105 Comments - tubbfan - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:35 pm: I would love to see it. He fits the bill of not being a rabid tea partier. - Empty Chair - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:36 pm: #Primary - OneMan - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:37 pm: Well I kind of hope he and Dan play rock paper scissors to decide who is going to run.. - Pot calling kettle - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:39 pm: He could win the General election against Quinn, but that assumes he could win the Primary and that Quinn would be his opponent in the General. If the Republicans can settle down and get behind a moderate in the primary, Dillard would be a good example of the way to go. However, it will probably be a battle royale amongst everyone from Walsh to Rutherford to Schock to Plummer to Brady. Heaven only knows what will emerge from that, and, if it is a moderate, it will most likely be a damaged product. - Dirty Red - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:41 pm: He might be my favorite candidate gearing up right now. Before Tuesday night, I thought he would suffer for being a less conservative Republican. But if DuPage is blue… - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:42 pm: OneMan, Did not the Romney loss and the dismal failure of the Republicans in the state harm Dan’s chances? - Draznnl - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:43 pm: He would be a good general election candidate. And there’s the rub. He would be defeated, once again, in the primary by a more conservative candidate with little chance of winning the general. - SportShoz - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:43 pm: He’s had a new “Dillard for Governor” page on LinkedIn for months - Rufus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:44 pm: Dillard seems to be the only reasonable Republican that could win the governorship. The GOP has got to get behind a moderate. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:46 pm: Dirty Red, Dillard won his election with 66% of the vote, the highest percentage among DuPage Republicans and the highest total of any Republican Senator that had a contested race. The demographics of his district include Elmhurst, where Quigley will represent and a number of Democratic areas of strength. - The Captain - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:47 pm: If you divide the Republican primary electorate into two pools it seems that Dillard, Rutherford and Shock are all trying to pull votes from that same pool and it’s the smaller of the two pools. When it comes to predicting the behavior of Republican primaries I have an awful track record but someone from the conservative wing of the party seems more mathematically plausible. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:48 pm: - SportShoz - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:43 pm: “He’s had a new “Dillard for Governor” page on LinkedIn for months.” That LinkedIn account is a carryover from 2010. - GA Watcher - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:50 pm: My DuPage friends still talk today about how Kirk Dillard would have been the GOP candidate and possibly Governor today if Jim Ryan had stayed out of the Republican primary field in 2010. - Peter - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:53 pm: Yes please, I want. - Nitro - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:53 pm: I would support him and even offer to help coordinate in southern Illinois - Downstater - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:55 pm: Why would any Republican want to take over the terrible mess? Let the Democrats stay in charge and take the blame. Let them fix it. Let’s see how good Madigan and Cullerton are at getting this done. - Mike M - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:58 pm: Enough with the extremism… - He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 1:59 pm: Hence the problem with the GOP…They keep trotting out the old guard, extremely vanilla, how about finding some younger people that relate to the younger more progressive voters. He will will every county but Cook, and St. Clair and the Dems will win once again. - OneMan - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:00 pm: Cincy.. Yeah it might of, then again no one really expected Romney to win Illinois and it had Dan all over the state, shaking hands and talking to Republicans and various events. Not sure how much of the jacket he wears for the rest of the ticket. - OneMan - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:07 pm: I think you may see Proft, the Really rich guy as well as Andrew again.. So there will not a right consolidation in the primary IMHO - cassandra - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:08 pm: Isn’t he getting a little long in the tooth…in the political sense, that is. Seems like he’s been around for eons. The Republican trend, at least nationally, may be to get younger newer candidates who can cast off the past, and so forth. