GOPUSA ILLINOIS Daily Clips - March 16, 2008

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
Many Republicans, including Roskam, participate in outstanding Elmhurst St. Patrick's Day parade - Dave Diersen
www.gopillinois.com
(THE ARTICLE: Congressman Peter Roskam served as Grand Marshal of Elmhurst's outstanding St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday, March 15. Republican parade entries included Yolanda Campuzano, Joe Cantore, Dan Cronin, Paul Fichtner, Bob Grogan, Chris Kachiroubas, Marhsa Murphy, Carole Pankau, Donald Puchalski, Dennis Reboletti, and Jeff Redick. Government entries included Addison Township and York Township. The many Republicans who walked with the entries included Bob Biggins, Joseph Caruso, Pat Durante, Sal Falbo, Laura Fitzpatrick, Amy Grant, Paul Hinds, Bob Larsen, Dwight and Larry Hill, Moon Khan, Pam Mitroff, Pamela Moretti, Leonard Sanchez, and Mark Stern.)

DAILY HERALD
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH COLOR PHOTO OF GOMEZ: BEYOND OUTRAGEOUS: DEMOCRATS AND TERRORISTS ARE OVERJOYED: The Daily Herald, an organization controlled by the Democrat Party, a) argues that the cost of fighting terrorism is not worth it and b) exploits injured veteran Joel Gomez
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=154616&src=2
(FROM THE DEMOCRAT PARTY PRESS RELEASE UNETHICALLY MADE TO LOOK LIKE A NEWS ARTICLE: When he closes his eyes, Gomez has two symbolic images of the Iraq war that flash before him. The first is of a lone soldier who's suffered a traumatic brain injury, or a serviceman, like him, whose limbs are without function or missing. The other is of a car bombing. Children and civilians are dead and confused loved ones are all asking the same question: "Why?" That is Gomez's view of the war -- pain on both sides. No winners. Gomez said he could see as a soldier there was no way Iraq would ever achieve an American democratization. "I knew it would never be done because the differences and ideals are so varied that it would be impossible," he said. "We are not run by religion in every aspect of life, but they are." Indeed, Gomez is a veteran who believes the U.S. went into Iraq "based on a bunch of lies and fabrications." If you can't tell by the calendar that mocks President George W. Bush's talent for making up words, Gomez will be happy to tell you himself that he regards him as a "horrible president." Maybe, then, it's not a surprise that Gomez breaks from Wheaton's usual Republican leanings to favor Hillary Clinton for president. He even donated a little more than $400 to her campaign. Politics get Gomez fired up. But it's his dreams for the future that fuel him. He's trying to find a college with distance learning to study world religions. He wants to write a book about his life. And he wants to shed light on problems in the VA medical system. Gomez describes his time in various VA hospitals as "almost disturbing." "They're great people, but their training and knowledge of patient experiences is, I hate to say it, subpar.")
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD WITH PICTURES THAT TERRIORISTS LOVE: BEYOND OUTRAGEOUS: DEMOCRATS AND TERRORISTS ARE OVERJOYED: The Daily Herald, an organization controlled by the Democrat Party, uses pictures to argue that the cost of fighting terrorism is not worth it
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=154566
-- Democrats don't have proud record - John W. Strzelecki, Mt. Prospect
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=154373&src=
(THE LETTER: Let's give Democrats some credit when due. The Democrats took over the majority in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives in January of 2007. Here are their accomplishments since then: The average price of gasoline has gone from $1.90 to $3.23 per gallon. The housing market has collapsed. The mortgage market has collapsed. The credit market has collapsed. The stock market is down. The bond market is a joke. Food prices are up. Taxes are up and going up more. The unemployment rate is slowly creeping up. We can't wiretap terrorists plotting to kill us anymore. Good job folks. Just think what a Democratic president could accomplish.)
-- GOP begins targeting Bean ahead of election But Democrats shake off criticism, say candidate is strong - Russell Lissau
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=154626&src=3
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Minority Democrat Navarrette demonizes older white female Democrat Ferraro for complaining about Democrat mandates to give preference to Democrat minorities
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=153668

CBS2
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: "CBS 2 was not allowed inside Saturday's fundraising reception" for Obama
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/barack.obama.jeremiah.2.678094.html (Includes video clip)

