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It is precisely this victory of pragmatism over principle that earned us our well-deserved reputation as virtuosos in the latrinal art of “Chicago Politics.” If we continue down this road of always justifying our failure to elect people of principle to office, we will never get the juice to change. And yes, I will stand on it: A man who thinks it is OK to suck the brains out of babies is NOT a man of principle, no matter how you dress him up. There is no more basic constitutional, moral, ethical issue that the right of a person to live, to live freely, and to pursue the happiness of that life they hold. To deny that right, and especially in so brazen and disgusting an act of barbarism as partial birth abortion, reveals a person void of a fundamental respect for human personhood, without which there can be no reliable expectation of justice.

This insanity must stop. It can be stopped. We must believe and act as though it can be stopped. Education of the electorate is central to this plan, and that is why we need a well-financed third party. We must find ourselves an independent megaphone and loudly preach principle over pragmatism until we get the attention of the entire Illinois electorate. We must eliminate or significantly reduce the “ignorance margin,” that spectrum of Illinois voters who do not tune in until 24 hours before the election, and who really are not doing their duty as voters. The right to vote is the right to express a well-informed opinion that is likely to do the Republic good. It is not the right to obstruct good policy formation through ignorance.

And those of you who are feeling lucky you are not part of the Illinois political culture, be warned: This nightmare we are living is the future of all who neglect their political process and leave it to the “professionals,” who take it for granted, who let the dependent class mushroom into vast hordes of takers and those who feel entitled to other people’s money. Where we are, you will end up, if you do not take your electoral duties seriously.

And the first step in that process is to let yourselves get genuinely upset with failures. You read me right. The failure to find and empower qualified leaders is not trivial. The lives and well-being of your children and grandchildren are at stake. It’s time for some deep angst over how to do better next time. Churchill, who did a creditable job leading an embattled population to a victory against overwhelming odds, put it this way (paraphrased): It is not enough to say, “We did our best.” Rather, we must do what is necessary to get the job done. Get upset, conservative Illinois; you have a right to be. Then let’s give it another go in the fall.