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:09 pm: In 2010, he won the Metro East area and the 6 counties surrounding Springfield. He has been invited to speak at 6 events south of I-64, since September (including several others in the western part of the state and the collars), and already has had Sen. John O. Jones endorse him for 2014. Dillard is not just a regional candidate. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:15 pm: OneMan, If Dan were to remain at Treasurer, along with Judy Barr, that would be one heck of a ticket alongside Dillard. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:20 pm: “By sundown tomorrow …” This may be a train wreck, and… Please, enough with the Jim Ryan/Kirk Dillard. Those same DuPage committeeman blew it for Dillard who blew it on Tuesday, so enough about Jim Ryan. - Robert the Bruce - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:24 pm: Great idea republican party! Have Rutherford, Shock, and Dillard all run as social moderates, and open the door for a social conservative to win the primary and therefore lose the general. - Fight for Wheaton - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:25 pm: How many times is the GOP going to keep running Etch-A-Sketch candidates and expect anything other than a drubbing at the ballot box? - ZC - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:31 pm: You’ve got to think even the social conservatives in IL are getting separate and willing to back their “Bob Casey” (lib Dems backing a pro life PA Senator), just somebody who can win and get them back to the table. - Norseman - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:31 pm: Dillard is the GOP’s best hope for Governor. Judy and Rutherford need to stay put. He’d have an excellent shot against Quinn. However, I’m betting that Quinn get’s jettisoned by the Dems. Probably L. Madigan or W. Daley will be the standard bearer. - ArchPundit - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:32 pm: Schock runs as a social moderate? Hmmm…I think Rich’s point about him actually showing a record like that would be the first step. I will say this though–he scares me as a Democrat because he works hard and comes off as more moderate than he is. This is different from Dillard who I could potentially support against Quinn. Dillard is relatively conservative on social issues, but he’s moderate on running a government to do the things it needs to do. - FactChecker - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:34 pm: Cincinnatus, Better check your facts. Dillard did not win the six counties surrounding Springfield nor the Metro East area. Brady did. Dillard had downstate support but lost downstate to Brady. - come on man - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:37 pm: He,Rutherford,Schock, and a crazy right winder runs-ie a downstater or Walsh- The first three lose to the later because sanity is split three ways. 4 more years of a democratic Gov. - Original Southern Illinois Resident - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:37 pm: He is the most acceptable downstate, due to his moderate positions, visibility and name recognition. By the way, I think anyone from the GOP would do a better job reducing expenses than Pat Quinn. - just sayin' - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:40 pm: oh great, we’ve all been saying that another puffy white guy is just what the gop needs in Illinois. - wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:45 pm: Sure, why not? It’s not like anyone in the last GOP primary set the world on fire. 25% would be a landslide if you get the same kind of lineup. - Ahoy! - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:48 pm: Hope he wins the primary, last two years probably would have been different enought to matter if he would have just gotten about 300 more votes. He’s the kind of candidate that can win in November. - Kerfuffle - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:48 pm: He is a good guy who can work with both sides of the aisle to get things done and would make a decent governor . . . so he probably can’t win. - shore - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:49 pm: so exciting you’ll have a campaign 2014 newsfeed up before thanksgiving on the right hand side of the screen, but necessary I guess. - Jake From Elwood - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:51 pm: Hey WIND, must we start already with the 2014 campaign for Governor? Can’t we let the dust settle from 48 hrs ago? Ugh. - NIref - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:51 pm: Six months ago, I would have been fine with this, but Dillard signed on to the gay marriage lawsuit and hence signaled the end of his moderate days. He’s running to the right, which will cost him. