108 Comments - Carl Nyberg - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:34 am: More self-funders, but not like Oberweis, McKenna, Peraica or Jack Ryan. Better self-funders. But seriously, if the GOP could just get Cook County to become its own state then the GOP would have a decent shot at winning statewide in (Illinois minus Cook County). But kidding aside, if the Republicans could get a time machine they could go back in time and salvage their credibility on government spending issues by criticizing Bush busting the budget. - Six Degrees of Separation - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:35 am: This is almost too easy but… If you have ever lost a race to Jim Oberweis, you might not be the one to get the IL Republicans back in the game. - Captain Flume - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:36 am: The Republicans can begin doing what is not natural for them, at least in the past few years, and that is to de-factionalize themselves and realize that getting part of their agenda accomplished is better than getting none of it. They also need to recognize the extent to which their leadership has caused much of this. The big money people virtually abandon nominated candidates, and the campaigns suffer from lack of imagination and assertiveness, and they seem to lack a common articulated policy stand on just about anything. - Greg - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:49 am: I’ve thought for a while that the Republican Party’s biggest problem was a lack of very smart leaders. The party has plenty of super smart supporters, think tankers, etc, but always manages to showcase, at the top level, more mediocre IQs. Republicans are tired of holding their breath as their candidates speak, praying they don’t ridicule themselves. - Wumpus - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:51 am: Get rid of McKenna. Unite and realize that purity is not the way to go. All this Jack Roesser spinoffs are not good for anyone except their egos. I remeber the Illionis Center RIght Committee was no where near the center. - Doggone - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:51 am: I for one am sick and tired of people holding Jim Edgar out as some kind of standard bearer. After all, Edgar is the man that perfected the ART of PATRONAGE in Illinois. Nobody, and I mean nobody, gave more to the creation of the Cellini’s Corruption Machine than Jim Edgar. - Fan of the Game - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:54 am: ===More self-funders, but not like Oberweis, McKenna, Peraica or Jack Ryan. Better self-funders.=== Can’t tell if this is snark or not. Self-funding is a nightmare. The ILGOP needs to find good, solid candidates and then recruit potential “self-funders” to fund these candidates. Barack Obama has never been a self-funder, and see where he is headed. - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:55 am: Cellini’s machine was created by Thompson, enhanced by Edgar. - City Voter - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:55 am: Yes, that sounds desperate. I think setting the president elect up as illegitimate is a much better strategy (see Bush). - SangamoGOP - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:56 am: 1. GOP ‘leadership’ needs to step aside. McKenna is completely ineffective. Cross same. KJ is gone and Cellini is out. 2. The party actually has to expand and support local, county/precinct organizations and build the party from ground up with candidates who have been tested in local & county races/offices. 3. Thank self-funders for wanting to get involved and encourage them to run for city council or county board or park district. If they run for higher office off the bat, they should not get preferential treatment from the party. 4. Actually engage younger voters, minority voters, women voters with a consice, clear message based on liberty and responsibility. 5. Thank business groups & business ‘leaders’ for wanting to be involved. Thank family ‘leaders’ for wanting to be involved. Then, put them all in the same room and find the 80% of issues with agreement and go from there. 6. Stop pointing fingers at the media and the Democrats and big, bad Chicago and look in the mirror, for once. - Cassandra - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:56 am: They have to hit the precincts and the e-mails. I’m an independent and over the past five years have given money to Hillary and to JBT and to Christine Radogno. I still get e-mails from Hillary (I guess she is still retiring her campaign debt, because there is a big Contribute button on each email). I get nothing from the Republicans. No e-mails. No visits. No requests to attend organizing events. And…I speak Spanish! Nothing. I have no sense of either a local or national push to organize around some of the issues where the Republicans might have some strengths…better management of tax monies, more government accountability, lower taxes on the middle class (the Dems seem to have that one over..we’ll see if they produce), and so on. The impression I have is of a lot of rich white guys feeding off what contributions they can get from the faithful and messing around in government pension funds. - OneMan - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:59 am: oh where to start… First, we need to understand the difference between a political party and church. In/At church you can be dogmatic, you can say this is what we are this is what we believe and this is what we consider important. These are the stands we are never going to step away from because if we do salvation becomes an issue. However without power (elected officials basically) a political party is nothing but a group of people. Is it more important to fight the culture war and lose and have no power but said you fought the fight? A decision needs to be made if it is more important make social conservative viewpoints the center of the campaigns even though that has not been successful statewide or take a different tack. We need to stop talking about the combine. People need to understand that most people don’t get it and those that do can care less. We need to figure out how to make some sort of inroads into cook county. Crime and Taxes? Perhaps but again if you are moderate on the other stuff then you are toast there too. Same thing with the collars. They are changing we need to understand and deal with that as well. - Phil Collins - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:03 pm: Wumpus, I think you meant Illinois Center Right Coalition. It has that name because it was meant to be a coalition of many conservative groups, to encourage them to work together, better. I agree that the name should delete the word “center.” Republicans should nominate more conservatives. Dr. Sauerberg is moderate, and he lost. Ex-Treasurer is moderate, and she lost. If we nominate more conservatives, for statewide offices, some of them will win. - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:04 pm: ===Dr. Sauerberg is moderate, and he lost.=== C’mon. Dr. Sauerberg may have some moderate leaning, but you wouldn’t have known it by his campaign. He ran like a rabid right-winger. - Anonymous - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:05 pm: See what happens….notice how not even one of these answers is aimed to adress the Hispanic vote - MarkC - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:06 pm: Sauerberg and JBT lost because they were uninspiring candidates… - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:06 pm: OneMan I think has hit it on the head. Too many Republicans cannot face reality, so they will never solve their problems. Try to be honest with yourselves and us here. We’re not fools. So, don’t treat us as such and don’t act like one yourself. - shore - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:06 pm: 1. New ideas, people of my generation voted against the GOP 2-1 72 hours ago. There aren’t a lot of positive exciting reasons to be a gop. 2. Get rid of the current team, it’s pathetic when a conservative u.s. rep in dupage county has to use a democratic president to save his skin. McKenna and Hastert have now overseen the loss of the u.s. congress and 3 red u.s. house seats here. We are also the only state between the coasts that hasn’t been gop competitive for potus this century. 3. Invest locally and get aggressive. Mark Kirk is a nice guy, but the north shore used to be a gop powerhouse, some guys named cheney and rumsfeld were once employed by our district, and he has left it in serious neglect. 4. Pray for things to go as bad in d.c. as they have gone for democrats here. - Undercover - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:11 pm: I think the GOP needs to do several things to remain relevant in IL. 1. Step away from the pale, male and stale candidates. Rich old white guys aren’t representative of many people in this state. People tend to vote for those with whom they identify. 2. Reject hateful, discriminatory platforms ala the national GOP. Don’t hate on gays, don’t hate on immigrants, don’t hate on ANYONE. Illinoisans aren’t ideologues. 3. Do not run anti-choice candidates. This state’s electorate has shown over and over that they value a woman’s right to choose. 