24 Comments - Anon - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:47 pm: I’ve got no qualms with those 3. I watched the video and believe they all had good observations and ideas. If I could pick - Rauner, Ives, and Griffin. - The Captain - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:50 pm: Griffin, Uihlein and Ricketts. We’re going to get whatever Republican party they pay for so get the three of them on a panel and ask them what they’re going to pay for. - Anon - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:50 pm: Sorry…forgot to explain. Rauner to get his views on the past 4 years and to find out if he will stay involved. Ives to see if she has sustainable ideas and is in this for the long haul or just opportunistic. Griffin because he’s got the dough and find out where he’s willing to put his money in the future. - Iggy - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:50 pm: Real answer: Adam Kinzinger And Rodney Davis Both Congressmen have had to do the Trump dance, be with him on some things, against him on others. And hopefully they will both have careers that outlast Trump when it comes to Republican electoral politics in Illinois. Snark Answer: David Olsen so people can learn from his mistakes and Charlie Kirk, oh wait he moved TPUSA to Arizona… darn. - retiredhack - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:51 pm: David McSweeney - He is a good representative of the far right yet extremely reasonable. He has a knack for understanding all sides of an issue and the GOP is going to need that kind of insight in the future. Tom Demmer - A young conservative who realizes it’s necessary to work across the aisle and policy differences don’t have to be personal. He’s the polar OPPOSITE of McQueary. Jil Tracy - Downstate conservative women may be the only real way save the GOP. Jil has talent and personality. If the GOP would give her a better platform, she could be one of their greatest recruiters. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:53 pm: Rodney Davis Christine Radogno Greg Baise Davis for downstate perspective Radogno for suburban mom perspective Baise for the perspective of a constituency - wordslinger - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:54 pm: Edgar, as a moderate, Downstate elder statesman who knew how to win statewide. Uihlein, as the far-right’s money man who calls the shots (Proft is just the hired help). Durkin, a current GA leader from the suburbs with insight as to why the GOP is under siege there. Curious: why was Tom Cross the moderator and an alleged journalist on the panel? Shouldn’t it have been the other way around? - JS Mill - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:54 pm: My suggestions: 1. Jim Edgar- He was, by most measures, a successful Republican Governor. 2. Kirk Dillard- He was beaten by the Rauner money onslaught but a very respected Illinois Republican. He would have beaten Quinn in a route and probably could have gotten some things done. 3.Jeanne Ives- To scare everyone from going hard right, and closing out her 15 minutes) by having her in the same room as rational adults. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:55 pm: Kinzinger would be my fourth or replace Baise. Kinzinger to give a perspective of finding a place where he makes sense for his district, the region, and knowing the politics for a Republican in both. - OurMagician - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 2:55 pm: Erika Harold/Adam Kinzinger/Avery Bourne The Republican Party is in serious disarray and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. Take your young female statewide candidate who ran the best/your young US Congressman/and a young Illinois state rep and explain how you can rebuild this party into a statewide organization rather than a regional party of no that has no solutions, just complaints. Mike Madigan has been a part of Illinois government for 25% for our history, 67% of our citizens have been born since he took office, explain an effective strategy to work against him and the Democrats rather than allow him to run the show statewide. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 3:20 pm: Rich Goldberg, Nancy Kimme and Christine Radogno would be three good ones. I’m not sure why McQueary was included. Seems like a bit of an ethical problem for her, or at least a future credibility crisis. How can she write about anything without readers wondering if she’s still giving advice to Illinois Republicans? She can be a journalist or a political advisor, but she shouldn’t try to be both. Goldberg, Kimme and Radogno have won a lot of races for Illinois Republicans. Proft hasn’t. I’d listen to folks who’ve been in the trenches on the winning side if I wanted to find out what works. My two cents. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 3:25 pm: ===Goldberg, Kimme and Radogno=== Solid. Restaurant quality I’d even bring cannoli. - Not a Billionaire - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 3:31 pm: I agree with the captain if no one pays there is nothing. I would add Tracy but they are not going to spend.My guess is after the results of this election they spend elsewhere. - Angry Republican - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 3:44 pm: I don’t have any names, but I would have invited about a dozen people that didn’t vote for Republicans to hear their opinion of the IL-GOP. Sort of like a customer focus group. The only way forward is to start listening to customers (voters) and find out what is important to them. - KOL - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 3:46 pm: Mike Z, blank, and blank. He got Kirk in. He got Rodney in. He got Bruce in. He picked up 4 House seats in ‘16. He’s the only guy who knows how to win. The rest are just talking heads. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 3:49 pm: Fran Eaton, Jeanne Ives and Dan Proft. After they get finished telling everyone how right they are, they can reminisce about their time together on the Alan Keyes campaign. Seems like they’ve been following the Keyes plan every election ever since 2004. Sooner or later it has to work, right? - Lake County Crier - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 3:55 pm: Bob Dold, Erika Harold & Tom Demmer. All three are undoubtedly what the remnants of the GOP that’s left in Illinois should model themselves after. - Blue Dog Dem - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 4:04 pm: Dennis Knobloch. Jerry Costello II Phyllis Schlaffley. Maybe not traditional GOP, but not the same old pretend conservative crud. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 4:05 pm: Let me know if you get Schlafly to attend Blue Dog. That’d be a neat trick. - Blue Dog Dem - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 4:08 pm: 47th. I couldnt help myself and violated Richs request on the no snark. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 4:13 pm: I would have chosen Dan Cronin, Sen. Jason Barickman and Sen. Sue Rezin. Cronin because he runs a large Republican county and would have some good insights on what happened in DuPage. Barickman because he’s a Downstate Senator who easily survived voting for gay marriage. Rezin because I talked with her a bit lately and she seems to have a decent grasp of the way forward. There are tons of others I could name (some mentioned above), but I chose these. - Mike Welsh - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 4:22 pm: 1. Bill Brady. He’s clearly in for the long haul. 2. Matt Butcher. Single handlely won Davis’ re-election 3. Andy Byars. As the director for Bloominfton this kid got talent. Hard to defend Bruce but he excelled. - hisgirlfriday - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 4:24 pm: No one on a talk from the future of the Republican Party in IL should live north of I-80. That’s where the party is dying. Jason Barickman - the path forward for Republicans in IL needs to make some kind of concessions to attract independents and he has on gay rights and pot despite coming from a blood red district Mike Bost - the GOP future in IL is downstate… really far down the state. And Bost was one of the few 2018 GOP success stories in what was thought to be a swing district that he just dominated Dan Caulkins - He was a total Rauner groupie 4 years ago and managed to ride the Trump train to victory in 2018. Macon County is a former Dem/swing area trending Republican and he might have insights as a former Decatur council member. - anon - Tuesday, Nov 20, 18 @ 4:29 pm: I would bring in Z, Matt O’Shea, and Griffin. Griffin because money is needed. Z because he has won in the past. And O’Shea because he’s been in this game for some time and realizes that in order for the party to have broader appeal, it must change. He has worked on a variety of issues, and he understands both sides. The Republican party must be more than the party pandering to the aggrieved white man and placating them with hot rhetoric on social issues and cuts to taxes and services. Republicans will only win if they prove that they can run government. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.