Daily Herald opinion: ‘No laughing matter’: 9th District candidate’s gift bag stunt sets a disturbing tone

With 21 candidates vying for a single congressional seat, voters in the 9th District understandably showed up at a suburban campaign event Sunday hoping to learn more about their options in the March 17 Democratic and Republican primaries.

They did indeed learn something important about one of those candidates. But it had nothing to do with her stand on the issues.

Rocio Cleveland of Island Lake, one of four candidates in the Republican primary, used the meet-and-greet at the Tikvah Center for Jewish Recovery and Healing in Northbrook to stage a campaign stunt mocking another candidate.

Cleveland brought a prison-themed red gift bag to the event for Democratic hopeful Kat Abughazaleh, a Chicago resident under federal indictment for her actions during a September protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview.

As Cleveland was being recorded for a video posted later on social media, she lifted items from the bag, including pickles and other snacks, and carried on about their potential uses.

Among the “gifts” was a toothbrush that Cleveland said Abughazaleh would need in prison — “to protect yourself.”

The cringe-worthy public performance — and make no mistake, it was exactly that — was tasteless to say the least.

But Cleveland did not stop there. She also offered what she claimed was holy water, saying that Abughazaleh, who is Palestinian American, “(needs) to be baptized.”

“I think you need it,” Cleveland told her. “I think you need it because it just seems like you’re possessed. You are possessed.”

Abughazaleh’s spokesman Sam Weinberg called the move a “weaponization and perversion of the Christian faith against a non-Christian for political purposes.”

We see it that way as well. In a crowded field of candidates, intolerance is hardly an acceptable way to set yourself apart from the pack.

The 9th District, currently served by retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, is a diverse one that stretches from Chicago through suburban Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. The candidates, including 17 in the Democratic primary, reflect a range of religions and backgrounds, mirroring the district itself.

Thus, others in the race were quick to condemn Cleveland. Republican John Elleson, an Arlington Heights pastor, said “Rocio’s use of religious cliches to demonize Kat was unbecoming.” Democrat Bushra Amiwala of Skokie, meanwhile, labeled Cleveland’s actions “insensitive at best and malicious at worst.”

“Political persecution is no laughing matter,” Amiwala said in an email. “I’m appalled that this incident occurred during what was supposed to be a civil discussion about the future of our district.”

We can only guess at Cleveland’s motivations. If she was simply seeking publicity, she got it, though hardly the kind serious candidates should pursue.

Her stunt did serve one important purpose, however: It gave voters insight into the behavior of a candidate seeking the privilege of representing them in Washington, D.C. That’s valuable information come Election Day.