Illinois GOP

Bloggers Aren't Palin's Problem

Adam Doster — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:52:55 -0700

I don't mean to keep writing about Sarah Palin. Really, I don't! But the well is just so deep.

Speaking to the Illinois RNC delegation at their breakfast this morning, convention deputy chairman Frank Donatelli urged McCain supporters to "defend" Palin from scurrilous rumors flying around the Internet. From the Tribune:

"There's going to be a lot of stuff thrown out there by anonymous bloggers and so forth and so on. But this is a fine woman. This is a woman with a loving family. This is a woman with a great record. And she's going to make a terrific partner for John McCain," he said.

Ah yes, the anonymous bloggers at the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Wall Street Journal. How dare they spread those well-reported "rumors" about her undue use of executive power, her penchant for earmarks (despite claims to the contrary), and her participation in a fringe Alaskan secessionist organization!

Critics of any political stripe should avoid using the pregnancy of Palin's daughter as a political tool. Family matters aside, Palin the candidate has enough problems as it is.

While speaking to the Illinois delegation, Donatelli also argued that the concept of "change" is vacuous and that "reform is a much meatier topic." The Tribune's Rick Pearson noted the irony in this:

Donatelli was apparently unaware of the sign on the lectern from which he addressed the Illinois Republican delegation. The sign read: "Change for Illinois."

Here's a photo of the stage, with IL GOP chairman Andy McKenna at the stage:

A Deep Bench

Adam Doster — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:14:00 -0700

I understand the need to be diplomatic, but this is ridiculous. When asked by the Daily Herald's Joseph Ryan who the future leaders of Illinois' Republican Party could be, 6th District Congressman Peter Roskam decided to forgo specifics:

PR: If you go through the Senate Republican ranks, there is an unbelievable amount of talent there. When folks talk about a statewide bench, there is amazing talent in the Illinois Senate - bright people, principled, hard working and articulate. They have not had the level of exposure, but this year, you are going to see some of those folks emerge in the future. They are all rock stars.

DH: Would you care to name a few?

PR: No. If I do, I might leave someone out and they would get mad at me.

When asked the same question, 10th District GOP Rep. Mark Kirk was just as obtuse:

It will not be difficult to put forward a candidate. We are in the middle of a Shakespearean meltdown of the Democratic party. I think voters are ready for anybody but the people who participated in the meltdown. I don't want to name any names. But there are some people out there who have built up a good reputation.

And who said this party is fresh out of ideas?

Fun At The State Fair

Josh Kalven — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:47:51 -0700

The Illinois Republicans appear to have put on quite a display at the state fair this year. We already noted the ramblings by 18th District GOP congressional candidate Aaron Schock (above left) about Barack Obama's "level of socialism." Meanwhile, as has been noted on numerous other sites, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna (above center) also put his foot in his mouth, saying that if Abraham Lincoln "were here today, he would have to tell a story of a house divided that’s even more outrageous than the one that lived in his time," referring to the political climate in Springfield these days. The Rockford Register-Star's Aaron Chambers rightly skewers McKenna's suggestion that the current standoff between Illinois Democrats is somehow "more outrageous" than the fight between the North and South over slavery.

But it doesn't stop there. Earlier in the week, Rep. John Shimkus (above right) took to the stage on Agriculture Day and railed against the Democratic leadership in Congress for not allowing a vote on offshore drilling prior to the August recess. Maybe it was all the hay laying around, but Shimkus couldn't resist building a strawman. Check out his suggestion that his favored energy proposal is "in conflict to those who say, 'Let's do nothing'":

Internal mp3

But who has said we should "do nothing" about the energy crisis? The Democrats? To the contrary, they've put forth various energy proposals, only to see them blocked by the GOP. Moreover, the Democratic leadership has recently indicated that it is willing to compromise with the Republicans on a comprehensive energy bill. But the House Republicans like Shimkus have refused to come to the table, as Grist's David Roberts recently pointed out:

Now Republicans have gotten the idea in their head that drilling for oil in protected areas in the U.S. is a political winner, so they are camping out in D.C., throwing a hissy fit, demanding that Pelosi bring Congress back into session and allow them and up-or-down vote on drilling.

They are packaging this fiasco as an "all of the above" energy strategy -- as in, they support renewables and efficiency, but they also want drilling. Sounds so reasonable, right?

So a group of 10 legislators, five from each party, has put together a compromise bill, which would do exactly what they Republicans say they want: it would open up protected areas to drilling, while also boosting efficiency and renewables.

Obama and Pelosi have both signaled in the last week that they would be willing to support the bill. They will give a little ground on drilling, which they don't favor, in order to put in place measures that support renewables, which they do favor. For their efforts, the media has now said they've "flip-flopped" on drilling.

Meanwhile, McCain has refused to support the compromise. House Republicans have refused to support the compromise. Rush Limbaugh and his band of dittoheads are going absolutely ballistic on the compromise, flooding the legislators responsible with angry phone calls and claiming that it's going to sink McCain's presidential campaign.

"Agenda For Action" Not Very Action-Packed

Adam Doster — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:52:37 -0700

As we noted in the Early Bird, attendance was quite low at the Illinois State Fair's Republican Day. Lawmakers tried to stay upbeat, but it's difficult when interest in the party is so low.

I'm willing to give Illinois Republicans some benefit of the doubt. It's tough to drum up support with the shadow of the failed Bush presidency looming large -- one characterized by a disastrous foreign policy, retrograde social policies, and a tanking, deregulated economy. Statewide demographic shifts that favor left-leaning politicians play a role too.

But as the Tribune's John Kass wrote earlier this week, the Illinois GOP is "lacking in brains and backbone," and therefore can't pass the buck entirely. For instance, take their Agenda for Action platform. Here's The Daily Herald's description:

Specifically, Republican leaders say if they were in charge, they would quickly move to increase how many votes it takes for lawmakers to increase taxes, approve recall of elected officials, and increase homeowners' tax exemptions and rebates.

If you were looking for any more evidence that Republicans have run out of ideas, this document should do the trick. All GOP leaders Tom Cross and Frank Watson can muster are antiquated calls for restrictions on tax hikes, some budget deficit hawkery, and support for the bi-partisan, Blagojevich-favored capital plan. Sure, the section on ethics is needed, but the Republicans also devote a huge chunk of the agenda to online predators. Meanwhile, there's nary a word about such minor concerns as health care, climate change, immigration, K-12 education, and poverty.

Longtime Illinois Republican Says She's Supporting Obama

Josh Kalven — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:10:44 -0700

Reporting from Michelle Obama's event at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago yesterday, NBC5's Carol Marin interviewed one notable guest -- Paula Wolff, a longtime aide to GOP Gov. Jim Thompson. As her attendance at the event indicated, she is supporting Barack Obama's presidential campaign despite her Republican Party affiliation. Wolff told Marin it was the first time she has supported a Democratic presidential candidate "publicly":

Wolff is now a senior executive of Chicago Metropolis 2020 and a visiting faculty member at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Business. To learn more about her path through Illinois state government, check out this 1990 Illinois Issues profile.

Memo To Illinois GOP: Blame Denny

Josh Kalven — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:32:36 -0700

Remember how -- following his loss in the 14th District special election in March -- their were murmurs from the highest ranks of the Republican Party in Washington that Jim Oberweis shouldn't again be on the ballot come November? House Minority Leader John Boehner was even reported to have called him "unlikable" and a "terrible candidate." And remember how those murmurs seemed to disappear as quickly as they'd surfaced?

Well, now we know why. From Real Clear Politics:

After the loss in the special election, some members of the Illinois Republican delegation tried to get Oberweis out of the race, according to aides familiar with the discussions. But, said one, [former House Speaker Dennis] Hastert stood by his candidate and "basically roadblocked the entire coup."

"Members of the delegation saw Oberweis as a losing cause and we needed to move him out of their quick," the aide said. Still, the lack of a viable replacement, Oberweis's willingness and ability to spend from his own pocket and Hastert's personal backing saved him for a rematch with Foster in November.

The "Last Shred"

Josh Kalven — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:12:15 -0700

Crain's Greg Hinz takes a look at Steve Sauerberg's race for U.S. Senate and concludes: "Unless something changes fast, 2008 will become the year in which the Illinois GOP lost its last shred of relevance." From the column:

In most states, electing a U.S. senator is a big deal. Campaigns clash and TV ad wars erupt. Washington big shots drop by to endorse. The winner gets a six-year membership in the world's most exclusive club, don'tcha know.

It used to be that way in Illinois. Remember Carol Moseley Braun against Peter Fitzgerald and Alan Dixon? Or, a bit earlier, Chuck Percy vs. Alex Seith. Barack Obama against, well, who cares? It was Barack Obama.

So, quick, tell me who the Republicans have put up this year against incumbent Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin — the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate and quite possibly the majority leader of that body not too far in the future.
If you can't recall the name, you have lots of company.

