Illinois Democrats play hardball with one of their own, could benefit GOP

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is calling for a special election for the U.S. Senate seat if its current occupant Roland Burris does not step down within two weeks.

Appearing on WGN radio this morning, Quinn said he believes the state can enact a special election that will force Burris out of office. Under Illinois law, appointments to Senate vacancies last until the next federal election, which is scheduled for next year. Burris was appointed by three weeks after Blagojevich’s Dec. 9 arrest on federal criminal charges of allegedly trying to sell the Senate seat for personal or political gain. But Attorney General Lisa Madigan suggested the appointment to the Senate is temporary until the next election. Lawmakers are proposing to move up the 2010 election for the Senate seat to May. Unlike his Democratic colleagues, Quinn supported holding a special election for the seat given up by President Barack Obama.

Since taking office Burris has been under a cloud of ethical scrutiny concerning his relationship with the disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Practically since Burris went to D.C., and not in the tradition of Jefferson Smith, Illinois leaders have demanded Burris resign his seat.

The special election could cost the state between $20 and $50 million. According to the Chicago Tribune, Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine), who is sponsoring special-election legislation, said the balloting could cost half that amount or less and said the state could subsidize the costs to local election authorities by tapping $15 million set aside in the current budget for pork-barrel projects.

If a special election is held, Illinois Republicans will benefit in two ways. First, Quinn will not be able to appoint another Democrat to hold the seat. Secondly, Republicans can win the seat, provided the campaign of likely replacement Rep. Peter Roskam or Rep. Mark Kirk capitalizes on the corruption of the Democratic Party. Republicans need to hammer the Democratic establishment over supporting Blagojevich, failing to hold a special election instead of allowing the disgraced Blagojevich to name Burris to the Senate seat. Republicans could also benefit if a group of black Chiacgo aldermen keep their threat and buck the Democrats for supporting the ouster of Burris - although that threat is unlikely to be held in a general election.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross said a special election will restore trust to the people of Illinois.

“This (will) give the people of Illinois an opportunity to be involved,” Cross said at a news conference. “They don’t trust us, and one of the ways we can restore trust with them is to give them the opportunity to be involved in this process.”

Michael Steele has big task ahead of him

It was announced on Monday that newly elected Republican Party chairman Michael Steele will be in Dupage County later this month as the keynote speaker at the GOP Lincoln Day Dinner.

Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, is the first black leader of the Republican Party. Steele won his post after six rounds of voting last week. Following his election, Steele hit the Sunday talk shows and began to sketch plans of what he hopes to accomplish. Does this mean taking the party in a new direction, or continuing the same message that failed in the last two elections? Steele is a more moderate Republican. He helped found the Republican Leadership Council which favors gay rights and is more pro-choice.

On Fox News Sunday, Steele said he intends to hit the ground running to make up some of the seats the GOP lost in 2008.

We're going to be on the ground and engaged in all of those campaigns that are going to be important opportunities for us to re- establish the brand for the party, number one, but most especially, reacquaint ourselves with the voters and help them appreciate exactly what we stand for and what we believe, putting good candidates in a position to win.
That's my job, is to put good candidates in a position to win. Now, we're not going to win all of them, but we're going to start to win again in important races that matter, and we've got three of them coming up this year.

Steele recognizes that the GOP failed to act like conservatives while the party held power the bulk of this century. He said that's the primary reason the GOP lost their seats.

They moved away from us because we behaved badly. We came to Washington, and we became like the people we were sent here to replace, and they replaced us.

But how will he accomplish this turnaround, that remains to be seen. Hopefully he will share his plans and energize the party when he comes to Illinois.

Gov. Ryan should stay in prison

President Bush should ignore calls to commute the sentence for former Republican Illinois Gov. George Ryan.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is "toying" with the idea of asking the president to commute the sentence of the former governor who is serving a 6 1/2 year sentence for racketerring. Ryan, a blight on the Republican Party in Illinois, was guilty of numerous illegal and unethical practices dating back to his time as Secretary of State. His crimes went beyond the lining of his pockets with illegal donations, they indirectly resulted in the death of six children in Wisconsin.

Ryan was convicted in 2006 after a decade of investigations and went to prison more than a year later. But after serving just over 12 months in prison, Durbin wants his sentence commuted.
In a Chicago Sun Times report Durbin said:

"Let's look at the price he's paid. His family name has been damaged. He is at an advanced moment in his life and been removed from his family. He has lost the economic security, which most people count on at his age. And he's separate from his wife at a time when she is in frail health. To say that he's paid a price for his wrongdoing, he certainly has. And the question is whether continued imprisonment is appropriate at this point."

Yet, Both the Sun Times and the Chicago Tribune report that Ryan has shown no remorse for his crimes. It can no longer be business as usual in Illinois. Corrupt officials must pay their dues and serve their sentences in prison.

One can argue that Ryan's corruption ended 25 years of Republican control of the governor's office and is the reason Illinois is now managed by the incompetent and equally corrupt Rod Blagojevich.

Illinois citizens would do well by shouting down Durbin's proposal and if they do not, hopefully Bush will show some sanity and keep a corrupt official behind bars.

Stevens loss not tragic, but a super majority in the Senate it

There are mixed blessings in the news that Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, lost his race for a return to Washington, D.C. The longest serving Republican senator is gone. And that's not a bad thing considering his recent conviction. Party affiliation does not matter when it comes to corruption.

The most obvious blessing from the announcement that Stevens lost the race to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, is a corrupt lawmaker is not returning to Washington, a city rife with corruption.

But there is a downside to this - the Democrats are one step closer to having a super majority (60 seats) in the Senate. If the Democrats achieve that magic number, then that body will be filibuster proof - and that's not a good thing for this country.

On Wednesday Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent who was the Democrats pick for vice president in 2004, is returning to his Democratic roots (most likely to retain his committee positions) despite being seen with GOP presidential candidate John McCain throughout the campaign.

With two other Senate races in doubt, one in Minnesota and one in Georgia, it's possible the GOP will be left out of decision making in Washington, despite promises by the Obama transition team stating otherwise. But the Democrats could easily show pettiness. If that happens there's nothing Republicans can do about it.

A filibuster proof Senate renders the Republican Party to less than an effective political party on the national scene. The GOP will be reduced to an impotent opposition party.

Of course many of the things the Republicans will wail and gnash their teeth about under an Obama administration are precisely the things that were accomplished under the Bush presidency. The fear of the Democratic authorized path to socialism has already been laid by the Republican establishment. As the great George Will put it:

while Republicans -- whose prescription drug entitlement is the largest expansion of the welfare state since President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society gave birth to Medicare in 1965

Which again shows that the GOP needs to return to its roots. The party must reinvent itself to become viable in future national elections. That reinvention must begin at the grass roots level all across this nation.

Kicking out the corrupt, like Stevens, is a start.

Two Republican leaders of the future

The old Republican guard is dead for all intensive purposes. They dropped the ball and Democrats gained tremendous power n the past two elections. While it's clear the Republican Party (or more to the point the party of President Bush, which does not resemble the true Republican Party in my opinion) was vehemently rejected in 2008.

But there are young leaders who need to take the lead in returning the party to its traditional tenets. Two men that will be a tremendous boon to the party over the next decade are Mn. Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Md. Lt. Gov. Michael Steele.

These are two men who understand what it's going to take to right the party.

Pawlenty won re-election in 2006 during the big Democratic sweep. He was able to balance the books of Minnesota without raising taxes, according to the Star-Tribune. He is also a big proponent of alternative energy and has pushed for new energy sources, including wind energy, in his home state. Pawlenty, who was rumored to be one of McCain's choice as running mate, has a big future with the party. He won great respect when he told his constituents that he was governor of the state and would remain governor until his term expired.

Steele, who was the highest elected African-American in the nation when he was lieutenant governor, is seeking the party's top spot.

