Posted on 02/12/2010 2:25:32 PM PST by TitansAFC
SPRINGFIELD -- The GOP gubernatorial front-runner Wednesday proposed changing the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, make it more difficult to pass state tax increases, impose term limits on lawmakers and overhaul the process of redrawing legislative boundaries.
"I'm trying to give the government back to the people," said Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), when asked what the package says about him as a candidate for governor.
The same-sex marriage prohibition would prohibit gay marriages and civil unions.
Brady is proposing a 10-year limit on Illinois House and Senate members, who face no constraints now, and a two-thirds vote requirement in the General Assembly for passage of sales or income tax increases.
His other proposed amendment would take the decennial job of redrawing legislative boundaries from the partisan-controlled Legislature and turn it over to the bipartisan State Board of Elections.
If there’s an IL ping list, please ping it!
ping
He’s trying to give the government back to the people by further entrenching the state’s role in regulating human relationships. Nice doublespeak there.
How about a real step in the right direction? Acknowledge the human right of freedom of association.
“He’s trying to give the government back to the people” by acknowledging the will of the people.
The people want to be told what to do? The people get the government they deserve.
Well, when they come for the homeschoolers, check to see if it’s popular, and say “it’s the will of the people”.
How about acknowledging the COURTs’ massive overstep (of their power) in FORCING gay marriages upon state and local governments nationwide. If you were logically consistent in your position you would realize that the state has no business being in the marriage business at all.
In fact if they did MOST churches would not recognize gay marriages, and in fact if governement were to get out of recognizing marriage all together we would have to massively restructure our tax system first!
True. This proves that the "separation of church and state" is a myth. When a minister marries a couple, he (or she) is acting as an Agent of the State.
When Republicans make statements like this, I’m more and more hopeful for the party. But count on a herd of RINO’s to shoot him down.
I’m interested in what you’re saying. Could you be more specific here?
— Allow any school district - by board vote or public referendum - to implement a voucher system, and he would increase the private-school tax credit (now $500 a kid per year) 50% a year until it reaches the state-aid foundation level of about $6,000 a year.
— Repeal the sales tax on gasoline, eliminate much of the estate tax and repeal business-tax hikes pushed through by ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich - a total of about $1 billion a year in revenues. (which means single issue goof Jim Tobin of Tax Accountability will have to stop his rhetoric about how RAT Rod Blagojevich was “better on taxes than any Republican”)
— Enact a 10-year limit on Illinois House and Senate members, who face no constraints now. Limit members of the state House of Representatives to five terms and members of the Illinois State Senate, who serve staggered two- or four- year terms, to a maximum of three terms. Legislators who are term-limited out of office could seek to return after being out of office for six years. Fifteen other states impose term limits on legislative service. Statewide officials would be limited to three terms in any one office
— Change the state constitution to enact a two-thirds vote requirement in the General Assembly for passage of any sales or income tax increases.
— Pass amendment to take the decennial job of redrawing legislative boundaries from the partisan-controlled Legislature and turn it over to the State Board of Elections. Responsibility for drawing legislative district maps would be given to the State Board of Elections with a mandate to maintain current county, city and township boundaries to the greatest extent possible.
— Return to what’s known as cumulative voting for the House. Under his plan, the Senate would be trimmed from 59 members to 41, with three House members elected from each Senate district.. Returning to multi-member House districts with no more than two being from the same political party and slightly reducing the size of the Illinois General Assembly. Three representatives would be elected from each of 41 Senate districts, trimming the size of the legislature to 164 members from the current 177.
— Impose the federal restrictions on individual campaign contributions on Illinois legislative and statewide candidates. Individual contributions could not exceed $4,800 per election cycle including the primary and general election contests. Corporate and union contributions would be prohibited, and political action committees could contribute no more than $5,000 per election cycle.
BTW, does anyone know if Randy Stufflebeam is still insisting on running for Governor on the Constitution Party ticket? That's the last thing we need is Pat Quinn winning election because 0.2% of voters decide they want someone who says the right thing 100% of the time instead of only 95% of the time. Randy told me himself in 2006 that he would have had a rough time running if Brady was the nominee because Brady was a solid conservative so Randy would have given second thoughts if Brady was the choice in November. Four years later, I talked to him and he backed off that in this year's primary, giving me the usual third party kool-aid that Adam Andrejewski was the only acceptable GOP candidate on the planet. I told Randy that about 90% of conservatives I know would have no problem if Brady, Proft, or Adam were the nominee, but Randy sounded pretty stubborn a very weeks ago. I hope he backs down. I won't support getting him on the ballot against Brady, I hope we can all agree on that and tell him so.
Sign me up for the list, please.
ChicagoLady says that Stufflebeam is supposedly switching to run in the Senate race, but I’ve seen no other links to confirm this.
Yep Randy needs to be a team player. IL needs Republican government again, but not in the image of Jim Thompson.
That’s stupid. All Stufflebeam will do is guarantee a Dem. Senate win in IL.
I don’t advocate for simply doing the will of the people. I just pointed out that the candidate is promising to do the will of the people.
There is no lofty moral purpose to homosexual marriage. It’s not about civil rights. It’s not genetic. It’s a deviant mental illness that is demanding public approval. I wouldn’t want to approve any other faux “marriage” constructions, either.
Um, we don’t want Combiner Socialist scum Kirk to win. When Sen. Alexi goes to jail, Gov. Brady will appoint a RESPECTABLE non-liberal non-Combiner to the vacancy.
Perhaps he could call it the Contract With Illinois.
You proudly hope for the election of a corrupt, liberal, Combiner Democrat. That is pretty much all that needs to be said about your priorities and lack of perspective based in reality.
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