Hinz goes on to assert that Sauerberg "will not embarrass the party like the jaw-dropping Alan Keyes did." However, it's worth noting that Sauerberg has run a rather perplexing campaign so far.

Early in the year, it was clear that something was wrong when he bought ads on liberal websites declaring: "We must stop liberal Dick Durbin." Then, at a press conference in April, he said with a seemingly straight face: "I think Barack Obama will probably endorse us." Then in June, he challenged Durbin to "commit" to retaining U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald -- even though both Durbin and Obama have never wavered in their support of the prosecutor. Most recently, his campaign put out a radio spot that violated the Federal Election Commission guidelines on advertising disclaimers.

It's not "Keyesian" embarassment, but still ...

Unemployment Rate Jumps In Illinois

Adam Doster — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:29:20 -0700

Although the Prairie State has survived the severe economic downturns faced by other states in the region, the local economic landscape isn't too pretty these days. The Illinois Department of Employment Security reports the state's May jobless rate was 6.4 percent, up one full percentage point from last month and 1.5 percent from this time last year. Illinois sits well above the national unemployment rate of 5.5 percent as well.

Employment agency director James Sledge told the AP that this uptick further proves the need for Gov. Blagojevich's capital improvements plan. I'd say it also proves the need for more robust unemployment insurance, something Rep. Mark Kirk and his Republican cohorts in the Illinois Congressional delegation aren't too interested in providing.

Continental Shelf Won’t Get You Much

Adam Doster — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:14:55 -0700

Backyard Conservative joins the chorus of Illinois Republicans -- along with John McCain and President Bush -- calling for more oil drilling to lower fuel prices:

This is what the American people want: Drill here, Drill now, Pay less--where we have proven reserves!!!

Lift the ban on offshore drilling on the Outer Continental shelf, far from our beaches, but rich with oil. New technology is least intrusive, protecting coral reefs and habitat.

But what effect will offshore drilling have on gas prices? Dean Baker does some back-of-the-envelope calculations:

According to the NYT, the Energy Information Agency estimates that the total amount of oil in the offshore zone in question is about 16 billion barrels. If we assume that it would take about ten years from the day of authorization to get to peak production and that most of the oil is pumped out over 30 years, this would translate into a bit over 1 million barrels of oil a day.

That would be equal to about 1 percent of world production in a decade. If we assume a long-run demand elasticity of 0.3, this would imply a drop in world prices of approximately 3 percent. In today's prices, we would be looking at a drop in the price of a barrel of oil from around $135 to $131. If this were passed on one to one in gas prices (this is long-run story), we might expect to see a drop in the price of a gallon of gas from around $4.00 to around $3.92 a gallon.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration backs up Baker's work. Last year, they released a report suggesting that drilling on the Continental Shelf wouldn’t have “a significant impact” on gas prices until 2030. Even top McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin admitted as much:

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior advisor to McCain’s campaign, acknowledged in a conference call to reporters that new offshore drilling would have no immediate effect on supplies or prices.

Oh, and one more thing: The New York Times reported this morning that "a shortage of ships used for deep-water offshore drilling promises to impede any rapid turnaround in oil exploration and supply."

The GOP call for offshore drilling is a pander -- plain and simple. Let's hope the press crunches the numbers and presents the facts, just as they did during the gas tax debate back in May.

GOP Stretches To Attack Seal's Support For Veterans

Josh Kalven — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:47:14 -0700

On Monday, the Illinois Board of Elections bumped Green Party candidates off the ballot in three Illinois congressional districts -- the 8th, 10th, and 14th. The decision came after "objectors" petitioned to have them removed, citing the Greens' failure to properly follow state nominating rules in slating the candidates.

Because the Green candidate in the 10th District fought in Iraq, Illinois GOP chairman Andy McKenna decided to accuse Democratic candidate Dan Seals of "car[ing] more about himself than Iraq war veterans":

“Yesterday, Dan Seals and his campaign succeeded in kicking Iraq war veteran David Kalbfleisch off the November ballot. David Kalbfleisch fought to defend Dan Seals’ freedom and all he asked in return was a chance to participate in our democratic process. Unfortunately, Dan Seals cares more about himself than Iraq war veterans. Voters should know this is how Dan Seals treats our veterans.”

Capitol Fax's Rich Miller hits the nail on the head in his response:

Republican Congressman Peter Roskam is running against an Iraqi War veteran, Jill Morgenthaler. So, will the state GOP now blast Roskam every time he does something negative to his opponent?