Posted on 05/16/2003 12:48:21 PM PDT by LdSentinal
Can the working people of Illinois afford another millionaire in the U.S. Senate?
It has been five years since banking heir Peter F. Fitzgerald spent more than $14.6 million of his personal fortune for the prestige and prominence of membership in the U.S. Senate.
Since Fitzgerald announced that he is stepping down, five GOP millionaires have expressed an interest in his seat: Andrew McKenna Jr., Jack Ryan, former Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood, John Cox and James Oberweis. (The Democrats also have a millionaire candidate, Blair Hull.)
Where do they come from?
Fitzgerald, 42, is among the least effective legislators ever to represent this state in the nation's Capitol. As a candidate in 1998, he pledged to be a strong advocate for the people of Illinois, but once in office, he turned his back on the very people who elected him.
To the astonishment of other members of the Illinois delegation, Fitzgerald declined to join them in signing a letter to President Bush seeking help for home-state projects. Fitzgerald replied in a silly ''dear colleague'' letter that ''the mere fact that a project is located somewhere in Illinois does not mean that it is inherently meritorious and necessarily worthy of support.''
This do-nothing senator, who didn't have a prayer of winning a second term, recently decided not to squander more of his millions on a lost cause. Fitzgerald pulled the plug on his re-election when a GOP poll indicated that only one-fourth of the state's voters favored his retention.
Fitzgerald's 1998 nomination and election to the U.S. Senate was made possible because of the Supreme Court's 1976 decision in the Buckley vs. Valeo case that held that limiting the amount of money set in a political campaign was a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. This controversial decision upheld the $1,000 limit on individual contributions but struck down the ceiling on campaign spending and removed a $25,000 limit on the amount that a candidate could donate to his or her own campaign.
This wealth loophole in federal election law has given rich candidates like Fitzgerald a huge advantage over rivals of more modest means who must raise their contributions in small increments.
Of the millionaires vying to succeed Fitzgerald, McKenna is the most genuine. He has been exploring this race for more than a year and has sought to line up broad political and financial support. He can fund his own campaign, but in contrast with Fitzgerald, doesn't want to be a party of one.
If McKenna has a weakness, it is his social conservatism. His opposition to abortion rights would be a clear liability in a general election against a pro-choice Democrat.
Ryan, a millionaire investment banker, is even more politically naive than Fitzgerald. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is interested in Ryan because of his ability to spend millions of his own dollars on his campaign. This is the third time in five years that he has dropped his name as a potential candidate for statewide office.
The problem with Ryan is that he shares the same last name as the soon-to-be indicted former governor of Illinois. If Jack Ryan goes forward with his candidacy, many Illinois voters will be confused. Among the reasons that Attorney General Jim Ryan was defeated for governor last fall is that 24 percent of the voters, according to own polls, confused him with George H. Ryan.
Wood, whose term as lieutenant governor expired in January, says that she is weighing a comeback in response to popular demand. She is even more out of touch than Fitzgerald. In last year's GOP gubernatorial primary, more than 71 percent voted against her. She finished last in a three-way contest despite spending $7 million of her family's fortune.
Cox, a wealthy lawyer, doesn't seem to grasp that he isn't the people's choice. This is his third run in four years. He got 10 percent of the vote in the 2000 GOP primary for the U.S. House in the 10th District. He got 22.7 percent of the vote in last year's GOP U.S. Senate primary. Cox has thrown away millions of his own dollars to become the new Alex Seith.
Oberweis, heir to a dairy fortune, ran a weak campaign but spent more than $1 million to finish runner-up in last year's GOP Senate primary. He's vowing to spend at least another million in his '04 comeback.
The GOP can do better.
That fact alone would make me want to vote for Fitzgerald again if I were still an Illinois resident. I'm sure the Sun-Times editorial staff screams long and loud about ridiculous pork-barrel spending, and now they have the gall to say that a politician who doesn't support it is "silly"?
Send Fitzgerald to the Senate Hall of Fame. Steve Neal is a complete moron and doesn't understand anything about small government.
The guy who wrote this piece seems to be one of those whining "gimme" types. Doesn't this fool realize that most of the money these millionaires spend in the races is circulated into the economy, most of it in the area where they are running? He should rejoice over that!!!
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