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.
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.
The biggest screwup of all was when they got into a snit and dumped Fitzgerald. They had a safe seat and they threw it away--over what?
Do they think Obama is going to deliver pork to them?
I grew up in IL and it's so sad to see what's happened to the state lately. I blame the phenomenally corrupt state GOP for the sorry state of affairs. George Ryan and his gang did enormous damage. They didn't support our outgoing senator Peter Fitzgerald, so he didn't run for re-election. A pity because he was a great senator and probably could've won re-election. As for Alan Keyes, the voters didn't so much reject conservatism with him as carpetbagging and insanity. I used to like Keyes but after this campaign I realized he's a freakin' nut.
Fitzgerald, Lahood, Hastert, and many others show that true conservatives can win in Illinois. But it's going to be a long time before the state GOP cleans itself up and gets back to the point where it can run a viable campaign against governor Daley and his band of crooks.
Let's talk dem machine vote fraud in Illinois; after that investigation, I may discuss the state of the Republican party. But, first things first. This needs to be gotten into ASAP.
Speaking as an IL GOP we never looked at Keyes. Yes I voted for him but I did so reluctantly. The IL GOP could not be more poorly run if the Dems had seized control of it.
And that may just be the best expliation...... Incompetence doesn't even come close.
I think this analysis is wrong. It was the corrupt George Ryan who toppled the IL republican party, not the conservative elements. Topinka and her following should join the democrat party instead of trying to silence conservatives. IL has become a safe haven for illegal immigrants thanks to the democrats in chicago. This could just as well be the reason that IL votes democrat.
Illinois GOP - LOLOLOL
If the IL GOP tries to become Democrat Lite, they will be out of power for a generation. If you have to choose between two liberals, voters will prefer the genuine article every time.