Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

A GOP revival in Illinois?
The Washington Post via Kansas City Star ^ | Apr. 08, 2006 | George Will

Posted on 04/12/2006 8:48:31 AM PDT by neverdem

CHICAGO — Illinois’ northernmost bit is north of Cape Cod and its southern tip is south of Richmond, Va.

Scattered the length of the state, from the Wisconsin to the Kentucky border are fragments of wreckage from the state party that produced the first Republican president.

In the last four presidential elections, Republican candidates have averaged just 40 percent of the Illinois vote. In 2004, the Republican Senate candidate, a raging resident of Maryland, won just 27 percent of the vote.

Judy Topinka, 62, the effervescent three-term state treasurer and Republican gubernatorial nominee against Gov. Rod Blagojevich, thinks she can put Humpty Dumpty together again. Republicans everywhere should hope a new poll is accurate in showing her three points ahead among registered voters.

In California, Republican presidential candidates have not been competitive for three elections. Since 1994, when California Republicans backed an anti-immigrant measure offensive to the Latino population that now is more than one-third of the state’s population, Republicans have won an average of just 41 percent of the presidential vote.

In New York, where Republican presidential candidates in the last four elections have averaged just 35 percent, one candidate for the Senate nomination against Hillary Clinton this year has zero political experience and less-than-zero credibility, having inflated her resume. And if the state party chairman gets his way, the senatorial candidate will be a former Yonkers mayor, who as a married man had two children with his unmarried chief of staff. (He has now married her.)

From Illinois, California and New York, Democratic presidential nominees currently receive, without exertion, 107 electoral votes — 40 percent of the 270 needed to win the presidency.

(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: blagojevich; georgewill; gop; ilgop
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061 next last
To: neverdem
Anyone who votes for Topinka thinking she is a Republican or represents anything they want needs a psychiatric examination.

Then again, maybe she is what the Republicans have now become. I will never vote for her, no matter what. She is a liberal swine.

41 posted on 04/12/2006 6:21:33 PM PDT by Protagoras (The world is full of successful idiots and genius failures.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: neverdem
Good luck Illinois! Large cities have become a curse. I wonder is it just because that it becomes so easy for the left to organize and pander?

The problem with Illinois, is that it about 65% democrat. The only way a republican gets in state wide, is when the down state democrats get the shaft from the Chicago democrats and vote for the Republican.

42 posted on 04/12/2006 6:21:52 PM PDT by EVO X
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Grendel9

"Lyin" Ryan is a swine. He is going to prison where he belongs.


43 posted on 04/12/2006 6:23:16 PM PDT by Protagoras (The world is full of successful idiots and genius failures.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Grendel9; All

Personally I think Blago is in trouble.. He is already showing ads for his campaign. I think that Topinka is going to win and the only reason why that Daley Sock Puppet won cause of George Ryan.. I don't know if I'm going to vote.. I'm not going to vote for the Constitution Party candidate (to be honest I'll never vote for the Constitution Party)..


44 posted on 04/12/2006 6:29:34 PM PDT by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Floridian76; All

It was due to mainly the down state rats not passing the gun bill..


45 posted on 04/12/2006 6:32:05 PM PDT by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: DM1
i would prefer to see Topinka win if for no other reason to offset GOP Gov. losses in other states like NY.

How would that be helpful if she is a Democrat pretending to be a Republican? She is pro death, anti- 2nd amendment, high tax and her personality sucks. In fact she is an imbecile.

If that is what "helps" Republicans, they should forever vanish from the earth.

46 posted on 04/12/2006 6:34:16 PM PDT by Protagoras (The world is full of successful idiots and genius failures.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: neverdem

not a very good article...


My liberal mother hates Blago and will be voting for JBT.


47 posted on 04/12/2006 6:42:28 PM PDT by georgia2006
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: manwiththehands

this is a really poorly written piece...what do NY and CA have to do with a GOP revival in IL?


48 posted on 04/12/2006 6:43:35 PM PDT by georgia2006
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: georgia2006; All

The only reason why that Blago won in 02 was due to Lyin Ryan...


49 posted on 04/12/2006 6:47:31 PM PDT by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: Black Birch

the state is not 65% DEM.

IL is actually a liberal GOP state. But since the GOP took congress in 1994 and Clinton was a successful Prez, States like IL. ME and CT have gone DEM.

What has happen in IL since 1988(last year a GOP won in IL for Prez) is this:

The City has gone from 65-35 DEM to 80-20
The Suburbs have gone from 60-40 GOP to probably 52-48 GOP with the Cook suburbs being 60-40 DEM, but Dupage, Kane McHenry are still GOP. Lake was a GOP strong hold but it now slightly DEM


IL was never a conservative state even when it was a GOP stronghold. Never had a conservative Gov, supported Ford over Reagan in 1976 primaries, Bob Michel was the epitomy of a RINO, Percy ditto, Dirksen was ok. Fitzgerald only won cuz Carol Mostly Farud was so incompetent and thought that all you had to do as Senator in IL was cater to the wishes of Cook country. She lost downstate counties like Champaign and Rock Island 3-1. She even managed to lose St. Clair County.

