How GOP Can Win Suburbs

NEW YORK - In Illinois politics, the old adage about nice guys finishing last will be turned on its head this fall.

If President Bush and Illinois Republicans hope to win Illinois, they must focus on the suburbs, say moderate GOP members. Both around Chicago and around the nation, the suburban vote is considered in play largely because the people who call the suburbs home refuse to be pinned down by politics.

And the first key to winning their votes is to tone down the partisan rhetoric. That's the advice given by a Republican pollster and moderate politicians who have had success in these areas.

"In the suburbs, it's all about being nice and being polite and being respectful of the other party. In my district, and I think in many other suburban districts, the nice candidate wins," said U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, a Highland Park Republican whose northwestern Cook and eastern Lake County district is often portrayed as one of the quintessential suburban districts of the nation.

For years, Republican dominance of the Chicago suburbs was assumed. No longer. Bush lost Illinois by 12 percentage points to Democrat Al Gore in 2000 and wound up with less-than-wholesale support in the suburbs. At the state level, Democrats have begun winning General Assembly seats throughout the suburbs.

"If our party addresses the needs of the people in suburbs, we're going to win," said Kirk, whose opponent is Northbrook Democrat Lee Goodman. "If the other party has a better message, they will win."

In New York last week, Kirk and Hinsdale Congresswoman Judy Biggert were joined by suburban lawmakers from Ohio and Florida to talk about how the party can reclaim a suburban base.

The suburbs are crucial to national political success because that's where many of the coveted moderate, swing voters live. In a nation almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, these independent-minded ticket-splitters will decide who goes to the White House, said Republican pollster John McLaughlin.

He conducted a nationwide poll of suburban voters earlier this year and made a presentation at the convention called "The Key to Winning in 2004: Earning the Suburban Vote."

Jobs and the economy were the top issues on which suburban voters base their ballot picks. In addition, he said the fight against terrorism has given Bush a boost with suburban voters who have concerns with the more conservative social views of the Republican Party.

McLaughlin's polling finds 17 percent of suburban voters named national security and terrorism as the key issue in deciding who they'd vote for. In contrast, abortion was the deciding issue for only 2 percent.

McLaughlin, whose recent clients have included House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Plano and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, believes this shows suburban voters who support abortion rights are being won over by Bush's campaign and its focus on the war on terrorism. In 2000, no one cited terrorism as a key issue.

Such findings give former Gov. Jim Edgar, who's chairman of Bush's campaign in Illinois, hope that 2004 will be better for Bush in Illinois.

"Whether it's going to be enough to carry Illinois, I don't know," Edgar told reporters. "If I said I thought (so), none of you guys would believe me."

But don't expect to see Bush in Illinois much or targeting Illinois voters with TV ads. At a recent Springfield meeting of state Republican leaders, Edgar was repeatedly asked if he could get Bush to come visit their counties. Edgar essentially had to tell everyone no, pointing out that Bush came to Illinois four years ago thinking it'd be a tight race. It wasn't.

U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes - and his sharp tongue - isn't helping matters.

Last week, Keyes called Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter a "selfish hedonist." It prompted some prominent Republicans to say they expect to lose the Senate seat Keyes seeks.

Mark Kirk... LOL!

Might as well ask NARAL to advise us on candidates.

Well, now look what you did - you made me go to Google to find out about this Mark Kirk guy.

First elected to Congress in 2000, Mark Steven Kirk represents the Suburban Chicago 10th Congressional District of Illinois. Reelected in 2002 to the 108th Congress with 69 percent of the vote, Congressman Mark Kirk is a member of the powerful U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee where he serves on three of its subcommittees: Foreign Operations, Commerce/Justice/State, and Legislative Branch.

Congressman Kirk grew up in the 10th District and recounts an early brush with death as shaping his future and leading to a career in public service. At age 16, he nearly drowned in Lake Michigan and would later tell the Chicago Tribune, "To be given a second chance means it has to mean something. For me, that means making a difference through public service."

Representative Kirk began his career in government in 1984 as an aide to his predecessor Congressman John Edward Porter, eventually serving as his Chief of Staff. He later served in the World Bank, the State Department, the law firm of Baker & McKenzie, and as legislative counsel for the U.S. House International Relations Committee.

Congressman Kirk is a Naval Reserve intelligence officer who served during conflicts with Iraq, Haiti, and Bosnia. He has served four tours at sea and three in Panama. Kirk holds the rank of Lt. Commander and in 1999 the U.S. Navy named him 'Intelligence Officer of the Year' for his combat service over Kosovo.

Kirk is the only member of Congress to serve stateside during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was an air crewman over Iraq protecting the northern no-fly zone as part of Operation Northern Watch. Lt. Commander Kirk continues to serve one weekend a month in the Pentagon.

Since taking office, Congressman Kirk focused on issues important to his 10th District constituents including: securing $55 million to expand Chicago area's Metra North Central commuter rail line and saving the North Chicago Veterans Hospital from closure by arranging a merger with Great Lakes Naval Training Center's Navy Hospital. When youth violence shocked Chicago's north shore communities, Congressman Kirk convinced the owner of the Chicago Bulls to build a community basketball facility in North Chicago.

Congressman Kirk introduced legislation to reduce mercury pollution in Lake Michigan, Mercury Pollution Reduction Act, and was recognized by the League of Conservation Voters as one of the top environmental Republicans in the House. On the aviation security bill enacted after September 11, Congressman Kirk contributed provisions to the law, including the requirement that airport baggage screeners be United States citizens.

Representative Kirk graduated from New Trier High School and attended the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico before earning a B.A. with honors from Cornell University. He holds a Master Degree from the London School of Economics and once worked for a member of Parliament. Kirk earned a law degree from Georgetown and conducted military or official missions to more than 40 countries.

Congressman Kirk and his wife, Kimberly, live in Highland Park.

So, what's wrong with this guy??

For funding international abortion groups, for military abortions.

Oh. I don't think he even mentioned that in his bio.

He's your kind of guy, killer.

Mrs. Mith, it's just not kind of you to call me a killer. We hardly even know eachother yet. ;-)

Heck, he even agrees with you that we shouldn't drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and that we should pay more to the UN.

Well, now I'm sure we don't really know eachother!

He's the Republican candidate you've always dreamed of!

What would you see as my choices as a voter this November if I lived in Congressman Kirk's district?

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