26 Comments - very old soil - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 3:12 am: “four conservatives” As an old guy I note more and more frequently that words have lost their meaning. I think the correct words to describe them is “four fools”. - Draznnl - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 4:25 am: Assuming he has a district and assuming he runs for reelection, Kinzinger would have to be thanking his lucky stars that four wackos have joined the race against him. He’s probably praying for one or two more to jump in as well. The more ways the vote against him is split, the better his odds of survival. - Seats - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 6:54 am: I had written Kinzinger off in the primary, but if he is going against 4 or 5 people all saying crazy stuff they just might split the vote enough for him to win. Would be nice to aee him win to keep some sanity in the Republican party. - Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 7:26 am: Must be that Bob Hope wing of the party coming to the forefront. - JS Mill - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 8:04 am: = words have lost their meaning. I think the correct words to describe them is “four fools”.= Spot. On. Every. Word. - PublicServant - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 8:10 am: Ditto JS. Old Soil is spot on. I respect true conservatives, but the current reactionary, Q-anon group of fools isn’t conservative. They are wing nuts. - Nick Name - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 9:12 am: They should be made to say where they were on January 6, 2021. - Norseman - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 9:14 am: I can’t top the first comment, so all I’ll say is that I hope the Dems have the ability and desire to carve a map that gives Kinzinger a district. I know it’s not a guarantee that he’d win in today’s GQP, but he deserves a shot. - Bruce( no not him) - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 9:40 am: Conservatives. Pretty sure that word doesn’t mean what they think it means - Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 9:50 am: I approach this TWO ways; 1) Dems could be smart and swap Kinzinger for Bustos, control the very expensive Chicago media market, and lock in the suburbs for a very long time. 2) Make the district only winnable for Kinzinger, and making *this* the proverbial “14 Dem seat” by making it impossible for any Trumpkin who get through a primary with Kinzinger a general election loser. All that said, Kinzinger *requires* 5 or more “fringe/Q/Trumpkin” types to gets through any primary, “probably”, no matter how it’s drawn, so at least 4 without even seeing a map is good news for Kinzinger. And… I’m with Kinzinger. So there’s that too. - Chicago Blue - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 9:55 am: Do people think he gets national money from the Lincoln Project & Bill Kristol types? - EssentialStateEmployeefromChatham - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:05 am: ==Dems could be smart and swap Kinzinger for Bustos, control the very expensive Chicago media market, and lock in the suburbs for a very long time.== How might they do this? 1. Add a thin finger to the 17th from Kewanee eastward toward Channahon along I-80–and focus only on urban centers of the district (e.g., Rockford, Freeport, QCs, Sterling, Galesburg/Monmouth, Peoria) while shedding GOP-leaning rural areas of the district? 2. Create a thin “blue wall” district along 39 from Rockford to Bloomington (then over to Channahon)–then add either Peoria or Champaign to that district if they need more people? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:06 am: ===How might they do this?=== Bustos “barely won” last time, far closer than it “shoulda been” It’s really not that difficult. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:10 am: ===How might they do this?=== Between Foster, Underwood, “Kinzinger”… the larger populations are towards “She-Caw-Go” and compacting “Kinzinger” more blue could happen. I’ve not seen any real maps that show anything that can be seen or deemed as actual options. I can’t fully speculate to either, but the option to swap Kinzinger for Bustos and saving a boatload of cash in the expensive Chicago market to boot is good mapping. - Amalia - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:17 am: Yeah, this is the question every Republican should be asked, at public meetings, by editorial boards for endorsements, by everyone…do you believe Trump won the election. expose them supporting the lie. - Jocko - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:48 am: ==All four maintain Democrat Joe Biden holds the Oval Office only through chicanery.== It’s been almost 300 days since November 3rd. At what point do we collectively say “Put up or shut up (banned punctuation)” - Unconventional wisdom - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 10:57 am: The only way Kinzinger will win his primary is if there are multiple candidates running against him. - Skeptic - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 11:46 am: do you believe Trump won the election. expose them supporting the lie.” That’s part of the problem. For too many, “No” is the wrong answer for too many Republicans. - H-W - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:01 pm: Just focusing on the “Trump Won” candidates, we need to continuously remind ourselves that these are the same people who wrestled control of the Republican Party away from John Boehner over a decade ago. They are not “Trumpkins” or whatever the current terms are. That is just a new label on a growing old bottle of wine, so to speak. They are the Tea Party. A dozen years ago, they were marching on Washington and the Capitol wearing 1775 Colonial garb and waving serpent flags. Ten years later, they are still the same. Last year these same people marched on Washington waving that same serpent flag. These “ends justify the means” people do not care about process, law, or truth. What it problematic for me is that this group has been in control of the Republican Party for over a decade, and Conservatives of the GOP variety still think they are a temporary anomaly. They are not. Boehner brought them in (I think he referred to herding cats). Ryan empowered them with his own conspiracy theories about when the will of the people needs to be ignored. Now, these citizens have a party, and are supported electorally by Conservatives who profess to oppose them (but do not in practice work to regain control of the GOP). The only way the Tea Party has retained power is because GOP Conservatives refuse to leave, and refuse to vote in ways to remind the minority Tea Party that they are unacceptable. This is minority rule at its most transparent. Conservatives need to decide whether they are going to continue empowering Tea Party leaders and members, or whether they wish to return to Conservative principles. - Unconventional wisdom - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:01 pm: Let’s say that Kinzinger is beaten in the primary. Any candidate running in the general election with a record of saying Trump won is only beating a dead horse and looks foolish. As stated above, we do not know what the district would look like. It may be that no Republican could win or perhaps they might have a solid chance. Sticking with issues such as taxes, growing government and national debt and merit immigration are winners if articulated intelligently. Issues such as abortion and “Trump won”‘ are losers. - Dotnonymous - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 12:17 pm: The Tea Party is over. - H-W - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 1:43 pm: Tell that to the 2nd Amendment / “Don’t Tread on Me” / Libertarian / Anti-Government folks in the Republican Party. A rose by any other name is still a rose. The same goes for the Tea Party Movement. - Quincy - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 1:53 pm: If Trump would have won, He would been saying this was one of the most safe election there ever was. ANOTHER BIG TRUMP LIE He’s one of the bigges sore Losser there ever was. LOCK HIM UP - Dotnonymous - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 3:19 pm: “- Flyin’ Elvis’-Utah Chapter - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 7:26 am: Must be that Bob Hope wing of the party coming to the forefront.” The Bob Hope Wing of the party needs to be publicly “recognized”…Thanks for the memories…and the laugh…La la lalada la. - Zebra GC4 - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 3:37 pm: “The Tea Party is over” Kinzinger got elected campaigning on a Tea Party platform. I remember signs all over southern Will county supporting him. - John Lopez - Monday, Aug 23, 21 @ 5:04 pm: Russell Lissau did a terrific job with his article. Not only did he track down all of the declared candidates (via FEC filings) including the more obscure ones, when one of the candidates claimed he didn’t think Trump really won, Lissau reminded him what he tweeted earlier this year and got a he was just joking response when Lissau had him dead-to-rights. ICYMI, Lissau’s article also inspired the Daily Herald editorial yesterday. https://t.co/E2ye7LMvMT?amp=1 And thus afternoon, Lissau tracked down the IL-16 candidate who put her campaign on hold. https://t.co/CRLZgu3r3x?amp=1 Great job Russell Lissau! Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.