I think they did, or it was the Illinois Senate seat briefly chilled by Obama’s bony a**.
They tried to get Ditka to replace Ryan and run against Obama. He declined, they got Alan Keyes instead, Obama won, and now we’re stuck with him.
I submit to you that if Ditka would have run, he would have defeated Obama and we would have been spared this national nightmare.
(Silver lining: Obama has indirectly spawned the Tea Party, which is working to bring both parties in line).