In his blog at Townhall.com, Steele rightly demands that Republicans "stop looking for Reagan and start acting like Republicans." He's right. The GOP has rested on the laurels of Regan for too long.

In his press release announcing his candidacy for chairman of the Republican Party, he wrote:

"Most Americans today see a Republican Party that defines itself by what it is against rather than what it is for," Steele said in the release. "We can tell you why public schools aren’t working, but not articulate a compelling vision for how we’ll better educate children. We’re well equipped to rail against tax increases; but can’t begin to explain how we’ll help the poor. The success of our Party’s resurgence will come from the states -- from our local leaders and from our Governors."

Illinois leadership no where to be seen with $5 billion debt looming

Illinois could be $5 billion in debt by early next year.
It's no secret the state is hurting financially, and it's no secret that state leaders have rarely seen a project they don't want to fund. While it's true lawmakers love to spend money like a sailor on shore leave, not all of the blame can be placed at the feet of Springfield - some of it is fallout from the global economic crisis.

That being said though, it appears Democrats in Springfield are beginning to call for tax increases when the new session begins in January, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. New taxes are not the answer. A tighter belt in Springfield is the answer. Slow down spending and while not probable, examine a budgeting system like zero-based budgeting. That will help the state right its course financially.

But in the meantime, the state is in a world of trouble.

State Comptroller Dan Hynes warned Gov. Rod Blagojevich that under this massive amount of debt burdening the people of Illinois many services the state provides, such as the highway patrol, food deliveries to prison or school funding.

But where's the governor's leadership on this issue? According to his spokesperson it's not the governor's to deal with. What?!?!? He's the chief executive of this state and he's not taking responsibility. Here's the spokesman's words to the Tribune:

"The reality is that this isn't just something the governor needs to deal with. It's something everyone will have to deal with," Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said in an e-mail Thursday. "The national economy is in turmoil, and we have to make sure that everyone works together . . . to make sure we can get through these financially troubling times."

So Blagojevich is passing the buck. It's no surprise. He's no true leader and that's evident when his own party shunned him at the Democratic National Convention earlier this year. He was seen as a liability to Obama, and with a lack of leadership styles, he's a liability to the state of Illinois.

Change needs to come to Springfield and hopefully the likes of Blagojevich will be expelled in the next round of elections. The state Republican Party needs to carefully vet candidates who will promote true fiscal reform in the state and not mirror the "fiscal conservatives" who currently run Washington. Out of control spending needs to stop and the GOP should lead the way in not only reforming the state of Illinois, but the image of the party.

Illinois GOP on right track - change in Springfield

Under the ever floundering administration of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Homer Simpson's cry of "D'oh" would be just as home in Springfield, Illinois as it is in the fictional Springfield in which Homer and the rest of the Simpson's clan reside.

It's no secret that the state of Illinois, or heck, even Cook County if you're looking for something close to home, is in dire financial straights. Couple those budget woes with political infighting and ties to corruption, and it's evident that the mantra of President-Elect Barack Obama's call for change is needed in Springfield. But this time it's the Democrats who need to be targeted. And that's precisely the message the Illinois Republican Party is tapping into. A section on the party's web site is dedicated to a call for change in Illinois. The page lays out problems facing Illinois citizens, including the borrowing of millions of dollars to pay for Medicaid, and the corruption issues surrounding Gov. Blagojevich.

Some of the plans have merit and deserve implementation, particularly the calls for fiscal responsibility and the prevention of new taxation to pay for bloated state programs. These are the kinds of things Republicans and fiscally conservative Democrats need to work on together to implement within the next legislative cycle and hold the future gubernatorial candidates to in the 2010 elections.

But some of the calls for action, such as requiring voter referendum for state debt or $1 billion, or a referendum on binding state policy, are much trickier and could be seen as a circumvention of the electoral process.

The message may need to be honed, but the overall call for change is an excellent battle cry for Illinois Republicans.