4. Take a cue from DuPage Republicans, the last bastion of very decent GOP organization in this state. Organize on the grassroots level permanently. - Secret Square - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:12 pm: Remember Reagan’s 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican. Don’t diss social conservatives as crazies — the vast majority of them (outside of TV, radio and the blogosphere) are good people who care about what’s right and wrong, and value loyalty through good times and bad — exactly the kind of people you want to have on your side. Likewise, don’t diss economic conservatives as RINOs — they may have a more realistic chance of accomplishing what they promise to do and of appealing to people other than the already converted. Finally, stop whining about “media bias.” Yes, it does exist to some extent, but it also makes a convienient, all-purpose excuse to ignore legitimate criticism or attempts to correct mistakes (like what happened over at Illinois Review yesterday.) - Speaking At Will - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:20 pm: Run as Democrats. Then push republican issues. - Bill Baar - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:21 pm: We need to figure out how to make some sort of inroads into cook county. Crime and Taxes? GOP’s afraid of getting tagged as racist if they talk about crime. They should get over that. Reduce the violent crime in this state, and the accompanying fear, and many other social issues take care of themselves. This AM I watched a father describe his son’s fear that he would be gunned down at school yesterday (the boy was shot and killed yesterday). That we’ve come to accept that in Illinois without outrage is a huge tragedy. It’s beyond my comprehension. - Bill Baar - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:24 pm: PS re the social issues… note Jonah Goldberg’s column today on Obama’s coattails bringing down same-sex marriage… i.e new AA voters casting for Obama and against same sex marriage… there is a path the GOP can weave here. But a lot of it is tone and judgemental grates… - The Doc - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:27 pm: The GOP can start by unhitching its wagon entirely from Blagojevich. Free itself from the notion that embracing conservative values necessarily means repudiating folks like Fran Eaton who attempt to unilaterally demonize Democrats rather than embrace clear-thinking Republicans and their ideals. Compromise on the social agenda, at least in the short-term. The majority of this state leans more to the left on topics like abortion, and that’s not gonna change any time soon. Not abandon, just compromise. Hammer home the fiscal and ethics agendas. Illinoisans begrudgingly accept corruption, sky-high tax rates, and lottery lease ideas because we haven’t been exposed to reasonable and specific alternatives. Promote from within. Most of the high-ranking statewide Dems have either the family pedigree or previous political experience that catapulted them into power. Migrating directly from business magnate to political office is a wretched game plan. - Carl Nyberg - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:27 pm: Pray for things to go as bad in d.c. as they have gone for democrats here. –shore Country First! - wordslinger - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:30 pm: Go where the votes are: Chicago, Cook and the Collars. If you are running statewide in Illinois, have an understanding that 2/3 of the citizens live there and you have to speak to their needs. There should be ample opportunity, particularly now. But you can’t just be anti-Chicago. Lots of suburban folks think of themselves as Chicagoans. - Niles Township - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:35 pm: Nominate Mark Kirk for governor. - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:36 pm: NT, that solves no structural problems. Try expanding on your thought, please. - OneMan - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:39 pm: ==Pray for things to go as bad in d.c. as they have gone for democrats here. –shore== Any plan that counts on the other guy screwing up is a doomed plan… - He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:42 pm: Drop the whole Roe V Wade fight (PRO-LIFE). The majority of people in the country do not want it overturned. Many people are PRO-LIFE but believe in a womans right to choose. The party needs to stay to the middle. The more Right you go, the more it scares the general population. Get rid of the OLD GUARD. Edgar….GO AWAY, and GET OVER YOURSELF. More importantly, go out and find younger people willing to stick their neck out and run for the Lower offices. Create a “Farm Club” at the lower levels (City, County, etc.). We need more young energenic people running for offices, not 65 year old Rich People that are out of touch with reality. But let everyone know they don’t get free rides and must work to get moved up the chain. Get back to the grass roots. Get more in line with technology. That is the future. The old ways of campaigning is gone. Most of all we need to show that Republicans in the state HAS ETHICS! You can’t screem “Pay to Play” then have Republicans found to be a part of it. (Or Made HUGE amounts of Money off if it) You can’t have Republicans screaming about helping democrats, only to find out they have thrown Huge fundraisers for a Democrat. We need to be more inclusive to the people. - Secret Square - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:48 pm: Undercover says the ILGOP should “not run anti-choice candidates.” Now, there’s an example of “dissing” social conservatives and losing them on an issue that is literally a matter of life and death to many. Also, principled opposition to same-sex marriage and unchecked illegal immigration is not the same as “hating on” gays and immigrants. I think one can oppose both those things in a respectful manner without painting gays or illegal aliens as the root of all evil. Granted, very few if any conservative media/blogosphere figures are even trying to make that distinction, but I would like to see it made. This is what I’d like to see: a candidate who makes it clear they oppose abortion, are willing to endorse restrictions approved by a majority of the people and fellow legislators, and will do whatever is within their ability to make it “rare” (as even pro-choice advocates say they want to do). The operative words here, however, are “within their ability.” Currently it is beyond the ability of any pro-life candidate, at the state level at least, to do very much given the limitations imposed by the federal courts and the political strength of Democrats and moderate Republicans. These limitations should be faced, and pro-life/social conservative candidates should NOT promise things they realistically cannot deliver. As far as Hispanic voters, I would think many of them would be naturally amenable to social and fiscal conservatism given that most are Catholic, a growing number are evangelical Protestants, and they value hard work and making a better life for themselves. Someone should be able to explain to Hispanic voters how unchecked illegal immigration is unfair to ALL Hispanics — native-born U.S. citizens, legal immigrants who have played by the rules, and illegal/undocumented who have been sucked into a system enabling them to be exploited economically and socially. Point out to Anglo citizens that if respect for the law is a concern, better to have more lenient laws that can be consistently and fairly enforced than strict laws inconsistently and selectively enforced. - Oberon - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:48 pm: It is no longer a two-party world, and Illinois is the proof. JBT was not elected because too many of those who could not stomach G-Rod could not bring themselves to vote Republican, and chose the Greens as an alternative. Rod was not re-elected with a majority, but a plurality; why continue to ignore that glaring fact? The gridlock in a Democratic State Governemnt is further proof that the Democratic Party in Illinois is not an homogenous juggernaut; it is so internally splintered it cannot govern. Its electorate is vulnerable to capture by the organizations and candidates who can see and exploit the divisions. I think One-Man has it partly right, but the two factions of the Il GOP are not likely to ever be reconciled; the differences are too deep and too firmly held. So they might as well accept the inevitable and go their separate ways. Kirk’s victory, seizing Obama’s coat-tails, is further proof that voters less often cast their vote because of a party label. We need to figure out how to work together in a multi-party system, because that’s what is coming. - Will - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:49 pm: The best hope for the IL GOP is to pull a Schwarzenegger. Run a moderate celebrity candidate who can self finance or easily raise money. Then use the victory to start rebuilding from the ground up. - Anon - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:51 pm: George Will is right. Give either party sufficient control, and they will overreach and they will get fat and dumb and bring the other party back. LBJ and the Dems overreached after 64 and brought the Republicans back from the grave. The Republicans were the party of ideas and the Democrats were intellectually stultified until W and his Republican-controlled congress overreached. Now it’s the Democrats who are full of energy and new ideas, even though Obama’s ideas are straight out of the 60’s. They have the presidency and full control in both houses, and they will overreach and the Republicans will look vibrant and stimulating, even though they will be pitching the same basic ideas. That said, there is nothing like a single, charismatic candidate to swim against the tide. - Speaking At Will - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:58 pm: == “We cannot lose the Hispanic vote like we’ve lost the African-American vote, or we’re going to be a minority party forever,” Edgar said. == I am always curious what exactly the “hispanic” vote is. Is Gov Edgar talking about the massive illegal immigrant population that has taken hold in chicago due to the City being a safe haven for illegal immigrants? The entire premise is just plain wrong. Everyone else can turn a blind eye to the reality of what the “hispanic” vote really is, personally I would rather not cater to a group of people who shouldnt be here to start with. - Lefty Lefty - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 12:59 pm: Regardless of what happened with Prop 8 in CA, culture-war issues are not the path to winning in IL or nationwide. People want government to help where it can and then be left alone. If it can be done with lower taxes, that would be great, but polls show that Americans are willing to pay a little more for securing jobs, protecting the environment, and making the streets safer. they do not care about gay marriage, abortion/contraception/the beginning of life, or evolution. The far right had its moment in the sun, and now it’s gone. A message of clean government and leaving people alone while prioritizing the economic needs of the state would win some seats back for the Republicans. Even I might vote for one if they left immigrants, gays, and women alone. - Middle Ground - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:01 pm: I find is so funny to listen to GOP pundits on the blogs and on TV talking about “their base.” They need new leadership and the new leadership needs to redefine what “their base” should be. Let the far right do what they want (they always do anyway) and then the GOP needs to take a more centrist platform. You can still support some of the far right republican ideology, just don’t make it the litmus test for calling yourself a Republican. The middle ground is where the fight is. They have to find causes that are important to the middle of the road folks (It’s the economy stupid!) to build their support. Reagan was able to move the middle ground to his side in 1980 and Obama was able to do it in 2008. Until the GOP can push the far right wing into a corner (where they belong) they will continue to fail. - bluedog demo - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:10 pm: Fear not, the GOP ( Grand Ole Palefaces ) will never die. If they can survive Nixon and Watergate to dominate the politcal scene for nearly 30 years they will will not fade away. They will simply ” divide and conquer ” in a more modern way ! - Secret Square - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:11 pm: Will, you seem to be presuming that all Hispanics are illegal immigrants unless proven otherwise. That is a perfect example of how unchecked illegal immigration is unfair to Hispanic legal immigrants and U.S. citizens. (Yes, there are people of Hispanic heritage who were born here and whose families go back generations.) The issue that has to be faced is that many Hispanic families include both legal and illegal immigrants as well as U.S. citizens who have as much right to vote as anyone else. Also, please remember that not every illegal immigrant fits the stereotype of someone “sneaking” over the Rio Grande in the middle of the night. Some of them were brought here by their parents as infants or young children. Others have spouses or parents who are legal residents. Finally, please do not assume that all illegal immigrants are Hispanic. When was the last time anyone made an issue of illegal immigrant Irish, or Polish, or Russians, or Canadians? I’m sure they exist. - Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:12 pm: A few thoughts. Republicans as a whole get more focused on the top prizes and forget the bottom of the ballot. They have little interest in county board seats, state representative seats or county clerk seats and focus on the marquee matches. Republicans in DuPage, Lake and McHenry counties are shocked that they lost a few county board seats, seats for the most part they paid no attention to. As my late father would say: “You don’t lock up that bicycle, someone will take it from you.” Pay attention to what you have locally. We need to improve our grass roots. When our small band of door-to-door crews work my region (SE Lake County), we Republicans are like the 300 Spartans who fought the thousands of Persians. You can fight for a while, but eventually overwhelming numbers can overwhelm. Democrats recruit not only volunteers, but union members, college kids, and pay workers to go door to door. Republicans (except for Kirk) do not. They have a door-to-door army as a result. We do not. We need to better fund our candidates further down the ballot. When the Springfield caucuses fund only a few targets, the rest are left to fend for themselves. Some wealthy folks in our region flocked to a few McCain fundraisers in Illinois and gave up thousands of dollars without a second thought to a candidate who clearly would not campaign in Illinois. They then write out checks to Stratton for State Representative in the amount of $50.00. Countywide candidates are lucky to get even that. Spend the money locally and help build up the party from below. For that faction of Republicans who want to exclude all others who don’t think like you or look like you, it’s time for an attitude adjustment. The American born sons and daughters of the illegal immigrants have either or will soon reach voting age, and the “send them back where they came from” attitude is not attracting votes. Moderate Republicans like myself are sick of being branded as “RINO.” We have to add more to the party, not subtract. Refocus our attention on individuals and families and the issues they face. The basics, our individual rights, education, good jobs, good homes, good safe neighborhoods, good roads, etc. are not being pushed by the party that once had bragging rights in this area. In other words, vote for us, not vote against them campaigns. Again, just a few thoughts. I’m no rocket scientist in this field, just a hard working party activist who right now is just a little more than tired. - Downstate weed chewing hick - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:17 pm: The GOP needs a charismatic candidate with a clean record and reputation for honesty who is a fiscal conservative, but a big tent social moderate. Stop debating Roe v Wade. Its a federal issue. We can worry about a social agenda when there are enough people in the tent to form an agenda. - SafetyAlways - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:17 pm: A political party (like any professional membership or trade association) is formed and subsequently maintained because its members have common values and goals and want to be affiliated with others of like mind and goals. What is the Republican Party the party of? What are its common values and goals? A political party can’t be the party of all goals and values, as that is nonsensical. The Republican Party (and any other political party for that matter) should define what it is the party of. Then, political office holders who are members of this party should execute their office in accordance with the defined values and goals of the party. If these politicians consistently fail to execute their office “along party lines,” then why are they members of that party? I have heard the line, “The Republican Party has lost its way.” I agree with this succinct assessment if it means that voters cannot discern the party’s values and goals based on the actions of its political office holders. Therefore, the Republican Party (as a function of its leadership) should publish clearly what it is the party of. This “publication” should be as specific as necessary for voters to discern how politicians affiliated with the Republican Party will likely execute their offices differently from politicians affiliated with other parties. The party doesn’t have to take a stand on everything, either. If the party’s leadership and regular membership can’t decide what it is the party of, then why bother with having a party in the first place? - HoBoSkillet - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:26 pm: Tough question to answer but I will give it a shot. 1. Eliminate the phrase ‘RINO’ from Republican’s vocabulary. Louis G. Atsaves gives a good summary for that reason. 2. Cultivate and support candidates for lower offices at the community and county levels. These offices usually are more apolitical, meaning you typically won’t win the office for dog catcher on an anti-gay dog platform, but you will win if you are a good dog catcher and people remember that and might promote you to higher office. 3. Eliminate “Us vs. Them” rhetoric. This talk works great for rallying the conservative and/or liberal bases but moderates and independants tend to want to vote for something rather than against something. Or, another strategy offered by one of my far right wing co-workers: “They need to give Alan Keyes another shot.” And my fellow co-worker is serious about that……… That sentiment might help in understanding why this is a tough question to answer. - Pat Collins - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:36 pm: What I will do: 1) Register people, targeting males. There are more female voters than male - that’s odd. And it should change. 