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:04 pm: I’ve said this before, and it looks like I’ll get to say it again and again: if the GOP wants to win, Dillard is the type of Republican that can win statewide. He got too close to the ring wing flame last time trying to win the primary, but that’s how it goes when the geniuses at Illinois Review force their litmus test on all of the contenders. Rauner = McKenna + Gidwitz. Schock has a sweet gig in DC that he’d be crazy to give up when time is on his side. Aaron, think how cool it’ll be in the Senate in a few years. Save your money. Rutherford should take on White or stay where he’s at. JBT should ride off into the sunset and let Adam A buy that nomination. There is a way for the ILGOPs to put together a ticket that appeals to a lot of voters, but it has to have an electable candidate for Governor at the top. That person isn’t Joe Walsh, but if I was handicapping the race today, Walsh would be my front runner to win the nomination. That’s how screwed up the IL GOP is today. - Old and In the Way - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:06 pm: First hand experience…Dillard is a poor campaigner one on one and in groups. He still hasn’t figured out that Illinois exists below I-80, even though he went to school in Macomb. He was a disaster downstate. He is too socially conservative for northern Illinois. How about something or someone new for IGOP? It’s demographics and real issues stupid! - too obvious - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:07 pm: Guy who voted to double our state’s debt (one of only 4 senate Republicans to vote for Blago’s $10 Billion bond deal in 2003), raised our electric rates (whenever ComEd asks), supporter of massive gambling expansion, and star of Obama television campaign ad - perfect choice for GOP nominee. /s/ Pat Quinn - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:14 pm: Dillard beat Brady the following counties: Boone Cook DeKalb DuPage Kane Kankakee Kendall Lake Macoupin Madison McHenry Sangamon Will He was within tens of votes in many others. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:16 pm: - just sayin’ - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:40 pm: oh great, we’ve all been saying that another puffy white guy is just what the gop needs in Illinois. Chris Christie Mitch Daniels come to mind… - Skeeter - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:17 pm: If Dillard is in the race, I pull a GOP primary ballot for the first time in my life. I might even work for the 42nd Ward GOP on election day if they really exist. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:17 pm: - Ahoy! - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:48 pm: “Hope he wins the primary, last two years probably would have been different enought to matter if he would have just gotten about 300 more votes. He’s the kind of candidate that can win in November.” 193 votes… - countryboy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:17 pm: End the ALEC gig pronto, Kirk. - Sideliner - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:20 pm: Daley will run and Dillard and the Republicans, and every taxpayer outside Cook County and Chicago will lose. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:24 pm: Oh geez … here we go, the revisionist history … ===- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:14 pm: Dillard beat Brady the following counties: Boone Cook DeKalb DuPage Kane Kankakee Kendall Lake Macoupin Madison McHenry Sangamon Will He was within tens of votes in many others.=== Dillard Lost … and Sundown CAME… and went … - HM - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:26 pm: Wasn’t Jack Roeser his biggest backer last time around? What does that tell us? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:28 pm: Hey …- Cincinnatus -, just change you name to … - Dillard’s Apologist - Kinda cuts to the chase. Why am I dinging ya? Geez Cincy, Cut and Paste the talking points Dillard is sending and save the typing. Read your posts. Put an * in front of your typing and then add 4 colors and make them mail pieces already. With ya, but c’mon … you are better than yes. - wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:35 pm: I always thought Dillard cutting the spot for Obama was part and parcel of his anticipated 2010 run. A moderate, bi-partisan gesture. He didn’t see the Tea Party coming in 2010. Obama was a pretty popular guy all over Illinois late 2007 and early 2008. Even Roskam grabbed on to his coattails that year. Kind of like Dold did this year. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:37 pm: - wordslinger -, Not good … GREAT observation. I forgot what that Obama Ad looked like … wonder if we will see it? Yikes! - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:46 pm: === - Ahoy! - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 2:48 pm: “Hope he wins the primary, last two years probably would have been different enought to matter if he would have just gotten about 300 more votes. He’s the kind of candidate that can win in November.” 