85 Comments - OneMan - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 10:59 am: I don’t know if we can blame the national anything for how this state is screwed up. - Cheryl44 - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:01 am: Then why doesn’t Pat Brady leave? - Way Way Down Here - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:03 am: Not sure it would take a week. I think we locals can take credit for this. Including Mr. Brady. - wndycty - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:03 am: I think this quote is why the Illinois GOP will remain the minority party in this state for years to come. While we shouldn’t sugar coat the state of the state, the IL GOP has seems to embrace and encourage negative language. It seems that IL GOP is and has been rooting against Illinois. - Dirt Digger - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:05 am: The Republican is doing himself no favors by his vast overestimate of government’s effect on the economy and daily life. Plus it’s counterproductive. Tell me more about your total electoral incompetence in the face of such Democratic ineptitude Brady. - Ray del Camino - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:09 am: Wow. Way to represent your state to the world. Rooting against your team is not a great strategy for moving forward, nor for advancing the second string to the starting squad. Dope. - just sayin' - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:11 am: “It seems that IL GOP is and has been rooting against Illinois.” That’s a good point by wndycty. That’s exactly what Pat Brady does. Rooting for Illinois’ demise and desperately hoping it will translate into political advantage. That’s not how it works and voters never reward such a lack of leadership. GOP will stay irrelevant in Illinois until Republicans get serious and demand officials who know what they’re doing. - DeKalb Dragon - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:12 am: Is the subliminal message: “The people of Illinois are complete screw ups for continuing to elect Democrats”? How about a positive message instead. Thanks. - walkinfool - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:13 am: Brady, in his unique style, encouraging businesses and tourists to come to Illinois. Thanks so much for your service. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:15 am: Pathetic. Go ahead and let the door hit you on the way out, Pat. If the Democrats have screwed everything up so badly, why can’t you beat them? I’m sick to death of this shame foisted on us by everyone whose candidates didn’t make the cut. If it’s so bad, leave. - I'm Just Saying - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:17 am: I fully agree, the State party shall never Flourish under Pat Brady, any Jackass can tear down a barn, ti takes a man to build one up All Brady does is throw potshots at the Ruling class, but has never once offered any kind of solution, frankly he looks shrill…… - Wensicia - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:17 am: I can’t remember the last time I heard a Republican, state or national level, say anything positive. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:19 am: People, I asked that you please refrain from ad hominem attacks. I don’t have time to monitor these comments today because of the Fair, so do your best to tone it down. Thanks. - Justice - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:20 am: I must say that I do love his upbeat and positive message. A ‘Good Grief’ moment. Perhaps it is good that he didn’t win the election. Illinois is a Great State, with a population of hardworking folks. We are all proud of our state. we are not particularly proud of our politicians, on All sides. We can do much better. Our predicament is of our doing, though the national environment hasn’t been good for us. But it is we the people who need to change our own direction, and hopefully we will. I too echo the sentiment that perhaps Mr. Brady should leave. In fact, I invite him to. We need people and leaders with a positive approach. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:23 am: By pointing out the shambles the state of Illinois is in, isn’t Brady pointing out how incredibly inept the ILGOP was, is, and will be under new maps, and the fact that they are NOT an alternative to the mess the ILDEMs have “gotten us into” makes Brady sound even more inept… Examples? Cross is no closer to getting the House back, and with that new map, it would take a miracle (i.e. strong, savy leadership, political know-how) to get close to MJM … and …the HGOP has shown NONE of that … Rodogno is no closer to getting the Senate back, lest we forget Rodogno is no closer to keeping her OWN seat the way the map is drawn … and … In a snapshot of today, Lisa is solid and not too beatable, Jesse White is not going to get beat by anyone on the weak bench the GOP has … and if Rutherford decides to move up (where???), and Judy decides to do something different, where are the “statewides” that can win outside of those two where they currently sit? Dillard? … Dillard v. Lisa? … Yeah, good luck with that. Dillard v. Jesse? … Good luck with that one too … Dillard v. AG opponent to be named later? Possible, but if Lisa heads a ticket, MJM is going to make quite sure that no “dopes” (Alexi in MJM’s mind, for example) do not get on the November ballot on