Posted on 11/07/2004 1:24:33 PM PST by SJackson
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - In a 2001 speech announcing the end of his political career, then-Gov. George Ryan left his fellow Illinois Republicans with a warning: The state GOP, he said, was being taken over by "conservative, right-wing elements" that ultimately would topple the party.
On Tuesday, the sound of a party toppling could be heard from Chicago to Cairo.
Even as the national GOP enjoyed a political rebirth in Tuesday's elections, the Illinois Republican Party looked deader than ever. Most notably, the state's second U.S. Senate seat switched to the Democratic column after Republican Alan Keyes' fire-and-brimstone campaign captured less than one-fourth of the vote, apparently a record low in the history of the state.
In addition, the GOP lost its majority in the state's congressional delegation, while the voters handed Illinois' electoral votes to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. Meanwhile, the Legislature returns to Springfield Monday for its fall veto session with the GOP still locked in the minority.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
Maybe the corrupt Ryan, responsible for the deaths of 11 at Bourbanais, shoudl look in the mirror and ask what he ever did for the party while he was Governor and de facto leader.
He better do it in a hurry, don't know if there are mirrors in jail cells.
Illinois has a GOP?
Who knew?
Sure. As if the Illinois senate election wasn't a lost cause before Keyes ever showed up. The moderates sure have done a bang-up job screwing up the party, haven't they?
I do all I can, I vote, I talk to others and support conservative candidates but there's no way to over come a gazillion democrats in Chicago.
P.S. My congressman, Ray Lahood is a notable exception.
Keyes didn't lose the election, that guy that wanted to watch his wife have sex with others in public lost it.
Please.
We are talking about the voters who elected Carol Moseley-Braun to the very seat that Alan was running for.
The Republicans could have nominated Karl Marx and the result would have been the same.
If the Illinois GOP moved to the center, it would be a vast improvement, since it is currently way to the liberal side. That Topinka lady who is the IL GOP Chairman is more liberal than most Democrats in Downstate Illinois.
Republican primary voters nominated a conservative in Jack Ryan, and Topinka and the other RINOs did everything they could to sink his candidacy, and when a minor scandal hit him they forced him to resign. Then they sought out an extremely liberal repalcement (that Grubb lady), and when the majority of the committee selected Dr. Keyes instead, the RINOs made sure that Keyes never got a fair shake.
President Bush got 45% of the vote in Illinois, so it's not like conservatism is anathema in the state. What Republicans in Illinois need to do is to kick out the RINO establishment and replace them with grassroots conservatives who know how to attract votes from the conservative Democrats of West Chicago and Downstate Illinois that are the voters who decide elections in the state.
ping
The Illinois Republican party remains a nest of Country Club Republicans - its a social club nothing more. Keyes allowed himself to be seduced into playing the sacrifical lamb - he got now help and no support from the state Republican party. Keyes never stood a chance.
You're right, and voted her out.
After saying homosexuality is "selfish hedonism," Keyes was asked if that made Mary Cheney "a selfish hedonist.""Of course she is," Keyes replied. "That goes by definition."
Source: MSNBC
"Of course she is" <-- That is an attack.
I agree with that statement. He's a good conservative but not a good politician.
That is the truth.
Aah I see losers like to stick together.
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