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Interesting op-ed piece from Jill Stanek. I did not expect her to endorse Jim Ryan, although she did finally use the exact phrase "I endorse Jim Ryan" at the end of the article. Still, it's one of the most bitter "endorsements" I've seen.

I understand much of her sentiment and it does seem the Illinois GOP is making the same mistake the national GOP made with Bob Dole. I don't get why she thinks Cal Skinner is "principled" by joining up with a party overrun with pro-abortion politicians (namely, the Illinois LP). He may personally be pro-life, but that is irrevelvant when you think about how many LPers would be given positions of power if Cal somehow won.

Stanek, though a great leader for conservatives, is very much a single issue pro-life lobbyist. It has always been my observation that the single issue pro-gun people have always been less willing to support the GOP than the single issue pro-lifers. Single issue pro-lifers will support a candidate who stands with them 51% of the time on that issue. Single issue pro-gun people sometimes sit home even if the candidate is 99% pro-gun.

Single issue pro-gun people sometimes sit home

My experience in Chicago's NW Suburbs, and in updating our database, is only slightly different. I find the pro-gun people more willing to be part of multi-issue coalitions. In the O'Malley campaign, pro-gun people did not question his committment to the 2d amendment when he ignored the topic to speak on some other issue.

But when O'Malley raised any topic other than pro-life. the pro-life people questioned whether he was really pro-life and they were just being used. They insist on making their candidate a one issue candidate, as Jill Stanek made herself in her race, and as they did in making O'Malley a one issue candidate, which was neither the intent of either Dan Proft, nor of strategists in the O'Malley camp not close to Proft.

In short, the one issue obsession of the pro-life activists hurt O'Malley.

"Single issue pro-gun people sometimes sit home even if the candidate is 99% pro-gun."

Sometimes must be in the ppm range. The pro gun folks I know that are left in IL (most are gone already) are pro active to the extent of their resources and abilities. In the Chicago area most of the remaining shooters are working hard to gather the resources to leave the state and stay quite 'till they do. They remember salvi and fitzgerald, the ones that made promises one day then did a 180 later.

IL politicians do not promote gunowners as decent citizens, they do their best to demonize them, harass them and limit their ability to shoot. Pro-life folks don't run the risk of direct action by the state, because of their interest.

Yes, this is a well written piece. The only major thing I'd like to add is that voting doesn't mean volunteering of even contributing.

In a race like this, let's just vote. It's better to find a close local race betweeen pro-life and pro-child-killer and invest our time, energy, and dollars there. Grass roots efforts are minimized in media campaigns like a race for governor. We're significantly more effective when it comes to State Rep. races, for example.

Also, let's see what we can do, to help get good voter information sheets distributed among our fellow (Bible-believing) church goers --the sooner, the better.

AW