Posted on 06/23/2004 8:09:26 PM PDT by Land_of_Lincoln_John
June 23, 2004 — The future of Jack Ryan's campaign for U.S. senate seems more in doubt. ABC 7 has learned about several signs that the republican's campaign events will be scaled back but publicly Ryan is still saying he's staying in the race. Two days ago the release of his divorce records rocked the Ryan campaign. The documents included allegations about visits to sex clubs.
"If he asked me today, I would say, Jack, you need to assess whether you can wage a reasonable campaign and my view would be you probably can't," said Gary Skoien, Cook County GOP chairman.
The Cook County Republican party is bailing on Jack Ryan. Two major newspapers, including the Sun-Times, want him out of the race. The Tribune is questioning his credibility and the Herald is comparing him to former Governor George Ryan. And one of the Illinois Republican party's key fundraisers is accusing Ryan of a cover-up.
"I was told by Jack that there was nothing in the records that would be of concern. It was solely related to issues surrounding his child. And that turns out not to be the case," said Ron Gidwitz, IL Republican party.
Ryan apparently failed to fully explain the allegation by his ex-wife -- Hollywood actress Jeri Ryan -- in the now unsealed divorce file that he forced her to visit sex clubs in three different cities and tried to pressure her into having sex in front of strangers.
Ryan is apologizing for any misunderstanding but downplaying his ex-wife's allegation.
"The worst that can be said is I propositioned my wife in an inappropriate place. We had people elected to office who have done things that are much worse than that," said Jack Ryan, U.S. senate candidate.
Illinois republican leaders are conducting a poll to assess the political damage. And they're expected to make a final decision on what to recommend in a conference call on Friday.
"I think he can survive. I don't think he can win. I think when you lose the trust of the people you work with and the trust of the public, which I believe has now happened, it's very hard to come back from that," said Gidwitz.
"If former Governor Edgar and speaker Hastert say, Jack, we'd like you to get out of the race, what do you do? I am in the race to win in November and on our issues and theme, we win the race. Once voters know the difference between me and my opponent, we are going to win," said Ryan.
The Bush campaign is watching the controversy on the sidelines. But the most of the republicans in the congressional delegation led by speaker Denny Hastert believe the Ryan candidacy is dead. Senate republicans are a different story. The leaders are still backing Ryan and they're holding a fundraiser for him in Washington D.C. Thursday.
Jack Ryan may be pledging to stay in the race, but some of his supporters say they're being told to begin winding down their campaign efforts.
Even though Labor Day is considered the official kickoff of the fall political campaign season, the fourth of July always attracts candidates to Independence Day parades. Apparently, Jack Ryan will not be among them.
Wednesday, Ryan campaign sources say they were told to halt planning for his appearances in July fourth parades. Ryan precinct workers in republican heavy DuPage County were also told to stop putting up yard signs and posting placards on behalf of the candidate.
That, on the heels of the July fourth pullback, indicates that the campaign is on it's last legs, according to one precinct captain.
The GOP candidate's ex-wife, actress Jeri Lynn Ryan, has not backed off accusations she leveled during their divorce that Mr. Ryan compelled her to visit hard core sex clubs in the U.S. and France.
At the well-fortified Los Angeles mansion where Ms. Ryan lives with the couple's 9-year-old son, she has declined to answer questions from reporters about the case. The Ryan campaign claims she supports his continued candidacy.
In Washington Wednesday, House speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois was not offering such a commitment.
"Had a personal discussion with Mr. Ryan in the last day or so. I intend to do that and then I will make a further statement. I am reserving my comments until I have a personal discussion with him," said Hastert.
DuPage County republican chairman senator Kirk Dillard told the I-Team that he is deeply troubled by the possibility that Mr. Ryan's candidacy could spell doom for other republicans and impact the Bush campaign in Illinois.
Dillard cites Tuesday night's Jay Leno show in which Jack Ryan was the punch line to a joke. Leno said that "See, democrats, they cheat on their wives. Republicans cheat, too, but they bring their wife along. They make it a family event."
The leaders are still backing Ryan and they're holding a fundraiser for him in Washington D.C. Thursday.
That's been cancelled by the speaker. Hastert funder for Ryan canceled; Ryan campaign resists negative news reports
If only these RINO scumbags hadn't forced Fitzgerald into retirement...
Can any Republican win this seat? Or will Illinois once again have an ultra-liberal Senator?
We should dump Ryan.
Before this scandal broke he had a small chance of winning, now he has no chance.
Someone like Jim Edgar (popular former governor) should run. He would actually have a very good chance of winning, and its who Bush's guys wanted to run last year.
I think if they can get former gov Jim Edgar to run, we have a chance of holding this seat. Otherwise, we're sunk. And Obama is a marxist of the worst kind....
It'll be the latter. Sad.
It will be a corrupt RINO or corrupt Marxist Dem as the next Senator from Illinois.,
Unbelievable what a corrupt state Illinois is.
What a buffoon...
As an aside, can we find candidates in either party who are normal once in a while?
I'm serious on this, whatever happened to guys who went to work, sleep with their wives, conduct their finances on the up and up and prefer the bowling alley to the neighborhood crackhouses and/or brothel?
D.C is like Hollywood now, only Hollywood is better looking, tries to stay in budget, and they follow their script.
There is another thread going on right now, asking where are John Kerry's divorce records. If Jack Ryan's can be released over the objections of both parties, where is the news media looking for Kerry's?
You mean like Bush?
Glad he isn't alive to see how his name has been besmirch by all his cousins and nere do well relatives.
Kiss weapons good by in illinois in the next couple of years.
Not enough conservatives left what with cook Peoria and Rockford county running rough shod over the rest of the state.
Means he understand fascist islamists. //sarcasm off.
We already have one; now we'll have two.
well, yeah actually....hehe
ya know, guys who go to the ranch instead of Paris sex parties. Guys that can watch their daughters graduating from college without hitting on their classmates....
maybe I'm just not "nuanced" enough for the new politics....
WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY THIS IS SUCH A BIG DEAL? He wasn't cavorting with prostitutes, was he? IT WAS HIS WIFE! So he likes it kinky. What is the big deal? I am amazed they are using this as a dirty campaign trick. His ex-wife is even supportive of him! This is insane and completely shows how the media and Demonrats and the public is so hypocritical. I don't see how this scandal should destroy this man.
What was Ryan thinking - surely not about serving the public - going into politics and succeeding; while doing his 'funny business' on the side
Surely we had enough of scandal challenged politicians; whose indiscretions are part of a public record yet. . .
Maybe these people should consider 'public prostrations' as a pennance; or perhaps the public should consider this as a an option for those who are just confused as to what distinguishes honest, moral leadership from the profane.
Shades of Bill Clinton! There goes the parsing along with the phony excuse for his behavior. If he had apologized and expressed remorse, I'd say move on but when Jack Ryan comes out with a Clintonian moral equivalance as if to say his poor judgment and lying to party leaders doesn't reflect on his character, he's too dumb and unfit to serve in the U.S Senate. Period. The Republican Party doesn't need a Clinton clone.
They should have been honest and say they wanted Obama in the first place. Is that why they tried to sabotage the party?
None. Barack Obama is everything I loathe in a Democrat but he's squeaky clean and has an attractive family and doesn't air his dirty linen in public. Good grief, we had to blow it on a candidate of questionable character.
He lied to party leaders and he's making Clintonian statements about the matter instead of expressing remorse and apologizing to the public for his poor judgment. Ryan's arrogance is keeping this alive and its destroyed any chance he has for remaining a viable candidate. Live and learn.
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