Posted on 03/21/2005 6:55:49 PM PST by RWR8189
If it was just Judy vs. a bunch of conservatives, she might be able to unite the "moderate" (translation: Democrate lite) votes to pull it off. Fortunately, Topinka, Gidwitz (appointed state superintendant of education by Lyin' Ryan), and LaHood all want to run, so they will split the RINO vote.
It should be noted that all three of 'em were eager to get behind Lyin' Ryan for a SECOND term AFTER he broke every campaign promise in the book. I don't know how they can mention the phrases "reform" and "rebuild the party" without people cracking up.
I'd still waiting for better names to announce. So far, the only conservative who has formed an "Exploratory committee" for the job is state Senator Bill Brady. He's a great guy, but unknown outside the Normal-Bloomington area.
Rallying cry in 1998: Vote for George Ryan! He's a RINO, but he can WIN, damnit!
You're right, Illinois is a textbook example of where tremendous long-term damage can result from putting forward candidates who aren't committed to conservative principles and ethics. Like a deal with the Devil, you might get a little short-term power but in the end you lose your soul and you realize the devil's the one in charge.
It is. Hastert is the reason Crane did not become the chairman of ways and means. Hastert is a RINO and hates a true conservative like Crane.
Ask Peter Fitzgerald what a great GOPer Hastert is.
Its Hastert fault Obama is a senator now.
Hyde is too old, and the party establishment hates Fitz.
The Illinois Republican Party would be the most corrupt state party in the nation if it wern't for the New Jersey Democrats.
While I wouldn't put it squarely on him, I'm no Hastert fan either. I think David Drier, Tom DeLay, or any number of other folks would make better Speakers.
Brady's problem (along with name ID) is that he doesn't have enough money to self-fund a run in what will be a bruising primary.
Any thoughts on fund raising for him? It's going to take several million $ to compete in the primary, and then there's the real race, with Blagojavich having something like $10 million in the bank already.
LaRINO himself would disagree with you. He came out publicly for FOUR MORE YEARS of Lyin' Ryan:
"He's raising an enormous amount of money
There are many people in my party who would rather see the governor not run because of all the negative publicity that's been generated as a result of the [licenses-for-bribes] scandal when he was Secretary of State. But I support Governor [George] Ryan and if he decides to run for re-election, he'll have my support."
-- Congressman Ray LaHood, June 9, 2001 (source: Peoria Journal Star)
You want to see egotistical pond scum, please meet the loudmouth from Peoria who's never had to lift a finger to "win" in safe GOP district but runs around trashing other Republicans trying to run REAL campaigns.
Well, I guess someone has to finally say it: Too many GOPers would rather see fully fledged Dems win than Republicans who may disagree with them often but sometimes align with them. For instance, in '96, the Illinois GOP nominated the incredibly dull, utterly unattractive (I'm being very mild here) Al Salvi for a Senate seat. Result: Dems retain, even though the Republican Lieutenant Governor at the time, while far from perfect, would have won and been light-years better than Dick Durbin. Hey, though, it's your state party. I don't have to live there and endure the ridiculous antics of media-darling politicians like Barack Obama. Maybe when you get off the single-issue things like abortion and focus more on rather more relevant and appealing issues like taxes and good governance, you'll start winning again. Till then, you'll just have to wander like our GOP brethren in California, New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii in the wilderness. I wish we could retake power in Illinois. It's a big state and would be very helpful in presidential race, though all of you here are apparently going to do your best to make sure the Demoncrats run the state into the ground, just as they did California (by reflexively opposing anyone who is remotely removed from down-the-line conservatism on all issues, that is).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.