Posted on 12/04/2004 9:38:27 AM PST by GeneralHavoc
If Pennsylvania turns into a bastion of conservatism, political anthropologists might someday partially credit a 25-year-old Duquesne University law student from Newton Township.
Christopher K. Lilik -- who goes by Chris and likes punk rock -- and his band of young bloggers helped an obscure conservative Republican congressman from Allentown scare the heck out of the state's senior U.S. senator in the spring and boosted President Bush's Pennsylvania vote in the fall.
They call themselves the Young Conservatives of Pennsylvania (YCOP) now and aim to keep conservative ideology at the political dinner table. But Mr. Lilik isn't looking for his own political career -- at least not yet.
"To be honest with you, I've kind of had a lot of fun just organizing and helping good people like Pat Toomey out in recent years," he said.
His fun attracted the attention of, among others, Business Week magazine, which called him "a one-man political action committee." The conservative National Review magazine had him as its Pennsylvania blogger during the presidential race.
What's fun now is rooted in growing up as the older of two sons of Dr. Kenneth W. Lilik and his wife, Karen. Politics was part of life in the home of his socially and fiscally conservative Catholic parents, the 1998 Bishop O'Hara High School graduate said.
The Liliks' idea of fun sometimes was eating popcorn and watching presidential debates. Between stocking shelves and assembling hoagies at the Village Grocery in South Abington Township, Chris Lilik loved talking politics with customers.
As a Villanova University political science major, Mr. Lilik co-founded a conservative daily newspaper.
When U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey announced a Senate run in 2003 while preaching a limited government, tax-cutting, pro-life, family values agenda, Mr. Lilik had a "hero" and "straight shooter" he could rally behind.
"I absolutely love that guy," Mr. Lilik said.
Politically, the safe thing would have been backing Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's four-term moderate incumbent from Philadelphia, he said.
"The scariest thought in my mind was the thought of Arlen Specter chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee," Mr. Lilik said.
Pro-life conservatives fear Mr. Specter will favor pro-choice nominees for federal judgeships as committee chairman.
So Mr. Lilik set up Toomeyblog and a Toomey meet-up on meetup.com. Blogs, short for Web logs, are Internet sites where like-minded people dispense thoughts on whatever topic is at hand. Meet-ups are sites where information is disseminated and discussed.
Operating out of his Pittsburgh-area apartment with a computer he built himself, Mr. Lilik led a grass-roots army that almost e-mailed and blogged Mr. Specter's political career to death.
"We did extraordinarily well in the western part of the state," said Joe Sterns, the Toomey campaign's press secretary. "We knew the importance of the Internet ... But Chris Lilik really took it to a different level. He introduced blogging into the campaign and really used that to mobilize the grass roots."
Mr. Toomey almost ended Mr. Specter's political career, losing the April primary election by only 17,146 votes out of more than 1 million cast.
"We shocked the world," Mr. Lilik said.
Mr. Lilik and his fellow bloggers next targeted Catholic voters for President Bush's re-election campaign. By the fall, YCOP, with Mr. Lilik as chairman, had a bigger picture in mind.
Its goal is ensuring the future of Pennsylvania's conservative movement and rallying voters behind smaller government, family values and a strong national defense. Its members' Web site is www.grassrootspa.com.
"I think there's a real opportunity for them to have a major impact within the conservative movement and within the Republican Party," Mr. Toomey said Friday. "They want the Republican Party to represent the set of values that most conservatives believe in."
(Mr. Lilik is also helping to start a state chapter of the Club for Growth, the Washington-based political action committee that spent about $2 million trying to get Mr. Toomey elected.)
Notice YCOP's name isn't Young Conservative Republicans of Pennsylvania. They welcome socially and fiscally conservative Democrats, too.
On the group's Web site Friday, Mr. Lilik posted a Wilkes-Barre newspaper story about Luzerne County's Democratic commissioners cutting property taxes.