193 votes… === Gotta LOVE those DuPage Elected Committeeman. No on … Doesn’t … work a precinct …like a …DuPage Elected Committeeman. Dillard Lost. 2014 will be a new day. Get over 2010. Keep beating that drum and I will keep waiting for “Sundown tomorrow.” Enough … 2014… focus please. - Cincinnatus - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:46 pm: OW, To steal Rich’s phrase, Bite Me. I have chosen to support Dillard because I believe he is the only electable Republican in the state. He has strong downstate roots, his wife is from Elkart and his family are coal miners among many other attachments. He has worked in all three “sections” of the state. - Old and In the Way, Dillard beat Chris Nybo, a great candidate, 2:1 in the Primary and by the same margin in the General. - Empty Chair - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:48 pm: What is it with people on this blog thinking that “counties” are important. We don’t have an electoral college in this state. You win voters, not counties. - wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:52 pm: –I have chosen to support Dillard because I believe he is the only electable Republican in the state.– That’s quite a powerful indictment of the state GOP. I don’t believe it, as there are other statewide elected officials. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:54 pm: ===OW, To steal Rich’s phrase, Bite Me.=== GAME. ON. With kindest personal regards, I remain. Sincerely yours, in 193 votes, Oswego Willy I just asked that you think what your posting…you took it here, I guess. - Yes, but... - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 3:57 pm: Dillard would certainly be much preferable to Quinn, but he really is more of the same old crowd that has been around forever. He’d end up gov as things really fall apart and the gop would take the blame for Madigan’s 30 years of out of control spending. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:02 pm: An Open Letter to Sen. Dillard, I am actually a big fan of yours, and if you do look back, I only mocked some of the decisions, and… the goofy statements others have made. I actually was surprised that your loss by 193 votes was not seen as a wake-up call by the ILGOP as to what can happen when Field Operations fail, or do not exist. Bill Brady didn’t learned that in the General Election. The H&SGOP, along with poor campaign decisions along the way, didn’t learn that on Tuesday. I will only respond to Cincy when the dopey talking points are being used in the 2010 race, and in changing the narrative. You have been, and continue to be a Class candidate, and a great guy. But, Cincy ain’t helpin’ so that must mean Cincy is ‘a hurtin'’. I look forward to your campaign. I will be fair with you, and your campaign. We will see how Cincy wants to go. Very respectfully, Oswego Willy - Anonymous - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:09 pm: Governor Kirk Dillard? Well it would probably make the Speaker happy. He seems to get along better with Republican Governors. - Esquire - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:13 pm: I sometimes wonder if Dillard would have beaten Brady if punch card ballots were still in use in the precincts. Schillerstrom pulled in a few thousand wasted votes on the electronic voting machines which could not be reprogrammed to remove his name when he withdrew as a gubernatorial candidate. In the ballot books, a name could be removed using electrical tape. - Norseman - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:17 pm: Willy - Easy to throw stones. Who is(are) your choice(s) for credible candidate(s)? - Norseman - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:19 pm: Willy - I see you made a more constructive point while I was typing my comment. - Anonymous - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:22 pm: The Iowa Obama ad is the primary reason Kirk Dillard lost the primary to Bill Brady; that ad was too much for the conservative GOP faction to stomach. In the aftermath of Tuesday’s election, the Obama ad in 2014 is insignificant and perhaps a positive on Dillard’s ability to work with the Democrats. Dillard is best placed to raise campaign funding and appeal to the changed political landscape. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:24 pm: ===The Iowa Obama ad is the primary reason Kirk Dillard lost the primary=== 2010 Primary…. 193 votes - NO Field Operations = Loss Please do not confuse a crowded primary and no field operations with the Ad being the primary reasons 193 votes were not found. Just saying. - Anyone Remember? - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:33 pm: I think if Dillard had been able to be on the campaign trail that last weekend rather than dealing with the death of his father he would have beaten Brady. - Been There - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:36 pm: ===193 votes - NO Field Operations = Loss=== Willy is right on this. He should be laying the groundwork NOW. Find people to put the boots on the ground. Money is very important but as the dems just proved, dragging voters out of their homes works. I would be working Cook County almost as hard as the collars, NOW. There are almost as many GOP votes there as DuPage. Not to ignore downstate but that is where you spend your TV money. And pull a Blago and lock up the County Chairmen, NOW. They are interested in getting the jobs back and not making budget cuts a priority like the right wingers want. (For some reason this is the second