Minuteman Wins GOP Primary for House Seat Illinois’ heavily Democratic 5th congressional district

The Washington Independent ^ | 3/4/09 9:34 AM | David Weigel

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Last night voters in Illinois’ heavily Democratic 5th congressional district voted in a primary for candidates to replace former Rep. Rahm Emanuel, now the White House chief of staff.

Mike Quigley won the Democratic primary, while Rosanna Pulido won the GOP primary.

Who’s Rosanna Pulido? She was a founder of the Illinois Minutemen, a wing of the immigration restriction group that patrolled the U.S.-Mexico border in 2006 and 2007. In this CNN interview, she called then-GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain “just another politician that acts as if he was elected to represent the Mexican government.”

[Billg64]

if you did that, you’d get federal funding

[Ev Reeman]

Exactly so. We need true diehard conservatives to run against liberals in every single state for every single position and we would win most of the time!

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

This is Rahm Emanuel's old seat. And before him Blagojevich and Rostenkowski. In the last 107 years it has had a Republican congressman for 4 of them. What do you think?

Exactly my point.

[r9etb]

Groovy, but what is the likelihood of ANY Republican winning the general?

Miniscule even with a viable candidate. However, given Ms. Pulido's "Minuteman" connection, the Chicago media are going to go into overdrive to paint her as a whackadoodle -- and they'll probably succeed.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

But yet Cao won anyway.

Let's just hope he can stay won. Granted, the demographics in NOLA have changed a bit, but the city, even post-Katrina, still seems to be made up largely of hedonists and hand-out seekers - neither group of which is very GOP-friendly. I suspect the Dems will find some fresh young honest-seeming (i.e. his corruption hasn't been discovered yet) African-American candidate and take the seat back easily in '10.

[mosesdapoet]

She has a chance what she needs are legs to work those precinsts, and access to printing presses so she can paper her district. This primary had a turnout of 17% where a state legislator,and a county board legislator (who won taking a mere 22% of the vote) and 9 other candidates ran. Thats a dismal democratic turnout for a contested primary. While the victor is boasting “change” in his talk on wls am 89 Don Wade and Roma show he simply recited supporting Obama’s socialist programs. This lady is organized check out http://www.rosannapulido2009.com

[Non-Sequitur]

I think we need to contest every single seat.

Apparently we are. But I'm not expecting to see an upset. That's not being defeatist, just realistic.

[AuH2ORepublican]

“This is Rahm Emanuel's old seat. And before him Blagojevich and Rostenkowski. In the last 107 years it has had a Republican congressman for 4 of them.”

---

It is certainly a Democrat seat, but please note that, at least in its 1992-2000 incarnation, it was carried by George H.W. Bush in 1988 (I'm not sure if Bush carried it in 1988 under the current lines). In a November general election, running as a Republican in the district is pretty much a kamikaze mission (which Michael Flanagan pulled off in 1994 solely because it was 1994 and voters wanted the corrupt Rosti out), but in a low-turnout April special election the result is by no means assured. Rosanna Pulido has to run hard, criticize the ultraliberal policies that piss off even Democrat voters, and hope to turn out enough Republicans and traditionalist Democrats (the district is heavily Catholic, with many Poles, Croats, Italians and Hispanics) to pull off the upset. It is *not* impossible. (Heck, Cao proved in LA-02 that even when it truly *is* impossible one can still win.)

[chicagolady]

P.O. Box 911 Skokie Illinois 60076

Thanks in advance

[EdReform]

BTTT

YESSSS! Rosanna Pulido (R-IL) wins 5th Congressional District Republican Primary

[BillyBoy]

Sounds like a good campaign ad.

"In the last 107 years, our district has spent all but four of them represented by machine backed Democratic candidates who put special interests ahead of the people. The last three were Congressman of questionable integrity like Dan Rostenkowski, Rod Blagojevich, and Rahm Emanuel. And now those same elitists who promised us Blago and Emanuel would reform our district are pushing hard to elect Mike Quigley, a 26 year machine insider who got his start as an aide to Chicago ward boss Bernie Hansen. Just like his friend Rod Blagojevich, Mike Quigley likes to present himself as a reformer, but rose through the system of hard-ball Chicago politics. Is that change? Let's tell the ward bosses and media elites we won't be fooled again by phony reformers and career politicians. Send a message to Washington that we want real change, and elect Rosanna Pulido to Congress. Rosanna Pulido represents our values -- not Rod Blagojevich's. Please visit www.rosannapulido2009.com to learn more."

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Outstanding!

[Theodore R.]

This is the old Rostenkowski district — Democrat to the core. Joseph Stalin, IV, if he exists, would be a good fit for the district.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest!

[deport]

Groovy, but what is the likelihood of ANY Republican winning the general?

---

Probably slim and none but strange things happen in elections sometimes. There were 54856 votes cast in the Democrat Primary; 3977 votes in the Republican which she got 1001; 491 votes in the Green. Thus it is a long way for her to leap based upon the primary turnout.

I’m told that a Michael Patrick Flanagan won one term right after Rostonkowski lost. Cao won in LA in a strong democrat district, Lampson won one term in the old Delay district in Texas so upsets do occur.

[Impy]

“It is certainly a Democrat seat, but please note that, at least in its 1992-2000 incarnation, it was carried by George H.W. Bush in 1988 (I’m not sure if Bush carried it in 1988 under the current lines).”

GOP support has halved in 20 years then. :-o

We should be able to compete is mostly white urban seats like this.

[Freedom56v2]

I like your attitude. TIME FOR AN UPSET!
Slogan Suggestion for her campaign: You Go Girl!!!

btw, very disappointed in Don Wade sucking up to the Dem primary winner saying he won the seat because it is a dem district.

[Ladycalif]

Rosanna was on FOX News to talk about the issue.

Thank you for the link, Rosanna!
A Minutemen ported it to YouTube, hoping to give the story wider exposure.

Please feel free to share the link with your friends and neighbors:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAtyLngN2Bc

[HiJinx]

Ping!

Here’s the link that’s turning into her support thread - all the info you should need is there:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2199211/posts

[PGalt]

WOW! Congratulations Rosanna! WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!