Downstate where the conservative base resides is losing population. Only Bloomington/Normal is growing


IL would probably vote GOP for Prez if McCain or Rudy ran.


50 posted on 04/12/2006 6:51:45 PM PDT by georgia2006
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Protagoras

"How would that be helpful if she is a Democrat pretending to be a Republican? She is pro death, anti- 2nd amendment, high tax and her personality sucks. In fact she is an imbecile."
yikes relax man lol you have too much caffeine or what. I do not live in Illinois so i do not know all of her positions. If you check out my posts i was merely checking the numbers on possible wins/losses in Governor races across the country based on recent polling trends.


51 posted on 04/13/2006 6:47:07 AM PDT by DM1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: Zack Nguyen
There is that little matter of Prop. 187 being in blatant violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection clause as was ruled by the federal courts. Some of us want the socially conservative Hispanic vote to be a conservative Republican vote and don't want the GOP playing into the hands of the Demonratic hustlers who are pandering by organizing the rallies and registering illegales as voters. The GOP (except for Dubya and Rove) is handling the Latinos with the same deft hand that previously reduced the GOP to 10% of the black vote.

Before Prop. 187, the California GOP got a lot more of the Hispanic vote there than afterward. Thanks to Planned Barrenhood Pete Wilson, the California GOP is essentially dead.

This post is frustrated and not hostile, however it may seem.

52 posted on 04/13/2006 9:50:55 AM PDT by BlackElk (Dean of Discipline of the Tomas de Torquemada Gentlemen's Club)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: DM1
Nothing wrong with my caffine level.

Yikes! Come to man! LOL. Perhaps people who keep track of freedom and conservativism by counting R's and D's after poliiticians names should drink an extra cup of coffee so they could be a tad more alert.

53 posted on 04/13/2006 10:04:12 AM PDT by Protagoras (The world is full of successful idiots and genius failures.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: neverdem

IOW some democrat decided she has a better chance as a RINO than as a democrat because she is not insider enough.

YAWN!

Sombody just paint the phonebooth so the IL GOP will be happy at their meetings.


54 posted on 04/13/2006 10:18:58 AM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BlackElk

No problem, thank you for your thoughts on the issue. So the writer is correct that Prop 187 did serious long term damage to Republican chances in California, even though it passed at the time?


55 posted on 04/13/2006 12:18:24 PM PDT by Zack Nguyen
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: Clintonfatigued
Steven Rauchenberger's image soured in the eyes of IL conservatives. Oberweis succesffully smeared him as an "open borders" RINO.

While Judy is busily complaining about Blago, Oberweis is patrolling the US border with the Minuteman in AZ. If Oberweis is so concerned about illegal immigration, he should do something about the illegals in Kane County (his home county).
56 posted on 04/13/2006 12:54:57 PM PDT by Kuksool
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: georgia2006

IL could go for Rudy, but not for McCain - he's too conservative.


57 posted on 04/13/2006 12:55:58 PM PDT by Kuksool
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Protagoras

"Yikes! Come to man! LOL. Perhaps people who keep track of freedom and conservativism by counting R's and D's after poliiticians names should drink an extra cup of coffee so they could be a tad more alert.
"
geez did i write that! yeah i was in a rush and am trying to lay off caffeine so i apologize for the incorrect wording. Grief that is pretty bad. Anyhoot never did say i tracked Freedom and Conservatism by counting Rs and Ds merely making an observation and analysis based on which party would control which Governorships. I did not say anything else nor did i imply such.


58 posted on 04/13/2006 1:49:00 PM PDT by DM1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: Clintonfatigued; AuH2ORepublican; fieldmarshaldj; JohnnyZ; William Creel; Torie; AntiGuv

The lesson to be learned from the IL GOP primary for Governor is that it is very possible for Rudy to become the 2008 Presidential nominee. With conservatives lacking consensus over a candidate, a RINO like Rudy could easily sneak away with the GOP nomination and win the White House. Judy Topinka may have given Rudy a road map to the Presidency.


59 posted on 04/13/2006 2:26:21 PM PDT by Kuksool
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Zack Nguyen
Though proponents of Prop. 187 deny it, it would certainly seem to be the case. I believe that California voted GOP in presidential contests from 1948 through 1988 except for 1964. After Planned Barrenhood Wilson's anti-Chicano efforts in Prop. 187, the GOP became toast and quite non-competitive in presidential votes. The bottom dropped out.

It stands to reason that groups and individuals prefer to be welcomed rather than bashed. As long as the pro-aborts run the California GOP, we will be behind the eight-ball on electoral votes there. California is going to be a very looooong war. Perhaps, with God's help, we will catch a break and the California Demonrats will offend the Chicanos as seriously as Planned Barrenhood Wilson did and that a sizable cadre of social conservatives will await with a practical recruitment plan.

60 posted on 04/13/2006 5:12:31 PM PDT by BlackElk (Dean of Discipline of the Tomas de Torquemada Gentlemen's Club)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson