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.
Chris Lilik is a genius and has a bright future ahead of him. Mark my words!
Owl_Eagle”Guns Before Butter.”
To me this spells great hope for the future. Go Go Go!!
FYI..in case you missed this..regards..
Why doesn't the GOP hire him?
Other than a blog, what did he do to be so effective?
We just organized the grassroots like crazy.
Toomey Meetup, tons of pro-Toomey websites, getting signs out, bumper stickers on cars, etc
Too bad this wasn't hand grenades or horseshoes.
Tell me about it. Boy were we close though!
And now all us PA conservatives are super-organized for future races!
Working with Chris to establish a YCOP chapter in our area.
If you are in the Fayette County Pennsylvania area, and are interested in joining YCOP, Please Freepmail me here!
And I'm the Chairman of blue Montgomery County! There's more of us out there!
Visit us and signup at http://YCOP.ORG
Founded the Pennsylvania Young Conservatives, played a major role in organizing the campaign to oust Snarlin' Arlen, and provided logistical assistance to my campaign.
Owl_Eagle”Guns Before Butter.”
The Montco County Chair's website:
http://pstupidonymous.blogspot.com/
Its REALLY good!
BTTT
Chris, I am so proud to know you.
His only flaw...... calling women over 40, "Mom". lol!
Consider them marked.......
I remember when Montgomery County was a Red Country .. we need a few more Conservative Lawyers out here
grrrrr
Country = County
The GOP would more likely try to buy him (off), but he's not for sale.
"Republicans are totally destroying their credibility because they constantly spend out the wazoo."
True.
And a severe understatement.
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