2) Get out the vote efforts. Nick P. didn’t lose in McHenry 3 for lack of effort. His partner got 10K plus votes, he got 9.3K, the D got 9.6. To me, that says (1) is likely a good idea. As for Hispanics, both Bush and McCain spend the last two years trying to give illegals an amnesty. Look how much good it did them. What percentage of the Congressional H cascus is NOT pro-abortion, anti-gun, and in general hard to left? All of them are. Too bad Sam Brownback, Spencer Abraham, and Lindsay Graham did the “right thing” in 1996. If they had not, we would not be having this discussion. Look how much good it’s done them. Not Squat. - underdog - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:45 pm: Better candidates, better candidates and better candidates. Start with the U.S. House, Crane & McSweeney and Oberweis were responsible for losses in those seats as much as anything. Bean and Foster have yet to get a serious challenge… Organization, organization and organization. The counties and the townships need to take a que from well organized campaigns like Roskam and Kirk - they combined strong fundraising and a good campaign with a ground game that rivaled anything out there R or D. Lesser candidates would have lost in two bad years like we saw in 2006 and 2008. Targeting, targeting, and targeting. Roskam and Kirk won because they figured out where they needed votes and but together coaltions and ground forces and air forces to get those voters. Republicans don’t have the numbers to win on base issues alone… the need to register new voters, need to reach out to voters on issues that matter to them beyond the Party label, and find ways to attract independents and soft democrats who care more about capable govt then simply voting straight down the ticket. Independence, independence and independence. Republicans aren’t going to win in Illinois by simply being the biggest GOP booster. They need to prove to voters that they will do the right thing regardless of Party. That is why State Senate held serve and the congressionals held despite huge margins by Obama in their districts. Like Kirk said in his close, people vote the person not the Party. A bit of luck, a bit of luck and a bit of luck. Democrats shot themselves in the foot in Illinois in 2008. Their dysfunction and the unpopularity of the Gov. helped smart Rs find a wedge to break through the Obama surge. And while the surge hurt the GOP, it could have been much worse. GOP needs strong leaders in Springfield/DC who will not only stand up for the mainstream Illinois values that guide voters regardless of Party, but who will also prove they can distinguish themselves from the Democrats who have failed to improve Illinois at home and who now run the entire Govt. in Washington. No excuses, no excuses, and no excuses. JC Watts often said, “the only helping hand is at the end of your wrist.” Republicans need to learn this valuable lesson. All of the breathless McKenna/Party is horrible comments and RINOs are terrible blatherings are telling. No magical “STATE PARTY FAIRY” is going to swoop in a turn Illinois Red just like no RINO is going to lead to the destruction of the Party. What will set us further back are people deciding they would rather sit on the sidelines and snipe then get in the game and fight. - MarkC - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:46 pm: OK then… I have no idea who could or would lead such an effort in Illinois, but we need to develop a “Warranty for Illinois” … This Warranty needs to have tangible objectives that are measurable. Leave the “moral issues” out… Gays and abortion. I’d think both factions of the Republican Party can agree on whats tangible. Let the clergy work on whats moral. Examples: - Jobs and Commerce - Fair Taxation and Accountabilty - Education and Education Funding - Health Insurance Reform - Infrastructure Rebuilding - Transportation - Financial Responsibilty and Accountabilty of Business and Consumers Lets ‘forget’ about the political wasteland of Chicago, those of us in Suburban Cook are just going to have to bite the bullet and pay the price for patronage and corruption if thats what it takes to keep the engine going. - Phineas J. Whoopee - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:48 pm: It might help if they would run good candidates for high profile offices. Alan Keyes, Tony Peraica, Oberwies, Saurkraut are taking their toll. Judy Barr Topinka was no picknick either and old George is still fresh on voters minds. They really need to make an effort to run some non-embarrassing candidates. The McCaulif’s have always seemed to produce votes in democratic areas, Silvestri doesn’t offend, Kirk is obviuosly agreeable, The downstate Watson that just came back from Iraq would help. I couldn’t help but listen to Rush Limbaugh this afternoon while driving. It was amusing to be called Chicago thugs several times, compared to Stalin and insulted in several different ways. I don’t think this angry conservative approach is going to work anymore. - underdog - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:56 pm: Shore - a lot of places in Illinois were more Republican. You want to criticize Kirk because he won in a close to 80% obama district? Ok Competitive in the Prez race in Illinois with Obama at the top of the ticket? Blame leadership for that? ok Last century? In 88, Illinois went Bush btw. - underdog - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 1:59 pm: Undercover - DuPage County lost three board races… those are races for the most part where a strong organization can make a difference so I’m not sure overwhelming amounts of praise are in order there… GOPers need organizations that don’t simply hold meetings and Lincoln Day Dinners, but put out ground forces. - Justice - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:04 pm: The Republican party is simply going to have to re-invent itself. Get rid of the old dogs and encourage new young leadership. The Jim Edgar era is gone and detrimental as witnessed in his support in the defeat of the con-con. Push hard for the Hispanic community by supporting citizenship. After all, these folks are very hard working and are family oriented. Get solidly behind education and health care in the Cook County area. Work on incentives for new development in alternative energy and work to attract new energy industries to Illinois. Get more connected with the younger generation through focus groups on college campuses and solicit their input and encourage their participation. Every time I turn around I see an old GOP spokesperson who is behind the times in this fast pace, daily changing world. If it doesn’t have something to do with power or patronage, they don’t understand it. The GOP has simply been outflanked by a smarter, more in tune party. - Easy - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:09 pm: 1 simple step on the path back. Have everyone one of our 5,000 committeeman, 1000 or so elected officials (from park board to State Senator) register 20 new voters and make sure they vote republican in 2010. We can’t just wish an organization. We have to have the people in party posts start taking an active and energetic role in rebuilding. - Phineas J. Whoopee - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:17 pm: BTW, the best of the worst GOP ramble was by Ann Coulter, yesterday, who while blaming the main stream media for getting Obama elected at the same time claimed the GOP ran Caligula’s horse. Does she expect the media to get behind Caligula’s horse? I would strongly suggest an attitude adjustment because it is getting pretty rough on the starboard side and the waves of voters are coming over the rail. - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:17 pm: Something else to keep in mind… ===A downturn in the number and percentage of Republican voters going to the polls seemed to be the primary explanation for the lower than predicted turnout. The percentage of eligible citizens voting Republican declined to 28.7 percent down 1.3 percentage points from 2004. Democratic turnout increased by 2.6 percentage points from 28.7 percent of eligibles to 31.3 percent. It was the seventh straight increase in the Democratic share of the eligible vote since the party’s share dropped to 22.7 percent of eligibles in 1980.=== - Jechislo - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:19 pm: Start with cultivating energetic young Republicans that exist at any level within the party. Edgar is compounding the problem when he says we need centrist Republican candidates. We need a Conservative candidate who can, and will, work with both sides to make Illinois a better State. Obama can now stop pretending that he is a Moderate and McCain can now stop pretending he is a Conservative. We need a Conservative candidate; not a right-winger, but a Conservative who stands for the ideals of the Republican party like under Regan. No more McCain’s. No more Topinka’s. No more Alan Keys. No more Oberweis’s. No more ‘old’ middle-of-the-road Republicans. No more. No more. It’s time for a major change in the State and National Republican party rebuilding from the bottom up. - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:19 pm: ===The Jim Edgar era is gone and detrimental as witnessed in his support in the defeat of the con-con.=== That’s a direct contradiction because his TV ads seemed to do the trick. Voters obviously still like him and respect him. - 47th Ward - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:27 pm: Not that I would welcome the return of a healthy IL GOP, but it’s fairly simple: kick the right wing theo-cons to the curb. Support low tax, pro-business candidates with impeccable ethics, run on a moderate platform that recognizes that Illinois is a prochoice state, target corruption and cronyism. Rebuild in Cook County first. End the purity tests and abandon anyone unwilling to compromise in order to field a winning slate of candidates. That’s all the free advice I care to offer. - steal your face - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:30 pm: Get back to the basics: (1) fiscal responsibility and (2) smaller government. The republicans have abandoned these principles and therefore have nothing to offer. If we want tax and spenders, we can vote for a democrat. To do so, the republicans must convince the public that its no longer en vogue to live beyond your means and that we are building a better country for our kids and grandkids through our personal responsibility. That is, explain that it may be necessary to eat pease porridge and like it for the success of this country. A big challenge after years of drunken spending on steak dinners, but necessary none the less. - Justice - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:33 pm: Jim Edgar continues to push us backwards instead of propel us forward. Most people voting against con con did so not because they understood it but because someone they thought they could trust was against it. He appeared, to me, to be against