Sauerberg backs down when forced to confront Durbin

>> I would say that that Sauerberg has about 30% (which is better than zero, by the way) chance of getting elected at this point. <<

I disagree. Sauerberg's poll numbers are dismal. If the election was held today, it's quite possible he could do worse than Alan Keyes did four years ago (Keyes won half a dozen counties hard core conservative counties downstate, I wouldn't be surprised if Sauerberg loses all 102). Durbin's negatives have gone up since 2002 and in theory he should be beatable, so I do place the blame squarely with the ILGOP and their unqualified milquetoast candidate.

>> He is vulnerable if only our pathetic Illinois Republican Party could summon up a modicum of unity he could lose. The Demo-Communists are laughing at this spectacle. They win battle after battle by managing their coalition rather than having periodic witch hunts over ideological purity. In the Demo-Communist coalition Labor hates the environmentalists and Latte Liberals look down on everyone but they don’t sabotage each other like this. They focus on common goals in way that I can only envy. <<

The problem with this is it's a one way street with the party establishment. They demand conservatives "get behind" their squishy moderates for "party unity", but if the sitaution is reversed and a conservative wins the primary, they write him off as an "unelectable extremist" take their ball and go home, or even work to undermine him (as was the case in 2004 when they publically spoke out against Jack Ryan and Alan Keyes). They "wrote off" Fitzgerald in 1998 after he won the primary (now they claim he would have won all along), but he was able to self fund and get elected anyway.

>> The idea the Sauerberg campaign was fabricated and shoved down the throats of Conservatives in Illinois is not credible. <<

Really? Came you name any other example in modern Illinois history where a completely unknown candidate who has never held office in his life, announces for the highest office and immediately gets the endorsement of EVERY big name Republican official in the state BEFORE the primary? This was unprecedented. Jack Ryan didn't get nearly that kind of support in 2004, and his campaign was 10X better than Sauerberg's. Why would the state GOP be so hellbent on running this guy, especially after "moderate, electable" Topinka got crushed in 2006 because conservative revolted? And it's so secret that the state party chairman's family has donated to Durbin and his dad is friends with Durbin. Seems to me that Andy McKenna is not too interested in trying to find someone who can defeat Durbin.

>> Andy Martin the professional candidate? This your idea of a strong Conservative candidate who was railroaded by the GOP? He had no money, no credibility, no organization. That is just silly. <<

Martin is a not a conservative, he's another moderate who is pro-abortion, anti-death penalty, and wants to surrender in Iraq. The only conservative in the race was the other guy you mentioned, Mike Psak. Two moderates, ONE conservative. There was no "conservatives vote being split", instead the party leaders worked to con voters into beliving Sauerberg is a conservative. And yes Mike didn't run the greatest campaign in the world, but there's no excuse for the Illinois Republican Party website listing ALL the Republican candidates for President in Jan., but listing Sauerberg as the SOLE Republican Senate candidate when there were three people on the ballot. A fair and open process? Yeah, right. This primary was rigged and that's why neither of Sauerberg's primary opponents will endorse him.

>> It obvious that the process in this cycle has engendered bitter feelings which are hurting the Sauerberg campaign. It also obvious that the campaign has not done a great job in trying the heal these divisions. <<

The Sauerberg's campaigns effort to "reach out" to the 45% of Republicans who were AGAINST him consists of what are doing -- say "vote for Steve or you're a Durbin lackey". It's not working. Conservatives really disliked McCain too, but he was able to unify Fred Thompson voters, Rudy Giuliani voters, and Mike Huckabee voters to his campaign by reaching out to them and finding a running mate that would support all factions. Sauerberg's campaign has done the opposite, given the 45% that doesn't like him the middle finger. Why the heck would he select a Bush hating gay activist as his spokesman if he's trying to "unify" the base? That would be like Obama hiring Joe Lieberman. C'mon.

>> Durbin supports a single-payer system. In other words, he supports the complete Government take over of the Health Care and the elimination and possible criminalization of private health care. Hilary-care on steroids. <<

The Green Party candidate doesn't seem to think so, that's why she's running against him and attacking him on this issue -- she says he won't support a single-payer socialized medicine system.

Durbin might well be in favor of socialized medicine, but his campaign site doesn't claim he is. These candidates can say just about anything to get elected. Both Sauerberg and Durbin say they want secure borders. I don't think either of them will work towards that goal if they're elected.