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
-- Jenni Roberts defends her father, Jim Oberweis - Eric Zorn
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-change_oberweismar16,1,4570622.story
(THE ARTICLE: Early last week I posted a withering commentary at Change of Subject saying that Republican Jim Oberweis has proven to be such a bad candidate in four tries for major office that he should just quit now. Democrat Bill Foster beat him fairly handily in last weekend's special election for U.S. Congress in a traditionally Republican west-suburban district. The two are slated for a rematch in November, but I slung some of the common, unflattering nicknames for the dairy magnate - "Jim O-for-Four" and so on -and suggested Illinois House minority leader Tom Cross should pinch-run for him. In the ensuing, customary online wrangle with readers, I heard from the kind of person few of us ever think of when we're slagging public figures: Oberweis' eldest daughter, Jenni Roberts, 39. The last few months have been tough, she wrote: "Some may think that would be related to the differences in our political beliefs (I am very liberal in a family that thinks liberal is a bad word). Others might think that it's never easy being his daughter according to what has been published about him." But "any of you who think your dad is a great guy, please try to imagine how it would feel if people who share your values continuously berated him and made comments about 'hating' the 'Milk Dud.' " She added, "The personal attacks serve no purpose, and I promise they are hurtful to his family." She's agreed to correspond with me in public about this aspect of hardball politics (and yes, the first thing I asked her was how she thinks her father's vilified opponents have felt). Check out the first installments at chicagotribune.com/zorn.)
-- Obama opens up on Rezko, and it's almost believable - John Kass
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-kass_bd16mar16,1,4243773.column
(FROM THE COMMENTARY: Barack Obama looked me straight in the eye. I heard him speak. Yet unlike some other pundits, I felt no thrill going up my leg. I did feel a twinge of Rezko, though, and figured Obama could feel it, too, like when the bottom of your foot cramps up inside your shoe and you can't dance. That's "hardball" the Chicago way, as Barack visited the Tribune on Friday to discuss his old friend, fundraiser and real estate fairy, indicted political fixer Tony Rezko. Rezko himself was quite busy, in federal custody, preparing for this week's testimony in his corruption trial.)

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Not surprisingly, Carol Marin argues that Obama's "description of his relationship with Tony Rezko is entirely plausible"
http://www.suntimes.com/news/marin/844638,carol031508.article
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Not surprisingly, Mary Mitchell complains about "attacks" on Obama and his church
http://www.suntimes.com/news/mitchell/844637,mitch031508.article

BEACON NEWS
-- Could Kane precincts be split soon? - Steve Lord
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/844981,2_1_AU16_ELECTION_S1.article

NAPERVILLE SUN
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: Despite efforts by Democrats to ruin DuPage County's economy by importing thousands and thousands of Democrats who have severe financial, health, and other problems, DuPage County is nevertheless "still holding strong"
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/business/844900,6_3_NA16_FORECAST_S2.article
-- "I felt lots of warmth from the people of Naperville," said City Councilwoman Darlene Senger on Saturday after she finished marching in the city's 15th annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. "It feels wonderful."
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/844998,6_1_NA16_PARADE_S1.article

JOURNAL STANDARD
-- Appointment is part of the law - Cheryl Hartman, Chairman, Stephenson County Republican Central Committee, Freeport
http://www.journalstandard.com/articles/2008/03/16/opinion/opinion07.txt

NEW YORK TIMES
-- DIERSEN HEADLINE: BEYOND OUTRAGEOUS: DEMOCRATS AND TERRORISTS ARE OVERJOYED: PICTURES THAT TERRIORISTS LOVE: The New York Times, an organization controlled by the Democrat Party, uses pictures to argue that the cost of fighting terrorism is not worth it
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/weekinreview/16jburns.html?_r=1&scp=9&sq=Iraq&st=nyt&oref=slogin

WASHINGTON POST
-- Republicans See Storm Clouds Gathering Week of Bad News Highlights Difficult Challenges for GOP in Fall Elections - Jonathan Weisman
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/15/AR2008031502047.html
(FROM THE ARTICLE: While all eyes were on the presidential campaign and the demise of New York Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer (D) last week, Republicans on Capitol Hill were suffering a run of bad news that could hold dire implications for the campaign season. It started with the loss last weekend of the seat held for two decades by former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). It got worse when Republicans lost potentially strong challengers to Democratic senators in South Dakota and New Jersey, and failed to field anyone to oppose the reelection bid of Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). The latest blow came with the revelation that the former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- from the organization's depleted coffers to his own bank accounts. If Republicans needed any more evidence of how difficult this fall may be, the past week had it all, analysts said. The Illinois race demonstrated new levels of disaffection, the party's efforts to go on offense elsewhere were thwarted by recruiting failures, and the NRCC scandal will divert campaign resources and could frighten off badly needed contributors, they said. "It's no mystery," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). "You have a very unhappy electorate, which is no surprise, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand." Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan analyst of congressional politics, said: "The math is against them. The environment is against them. The money is against them. This is one of those cycles that if you're a Republican strategist, you just want to go into the bomb shelter." The loss of Hastert's seat in a special election in the far suburbs of Chicago was particularly painful, Republicans conceded. GOP campaign aides contended that the victory of Democratic physicist Bill Foster, a political neophyte, was more a reflection of the unpopularity of his Republican opponent, Jim Oberweis, than a tectonic political shift in a district that once exemplified the GOP's stranglehold on the nation's outer-ring suburbs. But that's not how Foster sees it. Voters "had a pretty clean choice between a candidate who had aligned himself with George Bush's policies and one who felt we needed a change of course," he said. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain (Ariz.) helped Oberweis raise money, and the NRCC pumped more than $1.2 million into the district -- using more than 20 percent of its cash on hand -- to no avail. "Even if it was mostly about Jim Oberweis, it's a terrible sign," Rothenberg said. "It adds to Democratic energy and further depresses the Republicans. And you can't dismiss the idea that there is an atmospheric advantage for the Democrats.")

