Posted on 05/07/2009 8:08:54 AM PDT by chicagolady
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Party interests blurred and twisted at the state Capitol Wednesday as Democrats, led by a former Republican, teamed up with disgruntled GOP members to change the way they choose their leaders.
Top Republicans oppose the change, even threatening to sue over it.
What's at stake is whether rank-and-file Republicans will get to vote on who serves on the party's central committee, the governing board for the party in Illinois.
Right now, Republican leaders in wards, townships and precincts across the state choose the central committee. Some Republican activists say that system produces a central committee that's out of touch with voters.
They want to switch to the same system Democrats use, where one man and one woman in each congressional district is elected to serve on the central committee.
"One person, one vote is a tradition in this country, and that's all Republican voters are asking for," said Sen. Chris Lauzen, an Aurora Republican who, with help from Democrats, won senate approval for the legislation.
Most top Republicans hate the idea.
Opponents say Democrats support the measure just to punish Republicans for linking them to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and point out their flip-flops on holding a special election to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat.
"We think it's a bit comical that instead of passing real reform in the past 100 days, they're playing around with party rules," said Andrew McKenna, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party.
The House Executive Committee approved the change Wednesday in a 7-4 party-line vote -- with Democrats supporting it and Republicans opposing it. The measure now goes to the House floor and, if it passes there, the governor's desk.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
The Republican Party in Illinois (RINO)s
want to silence our VETERANS!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SXVONxmXVQ&feature=related
Say it aint so!!
This news shows that Democrats care more about democratic elections, for Republicans, than republican leaders care about it.
RINO ALERT!!!!!
How can they do this?
Isn’t it up to the party to decide how it is done and if you don’t like it you form a new party?
March towards one party rule continues.
Party rules should be left up to the party. But dang if the Illinois GOP isn’t completely out of touch with any GOP voter south or west of Joliet.
They can’t silence me. In May 2005, I was in a press conference, in the Illinois Capitol, and I wore my navy uniform. Senators Lauzen and Brady and TheRightGuy explained SB 600, and I said that I had recently returned from Iraq, where I helped to spread democracy to the Middle East. I said that, when I returned to Illinois, I learned that Illinois republican voters have less democratic elections than many Iraqis.
It’s too hard to form a new party. In Illinois, republican, democrat, and green party statewide candidates must submit at least 5,000 petition signatures, to ensure that their names will be on the ballot. Candidates of other parties must submit at least 25,000 signatures. The major parties want to ensure that no one else can oppose them.
I live about five miles north of Chicago, and about 2/3 of Republicans, I know, disagree with the GOP leaders, about this issue.
Didn’t say they were out of touch with voter in the Chicagoland area either, just virtually no one in the rural areas see eye to eye with the GOP leadership in the State on any issue.
One of the reasons the Dems take this position is that SB600 is led by Paul Froehlich, who was made personna non grata by Cross/Savianno specifically because he was the House sponsor of the bill when he was a Republican. Part of the switch to Dem by Paul might have been a promise by Madigan to support Paul’s pet legislation.
(Of course, the combine was bent on destroying Froehlich before SB600 because Froehlich opposed Kjellander as GOP National Committeeman.)
In the rural areas the GOP is split. Many township and county employees and officials like their patronage and fear control by the grass roots will kill their own style of welfare. Just ask Randy Pollard.
(Of course, the combine was bent on destroying Froehlich before SB600 because Froehlich opposed Kjellander as GOP National Committeeman.)
Methinks the spintree is spinning a little revisionist history. I was pretty involved in SB600's first round trip and I don't recall Froehlich having much of anything to with it. Terry Parke (not Froehlich) signed on as the original house sponsor, Cross yanked it from him, and gave to Skippy with orders that it never see the light of day.
At the 2004 state convention Froehlich gave no visible support to the "Dump KJ" bunch led by the FTN, and why would the combine go after him anyway when he was already in their camp.
I think maybe you and Paul spent too much time sitting around the campfire with Victor Santana.
Not really. Selecting the party leaders from those elected to lower offices is how we elected senators until 1910. The founders would be hip with this form of indirect republicanism.
We had people complain that mccain got selected by non-republicans. opening up the party leader elections to primary voters runs that risk.
The Ill GOP is in such bad shape this cant hurt it too much, but dont assume this is a good change.
A better system would be to elect the precinct chairs and county chairs in primaries, and elect the state leaders at the state convention.
That is how the Texas GOP does it, and it works well.
After seeing further comments, I realize that this kick in the pants is probably what the Illinois GOP needs, to shake the status quo. OTOH, I dont think its the right precedent to use for other states.
*ping*
After Terry Parke lost to Crespo, Froehlich took the lead on SB600. The simple fact is that Froehlich’s anti-cobine position (of which SB600 was just part) made Froehlich anethema to Cross/Savianno/etal.
When will the full house vote on it?
We in IL have a Republican Party? Who knew?
Seriously though the "Central Committee" needs to be cleaned out top to bottom and the current members jailed on general principle alone.
L
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