time today this democrat is giving the republicans advice) - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:37 pm: - Anyone Remember? - Good point … Very good point. Sen. Dillard is a good Man. We will never know how that affected the end of the race or the ‘End’. - Eilean left - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:45 pm: In the end it doesn’t matter who the GOP puts up for Gov. Look at what happened two days ago, quit kidding yourselves,the GOP is gone in this state and it will take decades to change its signature. - Cheryl44 - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:47 pm: Is the ILGOP really going to put a moderate out there for us to think about this time? Because I like Pat Quinn as a person, but as a governor? Not so much. Which is also not a surprise. He hasn’t stopped thinking of himself as the outsider and it’s no way to govern. Anyway, I’d like an actual choice next time. - wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:49 pm: –I would be working Cook County almost as hard as the collars, NOW. There are almost as many GOP votes there as DuPage.– Sigh. No, there are many more GOP votes in Cook County than DuPage. Romney got 479,000 votes in Cook, 193,000 votes in DuPage. Romney got 145,000 votes in the City of Chicago. Guess how many counties had more votes for Romney? Just DuPage. The 101-county strategy is just nuts. The GOP loses time after time running anti-Cook and anti-Chicago campaigns — and by simply refusing to build organizations there at all. They leave tens of thousands of votes in the field. The term Reagan Democrat was practically invented in Chicago. It didn’t use to be that way; the GOP used to work it to knock down the Dem vote, but not anymore. I blame Madigan’s Jedi mind tricks. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:51 pm: Two points … ===In the end it doesn’t matter who the GOP puts up for Gov. Look at what happened two days ago, quit kidding yourselves,the GOP is gone in this state and it will take decades to change its signature.=== If we Keep Cross and Radogno .. and the mindset of the “Fire Madigan” ILGOP, then maybe you are right. However, If we make big changes, do the things we forgot are important, we can start by taking away the Mansion, and adding a Statewide or two as well. 2014 needs NOT to be a repeat of 2012, or 2010(Cincy), its up to Us in the ILGOP. Also, ===(For some reason this is the second time today this democrat is giving the republicans advice)=== You have nothing to fear, there are too many of us “yelling in the wind” that no one listens to, so they will just add your good advice to their “white noise” mentality. Fear not, it will fall on deaf ears…SADLY. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:54 pm: - wordslinger- … You are too wise, Obi Wan. But fear not, those 4.5 million calls to … HDem members will work in finding them. Cripes, after TUE and Cross and Radogno not leaving and no one taking any fault, when o’ when will we get to True Voter ID in Cook to finally win? Is it 5 o’clock yet …I know it’s noon somewhere. - Been There - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 4:56 pm: ===No, there are many more GOP votes in Cook County than DuPage.=== I was actually talking about the primary. I am pretty sure DuPage was still first last March. And my guess is, if there are other contested Dem races in a primary, the GOP turnout in Cook will still be lower. But I agree with the rest of your post. As to your point, the 19th ward and the NW side wards of Chicago usually only have about 5% of the primary voters pull a GOP ballot. But when the General election rolls around they go about 40% for the top of the ticket in presidential years. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 5:00 pm: - Been There - I took yours referring to Primary, and I also took - wordslinger- as General. I wanted to clear that up for my own mental health, which I now check every 4 hours since TUE. - Seriously - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 5:03 pm: One man and 47th ward Enough with the Adam AndjewIDIOT stuff. The guy is toxic and Dan 2% Proft???????? PLEEEAAAASE! Those are the kind of right wing haters that are the cause of the problem. Kirk Dillard can win the general election and nobody else in the field has nearly as good a shot. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 5:04 pm: ===I blame Madigan’s Jedi mind tricks.=== These aren’t the voters you’re looking for. - Norseman - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 5:09 pm: The issue of the GOP Gubernatorial in 2014 is not about Radogno or Cross, they’re irrelevant. To say they will is to buy off on a reverse “fire Madigan” factor. I see Cullerton and Madigan having more of an impact on GOP chances for a GOP governor than Radogno and Cross. By that I mean they will have a prominent role in establshing state policy over the next two years. They will seek to bail Quinn out and try to make him look like an effective leader or basically toss him aside and decide that another Dem standard bearer will be necessary. My money is on a new Dem standard bearer. The bottom line is that I don’t see any hope for the GOP. Too many wingnuts will rally behind another rich candidate and lead them to another Wednesday in November asking how they can change their fortunes. