What’s a Combiner?
A Combiner is a member of the IL Combine. It is the corrupt, bipartisan regime that controls IL politics. It effectively started decades ago as a Chicago-Springfield axis of power (or power-sharing agreement by the political establishment between Chicago Democrats under Daley, Sr. and downstate Republicans).
The Combine essentially chooses and fixes the races in the state and for whom is allowed to serve. They are opposed by Reformers, which exist in both parties (though isn’t necessarily ideological - you can have leftists that are Reformers and Conservatives, though leftists can more easily join in). Reformers, sadly, are rarely elected to statewide office. The last Reformer who was a Governor was liberal Democrat Dan Walker who beat their choice in the primary of 1972 and upset the GOP incumbent. Richard Daley, Sr. spent the last 4 years of his life (which coincided with Walker’s term) waging war on his fellow Democrat, and got him defeated in the 1976 primary (Daley then died a month and a half after the 1976 general, which was won by a Republican). Combiner Republicans occupied the Governorship for the next 26 years until Combiner Democrat Rod Blagojevich won it in 2002.
Curiously, Blagojevich’s Lt Governor, Quinn, was a Reformer for many years, but he joined the Combine. They saved him from losing in 2010 against GOP Reformer State Sen. Brady (who likely won the election). This time, the designated winner by the Combine was leftist RINO Bruce Rauner, and the election was “fixed” for him this year (despite the fact there was nowhere near the enthusiasm by the grassroots for him). It’s very possible that Quinn may have won this year (unlike 2010), but we’ll never know for sure. When the order is given to vote for said candidate, it’s carried out (especially in Cook County).
In 2010, which curiously occurred during the aforementioned Gubernatorial race, Mark Kirk was the designated “winner” by the Combine, and they chased any challengers out of the GOP primary which their threats of retaliation. Kirk was toxic with Conservative base voters and there was no coordination with State Sen. Brady for the general election (Brady had won over Combiner opposition in the primary). Common sense alone should’ve dictated Brady would win and Kirk would lose, but it was fixed for the opposite. The Dem opponent of Kirk’s was also a Combiner, Alexi Giannoulis, and a statewide officeholder (which, again, on paper should’ve pointed to a Kirk loss). But the Combine plays chess and arranges the players to maximize their influence.
The last time a non-Combiner won the Senate race in IL was 1998 (though one had won in the GOP primary in 1996). Going back to 1996, the designated Combiner winner was to be GOP Lt Gov. Bob Kustra (since there was a GOP majority in the Senate then, it paid to have someone in it). Kustra barely ran a campaign and was outworked by State Rep. Al Salvi. Because Salvi was not “their guy”, he had to be destroyed, so they directed all salvos at Salvi and came behind the Democrat, that being downstate Democrat Dick Durbin (who almost was beaten in his House seat in 1992 and ‘94). Durbin got the nod after he was initially to be the sacrificial lamb, and has now been in the Senate 18 years since as their lead Combiner in DC.
In 1998 when disgraced incumbent Dem. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (AKA Mostly-Fraud) was running again, the GOP Combiner designate to run was a statewide officeholder, Loleta Didrickson, a liberal older woman. She was bland enough that her nomination probably would’ve resulted in Moseley-Braun’s reelection (although the Combine might’ve felt that whomever wins is fine by them). State Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (who had come off of nearly beating a past-his-prime Congressman Phil Crane in the GOP primary), a strong Conservative and non-Combiner, decided to dip into his personal wealth to try to run. He upset Didrickson, as Salvi had done with Kustra. With Didrickson’s loss, the Combine (and the GOP establishment) came behind Moseley-Braun and hammered Fitzgerald from both sides, but the incumbent’s blatant corruption couldn’t help her to win a second term, and Fitzgerald took it.
Fitzgerald’s win upset the status quo something fierce. He had few allies with the corrupt GOP establishment wing. For the next 6 years, the Combine made war upon him (much in the same way that Daley, Sr. made war on Gov. Dan Walker in the ‘70s). Despite his excellent reputation and excellent voting record, it was RINO Congressman Ray LaHood (a protégé of the Combiner liberal RINO Bob Michel, who had been the House Minority Leader, whom I dare say made sure the GOP stayed a minority) who was designated lead thug to attack Fitzgerald at every turn.
After 6 years of relentless attacks, Fitzgerald had enough and decided he wouldn’t run for reelection (attacks from Democrats were one thing, but when your own corrupt party establishment attacks you day in and day out, you’re having to fight a multi-pronged war — even if he was renominated, the GOP wing of the Combine would be supporting the Democrat nominee). With Fitzgerald out of the running, and a messy situation involving the GOP winner of the primary (Jack Ryan, which led to his withdrawal and replacement by Alan Keyes, who had no idea what he had gotten himself into), it paved the way for an obscure Combiner state Senator named Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. to win in 2004.
Thanks to the hard work of Combiner RINO Ray LaHood, Zero himself (who owed his election in no small part to him), immediately gave him a Cabinet post in his regime upon his election as President in 2008.
Well, that’s the short version answer of “What’s a Combiner ?”