a slate that could derail Lisa being governor. So, there is likely no change in either chamber in 2012, no real bench to speak of, and a Dillard/jbt/Rutherford base of a slate would be facing a possible, Lisa/Jesse slate with “balance” the way MJM likes it. And NOW Brady wants to say something about the ILDEMs screwing things up? Win something! Win ANYTHING, then talk about making things better, instead of pointing at the “spilt milk” without a paper towel to clean it up. Pathetic! - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:27 am: Sorry, Rich, But, if you (Brady) are going to point out “screwed up” things, doesn’t the spotlight have to go to Brady’s stewardship and the stewardship of the entire ILGOP when you want to point out what he feels IS “screwed up”? That is why his statement is more about “screwed up” than about the state of the state … That was my take, sorry if you may think it is/was an attack. - overcooked - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:27 am: I guess it depends on your definition of “screwed up.” If he means government spending out of control and way beyond our means, Mr. Brady is right on target. - Demoralized - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:28 am: We all know the issue with state government finances (which is an issue in a lot of states), but what is it exactly about Illinois that he finds so offputting that he wouldn’t be proud to have someone visit our state? - One of the 35 - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:29 am: I am an R who believes we are as much to blame as the Ds for the current state of affairs in Illinois. Both parties are guilty of placing the reelection of their members ahead of good governance. The founding fathers must be rolling over in their graves. - reformer - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:34 am: When a party is in perpetual minority status with no end in sight through at least 2022, it’s easy to get bitter. - Tommydanger - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:46 am: There is a shared crisis of leadership in this state. The Dems have to shoulder the majority of the blame right now. However, during the most recent budget debacle I asked my Repub State legislator why his party did not put forth a budget to compete with the Dem’s proposed budget so the public could weigh in and ’say’ which they preferred. His answer was that there wasn’t any benefit for the Repubs to do that since it would just be picked apart. Now that’s leadership! Too bad budgeting can’t be more like binding interest arbitration where both sides would have to submit their final and best offer to the public to vote on. The parties would have to actually submit something concrete that could then be debated and then the public would have to choose and live by the results for better or worse. Who is with me? - jacketpotato - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:50 am: Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. - too obvious - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:01 pm: Illinois is a great state. I get so sick of ankle biters like Pat Brady running it down in search of political gain. What kind of Republican trashes the proud home of Lincoln and Reagan? It’s irresponsible. If Pat Brady can’t lead or follow, he needs to just get out of the way. - LincolnLounger - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:04 pm: I’m no Pat Brady fan, but facts are stubborn things. The Democrats have controlled everything for quite some time, and they OWN the fiscal mess that is Illinois. The Democrats have had it so good for so long that people seem to actually believe that when they are called out on their behavior that outrage should ensue and being held accountable means one is “rooting against Illinois!” Preposterous. It’s just too bad the Republican Party in Illinois can’t seem to get its act together to hold them accountable. - I'm Just Saying - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:06 pm: I guess Pat Brady is a little more surly than usual after This article yesterday from Fran Eaton http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/eaton/7108521-452/unfortunately-illinois-has-a-gop-establishment.html Now my only question is that Eaton claims the GOP is now ran from Kirk’s office? Hmmmmmmmmm Which office? - Coach - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:07 pm: Looks like the R’s will continue languishing in the minority with that goofball as their figurehead. Sure, it makes sense for the R’s to put some distance between themselves and the D’s in Illinois - that’s just basic politics. But to effectively proclaim, “Hey world, Illinois is the crappiest place on earth, and if you’re looking for somewhere to spend a couple days slapping yourself in the face with a brick, then get on over to Illinois and we’ll give you a hand!!!” is just ridiculous. Kinda makes one wonder why Brady and the other R’s are still here. - Its Just Me - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:09 pm: I couldn’t help but notice that most of these comments are being complaining that Brady seems to be anti-Illinois in his comments, but few people disagree with the actual statement. - Cook County Commoner - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:10 pm: Absolutely correct, but he shouldn’t be shy about the Republican contributions from the likes of