it because of all th wrong reasons….he was paid to be. - Skirmisher - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:36 pm: The Republicans have largely become irrelevant because in practice they do not actually offer a clear, attractive, alternative to the Democats’ self-serving approach to governing. The Republicans instead have proved to be as power hungry, patronage prone, and spendthrift as the Democrats. Any young person with any sense of ideals looks at the Republicans and sees so many hogs desperately trying to elbow their own way to the trough instead of working for the benefit of their fellow citizens. To be relevant again, the Republicans need to actually live up to the basic ideals of the party, and really stand for fiscal prudence and individual responsibility. They have to prove that they really can live up to their ideals better than the Democrats. Actually, that shoudln’t be too awfully difficult but it will take some time and further disillusionment before people start to take notice. And, as so many others have pointed out, it is time for the party to entirely divorce itself from its corrupt and irrelevant old-guard. I too am heartily sick of seeing Edgar’s face at election time. - T.F.E. - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:37 pm: Wumpus says “get rid of McKenna”…I have noticed a few other comments that say “get rid of Andy McKenna.” Unfortunately, I believe this shows a lack of understanding as to what Mr. McKenna has accomplished during his tenure as Chairman. Without blathering on a number of successes that I believe have occurred under Chairman McKenna while trying to rebuild the party, and I believe there are many, I will keep my thoughts brief. As almost anyone can attest, rebuilding an organization, especially one like the ILGOP, is not an easy task. Andy McKenna took over an organization that was in disarray at the grassroots level. It’s my understanding that since Mr. McKenna took over the party the Republican County Chairman’s Association has over 90% of it’s members paying their dues and that at this year’s state convention in Decatur for the first time all counties sent delegations. Furthermore, I think Andy’s idea of investing in local races - building a bench - is exactly where they should start (which, by the way, is exactly what Mike Madigan did in the 90’s). Just look at some of the races they have won - Brad Cole in Carbondale (2007) and the Overstreet judicial race in southern Illinois (2008). Actually, I received an email from the Party on Wednesday saying that in 2008 the Party invested in nearly 100 local campaigns and won over 60% of the races. That’s pretty darn good in the year of Obama. I am guessing that memo I received is somewhere on their web site: www.weareillinois.org. My point: everyone likes to point fingers and say how terrible the Party and Andy McKenna are, but if people dug a little deeper and attempted understanding what’s happening they would see that, while in the early stages, the ILGOP is on the road to recovery. Furthermore, I would argue that is in large part to the efforts of people like Andy McKenna. - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:37 pm: Justice, you state the point that you miss. They trust him. Deal with reality. Pull your head out of… the sand. ===he was paid to be. === Wrong. - Levois - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:41 pm: Edgar may claim that you have to be a moderate, but I say BULL. They can run as conservatives although they may have to temper certain aspects of their positions. Perhaps they shouldn’t talk about guns or abortion. But they shouldn’t try to be like Democrats. - Justice - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:42 pm: Rich, on this point I choose to differ, though I do enjoy your observations and respect them. - Amuzing Myself - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:43 pm: This is not rocket science. The Illinois Republican Party has been staring this square in the face since Jim Ryan lost the governor’s office in 2002. There is not, nor has there been for a very long time, any substantial organizational plan at the precinct leve. The party during Thompson, Edgar and George Ryan WAS those governor’s campaign operations. Probably by design. But when you do that, and the time comes that you lose that highest office, there’s no structure left underneath. Every other problem - infighting among conservative and liberal wings, freaks like Oberweis and Keyes, and lack of a “bench” - can be argues stems directly from the lack of any kind of serious organization at the precinct level. There are some exceptions of course - Sangamon County and maybe DuPage - as can be seen by down-ballot Republicans continuing to win in a few localities while the top of the ticket just can’t get it done in the rest of the state. Madigan is a master and organizing. Demcrats have been dogged about it - whether through intimidation, hard work or a combination of both - in the City of Chicago for the better part of a century. The GOP has not, and the results are major victories for the GOP that are fairly rare. There are issues that most Republicans and Independents can agree on, and those need to be the FOCUS of campaigns. That doesn’t mean only moderates or only conservatives can win. I don’t really think it matters. There just hasn’t happened to be a conservative in Illinois yet that has been able to articulate a message on issues that matter most to people. So far, only moderates have done that. Maybe it’s partially more intense scrutiny of anything conservative by mainstream media. Maybe it’s just that there have been a handful of good politicians in the Republican party that just happen to have been moderates, too. At the core, there is no street army to counter that of the Democratic Party, and what army there is is in such desperate need of real leadership that it gets crushed in the confusion every cycle. Add to that the 2-year span of focus in both chambers of the legislature (at least on the GOP side) and it’s no wonder progress is so difficult. “Rome wasn’t built in a day” as they say. The GOP has a unique opportunity - almost a perfect storm - to get their act together in this next couple of years. Blagojevich, Stroger, Burge, Streets and Sanitation, the likelihood that the party of the President will traditionally suffer varying degrees of losses in the off-year and you have perhaps the best opportunity Republicans in Illinois will have for a long, long time if they don’t get it done now. A guy like Brady might be able to lead it. That will become more or less apparent in the next few months. Certainly not another Topinka, Oberweis or Ozinga debacle. And certainly not if they insist on the traditional circular firing squad that is the GOP Primary. Chances are, though, that the Dems might steal that tactic this go-round. In short, they have the chance to organize, fund raise and get the pieces put in place to make progress in a likely “good” year. They’ve not proven they can do it yet. We’ll know if they can two years from now. - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:45 pm: Justice, you are saying that voters have no respect for Edgar? I just don’t see evidence for that, man. Nap time. Kevin has the wheel. - Justice - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:49 pm: Rich….I still love ya man!! - Pat Collins - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:50 pm: Unfortunately, I believe this shows a lack of understanding as to what Mr. McKenna has accomplished during his tenure as Chairman. The Senate Ds have a lock on their chamber, and House Ds are one vote shy of a lock on theirs. I don’t see how you call that any sort of accomplishment, especially given how badly IL has been governed during that time. Celebrating the victory of many incumbents is hardly a great success. Now, if you can show how much money and effort Andy McK gave to Aaron Schock, I might think differently. But I suspect Mr. Schock did it without any benefit of help from the highly successful A. McK. - Captain Flume - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 2:50 pm: Where are the data that support Edgar’s anti-con-con commercial made a difference in the voting on the question? In what markets was the commercial run? What was the estimated viewership of those commercials? Hanging any significant impact on the outcome of the con-con vote on Edgar’s ad is questionable, unless there are data ot back it up. I have not seen such data. I would be grateful to be pointed to it, if someone has a reliable source. - Patriot - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:01 pm: It is a shame that the Republican Party needs to do so many things in order to demonstrate the utter incompetence of the Democratic party in Illinois. Why does the Republican Party need to prove anything to anyone who has two eyes and a brain? Also, Edgar might have been this or that to many people, but at least he was a governor we could all be proud of. - doubtful - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:04 pm: How can the GOP rebuild in Illinois? Hope that Plouffe and Axelrod write a book about how they ran the Obama campaign? I kid, I kid. It’s all about boots on the ground, now. With so many people these days splitting tickets, I think it’s less about the party brand, both of which are trashed in IL. Looking at the demographics, the Republican party needs some young blood. Those 55+ white voters just aren’t going to stomp, call, and knock on doors the same way the under 30s do. So what do they want? Environmental issues, economic issues, less conservative social policies, less time spent on social policies. Even among evangelicals of that demo, green issues are becoming as, if not more important than gay marriage and abortion. The youth has listened to blathering about those issues in politics as long as they can remember, meanwhile, we’re in two wars and our economy is collapsing around us. - anon from chicago - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:06 pm: One of the places the Illinois Repubs should start at in trying to court Hispanics seems pretty obvious. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. They own businesses, raise lots of money, they are organized, well run and have the same concerns of other business type associations: lower taxes, friendly work rules, etc. Most of these others trend toward the republicans. The state GOP should go full throttle at appeasing this group and using their talents and resources. - 2for2 - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:08 pm: So what Edgar is saying is Republicans need to take pro-latino positions not because it is the right thing to do but rather so that they can come into power again some day. Seems a little cynical to me. Maybe Democrats think the same thing but it takes cojones (spanish for testicular virility) to say it out loud. - Black Ivy - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:09 pm: Very simple…Palin in 08! - Black Ivy - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:12 pm: Oops…I meant Palin in ‘12. Election fatigue! - Just Sayin' - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:24 pm: ===I am always curious what exactly the “hispanic” vote is. Is Gov Edgar talking about the massive illegal immigrant population that has taken hold in chicago due to the City being a safe haven for illegal immigrants?=== Well, things being what they are, all their kids will be U.S. citizens, who will vote, who can change the electorate - doubtful - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:27 pm: Oops…I meant Palin in ‘12. Election fatigue! -Black Ivy As a Democrat, I hope you’re serious. - shore - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:27 pm: Under, so wrong and so little time. Al Gore was part of an admistration that left office with a 60 percent approval rating and BUSH carried his homestate as well as that of Edwards. As far as I am concerned the McKenna/Hastert/LaHood/Edgar mafia can go, yesterday. Unless you think Running Peter Fitzgerald out was good. Losing us the U.S. Congress The Keyes debacle Losing 3 red U.S. Rep seats No capitalization on democratic screwups here. No new ideas Not being competitive for potus races. ect - Just Sayin' - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:32 pm: Also, I think a party that wants to revive itself should look at what the Democrats did nationally as a way of reviving their party. (Since Rahm is all the rage today anyway) They recruited a bunch of candidates who made the party faithful cringe: pro-life Democrats, pro-business Democrats, pro-gun Democrats, Iraq War veteran Democrats. Not exactly the people you’d figure would be palling around with San Francisco liberals like Nancy Pelosi. This outreach, in turn, made it possible for Democrats to win in areas they might not otherwise have a chance. They picked up seats in Indiana and rural North Carolina. Heck, they were winning a race in Idaho! Having credible candidates/office holders in deep red pockets of states helped Obama and other higher-ticket candidates “maximize their minimums,” as Paul Simon used to say. They didn’t just rally their base — the strategy they tried in 2004 — they undercut the Republicans’. As a strategy, I think Illinois Republicans could try doing the exact same thing. - Reality - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 3:46 pm: We need to embrace the internet and technology and use that to help us build a core base and local organization. We need to replicate what was done on the North Shore with the creation of the 10th Dem Organization. Although they did not pull off a congressional victory they were a solid field operation independent of a particular candidate. The poster above had a good point in saying that if we rely on a high level elected official to be the party organization then things fal apart a’ la’ George Ryan. We need among other things a more decentralized grass roots organization. - ValleyGal - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 4:02 pm: They need to stop drawing from the same, tired, dying pool of people that remember voting for Reagan. Investing at the lower levels of government would be a great way to start. Our county GOP is in shambles with two factions fighting each other and leaving the door open to the Democrats who walk in with fresh ideas and multi-media communication skills instead of the closed-door, cigar-puffing backroom tactics of the 20th century. - Thinking - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 4:08 pm: The basic problem is that the Republicans make you subscribe on Abortion, Immigration and Guns. If you don’t subscribe on all three you get attacked from both sides. The democrats don’t seem to make you subscribe. Thus, they get majorities with half of their elected officials not subscribing to their platform on one or more of these issues. Republicans need to stop insisting on a full subscription and accept candidates that can get elected and who subscribe to the basic belief of less government/lower taxes and ethics. We can sell small government. Not sure we can sell a fully subscribed conservative statewide over the long haul. A republican spends half of his time fighting with what should be his own base of support. - VanillaMan - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 4:19 pm: You people! GEEZ! The GOP in Illinois is directionless. After 30 years of rule, the GOP followed Edgar, Thompson and Ryan into a deep dark tunnel without a GPS system or compass. They forgot what they represent. They forgot what the GOP stood for. The answer is not Mock-Democrats, or Faux-Republicans. The GOP had 30 years of this, and today clearly demonstrates this method’s uselessness, doesn’t it? Illinois is a blue state because the GOP isn’t offering anything better. They played “Democrat-lite” since 1974, so voters didn’t see a reason to keep them around once the Feds raided Ryan’s administration. Sorry, but “me too!” may get you some votes, and could even win you some seats, but it won’t clarify to voters what the Party is committed to, and why they should be a part of it. Jim Edgar is obsolete! The GOP is not wrong on the issues. Their presentation regarding their views on the issues hasn’t been right. And it isn’t a marketing issue – it is a commitment issue. Self-funded candidates are mercenaries using the GOP as a stepping stone to get on the ballot. Is anyone really asking these people how they intend to explain to voters why they should vote for the GOP - not just them? I highly doubt it, because I am not seeing it at all! Why have party unity when it has been “every man for himself –every woman too”? Party unity will not happen until the GOP goes beyond a belief that they just want to win elections. Does anyone want to lose their freedom? Well what are you giving up when you empower a government to take your wages and spread your wealth based on whatever it is they think is fair? What are you giving up when you empower a government to take your wages and then decide how you should receive health care? What are you giving up when you empower a government to decide what is “hate speech”, what is a proper professorial presentation at your publically funded universities, or what poses as science? Does anyone want to lose their freedom of consumer choice? You want us all to drive government approved cars, so that your only choices will its color, or to even drive a car? Why are so many willing to allow a government to tell them how to run their businesses? Why would anyone not recognize that when you raise taxes on businesses, your consumer choice becomes limited and more expensive? Does anyone want to protect life? Well what are you doing when you empower a government to decide when you become human? When you should be put to death? When you should be forced to fight a war? Does anyone want to protect their family? Well, what are you giving up when you allow a government to decide what schools your children may attend? What they are taught? Whether you are able to teach your children at home? When we reach for government solutions, we lose more than we gain. The GOP needs to make this clear enough when discussing issues in public so that voters know what they are voting for. Their failure to do so is not the fault of the ideas and beliefs, but the fault of candidates who are willing to sacrifice anything in order to win an election. We have been watching the GOP sell their souls under Edgar, Thompson and Ryan and now they have nothing left to sell. Listen to voters, don’t chase after them or pander to them. The Democrats already do this, so we don’t need another party doing the same thing. With each tear, a Democrat will propose a government solution. What the GOP has to do is propose a better solution that saves personal liberties and freedoms, and clearly explain why their solution is vastly superior to a government solution. The GOP in Illinois needs to offer a “guarantee”. Each candidate has to sign it and support it. The guarantee would be that the Party will not knowingly nominate, or re-nominate a candidate with a questionable ethical record. The GOP Guarantee promises voters that each candidate has been properly vetted and backed by the GOP. The GOP Guarantee would be a step towards separating the Party from the corrupt Democratic regime wrecking Illinois. Voters will give the GOP another look if they believe that the Party stands for ethics and when the GOP Guarantee forces some of their candidates off a ballot and denied a nomination. Any GOP candidate with a track record of failure in office needs to be publically stripped of a nomination. Voters will begin to believe that the Party stands for something when the Party takes a stand like this. The GOP