>> I admire your passion and am sympathetic to your positions but many of the Conservatives that have run during primary cycles in this state have been electoral jokes. The Conservative wing of the party in this state needs to be treated with greater respect by the dysfunctional ILGOP but they also need work more at the grass roots level and put forward more credible, viable candidates. <<

I agree with you, but again, if you look at the candidates on paper, the "third party" candidacy of Chad Koppie is actually far more qualified for this job than Steve Sauerberg is. In case, the moderate wing of the party has run an electoral joke and you are trying to salvage his pathetic campaign and prop him up instead of accepting that. It's like the 2002 Treasuer's race. Now, I'm not a big fan of the Libertarian Party because they are overrun with the Legalize Dope crowd, but there was no denying their candidate for Illinois Treasurer was more qualified than either the Republican or Democrat nominees. He was the ONLY one with a background in finance and a CPA. Many times these third party campaigns get ridiculed because they run laughable "candidates" for President, but sometimes, the opposite is true.

Bottom line: Chad Koppie is prepared to be a U.S. Senator. Steve Sauerberg isn't.

It is clear that this simmering civil war between the different wings of the ILGOP won’t be settled on this thread. It is also clear the roots of this internal dissent within the ILGOP run much deeper than just the Sauerberg campaign.

Is unfortunate that the National GOP decided not invest heavily in this race. Durbin is vulnerable and he could be taken down with a well-focused and well-financed campaign.

The ILGOP should be re-examining what they are doing because the failures in the last several cycles speak for themselves. Illinois as a state is veering toward a frightful condition with State’s over-regulated and over-taxed economy on the verge of implosion. It is truly a depressing picture.

One point about Durbin’s approach on Health Care. Durbin is smart enough not to call for an outright Nationalization of the Health Care Industry as the moon bat Green Party fanatics demand. He has pursued an incremental Nationalization strategy as the private insurance industry is strangled with more and more mandates and Medicare/Medicaid’s scope is constantly increased. It amounts to a distinction without a difference between Durbin’s position and that of the radical left-wing. This strategy is in plain view from his voting record.

The reasons that many Conservative and any third-party candidate is dismissed by the media as being no being serious is because it takes a tremendous amount of money to run a successful campaign in this state. This factor is magnified for Republican candidates because of the need to break through the MSM disinformation fog. My understanding is that Mr. Koppie, regardless of his qualifications, does not have anywhere near the amount of money necessary to run a statewide campaign and make major media buys in the Chicago market. This renders him electorally impotent.

Sauerberg by contrast is much closer to meeting the minimum money threshold. It is not a question propping him up; it is question of recognizing the hard realities on the ground and responding accordingly.

It would appear, however, that the deep resentment over previous missteps by the ILGOP have poisoned the well for Dr. Sauerberg.

Good night.

I agree that IL Republicans, especially conservatives, should work together more. Please join the Illinois Center Right Coalition, a group that was founded, in 2003, to recruit conservative candidates, endorse them, donate to them, and find volunteers for them. The steering committee has included John Cox, Jim Oberweis, Steve Rauschenberger, Norm Hill, Bob Redfern, and Mike Psak. The website is www.illinoiscenterright.com.

I agree that the NRSC should have helped a candidate, in IL. They should have helped Mike Psak. He was the only candidate, in that primary, who was pro-life, pro-gun, and anti-illegal alien. He received 11% of the vote.

I agree with Bill, since he said that the state party supported the wrong candidate. The majority of Illinois Republicans should have known that they shouldn’t support Dr. Sauerberg because the IL GOP has a record of supporting the wrong candidates. Before the 2006 governor election, many party leaders endorsed then-Treasurer Topinka. She won the primary, and, in the general election, she won about 38% of the vote. In 2004, after Jack Ryan resigned from the U.S. Senate race, the IL GOP State Central Committee chose Alan Keyes, to be the nominee. In the general election, he received 27%. Before the 2002 U.S. Senate primary, many party leaders endorsed St. Rep. Durkin. He won the primary, and, in the general election, he received 38%. Last Dec., as soon as IL GOP Chairman McKenna and the State Central Committee endorsed Sauerberg, the republican primary voters should have known that they should support a different candidate.

“Please join the Illinois Center Right Coalition......”

I will check out this group. It sounds like a start in the right direction.

It would be better if the conservative candidate started out during the primary cycle being able to buy advertising and build name recognition.

On the positive side the electorate has seen the results of one party rule in this state for the last several years and it is an ugly picture. I fully expect Blago to be indicted.

The Hsak candidacy could be dismissed by the media because it was seriously underfunded.If the conservatives can put forward well-funded candidates during the next cycle there may be a huge openings available that will be created by pending Democratic corruption scandals.