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 5:12 pm: ===I blame Madigan’s Jedi mind tricks.=== Take me to Tom Cross now … - Eilean left - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 5:30 pm: I guess what i am curious about is what issues can the GOP run on. Let me see,Obama care,Pat Quinn,State Debt, Pension reform,Mike Madigan,Tax hikes of 67%,education funding,oh that right they already tried that this time around.How did that tactic work for them? - mark walker - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 5:42 pm: Agree with 47th. Dillard is the GOP’s best bet, and not a bad candidate regardless of party. But can we trust the ILGOP not to self-destruct with stiff-necked Conservative purity? - amalia - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 5:58 pm: Empty Chair is so right on about the Counties thing. if square miles won an election, individual Counties might count for something. with Illinois it’s the same thing as Ohio….you have to cut into one county to win. that is why Romney was campaigning in the Cleveland area….where it is Cuyahoga County. Here it is Cook. if your politics cannot play in Cook, forget it. - Just The Way It Is One - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 6:55 pm: He should definitely have a leg up on other potential opponents, particularly as a moderate the way things have been going for the GOP lately, and barring some shockingly unexpected subsequent entry, (no pun intended, Rep. Schock!),is likely to end up duking it out with Dan Rutherford for the nod when all is said and done; also, Mr. Dillard should be better prepared this time for what it takes to win over a few thousand more votes than his last bid in order to get it done… - Oneman - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 6:58 pm: What can the GOP run on… Well there are quite a few things we can run on.. – Your schools not getting the money the state promised them when the state said they were going to get it. – State funding cuts that impact busing service for your kids (think that will work in the burbs) – The tax increase, It was sort of hidden in people’s paychecks because of the federal payroll tax cut. It’s gonna be noticed IMHO, also if the state is still broke (likely will be) there is a ‘what good did it do’ argument – Delayed social program payments: We need to work to make this a local issue, dear neighbor and friends and family letters. Dear Bob I volunteer at XYZ and have seen the impact of the state paying XYZ so late – Not honoring state employee contracts: A word is a bond, people who work for the government deserve to have their contracts be honored. – Child care: going to work to make it easier for home child care operators (quicker licensing, lower fees, no state taxes on income first year) There is more, we can do this. The question is if we will - Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 7:14 pm: Keep in mind, Sen. Dillard gets to be part of ‘the nineteen’ and their agenda in the build up to the gov race. Are they going to caucus in Jim Oberweis’ black helicopter or Kyle McCarter’s one-room school house? It would seem that the company he keeps in the months ahead could become problematic. Keep in mind, his first vote may very well be to kick a suburban woman out of a leadership post. - Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 7:22 pm: One man, Here are the problems with your Dillard platform. The SGOPs wants deeper school funding cuts. The SGOPs opposed the current state employee contract The SGOPs opposed the refinancing plans that would have provided schools and social programs the money they’re owed (the SGOP plan is to cut their funding so the next check they get is their last) I could go on and on, but it’s better to just go to YouTube and call up the “Reality Check” news conference and let Kirk and his SGOP pals explain it. Fun stuff. - Anonymous - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 8:07 pm: As a fairly loyal Democrat, I would have easily voted for him over Quinn (but not a right winger like Brady). So just like for national REpublicans (and fox and talk radio), will the conservative party in this country nominate moderates? If so, they’ll win. If not, just ask severe conservative Romney. - Eilean left - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 8:42 pm: one man If all you say is good for GOP then why didn”t you use it this election? - Give Me A Break - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 9:02 pm: One Man: Will the GOP platform look something like this: Protect teachers and state worker’s pensions. Stop Facility Closures. Give AFSCME Their Raises Balance the Budget And do all of that while they get rid of the tax increase and have less GRF to work with. Dillard or whoever better ride their unicorn into battle. - LincolnLounger - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 9:02 pm: I don’t mean