is not wrong on the issues. It has to do a better job of presenting their case to voters and explaining why their party is the right choice. - EmptySuitParade - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 4:29 pm: Clearly you are all missin’ the genuis of the GOP plan….First you need your last two successful statewide office holders (Edgar and Petey) to quit rather than run for reelection. Then you mix in a does of GOP indictments in the post Ryan era(Cellini, Fast Eddie) Then blend this concoction with the bonehead decisions of StateWideTom like spending a $100K on a sill radio campaign that attacked people not even on the ballot. Perhaps for 2010 we could bring back Gary MacDougal and “beg BrickheadJoe to run for governor. But, hey, ya did have some really smokin’ websites Have a great weekend. Kudos to Capt. Fax for making it seem like IL GOPs were somethin’ important. Pingback ArchPundit | Republican Future in Illinois - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 4:43 pm: […] Rich has an question of the day on it […] - Been There - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 5:26 pm: You would think from the guy who posts all the GOP stories over on Illinoize that the republicans had a massive following. And by the way Rich, you need to find a way to shorten up his postings. It makes going over to Illinoize uninviting. - Justice - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 5:40 pm: VanillaMan….you make me smile!!! Excellent post, but then that has come to be expected. - Rich Miller - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 5:45 pm: Vanillaman, patients often die because of the wrong treatment administered after a gross misdiagnosis. You are simply not dealing with reality. - ILHoya - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 6:29 pm: I think the only way for the IL GOP to win back the trust of the Hispanic population is to have paid organizers working in Hispanic communities from now until the 2010 election. As far as I know, there’s nothing going on like that. Edgar & Co. aren’t going to be able to drop into a place like Pilsen in August 2010 and expect to win back their trust and support; they need to begin recruiting neighborhood leaders, initiating meetings, and the whole lot sooner rather than later. - Steve - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 7:00 pm: If the Republicans stand for lower taxes and lower spending they might have a chance in Illinois because two big government parties aren’t needed.The coming years will pit government workers vs. the taxpayers here in Illinois.The Democrats can still keep winning but Illinois keeps losing congressional seats after every recent census. - Another Citizen - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 7:06 pm: I wondered how long it would take someone to rip Joe Birkett. Liberals rip him because he was simply the most effective conservative candidate in recent memory. He came within 2.8% of taking out the Speakers daughter despite being outspent 3 to 1. They rip Palin for similar reasons. She galvanized the GOP base and made the Presidential race close when it wouldn’t have been. It is important that the GOP stand up for its values and keep a clean house. People expect Chicago Dems to be corrupt, they won’t tolerate it in any Republican. - Hispanics for the GOP! - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 7:09 pm: Folks talking about reaching out to Hispanics are absolutely correct. It is the most important voting bloc out there and they aren’t easily put into an ideological box. Another way the IL GOP can come back . . . get a Rich Miller equivalent. Illinois Review is run by crazies. At least Rich pretends to run an open-minded forum and people feel encouraged that they will be participating in a sane discussion, even though they know most of you are rote partisans. - Another Citizen - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 7:11 pm: Are you going to delete any response that dares to defend Joe Birkett? - By Thy Rivers Gently Flowing - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 7:27 pm: A lot of good points here–I even agreed with Cassandra somewhat:) Steal your Face has an excellent point but the incontrovertible fact of the matter is that, to this day, Democrats treat politics as a business; Republicans, for the most part, treat it as a hobby. The Republicans that DO treat it as a business are completely entwined with the Democrats because the guy with the gold makes all the rules, and the Democrats have all the gold. Some people have referred to this as “The Combine.” As far back as Benjamin Adamowski, Republicans care more about President and US Senate; then MAYBE some statewide and House races. There is an individualistic, as opposed to collective, mindset, among a lot of Republicans that prohibits them from running for lower offices or “waiting their turns” that Democrats do, and succeed in the world of politics. And most of the people Republicans that would benefit most from conservative policies are too busy running their own businesses and taking care of their own families to volunteer for their own candidiates they culturally and inherently distrust in the first place, because they are politicians, and feel that both parties will spend every dime in the treasury, except the Republicans will tell you how sorry they are to have to do it. Remember, Democrats are and always have been the party of government. Republicans, until recently, sought smaller government. Democrats will do anything, anything to obtain and maintain dominion and control over the government at state and local levels. And for the aforementioned reasons, they have succeeded. - steve schnorf - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 7:57 pm: None of it will be easy, and I sometimes wonder if is even worth the effort, but… 1. Remember that neither party’s membership constitutes anything close to a majority of voters. Therefore, virtually all 2 serious candidate elections are won and lost in the middle; not at the right, not at the left, but in the freaking middle! 2. Be FOR something. We spend all of our time and energy working on what we’re against..gun control, abortion, gays, immigrants, taxes, secularism, unions, environmentalists. What are we for? What are our answers to the big questions of the day? What’s the Republican answer for the growing number of uninsured? What’s the Republican answer to the property tax burden? What’s the Republican answer for the failures of our inner-city schools? What are the Republican answers for the obscene increases in the cost of higher education? The answers people are looking for aren’t “lets be against the teacher’s unions and the teachers” (in Bruno’s case, “let’s be against the school boards too”). The questions I’ve raised above aren’t rhetorical. I honest to God don’t know the answers, and those are the sorts of issues that are important to the great middle, not whether Bob is holding hands with John. If we think independent voters are going to be for us because we are against government provided health care for working poor families’ children, unless we can provide a better proposal, we’re deluding ourselves. Oh, well. BTW, Rich, I hardly even go to ILLINOIZE anymore because of the dominating and excruciatingly long aforementioned postings. I wish you would somehow cut them down to a manageable size. - Oswego Joe - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:12 pm: The Republicans need to do three things to start a come back. (1) One person above makes a good point, Obama was not a self funder. The Republicans need candidates who can get grass roots support. People who are actually excited about a candidate and want to tell their friends and neighbors. We need someone charismatic, someone who our kids and grand kids are not afraid to be around. (2) Bring Hispanics into the party. We are all immigrants, today’s are no different than the Irish, Italians or anyone else. They come to America for opportunity and a better way of life. They come here for Republican values of hard work and the American dream. They do NOT come here to get taxed out of their mind and get a bunch of bloated, beuracratic handouts. (3) IDEAS STUPID!! Like James Carville said “its the economy stupid”, what do state Republicans stand for? They have not presented clear alternate views to the existing democratic agenda. I have a couple ideas, lets balance the budget, lets commit to NOT raising taxes and looking for areas to cut waste, lets promote agricultural R & D to make Illinois the ag leader it should be, lets promote incentives to attract business to Illinois. Just a few ideas but would love to hear more to actually create a contract for Illinois. Rich, please ask the question of the day, “If Republicans are swept into power in 2010, on what platform will it be on?” I’d like to see a 10 point plan. - Quizzical - Friday, Nov 7, 08 @ 11:16 pm: Just as the nationwide Dems have benefitted from a ‘50 State Strategy’, the Illinois Republicans can’t continue to write off Cook County and expect to be successful statewide. I would start by cultivating a small number of candidates to run against the most vulnerable Dems. Why wasn’t there a black business type to run against 3-Mil? Isn’t there somebody better than Peraica to run against the Toddler? How about some of entrenched but weak Democratic state reps. and senators? I agree with the majority of the commentators that the state party has tended to promote culture warriors, and the road forward for Republicans (if there is a road forward) is with moderate business types. I’d even appreciate a fresh ‘true conservatives’ running against some of the Dems, but the state party (example 1 Jim Oberweis) seems to favor unpalatable idealogues. I’ve come to think that Republicans nation and statewide are on a suicide pact to become a minority party for illogical and angry people. - Makes Sense to Me... - Saturday, Nov 8, 08 @ 10:14 am: 1)All political parties should Champion and Support cost effective and effective social service programs that save lives and save money. –Timely issue, Substance abuse bill 1103 won “Miraculously” won UNANIMOUS General Assembly support in Illinois and Federal Wellstone Bill Mental health parity bill PASSED with Rescue plan. –Widespread issue, 1 in 3 families are impacted. This is a bigger issue than “immigration”, “special needs kids” etc. –Shows compassion and good business and human solutions. Taxpayers are tired of waste on programs that are expensive and lack accountability corrections, etc. –Bi-Partisan issue, people can support–impacts every gender and economic strata. –Missed Opportunity, McCains should have “showcased” Cindy’s success in recovery and/or McCain’s experience with his “alcoholic” father it’s called “keeping it real”. Whether super-rich or poor “disease” does not discriminate everyone is equally affected. –Financial issue, it is also a big source for our economic crisis as it impacts and takes a huge financial toll on healthcare, criminal justice, families, etc. locally and nationally. 