Co-chair denies ILGOP mutiny in the works for Tuesday

CHICAGO -- Rumors are swirling that the IL GOP State Central Committee may come out of next Tuesday's meeting in Chicago with not only a candidate for U.S. Senate, but a new party chairman.

Steve McGlynn, the current IL GOP co-chairman, chuckled when the scenario was presented to him this afternoon that he may emerge from Tuesday's meeting as the new state party chairman. Sources say that an attempt to replace current chairman Judy Baar-Topinka may be in the works. Topinka has taken harsh criticism from the conservative wing of the party for what many consider the mishandling of the Jack Ryan situation.

Party activists are suggesting that the party may be ready to turn to an Edwardsville lumber company franchise executive who says he is willing to put in $5 million of his own money to kick off a U.S. Senate campaign, but who would like to see a change in party leadership.

"Well, that scenario is not something in the works," McGlynn, a state central committeeman for the 12th Congressional District, said this afternoon. "Let's just say that there's no quid pro quo if they choose Bob Plummer to be the U.S. Senate candidate."

Bob Plummer could be one of the candidates interviewed next Tuesday by the IL GOP state central committee, McGlynn said. Plummer is a relative unknown in upstate Republican party circles and is a lumber company owner based in Edwardsville, near McGlynn's home base in St. Clair County.

"I've known Bob Plummer for years," McGlynn said. "He's self-made, started RP Lumber and has lumber yards all over central Illinois. He's fiscal and social conservative. He would be staunchly prolife."

"I promised to keep an open mind for all the candidates through the vetting process, until I hear every candidate's background," he said.

That's good news for former POW General John Borling, dairyman/investor Jim Oberweis and Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman, who, along with Cook County Recorder of Deeds candidate John Cox, will be making their case before the closed committee on Tuesday.

Borling said Thursday that he would be willing to take the job on if he received support from the party and the White House.

"I've never have walked away from a battle, before or now," Borling said. He spent six and a half years in the Hanoi Hilton, a prisoner of war camp during the Vietnam War.

"Barack and I definitely have opposing views on the war on terrorism," Borling said, speaking from his home on Lake Michigan.

Borling received two percent of the primary vote, just ahead of Chirinjeev Kathuria.

"I suspect that conservatives would have a problem with Borling's positions on social issues," McGlynn said.

Borling is a strong advocate of gun rights, is against gay marriage, but advocates abortion rights.

Another possible candidate, dairyman Jim Oberweis, said that he believes the Republican Party leaders don't want him because he would be hard to control.

"This issue of me not lining up with the President on illegal immigration is not the problem," Oberweis, who came in second in the March IL GOP primary, said today.

"I have talked to the White House and have been assured that they are not the source of that complaint. I'll leave it to you to speculate where the message is coming from," he said.

Oberweis was happy about a recent poll of 600 likely Latino voters that put him within three points of the president, according to a poll conducted by Rod McCulloch, John Borling's former campaign manager until he was fired at the end of the primary.

Up until Thursday, the party officials said they were waiting on Jack Ryan to file his official withdrawal papers, not sure whether or not he was going to change his mind and re-enter the race. A movement within the party calling for Jack to stay on the ballot did not produce the desired result, but the possibility of a comeback remained until Ryan officially withdrew.

But now the monkey is on the state party leaders' backs, and IL GOP State Party Chairman Topinka is feeling the heat.

County chairmen throughout the state are beginning to communicate with one another, voicing their concerns about the chairman's insensitivity in appearing in the Gay Pride parade last month, knowing gay activists are blasting the President for his position on preserving a one-man/one-woman definition of marriage by backing a constitutional amendment. Others are embarrassed by the incompetence they say has been shown at the very time party leadership should be in its finest hour.

"Judy made it clear that she took the position and agreed to do it through the upcoming election cycle, and I fully expect her to do it," McGlynn said. "I've given this idea absolutely no consideration, none, to the scenario that I may be state party chairman in the next 72 hours."

Lidia Downs, executive director for Illinois Center Right Coalition was concerned that McGlynn may be positioning for a takeover on Tuesday, despite his denials.

"Judy Baar Topinka’s tenure as State Chair has been marked by failure and embarrassment for the Party. Clearly, she is unqualified to lead us through reform and back to prosperity," Downs said. "The fact that Steve McGlynn has been her right-hand man engenders misgivings about his ability to break the pattern of top-down control of the Party."

McGlynn said today that the last month has been very difficult for the state party leaders.

"There's a lot of raw feelings out there, and I think Judy got a bad rap on how all this happened," McGlynn said.

McGlynn said he did not know whether a decision would be made on filling the U.S. Senate candidate vacancy next Tuesday. The vacancy must be filled by the end of August in order to appear on the Republican ballot on November 2.

"There may be some who want to do their own research and hear from the people in their districts," McGlynn said. State central committeemen will decide on the replacement based on their counties' weighted votes.

I'm no fan of Topinka's, but she has her fans in the city and suburbs. It's hard to say if such upheaval would be viewed more positively or more negatively. And I have to say, in her defense, that the Ryan debacle is not her fault. Ryan screwed us.

Oops. Of course, I should specify that I'm talking about Jack Ryan. (Not that George Ryan didn't screw us too...)

Do you know why Peter Fitzgerald is quitting? Not that I always agreed with him but he is a damn sight better than Obama.

Do you know why Peter Fitzgerald is quitting?

He and the local GOP don't get along too well, and even if they did, it's unlikely that he would be reelected. Had he not been running against Carol Mostly Fraud, he almost surely would have lost that election too.

Has anybody thought of recruiting Barack Obama to the Republican party? From what I understand of his background, he should have none of this baggage about a history of being descended from slaves, or suffering from Jim Crow discrimination (his mother was white, after all).

Has anybody thought of recruiting Barack Obama to the Republican party

Maybe because if he is the next senator from Illinois he will give Kerry a run for his money for the title of most liberal member of the senate.

The IL GOP is the laughing stock of the political world at this point. Obama has that Senate seat locked up, anything done at this point is a waste of time, money, and effort.

Just my opinion, from Ohio.

7 posted on 07/31/2004 9:50:56 AM PDT by Badeye ("If you Don't Vote, YOU are the PROBLEM")

That would be a good idea, save for the fact that the guy is damn near a communist.. The GOP ain't that far gone yet.

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