Kass on the GOP's Rezko Problem

Not much hope for the Illinois GOP until they figure out it's a disaster to have Mayore Daley as every Republicans favorite Democrat. The party has finance a fight they can't win in the city to get any credibility else where. From Kass today,

The Illinois Republican Party holds its own convention this week in Decatur. The party establishment, which has long been cozy with the Daley Democrats at City Hall, has done little or nothing to rid the Illinois GOP of Kjellander and Cellini influence.

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OUCH!!!

Heh, the last line in this post from Newsalert, "The GOP really doesn't exist in Cook County." Surely that stings to somebody doesn't it? This could beg that question, Why did Republicans abdicate Cook County to the Democrats?

Anyway the gist of the post shows the legal problems of the soon to be outgoing Cook County GOP Chair Liz Gorman and her husband. And she herself is looking for a "puppet" so she can maintain her influence. Yeah I suppose there really isn't a GOP in Cook.

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Carol Marin: State GOP may need Strange Alliances

Good column by Marin on how Giuliani and Robertson will show the way for Illinois Republicans.

In Illinois it will be a social conservative who reaches out, and since the last primary I've felt the best guy for the job is Bill Brady. He convinced me during the primaries in a interview on WBBM's At Issue program last year.

It's going to take a little more than a bridge within the GOP though,

Paul Caprio, executive director of Family-PAC, a conservative political action committee, is torn yet surprisingly open to the discussion. Citing a "fraying of the [party's] coalition . . . the country club Republican never sees the Baptist fundamentalist who goes to church," Caprio says, social conservatives do worry someone like Giuliani will take the Republican platform from pro-life to pro-choice.

And yet in Illinois, he acknowledges, there is another fundamental problem for his party to grapple with. "During the past week, the only thing I've seen is Jim Thompson escorting George Ryan to a car . . . two previous Republican governors, one going to prison, the other defending him. What kind of image is that for the Republican Party?"

A corruption-busting, fiscally conservative candidate, Caprio believes, is something the party desperately needs, preferably one rich enough to fund his or her own campaign. "I don't think pro-life, pro-choice," he told me, "is the determinant. . . . There's some wiggle room with me, speaking for myself. Maybe some would be more doctrinaire."

But if other social conservatives agree, it would represent a seismic shift in Illinois Republican politics. One tent instead of two. Loaves and fishes to go with the wine.

Corruption busting is a big key and there are plenty of places to start.

Or City of Chicago allowing a chunk of the CPD go out-of-control for years another.

As for needing a millionaire to do it, Indianapolis didn't need one to bring that seismic shift. Just a candidate who knew people's key concerns and a resume showing competence to lead the City,

Ballard, a 52-year-old retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, capitalized on public discontent over property tax increases, a hike this year in the Marion County income tax and the city’s crime rate.

“I’ve got more experience than most mayors going in based on my Marine Corps experience, my corporate experience and small business experience,” Ballard said today. “I study leadership all the time, and so I have no problems at all leading this city.”

It can be done.

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Illinois Straw Poll with Ron Paul Activists

I got this video via a comment made when I talked about the Illinois GOP Straw Poll on my blog at the state fair this week. I know that this is more national in scope, but this is just one video about the straw poll where I'm sure there hasn't been much video coverage. There's probably more on YouTube if I get to looking.

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Introducing the Illinois GOP Network

The Illinois Republican Party is down, but a long way from being out. As the party rebuilds from the ground up, after a string of disappointing election days, now is the time for bloggers and other interested individuals to take part in the growth process. Illinois is the home state of Abraham Lincoln, and the birthplace of Ronald Reagan, two great Republican presidents. And remember, it wasn't so long ago, 1995 to be exact, when the Illinois GOP controlled each statewide office, both chambers of the General Assembly, and the Governor's Mansion.

And the governor at the time, Jim Edgar, actually lived in the mansion.

As James Thurber once wrote, "You could look it up!"

The good old days were not that long ago, and they could be back sooner than you think.

Where does one start? By networking and building, and the place to do it is at the new Illinois GOP Network Forum.

Click on the above link to get started. I'm already there.

Crossposted on Marathon Pundit.

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Froehlich's Party that runs everything?

via Eric Krol,

Republican state Rep. Paul Froehlich jumped ship Monday and left behind the Schaumburg GOP organization he controlled for nearly a decade. “I’m going to be part of the party that runs everything,” Froehlich said in explaining his switch to the Democratic Party. “I can’t do for my district in the minority what I would do in the majority.”