2) Republicans need to learn to “Hug” …”It took me years to learn to even touch people” - said Jim Edgar after Dem “Hugfest” at DNC. Where’s the warmth? - Ryan - Saturday, Nov 8, 08 @ 10:33 am: It is all about timing. If Blago were to be indicted in the next 12 months, it opens the door for the GOP to rebound. Plain and simple. The GOP needs to find candidates that run to the center, at the same time keeping their ideology out of the race. Reagan did that. He was a conservative, but made the Economy and foreign policy his mantra, not his religous beliefs. - Ryan - Saturday, Nov 8, 08 @ 10:36 am: This will be the first time since 1994 that the National GOP will have no power in Washington. Americans like political gridlock, that is why Democrats will have a bad 2010. Clinton had this power in 1993 and 1994 and got swamped by Gingrich, Bush in 2006 also. - Ryan - Saturday, Nov 8, 08 @ 10:40 am: Does anyone really think that the DEMS will have a good 2010 in IL, if Rod is indicted. Couple that with the DEMS running Washington. Halverson, Foster, and Bean will not be able to run against Bush this time. They will have $$$, but no political advantage. None of them have Mark Kirk’s talent to survive, Seals evcen had Obama doing ads for him and lost by 10% - Mark Simpson - Saturday, Nov 8, 08 @ 10:47 am: As a GOP volunteer in 1992 for the Bush campaign, I remember Edgar saying the same things after Bush 1 lost to Clinton. The center killed the GOP that year also and many moderate IL Republicans echoed that. In 1994, the GOP beat Madigan and took the State House along with the Senate and reelection for Edgar. Timing is everything folks, and if Obama raises taxes like Clinton did, it will be the same. - 22Skidoo - Saturday, Nov 8, 08 @ 11:22 am: It’s all about integrity, first of all. Restore integrity and the party will begin to grow. Second, admit to reality. Budgets don’t get balanced on tax cuts; cutting waste and corruption won’t free enough cash to eliminate deficits. Abortion is legal and the Supreme Court will not overturn it. And you simply can’t round up all the illegals in the state, let alone the nation, and send them back to their respective countries. Third, make logical arguments for policy positions. There are good reasons for “social conservatism” since personal financial well-being and family stability are largely the result of lifestyle–things like personal responsibility, initiative, work ethic and morally responsible ambition. These are conservative values that work, and that most people accept. Look for ways for government to encourage these values (small-business initiatives and higher-education funding increases, for example). - bluedog demo - Saturday, Nov 8, 08 @ 2:29 pm: Weep not for the GOP ( Grand Ole Palefaces ) they will rise from the ashes. After the debacle of Nixon and Watergate they were able to perfect the ” southern strategy “. They will set about finding another long lasting wedge issue that will serve them well for they are the masters at ” divide and conquer ” ! - Name/Nickname/Anon - Sunday, Nov 9, 08 @ 1:00 pm: The Republican Party needs to get back to basiscs. For crying out loud, the man credited with founding our party was willing to go through a Civil War to fight for the equality of all citizens. When did the party of trust, and freedom become the party of the hateful religious right? And speaking of the founder, how often did he go to church, and how often did his pastor tell him what government policies to push? Hmmm? - BiPartisan Latinos. - Sunday, Nov 9, 08 @ 6:40 pm: Latinos should be part of both parties. It is not part of being far right or center alone or per se–the ILGOP is center left or at least center managed and did no outreach to Latinos (Edgar was the best) and does no outreach. Polls indicate the wedge issues are social conservative issues for Latinos. 1 in 3 Latino voters went for McCain, whereas half the white vote voters went for McCain, and 99% of African American voters went for Obama. Latinos should vote as individuals and as a community (or communities) depending on which candidates are best. There are good and bad people in both parties. The ILGOP does not hire or recruit or reach out to Latinos. That was different in FL, TX, or AZ with Latinos. - Elder - Sunday, Nov 9, 08 @ 8:24 pm: Lt’s Sunday evening and I am coming so late to this conversation that I doubt anyone will read this. But Edgar hit the nail on the head — without Latinos the GOP is in a world of hurt. Not only did their votes put the D’s over the top in the obvious Fla., Col., N.M., and Nevada, but they also were the margin of victory in Indiana, Virginia, and arguably in North Carolina. Some of the ignorant or ill-informed opinions above seem oblivious to the fact that just being Latino does not mean being “illegal”. It has already been pointed out that the children of the undocumented are U.S. citizens. The big wave of illegal immigration was in the 1990’s, continuing into the beginning of this decade. Guess what? These children are only just becoming eligible to vote, but there is a demographic tidal wave fast approaching. Even without them 12.2% of the voters in Suburban Cook, and 12.1% of the voters in Kane County are Latino. Try to recover the Hastert seat without Latino votes. What do the three new democratic Congressional Districts in Illinois (Bean, Foster, Halvorson) all have in common? They have 5.2%, 9.4%, and 4.5% Latino voters, respectively. And if the current losses aren’t enough, Roskam, Biggert, and Kirk have 7.2%, 5.2%, and 5.9% Latino voters as well. Bush and Rove proved that these voters can go Republican. Bush got 44% of this vote in 2004. But the likes of Tancredo, Sensenbrenner, and Oberweis and Roskam locally have defined the Republican Party with Latino voters. In an exit poll by Univision News and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights done on Tuesday, 68% of Latino voters in Northern Illinois say that the Republican Party is not favorable to immigrants. This is a serious, serious problem for Republicans going forward. The same exit poll found that Latinos voted for Halvorson at 90%; for Foster at 82%; and for Seals at 70%. Until the Republican party can get the issue of legalization off the table they will never get this vote. The Latino community is united in favor of legalization - and this includes Republican Cuban Latinos in Florida! Why? Because they know that the “illegals” are overwhelmingly good people, and that often they are family and friends. Latinos are socially conservative, church-going, pro-life, entreprenuerial, patriotic, hard-working, and family oriented. Why the Republican Party would write this group off, at the expense of so many swing states and Congressional Districts in states like Illinois, is a complete mystery to me. - Bookworm - Monday, Nov 10, 08 @ 3:23 am: While I am probably as socially conservative as anyone (pro-life, opposed to gay marriage, pro-gun-rights, somewhat pro-death-penalty although I think we can survive without it), I think it would be best for BOTH parties — actually ALL parties — to define themselves by their stands on economic and foreign policy issues instead of social issues. Not because social issues are unimportant, but because they are TOO important to be “owned” by one party or one faction within a party. It would not bother me at all, for example, if the GOP simply took no stand on abortion or gay marriage, and allowed candidates to take positions on an individual basis. As long as you agreed with the GOP most of the time on economics and foreign policy, you would be welcome in the party. Of course, for this strategy to work the way I envision it, the Dems and all other parties would have to do likewise. I think all parties would be better off if they did NOT stake out positions on issues of deep moral or religious conviction, thereby “forcing” voters with such convictions into one party or away from another — for example, pro-lifers pretty much having to support only conservative GOP candidates. Economic and international issues, being matters of prudential judgement rather than moral conviction, are more appropriate subjects for party platforms. Again, I would still expect individual candidates to take stands on moral/social issues; just not the party as a whole. - wordslinger - Monday, Nov 10, 08 @ 8:37 am: There are some basics, too, that seem to be overlooked. I voted in the GOP primary in Cook County for the presidential, (Obama didn’t need me, McCain did). After that, I never got a piece of mail from the GOP — in a presidential year! From previous political activity, I was overwhelmed with Obama and Clinton emails and direct mail. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.