Republican George (I’m waiting for Rod in the next cell) Ryan and Republican William Cellini, the indicted Asphalt King. The dysfunction goes so deep in Illinois that all must share the blame, with a special thank you to organized government workers who appear to control elections in NE Illinois via their numbers, campaign contributions and campaign volunteering, and a big “Go Girl” to Karen Lewis of the Chicago Teachers’ Union as she rattles the chains of strike every chance she gets. Mr. Brady should invite everyone to Chicago for a real display of dysfunction if the teachers’ go out on strike presumably for additional recognition of the fine job they have done over the past 25 years. - Liandro - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:15 pm: Given that Dem’s have controlled, in a big way, all the levers of power in IL for about a decade, and have had at least partial say in it for even longer…how can this quote not be true? You may not like how he said it, and you may believe (or want to believe) that the Republicans would be worse. But that’s it, that’s the best argument you have–the other guy would be worse. Dem’s undeniably own this state, and thereby own the condition it is in. All the weaseling in the world doesn’t remove responsibility from the people in charge. In IL, that’s the Dems’s. Furthermore, I find it incredibly disingenuous that some of the commentators here use “unable to win” as the big attack on Brady and Republicans, when most of those same commentators were either voting against R’s or voting AND fighting against R’s. Please, we all know your gripe isn’t that they can’t win. Say something real, please. Not producing their own budget is a real concern. Not being able to win is cover babble. As for leaving IL, why should he? We choose to stand and fight for out state. We’re invested in this state, and we want to make it better. Lord knows I would like nothing better then an improved economy…my business is caught in the middle. Raising sales taxes, payroll taxes, and property taxes on me DO NOT a better economy make. - Judgment Day - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:18 pm: Ok, Brady was over the top on blaming this on the national level (well, mostly…). But if you limit the statement to just: “If you want to come to a state that is completely screwed up, ….., I invite you to come to Illinois and spend a week here,” Well, Brady has a (unfortunately) really good point - and guess who is politically overall in charge here in IL. Now, that doesn’t absolve the Republicans, because in many areas of IL where they are in charge they have things as screwed up, if not more so than their Democratic counterparts. If there’s one bright spot between the two parties, it’s people like Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, and Toni Periwinkle at Cook County, who are certainly making changes. And Republicans like Dan Rutherford have the potential to make real changes in the future. There’s hope - just not a lot. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:20 pm: It’s Just Me, Thanks for prompting me away from my ad hominem attack and toward defending Illinois. We are not “completely” screwed up. We have some problems with government, but most things still work, and still work well. Schools are open. There are no riots in the streets. With all of the rain northern Illinois has had, our farms will produce a bumper crop and prices are very good. Jets fly in and out of Midway and O’Hare, filled with people coming to visit and stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants. Employment is bad, but doesn’t appear to be getting worse. Things are tough all over, and they aren’t dramatically worse in Illinois. The sun is shining, the Fair is in full swing, and the girls from Sterling just won the little league softball world series. Pat Brady is wrong. Illinois is far from being completely screwed up. - Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:21 pm: Love the comments! I’m a Cubs fan who is very harshly critical of the Cubs this year. Does this make me anti-Cub? Does this bar me from Wrigley Field? Or does this make me an angry or disappointed Cub fan? The Party Chairman of the GOP has a right to call Illinois completely screwed up and has the right to lay the blame for its current condition on the ruling political party without having to be subjected to comments along the lines of “if you don’t like it then move out” and other such nonsense. Kind of reminds me of the Nixonian “America, Love It Or Leave It” days. Not highlighting Illinois’ problems, either through polite or off the top language, isn’t going to make them go away. Nor is such criticism “harmful” to the state, other than a few bruised egos who deserve to have their egos bruised over their governing performances. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:22 pm: - I find it incredibly disingenuous that some of the commentators here use “unable to win” as the big attack on Brady and Republicans, when most of those same commentators were either voting against R’s or voting AND fighting against R’s. - What’s your point? If every problem Illinois has is because of the Democrats, why can’t the GOP get that message out and beat them? Could it be because people don’t buy it? Or maybe they just don’t like perpetual whiners like Brady who can criticize all day long but can’t provide any results? - Plutocrat03 - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:23 pm: This is simply a partisan game. Brady is bad for pointing out, the obvious? Illinois has the largest unfunded debt liabilities in the nation with no plans of ever changing that position. Whoever is living here/has a business in this state will have to pay the future liabilities before they can choose to use public resources for things that are useful. The lock the Dems have had in the state is powerful and how can you criticize the minority party for not having a solution? Really? Do you think that if someone brought down a workable plan from on high it would be considered by the Dem majority? Please. Austerity and fiscal responsibility as a campaign platform do not have the same cachet as I will give you stuff. The papers have recently presented information that 75% of the Illinois high school grads are not ready for college. That should not instill a feeling of confidence that there will be enough qualified workers available here if you bring your business here. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:24 pm: - Does this make me anti-Cub? Does this bar me from Wrigley Field? - Do you go to Wrigley and loudly boo your team? That’s pretty much the way Brady is operating. - Excessively Rabid - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:33 pm: I think 100% that having every branch of state government in Democratic control is a very bad thing. However, the GOP has little room to complain because they are the ones who self-destructed through corruption and plain stupidity (remind me - did they REALLY run candidates named Ryan for BOTH governor and senator) and turned it all over to the dems. So instead of complaining, they need to come up with a new, more appealing product. They ain’t showing nothing so far. - Liandro - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:34 pm: My point, STL, is you’re proudly running cover for the guys screwing up the state. Are you really in a position to ask why no one else is stepping up? Or, to use an only somewhat-terrible analogy, can the look-out guy complain that the cops aren’t doing enough to stop crime? - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:34 pm: Sounds alot like the “Aren’t you embarassed to be from Illinois?” Kirk was asking during his campaign. When he first started it, he didn’t quite get the response he was looking for, because most people aren’t embarassed by the State; they’re embarassed because of the pols. But then he repeated it often enough so that the crowds became conditioned to respond the way he wanted them to. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:41 pm: And getting back to basics, I truly hope that no one’s planning to escalate it to the next logical level, which is “Aren’t you embarassed to be from the United States?”. If someone does, though, I’m willing to take bets as to who will be first. - Liandro - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:42 pm: A better question than “Aren’t you embarrassed to be from Illinois” would be “Aren’t you embarrassed that Illinois is last in the country for total assets, that we can’t pay our schools or social agencies, and that we’re putting massive financial burdens on our children and our grandchildren due to our political inability to manage our state?” But that’s too long. - Agricola - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:42 pm: Assuming I accept what you say as true, what are you going to do to fix the mess? How about a reason to say yes to your agenda? Or does the silence mean that there is none? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:49 pm: ===Furthermore, I find it incredibly disingenuous that some of the commentators here use “unable to win” as the big attack on Brady and Republicans, when most of those same commentators were either voting against R’s or voting AND fighting against R’s.=== Unlike the ILGOP who in-fight so badly that they couldn’t combine to beat Quinn because “some” didn’t agree with Bill Brady … like “Those” people??? Disingeunous? Pot, meet Kettle, Kettle, meet Pot! One of the GOOD things the ILDEMs do, is rally around the nominees, wether they like them or don’t so that the Dems win … The ILGOP in recent history refuses to do that, and while Pat Brady tells us all that is “screwed up” in the state, how about a party that can’t rally enough to beat Pat Quinn beacuse “some” are not Bill Brady fans, so much so, that they would sit on their hands and let Pat Quinn win. Don’t lecture on “disingenous” Republicans who post on this board, when all we want is a party that wants to WIN, not a party that wants to “win, but we don’t necessarily want ‘that’ GOP candidate to win”. Pat Brady points to things “screwed up” - No matter what you THINK is “disingenuous” the ILGOP is “screwed up” and winning is what the ILGOP is suppose to be in the business to win, not complain, make excuses, are point to messes with no way to help clean them. - L.S. - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:55 pm: Voters tend to respond to critique when it comes from a “happy warrior” place. This sounds more like a curmudgeon shaking his fist. It’s all “rabble rabble” and nothing prodcutive. You may reenforce some of your base this way but it’s ineffective in getting anyone new on board. Rather than whine, how about some ideas? - 1776 - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:56 pm: Are we screwed up as a state. Yes, we have two major league baseball teams who have won a combined 1 World Series in the last 100 years. With regard to politics, let me share some of the GOP blame with 3 individuals: 1. Andy McKenna who ran for Governor and torpedoed Dillard in the last two weeks of the primary with millions from daddy. On his way to a 3rd of 4th place finish. 