Bush-Cheney '04 Announces Illinois Campaign Leadership

Chicago and Springfield, IL - Today, Speaker and U.S. Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar joined Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Chairman Gov. Marc Racicot and Bush-Cheney '04 Regional Chairman Bob Kjellander to announce the Bush-Cheney '04 Illinois Campaign Leadership Team at media availabilities in Chicago and Springfield.

The Bush-Cheney '04 Illinois Campaign Leadership Team will help build a network of grassroots support and serve as messengers for the President's re-election campaign.

"The Illinois statewide leadership team is made up of a diverse group of men and women with a great respect for both President Bush's optimistic vision for America and common sense policies that have a visible impact on the people of Illinois. This team will play a key role in re-electing President Bush in November," said Hastert.

Gov. Edgar will serve as chairman of the Bush-Cheney '04 Illinois Leadership Team, while Speaker Hastert will serve as honorary chair. U.S. Reps. Henry Hyde, Phillip Crane, Mark Kirk, Jerry Weller, Judy Biggert, Timothy Johnson, Donald Manzullo, Ray LaHood and John Shimkus will serve as Illinois Bush-Cheney'04 vice chairs along with House Republican Leader Tom Cross and Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson.

"President Bush shares the priorities of the people of Illinois and has focused on strengthening the economy and creating jobs, protecting America's homeland, reforming education and providing Americans with better access to affordable health care. The President's hopeful, forward-thinking leadership resonates with the people of Illinois and he enjoys great support here," said Edgar.

"We are honored to have such an experienced group of leaders at the helm of Bush-Cheney '04 in Illinois, and their efforts will be crucial to our success in the state," said Kjellander.

Was this Governor Edgar popular? Why didn't he run for the Senate seat being vacated by Fitzgerald?

And did this Jack Ryan have a legitimate chance to beat this Obama guy before this sex-club scandal broke? Has he ever been close in the polls? Its hard to believe that such an appealing candidate with such a good record of achievement was struggling against the ultra liberal Obama.

Isn't this Obama guy very left-wing? Is Illinois so far gone that it will really elect this guy? Is Illinois becoming another California where the demographic combinatin of large-scale immigration plus a relatively liberal white population will equal doom for the GOP there?

Jack Ryan supports free markets, an individuals right to self defense in his own home with a handgun; notwithstanding any tyrannical local laws to the contrary, lower income taxes, general support for the war on terror to include the Iraq reconstruction, education vouchers, not allowing birthing baby's skulls to be cracked and their brains sucked out, and an end to racial preferences in affirmative action. I will support this man even if he doesn't get out of the race, since Obama is a polar opposite on all of these issues. One of the most important issues confronting the future of (small r) republican government is an increasingly activist and unconstitutional federal judiciary. In an interview with the St. Louis Dispatch on 5 Mar 2004, Obama said that the president has “demanded a rubber stamp for a handful of judicial nominees whose views are extreme and out of touch “and that “I believe a filibuster may be appropriate.” In truth, the president only wants the opportunity for an up or down vote of the full Senate for his candidates, ones that are less likely to see themselves as the sort of supernumerary legislature that Obama undoubtedly wants, and not the extra- constitutional supermajority vote requirement that the Democrats have imposed with their Judiciary Committee shenanigans. It is my hope that this contretemps will lead in a roundabout way to a discussion of the issues, since Obama’s extreme liberalism is DEFINITELY flying under the radar.

True, this development does not help Ryan's campaign, and does reflect poorly on his judgment. If he intended to stay in the race he should have released this material when it first became obvious that its release was inevitable. He could then have better controlled the timing of that release and had more time for its impact to be defused. We should assume that he will not drop out of the race as things stand now. If that is so, then we need to go on the offensive and highlight Obama's extreme liberal beliefs, voting record (particularly Illinois SB 101, which he co-sponsored with Carol Ronen, D-7th District which places Homosexuals, bi-sexuals, lesbians, and trans-gendered people as protected within the rubric of the Illinois Civil Rights Act), and contrast them to Ryan's beliefs. More finger pointing will only get us closer to electing the socialist Obama.

I would like to remind all that Saint Augustine, the greatest of the Latin fathers and one of the most eminent doctors of the Western church was pretty much a libertine until the age of 30. In 372 he fathered an out of wedlock child with a Carthaginian concubine that he named Adeodatus. ("Latin for the Gift of God") While I am by no means suggesting that Jack Ryan be canonized, I am saying that it is possible that the man’s philosophies on life have changed in 6 years, as may be evinced by his teaching in an inner city high school. I am compelled to give the man the benefit of the doubt, particularly when I consider the RADICAL SOCIALISTIC ALTERNATIVE to his candidacy.

Just to be clear, I really don't care what Jack Ryan may or may not have done with his wife at these clubs. What little I have read about him, I like. Reading what you have said about him makes me respect him even more, especially the parts about respecting one's right to own a handgun and his opposition to racial preferences (something the national GOP has basically caved on, I mean forget the Supreme Court--why doesn't the GOP congress and the GOP President pass a law denying federal funds to any university that uses racial preferences?). His opposition to partial birth abortion is of course also very good. In fact the only thing I've heard about him that I don't like is that he supports President Bush's phony guest worker/amnesty plan for illegal aliens. But that is just one issue among many, and on balance he seems very good.

