The Illinois Republican Party must stop disrespecting its own voters

Granted, the Illinois GOP is supposed to be a political party and not a business – unless we’re talking about the handful of mediocre (to be gracious) staff and consultants who milk the brand to mooch a living via gullible donors.

It’s a business for that little crew certainly, even if the organization is not.

But still, our once proud Illinois Republican Party and how it decayed provides a useful lesson for people who are actually serious about organizational governance.

What would happen if a corporation anywhere in the world just one day declared that its shareholders could no longer directly elect the members of its board of directors?

It is safe to say that such a corporation would immediately go out of business. Investors would stampede to pull all their money out. Everyone would rightly assume management was up to no good. With accountability and oversight stolen from the stockholders, trust would evaporate overnight.

And people would go to prison because that kind of outrageous insider abuse would blatantly run afoul of a whole host of federal and state securities laws.

Bottom line, no corporation would be stupid enough to attempt to disenfranchise its own shareholders.

In other words, there is no business world example to illustrate what would happen if shareholders had their vote and their voice robbed by corrupt insiders obsessed with control and terrified of shareholders holding them accountable.

But not to worry. We do have a real-life example from the political world to illustrate just how destructive it is to disenfranchise the very stakeholders the organization’s officials and staff have a duty to serve.

I’m referring of course to the Illinois Republican Party which actually did disenfranchise its own voters in 1986. Illinois...

Any proud Republican

Can't imagine anyone proud to be affiliated with EITHER wing of the uniparty let alone deluded enough to publicly admit it.

Illinois is a Rust Belt state and it was like other Rust Belt states reflects dominance by Rockefeller Republicans.

The record is clear.

Ronald Reagan was born, raised and educated in Illinois with a degree from Eureka College.

In 1976, the Illinois Republican leadership most notably Bob Michel turned its back on the real deal Reagan in favor of Ivy League educated Rockefeller butt boy and former Warren Commissioner Gerry Ford.

Maybe the Illinois Republican Party has something to be proud of, but for goodness sake its a long way back to Honest Abe.

Illinois Republicans are a sorry tale. In the 1960s, 1970s 50% of Republicans (The Charlie Carpentier wing) were corrupt. 50% were against corruption. Many Blacks and Hispanics were Republican. In contrast 70% of the Democrats were corrupt. 30% were goo-goo good government, ADA Harold Washington Democrats.

Things started to change when Ogilvie went from Good Government to Pin-Stripe patronage.
The big change was eliminating the 3 member house districts. The corrupt Republicans are concentrated as the minority 3d member of the Democrat districts. When they were eliminated, they became Democrats.

Ray LaHood, Denny Hastert, etal were better political strategists and their political consultants were more effective than our political consultants.

Example. Jack Ryan was the big hope to replace Peter Fitzgerald as the leader of the good government Republicans. Jack Ryan had one negative in his past. Quoting James Carville, I told Jack Ryan he should get it out early before the campaign started so it would be old news and ignored during the campaign. But Jack’s paid political consultant advised the keep it hidden...it would never get out..it was sealed court records. Of course, the corrupt Republicans got it out and Jack was not prepared for it.

Prior to 2003 immigrants were a big issue to me on one side, Pat Buchanan on the other side and few others. Then image of the Republicans shifted from CUT HIGH TAXES and SPENDING to anti-all immigrants. The fact is that many in Chicago are proud of their Polish, Italian and other immigrant past, which involved many illegals. They worked beside Hispanic immigrants in the factory. They saw the immigrants going to church. They recognized that 10% of immigrants were into murder, rape...DUI, Drunk n Disorderly. But 90% of (Hispanic) immigrants were good Christians. Many Republicans shifted from R to D...enough to give Democrats a permanent majority.

Since then, from Ken Griffin to me, Republicans (and others) have fled Illinois. Those who fled were more Republican, more Independent than Democrats.

I wish my friend Doug, and all my friends stuck in IL good luck. Maybe you can raise up a new generation of those not locked into the mistakes of the past.

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