Sen. Stevens deserves the boot

If men of good will are going to reform the Republican Party, then its elected and part officials need to be held to the highest of standards. The first step on the road to recovering the party's legitimacy with the people is to forcibly fire someone like Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska. In July Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of failing to properly report gifts valued at approximately $250,000. Stevens was, according to a Los Angeles Times report, using his political connections to invest his money with businesses that received government contracts, which is a conflict of interest for the senator.

On Tuesday, it's seems the voters in Alaska decided to return Stevens to office. There are about 40,000 absentee votes waiting to be counted, but Stevens holds a slim lead. If Stevens is returned to Washington, that will make him the first convicted felon to be re-elected to Congress. I don't know why the people of Alaska would choose to send a corrupt official back to Washington, but it is disconcerting to say the least. The Constitution does give the Senate the power to expel Stevens from that august body, but it should never come to that.

If Stevens truly believes in John McCain's philosophy of Country First, he should step down from both the U.S. Senate and from the Republican Party itself. Then it would appear that principle would triumph over party.

Yes, it is true that the Democrats may have returned a felon to office in Rep. William Jefferson who has been indicted on 15 counts of corruption, but Jefferson has not been convicted in a court of law. And even if Jefferson had been convicted, Republicans cannot afford to play the tit for tat game. If it's not good for the goose, then it's not good for the gander.

Let's take back the party and send it a message - hold elected officials to the highest standards and purge criminals from our ranks. Send an email to your state and national party leaders to call for Stevens' dismissal from office.

A note to my conservative friends - let's take the GOP back

Like me, many of you have been highly disappointed in the direction of the Republican Party over the past decade. It has abandoned its traditional tenets of limited government and individual liberty. Many of you, like me, walked away from the party that we rightly felt had abandoned us, the traditional conservatives.

But now is the time to return to the fold. Last night's election was in no small way a rejection of the current state of the Republican Party.

As my wife and I watched Obama give his victory speech, I noticed so many people in the crowd with tears in their eyes. My jaded heart couldn't really understand it, and my wife chided me saying I had no causes to be passionate about, like those people did. After sleeping on it, I realized she was correct. I'd lost my passion for politics because I was feeling like a jilted lover.

But today I am changing that. Since moving to Illinois, I am no longer restrained by journalistic ethics of becoming involved in party politics. As of this morning, I've contacted the county GOP to use my skills to rebuild the party and re-install the core values - limited government, fiscal responsibility and individual liberty - to the party. My backside is coming off the sidelines and I'm going to get back in the game. This blog is part of that effort. The Illinois GOP, like the GOP in my beloved North Carolina, is poorly organized and I believe I can make a difference and help restructure state and local politics. So my fellow disillusioned and jaded conservative friends, now is the time to act. I challenge each of you to get off the sidelines and work to make sure the values we hold aren't forgotten.

To steal the mantra of our president-elect, YES WE CAN

Why Obama won

President-elect Barack Obama won a solid victory on Tuesday night. He won states and counties that a Democrat has not carried in decades. For the last 21 months Obama crisscrossed the United States taking his message of change and inspiring millions of Americans, particularly young voters. Couple the swell of voters with a national dis-satisfaction with the Bush White House and it was a formula made for victory. While Sen. McCain repeatedly told people he is not President Bush, there was no difference in the minds of the voting public.

But there is another factor in McCain's loss - the shift in policy within the Republican Party itself. For years the Grand Old Party stood for ideals like fiscal responsibility, limited government and individual liberty. But over the past couple of decades, the party has morphed into something that conservative icons like Barry Goldwater and even Ronald Reagan would find alien. Now the Republican Party, at least nationally, mirrors every criticism hurled at the Democratic Party by conservative pundits. The size of the federal government has grown exponentially in the past eight years and the national debt has more than doubled to $10 trillion which has rocked the national economy.

President Bush is the current head of the Republican Party and like it or not, this election was as much about the failures of his administration as it was about the weakness of McCain's candidacy.