Far as I can tell the party-that-runs-everything sees no solutions for Illinois but an income tax hike, and none of its leaders have testicular virility enough to ask for it.

No brains, no virility; they just run everything and I guess that's reason to join them.

That won't last.

Update: A quote from Greg that deserves repeating.

The big story remains and will continue to remain the budget. If, actually IF Democrats can come to some sort of agreement on the budget that raises taxes they will be have deal with a House Republican Leader and his caucus that has repeatedly and firmly stated that they are against any tax increases. They will be necessary to pass a budget and the left and their minions in the press will be relentless in trying to force them to surrender. Given the current opposition to tax hikes, if Republicans go wobbly now it will surely mean a new depth to the party's woes. All eyes should be on that and the center-right should be excited and ready to support Cross' efforts to hold the line.

And a Republican Leader Cross by the way who chair's Giuliani's campaign in Illinois, so so much for the notion Theocrats have hijacked a GOP away from Froehlich.

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Fighting Tony Peraica

Peraica posts over at Illinois Review,

We had an historic opportunity to not only clean up Cook County government, but also to deliver a severe blow to the corrupt Chicago Democratic machine. Instead, certain commissioners (including the current Cook County Republican Chairwoman) thought it more important to be in good standing with President Todd Stroger and John Daley than to do what is right for Cook County taxpayers and residents.

What good's a GOP that caves in for Todd Stroger's budget. No one speaks out except Peraica here and instead expect Fitzgerald to do the heavy lifting.

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Tony Peraica

He's posting over at Illinois Review,

Governor Blagojevich proposes the largest tax increase in Illinois history. Todd Stroger cuts the Cook County budget irresponsibly – across the board, without any reason, forethought or rationale.

They both claim they had no other choice. The budgets are busting, they claim. There’s nothing else they can do. It’s either raise taxes – or close health clinics.

The choice, they say, is simple.

In fact, it’s not so simple. There is another way.

And he ends with some strong stuff,

Our campaign for Cook County Board President last year was used as a vehicle to expose the corrupt house of cards that is the Stroger machine. While we fell short on Election Day, we were successful in shining a spotlight on this corrupt county.

As we all know, when the light is turned on, the cockroaches scatter. Likewise, when the lights are turned off, they come back out in the open.

We are going to ensure that the lights stay on. The heat will continue to be turned up.

We ask that the citizens of Cook County continue their efforts to question the actions of the Stroger administration. Hopefully, by restoring trust in our elected government, we can protect the taxpayers of Cook County and, by extension, the people of Illinois.

Maybe Peraica's the Illinois GOP's Revolutionary.

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Where'd the Greens go?

Anon 6:33 wrote,

Put Greens in elected office and they will actually have the spine to legalize gay marriage.

and got me googling around since Illinois Democrats have proposed some pretty sweeping programs and curious what Greens had to say.

Their Website shows Sustainability was the theme of their recent March meeting in Normal.

Sustained obscurity seems the case. No spine's need for that, and strange for a left party when McKenna's out there calling for Revolution.

From his email,

People in this state are hungry for reform and Republicans in Illinois must be ready for a new Republican revolution – The kind of revolution where we no longer accept the status quo – Where we no longer accept a government that spends more money than it takes in – Where we no longer accept a government that doesn’t respect or protect the family – Where we no longer accept a bloated, corrupt government that puts the needs of the Governor’s cronies before the needs of hard working middle class families.

Revolution, working families: maybe Citzen McKenna's figured out the Illinois GOP must be the Party of Sam's Club,

So today's Republican party should be in favor of helping recent immigrants get ahead and slowing the flow of illegal labor--in favor of providing a helping hand to the hard working poor and cutting subsidies to the idle and shiftless--in favor of a tax policy that favors the working class and the productive rich. Above all, it should be in favor of limited government, and in favor of using government's considerable power to shore up the institution that makes a limited government possible--the beleaguered but resilient American family.

Illinois needs revolution, not sustainability, for we've sustained plenty -traditional and non-traditional families alike- with little reform in sight.

Update: Sustainablity must be the new progressive frame. It's sure not a fighting Liberalism of Paul Douglas: build; don't sustain.

xp Bill Baar's West Side

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