2. Tom Cross who “bought” into the McKenna debacle in exchange for promised campaign contributions from a few heavy hitters in Chicago. 3. Bob Schillerstrom who was polling worse in IL than Tim Pawlenty was nationally. At least TP had the intelligence to get out of the race. Republicans nominated Bill Brady who couldn’t find the suburbs using mapquest and did worse in his home county that Mark Kirk. Kirk Dillard had crossover appeal and would have beaten Pat Quinn. In all liklihood, the GOP would still have a shot at the map and things could change. But these folks (and a few others), cost us that chance. …but hey, the Sox are only out a couple of games!!! - Conservative Veteran - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 12:57 pm: Illinois might be screwed up, but it’s not the fault of Democrats, only. It’s also the fault of liberal Republicans who support tax rate increases, spending increases, and illegal aliens. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 1:12 pm: Just for the record, I’m a self-proclaimed Moderate Republican who has always supported the GOP in Illinois, at the national level, and even in other states. I also like and support my Conservative friends. I was a very strong and vocal supporter of Kirk. I will continue to support the GOP organizations and my conservative friends. Sometimes, though, I now wish Kirk would just switch to a D because I think that as a D, he’d pleasantly surprise Republicans more than he does now. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 1:28 pm: For the QOTD, it might have better to not attribute the quote and just ask for comments on what was said and not who said it. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 1:40 pm: lol Why “Anonymous” faux 1:28? Don’t like where the discussion has gone? Sounds like the early stages of the Kirk campaign where his supporters were always trying to shut people opposing him up (especially Conservatives)–rather than building bridges. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 1:45 pm: Sorry…that should have been “his supporters, staff, and “unpaid consultants” were always trying to people up…rather than building bridges.” - CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 1:46 pm: it appears Gags Brady should have stuffed a sock in his own mouth rather than the candidates — as he did at the fair several years ago. Bush League Where Doc Adams when we need him Fire, Aim, Ready - MrJM - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 1:47 pm: Your reaction to this quote? If the voters keep rejecting the Illinois GOP despite all of the state’s problems, perhaps Mr. Brady’s party has some serious issues of its own to which it should attend. – MrJM - zatoichi - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 1:49 pm: This situation did not happen only in the last 10 years. It took many years and decisions by both parties over time to ignore, change, and adapt previous legislation with bandaids. Don’t like the Dems? Great get some electable Rep candidates. Don’t see how the national Dems are involved except as a broad brush stroke. The entire statement says “we (Repubs) cannot do any better so it is not our fault”. - Fed up - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:09 pm: The state is screwed up we are disfunctional we raised taxes and still can’t pay the bills. Dems control the state. Seems pretty accurate I’m sad to say. - Ahoy - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:15 pm: The State Republican party is also completely screwed up which is part of the problem on two levels. 1. They offer no policy solutions and hide behind press conference and try to pass that off as part of the legislation process 2. They cannot get their act together to field quality candidates on a consistent basis. This offers no good competition for the Democrats. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:16 pm: - Or, to use an only somewhat-terrible analogy, can the look-out guy complain that the cops aren’t doing enough to stop crime? - Do you really think I support Democrats even though deep in my heart I’m hoping that the GOP will step it up and beat them because they can fix the screw ups? Heck no, I think the GOP would screw it up worse. I think if the Illinois GOP was competent at all they would have been able to win back at least one branch of government in the year of the almighty tea party. But no, they seem content to sit around slamming the state they call home. Good luck with that strategy. - Fed up - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:18 pm: Everyone wants to take some well deserved swipes at pat Brady but no one is saying the state isn’t screwed up. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:23 pm: - no one is saying the state isn’t screwed up. - Sure the state has some problems. So do a lot of states. Even ones where *gasp* Republicans are in charge. Somehow I go about my day, I’m guessing you do to. If you’re satisfied with your party chairman’s efforts, good for you. If it was me I might like to see a few more results. