lies in how President (Ronald) Reagan began winning the Cold War."

When asked whether he could compare the parallels of his proposal to what the Reagan administration did with the Contras in Nicaragua, Schock said no.

His Republican opponents applauded him for retracting his earlier statements, but pointed out the stakes are higher in Congress.

"… We're not talking about a local school issue, we're talking about nuclear weapons," said Matt Bisbee, a Jim McConoughey spokesman.

Democratic opponent Dick Versace said career politicians "either don't understand or simply ignore the real needs of the people, resulting in reckless policy proposals."

Christopher Mooney, professor of political studies at the Institute for Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois-Springfield, said it was smart for Schock to admit his mistake and cut his losses.

"Everybody's going to stumble, it's how a person reacts to problems that really can demonstrate character," Mooney said. "If a candidate has a problem and then bounces back from it, it shows that they've got strong character and will be more likely to succeed in the long run."

Karen McDonald can be reached at (309) 686-3285 or kmcdonald@pjstar.com.

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