Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: Reader comments closed for the weekend
Next Post: Still no GOP opponent for Frerichs
Posted in:
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign fund transferred $4.45 million to the Illinois Republican Party to bankroll a new effort to focus voters’ attention on House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The state party unveiled its “2018 Madigan Retirement Plan,” which it claimed was designed to “specifically target members of the Illinois House and Senate who empower their political boss, Mike Madigan.” The party said the governor’s money would supply “unprecedented support to local GOP organizations by providing innovative grassroots tools, enhanced digital and data integration, and targeted support for local Republican candidates in an effort to defeat Democrats at every level who empower their party leader, Mike Madigan.”
A few things are going on here. First, “Blame Madigan” has been Rauner’s main theme song since the 2014 campaign. This is a continuation of that effort. It has worked in the past, so they’re betting it’ll work again.
Second, talking about Madigan means he can deflect attention from his own problems.
And that brings us to the third reason. The governor is being criticized loudly and harshly by members of his own party for signing HB40 into law, which legalized taxpayer-funded abortions. Shoveling some cash out the door, or at the very least holding the cash out there as a potential carrot, might help calm some tempers. Running it through the state party means there are no direct Rauner fingerprints on the money, so accepting it gives Republican candidates and organizations some deniability. Not much, but some. They can just say the new cash in their accounts is all about defeating that bad ol’ Madigan.
But Republicans are now being asked whether they’re supporting Gov. Rauner’s reelection.
When Christian County Republican Party Chairman Seth McMillan announced he would run against Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, last week, he was asked where he stood on the intra-party schism. According to the Decatur Herald & Review, McMillan said he would support whoever won the primary and stated, “Right now, I support the governor’s re-election.”
Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, was asked during a local radio talk show last week whether he was endorsing Rauner’s reelection.
“Asking me, ‘Would I still support the governor?’ I’d have to know who’s running,” Brady said, later clarifying that the governor hadn’t yet asked for his endorsement.
As the numerous Republican legislative primaries start heating up between incumbents and others supported by the establishment and those backed by conservative activist Dan Proft and his cohorts, the Rauner questions will naturally become more frequent.
Most Republicans with far-right primary opponents can’t embrace the governor, for obvious reasons. And if they embrace Rauner’s primary opponent they could risk losing out on the so-called “Retire Madigan” money. Attempting to remain neutral comes with its own likely risks.
Once it became clear to the Democrats that there could be no budget deal with the governor, the plan was to drag him down to a point where he was almost as unpopular as Speaker Madigan.
Republicans will undoubtedly be put on the spot with questions next fall about whether they can remain independent of an unpopular governor with a reputation as a control freak who backs that up with a fat wallet.
What goes around comes around, I suppose.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 16, 17 @ 9:01 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: Reader comments closed for the weekend
Next Post: Still no GOP opponent for Frerichs
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
How has it “worked in the past” exactly? Last time I checked Rauner was still getting beat at every turn by a Madigan majority.
So we’re just supposed to keep pretending Rauner didn’t want a tax increase? How pointless. No wonder few people even pay attention to state politics anymore. People just playing pretend. Waste of time. All the action and interest in on the national. But to each his own.
Comment by Chris P. Bacon Monday, Oct 16, 17 @ 9:12 am
=I’d have to know who’s running,=
Oh Dan, Please don’t do that. You don’t know who is running? It doesn’t even matter when your sugar daddy is running. You don’t want a @##%^& problem.
The GOP candidates could end up between a rock and a hard place, between two sugar daddies. Too bad, especially after all of the “but Madigan” stuff.
The GOP spent all of their time crying about Madigan instead of using their new found relevance to do something until a minimal number smartened up at the eleventh hour.
2 years of relevancy wasted, two years to make this place better wasted. Now what?
No sympathy from me.
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Oct 16, 17 @ 9:12 am
==Most Republicans with far-right primary opponents can’t embrace the governor, for obvious reasons.==
Obvious, but- if you want Rauner to win- nonetheless troubling reasons. Supporting an incumbent Governor is now a divisive stand in the Governor’s own party.
It’s kind of the opposite of the play he was hoping to make 2 years ago.
Comment by Arsenal Monday, Oct 16, 17 @ 9:22 am
Is Uiehlein going to set up a competing funding network against Rauner’s ILGOP?
Very close to put-up or shut-up time for the outraged.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Oct 16, 17 @ 9:32 am
“Because… Gander!” said the Goose.
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Monday, Oct 16, 17 @ 9:33 am
To the Post,
Great work by you, Rich. Enjoyed reading it a lot.
For me, here’s where the Party, Raunerite or otherwise, is just an empty vessel that Rauner, Breen, and Proft find themselves…
===As the numerous Republican legislative primaries start heating up between incumbents and others supported by the establishment and those backed by conservative activist Dan Proft and his cohorts, the Rauner questions will naturally become more frequent.
Most Republicans with far-right primary opponents can’t embrace the governor, for obvious reasons. And if they embrace Rauner’s primary opponent they could risk losing out on the so-called “Retire Madigan” money. Attempting to remain neutral comes with its own likely risks.===
When Rep. Breen wrote of his and others enabling of Rauner and realizing Rauner is exactly who many thought he was, it opened the door for Rauner to be wounded, but it also highlighted Dan Proft…
Proft who is going after those who “turned” on the governor to save Illinois, and in the sand thought, Proft feels Rauner betrayed “conservatives” and it’s in quotes because now it’s “but Madigan” when deciding in that cafeteria conservatism, here is where Rep. Breen becomes a beacon of someone willing to stand up to both Rauner and Proft.
I dunno if that will happen, Breen calling both out, but Rauner has determined that signing an abortion bill that has taxpayer funded abortions, the cost according to Rauner is $4.45 million to get the “Breen” members back… “but Madigan”
Proft is transparent. Proft wants the GA fractured and the Governor wounded, knowing he can’t defeat Rauner in a primary, but could would him enough to try to weasel his way back at taking over the races in the GA.
Will Rep. Breen be able to stop this civil war? Probably not, due in large part to the “Rauner Money” that the likes of SSM opponent Sen. Oberweis sees as a good enough reason to support Rauner after HB40 and Rauner’s signature.
Got all that? Whew. What a mess.
So there’s really “3″ sides of “1″ coin… today.
Do you support Rep. Breen?
Do you support Gov. Rauner?
Do you support Dan Proft, attacking both Rauner and those who turned their back on Rauner with the overrides and “purity”?
What goes around… yep.
Usually it starts with a fib, than it grows, then there’s fallout, then there are battle lines.
Rauner was never a Republican, Proft has always been an opportunist, will Breen find a Party to salvage from the Raunerites vs. The Opportinists?
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Oct 16, 17 @ 1:34 pm
That may be a large adverse for any web site. http://tradingspot.ca/author/clementslillelund0/
Comment by http://tradingspot.ca Wednesday, Oct 18, 17 @ 4:00 am