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:25 pm: *you do, too. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:29 pm: ===Have you seen the news about flash mobs in our city?=== You might not be a newcomer, but you sure are gullible. Things are tough all over, and they aren’t much worse in Illinois. If you spend just a little time thinking about it, I’m sure you can find some positive things to mention. Try it sometime. It’s a lot more fun than bad mouthing our state and trying to affix blame for our problems. But then, that might take away your favorite hobby. - Demoralized - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:30 pm: Fed up, I doubt you are going to find many people who disagree with the intended sentiment of what Mr. Brady said, but the words he chose were stupid. I don’t think the state, in general, is screwed up. Government is one thing. Everything else is another. And, why is it that if the state is so screwed up, the Republicans can’t seem to win back control? People are always quick to point out how long the Democrats have been in control, but don’t address why the Republicans are still in the minority. I think if I were a Republican I would be looking for a new party chairman . . . and some new candidates for office. - Fed up - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:32 pm: STL. Actually the last election was pretty good to the GOP. 2 statewide offices Picked up 5 cong seats and several state house and senate seats. Took obamas senate seat. - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:41 pm: - 2 statewide offices Picked up 5 cong seats and several state house and senate seats. Took obamas senate seat. - If you’re fine with it, I am too. - Quinn T. Srntial - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:42 pm: Who won the last 2 photo caption contests (Palin & Quinn )? I am beginning to wonder if you are just buying yourself more drinks out of the contest prize budget. - Matt - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:50 pm: If the only way to describe the state is “completely screwed up”, then leave. He should have prefaced it with something positive about the state. “our great state has been through tough times…” - Bill - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 2:52 pm: If more people of both parties would concentrate on finding some way to compromise and reach solutions to problems maybe the state and country wouldn’t be as “screwed up” as Brady thinks it is. He’s just echoing talking points he sees everyday on talk tv and radio. Come up with some plans and proposals and stop trying so hard to make the other guy look so bad. There are a lot of problems that need to be addressed. The public knows that both sides suck. The election is more than 14 months away. Get to work, for a change, and come up with some solutions. All this brinksmanship is getting us nowhere. - LincolnLounger - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 3:09 pm: Good Lord, look at the historic deficits in the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois, and then tell me the problem is that Pat Brady used the term “completely screwed up” instead of “our great state has been through tough times”?!? Yes, it’s a problem of semantics. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 3:18 pm: My 1:28 comment was meant only as a suggestion to Rich on how to keep the discussion focused on the quote and not on the person. In my 40+ year voting history in any race, I can remember voting for the eventual winner only 3 times. - Fed up - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 3:19 pm: Incremental gains STL. Let’s see if they can build on it. Yes the GOP needs better candidates. A few less clowns. Maybe a moderate or two. - CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 3:49 pm: Did anyone else notice Gags Brady stumble through his fair remarks including the failure to remember the name of Rep Dold What an embarrassment - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 4:19 pm: New Jersey’s Chris Christie — a VP hopeful — just saw his state’s credit rating down-graded. The Terminator’s misleadership left California with a budget deficit of what, $25 BILLION? Texas — under Governor Perry, the GOP presidential leader — just enacted a budget with a $15 BILLION to $27 BILLION budget deficit. Now, Illinois does have its problems, but Pat Brady is standing in a Glass House that would make Billy Joel swoon. - Fan - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 4:37 pm: I’m with OneMan as far as how much the national Dems have put us in a bad spot, but definitely the State Dems have. We have been pretty much been under Dem rule since Ryan left and we rank last in just about every economic category. Then you ridicule the minority party (Rep) as losers and can’t run qualified candidates. Are the Dems any better? Doesn’t seem so lately. The main reason Dems run the state and will continue to run it? Many, many hands out from voters up North. The depend on State handouts for survival (not good). They will always vote to feed and house themselves. - just sayin' - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 4:50 pm: Completely irresponsible for a state gop chairman to attack the state the way Pat Brady does. There a video of Brady at the Fair today where he’s repeating the nonsense that the GOP in Illinois had the best get out the vote program of any state last year. Yep, that’s why the gop lost to Blago’s old running mate who promised to raise the income tax, and lost in the best gop environment imaginable nationwide. God knows where we would be without the best ground game in the nation. - Skirmisher - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 5:32 pm: Judging by all of the negative comments here, I would guess that the Republicans are all at the Fair while the Democrats are loafing and blogging at work. Yup, both miserable parties had a hand in screwing up Illinois, but this is also a very blue state and so the jackass crew justifiably gets the most credit. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 5:37 pm: And as far as the economy goes, economic trends — like fashion, drugs and pop culture trends — start in california and new york and end in illinois. Recessions and economic recoveries start in la and nyc and end in chicago. No governor, general assembly or mayor can do anything to change it. - Not a Newcomer - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 6:13 pm: Hey 47th Ward, defend this one: http://www.civicfed.org/iifs/blog/illinois%E2%80%99-state-pensions-still-worst-funded - Holdingontomywallet - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 6:15 pm: Brady is spot on. This state is screwed up and the democrats have had complete control of the House, Senate, and Governor’s Office since 2002. Most voters outside of Chicago seem to agree. It’s time for the democrats to take some respnsibilitu - Holdingontomywallet - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 6:19 pm: ….responsibility and address the budget deficits. Balance the budget and address the pension system short-falls - it isn’t a big secret what the problems are. Put on the “big-boy” pants and quit kicking the can down the road. - Anonymous - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 6:33 pm: Who would spend a week in IL and not like it because of government deficits? ” Well honey, I really enjoyed watching the cardinals beat the cubs during my first trip to Wrigley, but they have a huge deficit and I heard Democrats are in charge. Let’s go to Kentucky next year.” - quincy - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 7:22 pm: Mr Brady and his team of nobodys need to get away from those TEA PARTYERS and start thinking like real REPUBLICANS But they won,t so thell get what they deserve. Keep doing a good job Mr. Brady - Wilson Pickett - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 7:41 pm: I am afraid to say that the “old line” Republicans as well as the Illinois Democrats can both share in the blame for the state of the Illinois government and the state’s sorry economic situation. No one political party or politician holds a patent on the greed factor. There are many well-intentioned politicians that are serving and have served down in Springfield but there are also many self-serving politicians down there that the others prefer to turn a blind-eye towards. “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” seems to be their motto. - Quizzical - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 9:15 pm: I spend most of my time in Illinois and we have our problems, but how is the State ‘totally screwed up’? The array of goods and services available to me is remarkable, my commute is pleasant, job opportunities are as prevalent here as anywhere else. People move here all the time for opportunity, including about 3/4 of the graduates of surrounding state schools. I won’t argue that these are ‘the best of times’, but ‘totally screwed up’? Not from where I’m looking. - jake - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 10:13 pm: Screwed up how? We have started making our pension payments, albeit belatedly, we have not slashed education at either the pre-college or college level, through our community college system we provide more affordable access to good higher education than practically any other state, our residents have access to good health care in every part of the state, we saw Democrats and Republicans working together, especially in the House, to craft a responsible budget. If you ran this list past the resident of just about any other state, that person would say that Illinois is Utopia. - too obvious - Thursday, Aug 18, 11 @ 11:44 pm: Consider the source. This is the same Pat Brady who attacked Obama yesterday for driving a Canadian made bus from the same company that made George W. Bush’s bus. - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 5:05 am: –Kind of reminds me of the Nixonian “America, Love It Or Leave It” days.– Nixon didn’t say “America, Love it or Leave it.” He answered the insufferable crybabies of his day by reminding them that there was no place ever, on Earth, that offered more freedom and opportunity than the United States. The same is true today and, to quote Nixon, “the time is now, the place is the United States and you better believe it.” Pat Brady can go fill his hat. He brings nothing to the party, any party, but simple-minded negativity. - Lulabell - Friday, Aug 19, 11 @ 11:55 am: What makes me craqy about the GOP is that they criticize but have no real solutions on how to fix things that will benefit everyone. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.