WALL STREET JOURNAL
-- The Conservative Case for McCain - Mr. Sanford, Republican governor of South Carolina
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120553936399438277.html

EXTREME WISDOM
-- Don't let Obama off the hook - Bruno Behrend
http://www.extremewisdom.com/?p=1069

ILLINOIS REVIEW
-- Obama's Condemnation of Rev. Wright is Much Too Little and Far Too Late - Mark Rhoads
http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/03/obamas-condemna.html

SENATOR DILLARD
-- Dillard voted "Most Influential Resident"
http://www.dillard.senategop.org/
(THE ARTICLE: West Suburban Living Magazine recently published its "Best of the West" issue, which outlines the readers' choice for the best of what the western suburbs have to offer. Senator Dillard is honored to have been chosen as the "Most Influential Area Resident" by the magazine's readers, who weighed in on who and what they think is the best in more than 70 categories.)

TAPROOT REPUBLICANS OF ILLINOIS
Republican Stalwart Pat Durante Warns Against Democrat Power - George Kocan, TAPROOT Communications Director
www.gopillinois.com (3/16/08 News Clips page)
(THE ARTICLE: During the Watergate years, Democrats "slaughtered" the Republicans in Addison Township. They showed Addison Township Republicans what "the Democrat way" was. After winning Addison Township offices, they showed up on a Friday, fired everyone, and told them to clear out by Monday. "They can do that today," warned Pat Durante. DuPage County Republican Central Committee (DCRCC) Chairman Dan Cronin recently appointed Durante to serve as DCRCC's Vice-Chairman. Durante spoke to conservative activists Saturday, March 15, at the monthly breakfast meeting of the TAPROOT Republicans at the Old Country Buffet, in Lombard. Durante started out as a volunteer for Barry Goldwater and worked his way up, knocking on doors in Addison Township, working for the venerable Congressman Henry Hyde, until he earned a leadership position as Township Chairman. It took 10 years, but eventually Addison Republicans cleaned the last Democrat from Addison Township elected office. Durante has earned recognition as the longest serving DCRCC member. His energy and charisma filled the room, as he related his efforts to build up the Republican Party not only in Addison Township, but throughout DuPage County. He worked to make even simple changes, like using computers instead of index cards to store information about members. He strongly advocates more public exposure for Republican candidates -- parades, Lincoln Day Dinners, and Republican Day events provide important opportunities for making contact with the public. Durante offered a warning. The new Chairman of the Democrat Party in DuPage is Robert Peickert. He characterized him as a tough, rough opponent who does not play by the rules. Peickert has failed to file relevant forms, failed to report financial contributions, and reported fictitious contributions. Durante also warned the group about DAWN (DuPage Against War Now), a Democrat group which wants to cut and run out of Iraq. These Democrats seek to demoralize opposition to the war on terror by forcing township governments to issue public resolutions against military action in Iraq. Last year, they failed except in Downers Grove. This year, he expects them to try again on April 8. Republicans need to embark on a program of training and education. Durante emphatically advised adherence to Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment, "Thou shalt not criticize a fellow Republican in public." Answering a question about the bias of major newspapers like the Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times, and Daily Herald, he predicted their eventual demise. The public is switching to the internet. Sam Zell, who bought the Tribune and may buy the Sun-Times, will likely strip these newspapers down and sell them off. They will not be a factor, he said. Durante reported that Cronin had appointed TAPROOT Chairman Dave Diersen to serve as DCRCC's webmaster. Diersen moderated the meeting. Meeting attendees included Kathy Gilroy, who is making her mark by challenging gambling in Villa Park; Rosanna Pulido, vociferous opponent of illegal immigration; Wally Brown, long-time member of the DuPage County Forest Preserve board; and Ron Menna, former judicial candidate. Carolyn Connell, Bob Graham, Joyce Hundhausen, George Kocan, Vern McCarthy, Larry Moretti, Gloria Sciqousky, Mark Stern, Tim Whelan, and others also contributed to the success of the meeting.)