to belabor the point, but rank-and-file Republican leaders downstate HATED that Obama ad. Kirk is a good guy. He’s pragmatic, and has been working very hard traveling the state doing all sorts of downstate GOP stuff. He is NOT a moderate, however, unless you mean voting for tax deals with Senate Dems. He’s made a deal with the devil in Jack Roeser, though, and many of us are disappointed. - Samurai - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 9:29 pm: Thanks to the early announcements for Governor by Rutherford and Schock we can look forward to the start of the 2014 election. This will be an expensive race and the contributors will want to see some type of a consensus candidate from the GOP before throwing around money. Have to wonder whether Pat Brady and company can pull this off. Joe Walsh has more determination and energy than anyone, but he is totally unelectable and will not attract the money needed for this race. Bruce Rauner is loaded, but does he really have the temperament and determination to get out and meet the voters. Maybe he really covets a seat at the table; Illinois Board of Education perhaps. Dillard is the only GOP candidate who can maneuver the changed political landscape. Whether the social ideologues can come to grips with this reality is anyone’s guess. - get it back - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 9:46 pm: Dillard got a remarkable 75% of vote in Cook Cty. & 7% more than popular Peter Roskam in DuPage Cty.. Dillard runs well in EVERY part of Illinois. - wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 9:58 pm: Dillard got 155,334 of 767,485 primary votes. It is what it is — 20.24%, no more, no less. - DuPage Dave - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 10:03 pm: Dillard’s time has come and gone. He’s been running for governor for the last 20 years. He didn’t have the political muscle to get the other losers off the ballot in 2010 and lost to Brady who the vast majority of voters voted against. He may have done well on Tuesday but I don’t think the public is clamoring for him to be governor. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 10:11 pm: ===Dillard got 155,334 of 767,485 primary votes. It is what it is=== Funny thing about vote totals … they are what they are …can’t add votes that you don’t get. Can we please thou … get over 2010 … 2014 is a New Animal …especially after Tuesday. - Bond Craswell - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 10:19 pm: Schock has wider appeal–new generation of leader. Dillard same old, same old. Schock harder worker, more charismatic. - Norseman - Thursday, Nov 8, 12 @ 10:19 pm: DD - While he may have been eyeing the governor’s race for a long time, he’s only had one campaign. I wouldn’t put him in the perennial candidate yet. I can’t think of any GOP other than Edgar who would have “the political muscle to get the other losers off the ballot.” Too many egos and rich people. - Generation X - Friday, Nov 9, 12 @ 12:03 am: I think a Schock vs Dillard primary would be a W for Schock. Schock will have the money and charisma to outperform Brady in Cook by a large margin while still controlling the downstate. If Brady runs however, that could create a path for Dillard by splitting the downstate vote. If Rutherford runs and there is 4 of them??? - just me - Friday, Nov 9, 12 @ 7:43 am: Where is a fresh YOUNG person. This guy is too old, fat and tired. Haven’t we learned? - chicagopublius - Friday, Nov 9, 12 @ 8:25 am: Quinn has an ego the size of the planet Jupiter. Lavin and his ilk like their hands on the levers of power way to much to simply let go - think LaFleur at Highway Authority; Meister at Finance; the talking head at Sports Authority. No way do Quinn and Lavin step down. And unless they do, Preckwinkle - who would win the general - doesn’t step up. . . . If Dillard can avoid a bloody primary with the right wing, and if Preckwinkle isn’t the Dem nominee, Dillard could win - on the merits. - OneMan - Friday, Nov 9, 12 @ 8:33 am: == Where is a fresh YOUNG person. This guy is too old, fat and tired. Haven’t we learned? == Have you seen Pat Quinn, I don’t think the voters are looking for a glamour boy (not intended to be a hit on Schock, really). - Eddie - Friday, Nov 9, 12 @ 8:37 am: Never get out of primary. If so, Mr. Dillard, meet Mr. Dart. - titan - Friday, Nov 9, 12 @ 9:08 am: Cook is aprox. 40% of the state’s population. The handful of suburban “Collar Counties” is approx. 30%. The resto fo Illinois is the remaining approx. 30%. Cook will go resoundingly D, but there are a lot of R votes there (low % but large in raw numbers compared to any of the “downstate” counties). The shift of suburban D/R split toward the D makes a GOP 102 county campaign a realistic necessity going forward, so a candidate with thoughts of winning has to up the Cook % of his/her vote a significant number of points. - Sideliner - Friday, Nov 9, 12 @ 9:30 am: Happy to see everyone here has it figured out. All that is left is to plug in the part where Bill Daley runs and crushes anyone and everyone. 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