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GOP’s fundraiser featuring Sen. Kennedy pulling in big bucks

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Illinois

A fundraiser [for the Illinois Republican Party] set for next month not only is a sellout, with 740 tickets purchased for the Feb. 9 dinner at a Rosemont hotel, but has garnered more money than the party reported raising all of last year. Combined with an armistice of sorts between often feuding factions on the party’s central committee, the party appears to have taken at least initial steps to pull out of the funk it’s been in since former Gov. Bruce Rauner lost his re-election bid to Democrat J.B. Pritzker in November 2018. […]

The upcoming Rosemont event featuring U.S. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana already has grossed “more than $300,000,” says party Chairman Don Tracy, a Springfield lawyer who took office after Rauner left the state. And with three weeks to go, the party has added as many seats as it can to the Rosemont venue and sold them all. […]

In an odd twist that also indicates some change, Tracy said much of the proceeds from the event will be used to amplify the Illinois GOP’s early- and absentee-vote efforts. Ergo the dinner’s “bank the vote” theme.

Former President Donald Trump famously ridiculed such efforts after his 2020 loss, repeatedly charging that any votes not cast in person on Election Day were subject to massive fraud. Many party professionals later concluded that relying strictly on in-person votes ceded too much ground to Democrats, and Tracy said efforts to get the GOP back into the early-vote game this year have the blessing of not just the Republican National Committee but Trump himself.

There’s more.

* Allison Janowski at the Democratic Party of Illinois asked to respond…

The Illinois GOP is celebrating their upcoming “Bank Your Vote” Gala as a turning point for their struggling party, but in reality, it’s another ironic display of their ongoing identity crisis. With no record to run on and an authoritarian extremist poised to sit at the top of their ticket, the IL GOP is once again struggling to connect with voters.

In turn, they’ve decided to lean into the RNC’s “Bank Your Vote” campaign for the fundraiser and their 2024 strategy, encouraging Republicans to vote early or vote by mail, methods which many high-profile Republicans, including their presumptive nominee Donald Trump, have repeatedly and falsely claimed leads to election fraud.

The keynote speaker for the gala, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, was among those who questioned the results of the 2020 election, supported efforts to challenge the results, and even sent a fundraising email pushing the “Big Lie” conspiracy.

While they publicly roll out this effort to increase early and absentee voting, Illinois Republicans have spent significant energy behind the scenes attempting to suppress the vote through litigation. Illinois voters have repeatedly rejected their extreme agenda in free and fair elections, so they’ve resorted to desperate measures to turn the tides. Congressman Mike Bost has sought to block mail-in ballots received after Election Day, and IL GOP Treasurer Laura Pollastrini is a co-plaintiff in that effort. The ongoing appeal was also supported by the RNC through an amicus brief, despite their public 180 on mail-in voting.

The gala is a clear example of a national GOP tension between their electoral strategy and the inflammatory rhetoric of their party leader.

The IL GOP won’t disavow Bost’s efforts to restrict Illinoisans’ right to vote, John Kennedy’s history of pushing election fraud, or Donald Trump’s anti-democratic agenda, but they are happy to take up this new-found passion for early and absentee voting when electorally convenient.

Discuss.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 11:36 am

Comments

Kennedy has a law degree, from Virginia, but he just sounds like a tv character. perfect for this strange personality driven Republican cult.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 11:41 am
I imagine they’re seeing “excitement” from big-money donors who are getting riled up by the 24/7 “country is falling apart” coverage from national and local TV news. The GOP and their media ecoystem is very good at setting a narrative for the country, and right now it’s immigration, crime, and a struggling economy (even though we’re seeing signs that the economy is actually doing pretty well). All of these issues get scared rich people to show up to GOP fundraisers.

Everything is looking great for the GOP until Donald Trump’s name ends up on the November ballot. Remember when 2022 was supposed to be disastrous for Democrats?

Comment by NIU Grad Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 11:52 am
=== but he just sounds like a tv character===

There’s a video online somewhere about how his accent radically changed.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:05 pm
Warning: I am feeling particularly snarky today. I may not fully embrace what my fingers are about to type.

I suppose one way to look at this is to conclude they are doing the right thing in this one case - working to ensure more people vote. Expecting Republican leaders to openly admit that their historic and ongoing efforts to disenfranchise people are misguided and contrary to this initiative would be silly. Contradictions rarely matter when your mantra is “if you do not win, nothing else matters.”

Republican leaders are rarely known for their integrity. Some are, and some lead very well. But the lack of integrity is a result (not a cause) of their attempts to deny citizenship rights to citizens - the right to vote. It explains why Republican leaders routinely question the integrity of the ballot. If they work fervently to deny people the right to vote and to disrupt the voting processes, then it is reasonable to believe the vote does not represent the will of the people (i.e., they do not want the will of the people to be represented if it means their candidates lose).

I apologize here to those Republicans among us who are truly good citizens. But your leadership is just lost, and in some cases, unethical.

Comment by H-W Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:05 pm
Nothing like a little bigotry, baloney and projection with a side of cornpone to bring in the MAGA money.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:06 pm
A lot of people in Illinois would pay top-dollar to see a Kennedy who can win a statewide election.

Comment by Drury's Missing Clock Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:07 pm
@RichMiller, thanks. will have to find that. husband calls him Mr. Haney.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:09 pm
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/23/senator-john-kennedy-accent-louisiana-mexicans Can’t listen to the video now, but this article is filled with great info about the Senator. Oxford (banned punctuation)

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:13 pm
I’ve been to Louisiana. Based on what I’ve seen he needs to stay home and maybe do something to make that miserable state better

Comment by Stormsw7706 Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:15 pm
Required watching background on Sen. Kennedy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixvgEfXVXmo

Comment by Senator Clay Davis Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:27 pm
=It explains why Republican leaders routinely question the integrity of the ballot.=

Great post overall, but I think there is another key element to denying the ballot. Republicans near and far have fallen (willingly) under the spell of a narcissist who uses the authoritarian playbook chapter and verse. In his mind the vote must be rigged because how could anyone vote against him. The party is shrinking in numbers but not power…yet. By creating chaos and distrust they hang on to their constituency for a little longer.

In the long run, these movements always end the same way. See Germany and Italy 1922 to 1945.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:32 pm
Greg can always be counted on for a puff piece on behalf of IL GOP officials who don’t make a serious effort to take on the Democrats in this state.

Comment by Lordy lordy Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:39 pm
===Greg can always be counted on for a===

Stop.

The ILGOP has been absolutely horrible at raising money ever since Rauner bolted to Florida.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:49 pm
ILGOP super interested in turning the state of IL into Louisiana.

Sounds about right.

Comment by Blue Bayou Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:51 pm
Chambers political ad has some examples of Kennedey’s “transformative” accent… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwYm1W9–Go

Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 12:59 pm
@Anon221: I’m getting “This video isn’t available anymore”.

Oddly, this one which has the same URL, seems to work fine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwYm1W9–Go

Comment by JoanP Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 1:39 pm
Or not. Seems to be a weirdness with linking from here. If I go to Chambers’ YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@garychambersjr.9450/videos the video plays fine.

Comment by JoanP Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 1:41 pm
Thanks JoanP. It was working when I posted.

Comment by Anon221 Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 1:58 pm
Will Paul Vallas be in attendance? Will he deny knowing the purpose of the event and the participants and guests?

Comment by Gravitas Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 2:21 pm
JS, Let’s pray we can end this cancer short of what it took to end them. Dem to start the cure now.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 2:49 pm
Oops, the “vote” dropped off. What we don’t want to happen in November.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Jan 25, 24 @ 2:51 pm