Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Chicago is pretty inhospitable to Republicans...
But this is getting ridiculous: I find this story in today's Tribune rather symbolic of this story that ran Sunday.
There are few of us "elephants" left in the state, so it seems, but I doubt this is a permanent condition. Has Illinois become more liberal? Possibly, but not considerably so.
I contend a solid conservative can win a statewide race. By solid conservative, I am talking about someone with an ideology as right-wing as Phil Crane, Steve Rauschenberger, Jack Ryan or Jim Ryan.
The problem with the Republican Party in Illinois is not ideology. Bedorck conservatives like Peter Fitzgerald and Jim Ryan have won statewide races. Illinois' Democratic Party has the same stupid argument. Do they want a Daley moderate, a Paul Simon liberal or a Jesse Jackson slash-and-burn welfare-stater?
Barack Obama is a Paul Simon liberal, but his success was that he tapped into all three voting blocs in the primary. Pay no attention to his success in the general election. Truth be told, Steve Bartman would be Senator if he was the only alternative to Alan Keyes. Obama deserves credit because he moderated his tone -- not his views, there is a difference -- throughout the campaign so that he didn't nauseate even a right-winger that would never vote for Obama like me. But let's not crown Obama or Blagojevich or any other Democrat in Illinois (except for Mayr Daley) a major star nationally. Blagojevich apparently thinks he's presidential material, and others like to dream of Obama in the White House.
If you saw a kid hit a home run as a 10-year-old, would you proclaim him the next great Major League prospect?
Illinois is not big league right now. It's been a virtual one-party system since at least the start of George Ryan's administration, if not longer. The Republican base will still vote GOP, but to say the diehards are a little disheartened by the scandals and division is an understatement.
(And yes, I am suggesting that the Democrats' base is more likely to tolerate such shenanigans.)
The Democrats have exploited the Republicans' problems. The GOP has turned on itself each time it loses an election. And the Republican-leaning voters in Illinois feel like they have no voice.
It's a good-government perception problem. Right now, Republicans look dirtier than the Democrats. That will change -- soon -- as many close to Daley will take Scott Fawell-style falls. And if this Dick Mell-Rod Blagojevich feud has any truth and legs, look out. Methinks they both have the goods on the other.
Want a good look at Illinois Republican politics? Go to joincrossblog.com. That's a blog written by Illinois House Minority Leader Tom Cross. While they're a little too married to the "only a moderate Republican can win" theory, they've done a good job battling the Democrats. I guess someone has to.