As to Obama's comments to the St Louis Dispatch; that nonsense about these Bush judges being 'extreme' or 'out of touch' is an oft repeated chorus from the Dems. Just once I would like someone in the press, or a Republican, to bust them on this, to point out for example that on most of these hot button social issues these so called extremist judges actually hold views closer to the mainstream than the Dems do. Point out how the mainstream view of Americans is opposition to racial preferences, opposition to abortion on demand, opposition to gay marriage, support for an individual Second Amendment right to own guns and how these 'controversial' conservative judges would allow for the will of the American people to be heeded on each of these, while the true extremists are the judges favored by the Dems who would completely disregard the will of Americans by imposing policies contrary to the mainstream view on each of the above mentioned issues. That the press doesn't point this out is no surprise, but that the GOP doesn't do a better job of it is disappointing.

Back to Ryan; I was wondering about his electibility before this scandal broke. I know it is still early, but almost none of those 'experts' who watch the Senate races even had this one as competitive or as a toss-up. Almost all had it as a likely Obama victory. Yes, obviously debates and the post labor day increase in the public's interest in the Nov elections could change that, but its kind of sad to see that he had so far to come back from even without this scandal.

And frankly, I seriously doubt that the GOP would aggressively campaign on the liberal extremism of Obama on these social issues. It just doesn't seem their style anymore with their desperate and suicidal, desire to not be called names by the left. I'm willing to bet that the majority of Illinois residents (sorry I don't know the plural term) oppose racial preferences, abortion on demand, judicially imposed gay marriage, and handgun bans. But sadly, it appears that they will get a Senator who will work to further each of these agendas, through his votes on legislation and in his votes for and against judges.

I'd like to believe that you're right; that Ryan had a chance before this broke. Debates and an aggressive post-Labor Day attempt to point out the far-left views of Obama
obviously could have, and can still make a difference.

But the pessimistic side of me suspects that demographic changes in the state have pushed it from a once GOP-leaning state, to a Dem-leaning state. I fear that it is on its way to becoming like California and New York; electorally rich states that once the GOP dominated or competed for but now has an ever-decreasing chance to win. I mean, the GOP lock on the governorship ended two years ago (though obviously that may be temporary), it will soon have two very liberal Senators representing it, and counting this cycle it will have been 16 years since a Republican presidential candidate carried the state.

It just doesn't look good.

Well obviously he shouldn't put his health at risk or place politics over family, but its a shame. It seems as though the GOP had a terrible time recruiting their best possible candidates this time around for several Senate races.

I'm thinking of Nevada where liberal Sen Reid has never won comfortably (less than 500 votes in 1998) but will now likely cruise to victory after the GOP failed to get a strong challenger. I'm also thinking of Arkansas where the liberal Sen Blanch Lincoln (????) would have likely lost to either Gov Huckabee or Drug Czar and former congressman Hutchinson, yet neither ran. I could understand Huckabee wanting to finish his term, but I couldn't understand Hutchinson wanting to keep a job that he will promptly be booted from if Kerry wins.

I'm sort of surprised that Jack Ryan wasn't doing better before this scandal broke considering his life's record, Obama's far-left liberalism, and an appearance that I would have thought would have made him more popular with women.

Jack Ryan was never a good campaigner and the IL party has a terminal case of political impotence. IL appears to be a lost state for many years to come. I think Jack Ryan should drop out immediately just on the fact that he was dishonest about this within the IL party. That's enough for me- we need strength and no negatives to even begin to compete with a very left leaning state. Jack Ryan is a big negative right now. Obama Osama is so far left but is still running a great lead in IL. There has not been much opposition or even discussion of his socialist ideas. A very discouraging situation in IL.

There is another pernicious aspect to this situation that has just occurred to me. Almost every press description of this man endlessly reminds us of his credentials. They are those of a Harvard law graduate, editor of the law review there, constitutional scholar, Illinois State senator, ad nauseam, along with the fact that he is attractive, articulate, and charismatic. Even I am forced to admit that he is qualified, particularly if you're looking for a senator for the Politburo.

Deference to the ambitions of minorities is almost a de riguer nostrum so has to counter past evils of discrimination and exclusion. I fear that a desire to compensate for the wrongs of the past will blinded many voters in Illinois to Obama's advocacy of positions that they would find unacceptable if advanced by a white candidate.

Another interesting fact is that Obama is the product of an interracial marriage between a black Kenyan and a white American woman. Obama Sr. left the family early on and he was raised by his white mother. I realize perculiar nature of the racial construct and the racial politics of this country would cause most to identify Obama has black, but one would think that since at least half of the genetic material that makes him what he is calms from a Caucasian woman, that he should stress that aspect of his makeup has a homage to white woman that apparently did such a say successful job of raising him. But then that might not make him as eligible for the exalted mantle of the first black elected male senator of the Democratic Party, as well as a beneficiary of political correctness bonus points..

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