Mr. Lilik said many Republicans in Washington allow huge federal budget deficits to pile up while cutting taxes.
"Republicans are totally destroying their credibility because they constantly spend out the wazoo. We have legislators up on Capitol Hill that spend like drunken sailors and then they try to sell the argument that we need tax cuts," he said. "I think we have to get rid of this old kingmaker system where people in the back room decide who runs. Let's have primaries, let's have the war of ideas. Let's have excitement again where we debate issues. And I think in the war of ideas, conservative ideas win out."
Matthew Best, the chairman of the Pennsylvania Federation of Young Republicans, said many of his members are also YCOP members, but realize backing Republican candidates they disagree with is better than backing Democrats.
"I have ideas of my own that I'd like to see happen and that's why I'm a Republican. More times than not, it's going to be accomplished through policies a Republican is promoting," Mr. Best, 28, of Carlisle, said.
For Mr. Lilik, the day for that kind of thinking has passed.
"We need people who are willing to put principle before party," he said.
Sorry, but I am afraid I started that !
He is amazing. I always tell people he would wear out the Eveready Bunny! We are proud of him!
He was everywhere doing everything. Rallies, meetups, door to door, side of the road, phone calls, yard signs, motivator, organizer, doer. Everything, all the time. He was absolutely tireless.
Actually, I think Chris has a twin or two or three. That's the only way that I can explain how he did so much.
And if good old Rick and GW hadn't come in at the last moment to save Arlen's sorry tail he would have won!
Hmmmm? He nearly beat the REPUBLICAN PARTY POLITICAL MACHINE!
Thanks for the ping.
Boxford, Now you did it. If you hadn't told, no one would know that smokeyb was over 40. She made me vow never to tell anyone that she's really over 50, so no one'll ever get it out of me.
Now quit telling secrets. ;-)
Yeah! Now my son, oops! I mean Chris knows how old I am !
...folks only need visit the PA board to find out these secrets. lol!
You all are too kind.
I am lucky to have so many wonderful teachers and friends like you to learn from!
Now there's a man whose thinking I could embrace and support if he was to run for national office.
I like this guy!
"We need people who are willing to put principle before party," he said.
Thank you, but that is a "mother's" job. (lol)
Can someone fill me in on why GWB supported Specter instead of Toomey?
BadRay you are sooooooo right. Chris isn't for sale. God Bless the young man! Not only did he almost rid the state and the nation of Specter, but perhaps more importantly, he smoked out the real Santorum. Rick sold principle for party....and now I wouldn't vote for him if he ran for dog catcher.
Agreed – from another of his mom’s.
I remember when Delaware County was red.
So tell us what you did to try to get him out ? What's that they say about the lottery ? You have to PLAY to WIN?You're doing a whole lot 'o ASSuming there buddy. I contacted a number of politicians regarding this matter. I personally wrote, emailed, and called my Senator Saxby Chambliss R-Ga who is on the Judiciary Committee, re- friggen -lentlessly. I already posted a copy of my letter. This is a link to it
I received nothing but weak responses from Saxby's representatives. I indicated that he'd get equally nonexistent support from me in the future.
Talk about how "close" things were is just silly. The outcome was already decided by the "big-tenters" long before all the hub-bub erupted.
"Hmmmm? He nearly beat the REPUBLICAN PARTY POLITICAL MACHINE!"
Horseshoes and hand grenades
I guess I'm just frustrated with how things turned out. After spending time and communicating with so many people and getting lots of noncommittal responses. It torqued me off a bunch.
I should have said that first instead.
You mean I can find out what's going on if I go to the PA board? Maybe I should go to there more often. I usually avoid it because of all the fighting. ;-)
Grasshopper, you have learned your lessons well and are now the master and we are your students. Congratulations on getting the recognition you deserve.
You will have your chance if you live in PA. I see him in the Senate some day, but he's only 25 and still has to finish his law degree.
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