Never let politics get in the way of friendship. I have been around a long time and somehow have gone from a fairly skilled labor lawyer in New York to a fulltime baby sitter of my grandkid. Go figure. But I learned that hearts, not politics, make friendship. So when my old friend Mark invited me to the IL GOP convention in Springfield on Sat, Jan 15, I said sure. It would get me out of the house and get me back from a two month sabatical away from politics. Watching the GOP in action, I realilzed that they were done as a statewide party in IL.
I'm new to IL politics and my thoughts on the Bean campaign, Obama and trying to beat Hyde and Crane are in my diaries on this site.
I came down to Springfield on that frosty Saturday morning and headed to the hotel where the Illinois Republicans were meeting. I ran into some familiar faces who were amused that an old school Democrat was here.
"What are you doing here ?" laughed Ken, a conservative activist I knew back in NY, who has given up politics for history (and seems a lot better for it).
"If there is a political gathering you know that forces will draw me there," I said.
Ken laughed and said, "I'm here to do some research in the state archives." While Mark was trying to get some face time with some promiment GOP activists, Ken ranted and raved about some Civil War general or another before telling me the rules of the state chair fight.
We ended up getting coffee and hanging in the back of the room while the Illinois Cenetr Right coalition gathered for a press conference, demanding better relations between the state party and "movement conservatives." Pat O'Malley, once a rising conservative star in IL who is considering a run for governor again, was one of the few names there. He looked tan and he wore a black turtleneck. Needless to say he seemed a little out of place. Well the conservatives start denoucning the state party and Karl Rove (!) while denoucning the Keyes campaign which they thought was the state party's way of showing conservatives they had no chance. They were rather upset that Speaker Hastert was doing nothing for the state party (note to IL Center Right Coalition; he's the speaker of the house and probably has other stuff to do besides oversee a state party going nowher). They refused to endorse a candidate for state chair, a battle which Ken assured me was about to take place.
And take place it did. There were 5 candidates who all made speeches before the state committee. Judy Parr Topinka, the state treasurer, was the current chairperson of the state party and nobody bothered to defend her. She's thinking about running for governor and it appears she has little support in her own party. The various Ryan indictments and the Keyes disaster have sunk her.
First up came John Cox, one of the leading figures of the Cook County GOP. He was presentable, articulate and told the Republicans a simple truth. Cox said that the Democrats started off with an 800,000 vote advantage out of Chicago and, while the GOP has little hope of ever winning there, they have to reduce that number if they ever want to win a state wide race again. Of course Cox is right about this which is one of the reasons few people in the GOP are listening. Yes, he probably is too much of a liberal for their tastes but if the GOP ever bounces back in IL it will be on the Pataki NY model. Cox gets it but the rest of the party does not.
Then came Steve McGlynn who called himself a Ronald Reagan Republican and...ripped off Reagan 100%. He talked liked Reagan. He said "well" like Reagan. He had Reagan's mannerisms. But nobody took him seriously since he said nothing. He was the vice chairman of the state party committee and the fact that even the committee was ignoring one of its officers tells you how morale has fallen for the GOP.
Next up came Andy McKenna who also said nothing. But you could tell he was the chosen one. People were wearing stickers with his name on it. People carried his signs. He was bland and non-offensive and talked about Lincoln and Grant.
Then came Jim Nalepa, a former West Point man and congressional candidate. He carried himself like a solider and walked around the room yelling at people. It was a hell of a speech and you could tell that he was inspiring people. But he offered nothing besides offering his resume. "I served my country in Grenada!" He may as well have said he served his country in the War of 1812 based on people's reactions. He was more MacArthur than Ike and that's a problem. We like democratic soliders, soldiers who understand American civilians like Ike, Grant, even Zach Taylor way back when. We don't like pompous officers who seem to be running on ego like MacArthur and Winfield Scott and, yes, Nalepa. He might be able to lead soliders but he can not lead voters. The state party clapped him and cheered him and did not vote for him. A young man in front of me whispered to his neighbor, "That's what I call all hat and no caddle." Exactly. Nalepa said nothing about restoring the party but he did talk a lot about himself.
Then came Jerry Oberweis, a conservative dairyman, who started kicking over the teacups of this nice little garden party. Well, I came in second place after Jack Ryan in the Senate primary. You guys did not like me then, when I should have gotten the nomination, and you don't like me now. I don't expect to win. I think McKenna will since you guys have fixed the deck. You have us all come here and raise our hopes and then crush them. Yes, I am a conservative. Yes, I oppose amnesty for illegal aliens and I am willing to tangle with Karl Rove on it. You screwed me once. You will screw me again in a few moments. Guess what ? I'm running for governor in 2006 and you'll make me look good to the conserative rank and file again. All of you are crooks and hacks from the old Gov. Ryan regime and he's going to jail. See you in 2006. It was stunning. He fired up the conservatives and angered the party bigwigs.
Topinka cleared the room for a vote despite booing from the crowd. Oberweis got her attention and told everyone he had free ice cream in the lobby for them. Topinka was looking at him with fear in her eyes. I could see her knees buckle.
Off we went to have icecream. Crowds gathered around the various candidates. Oberweis was the darling of the conservatives, laughing up a storm. He knew he was going to lose and every conservative talk radio host in the state would be blasting the party, saying he had been screwed again. It was brilliantly cynical. Cox stood in the corner, talking to a few men in dark suits. He was a prophet without honor in his own country, the only candidate who told the party the hard truth. A crowd gathered around McKenna but they seemed subdued. Oberweis had ruined their victory. Nalepa had a few people around him, talking about himself.
In the middle of it all, Topinka showed up and walked to the hotel bar where she sat alone. Ken asked her if she was off to Maryland to get a Senate candidate. She ignored him. I headed to the bar for a drink myself and was stunned. She was still alone. The GOP rank and file were ignoring her, ignoring their only statewide elected offical, ignoring a would be governor, ignoring the party chairman. She had been repudiated by the people she was supposed to lead. It was pathetic.
In an hour, the crowd gathered back in front of the committee and Topinka declared McKenna the winner. The crowd clapped with little enthusiasm and then scattered. McKenna tried to rally the troops but they were all leaving. He looked as if he had reached his dream only to find that nobody cared.
Heading home, I saw a van with Topinka on the plate. Ah, how the mighty have fallen. She was by herself again, pumping gas, a little of her legs showing as the wind blew her dress. She had been raised up and now cast down.
And so the Illinois Republican Party, the party of Lincoln, Trumbull, Grant, Logan, Lowden, Dirksen, Edgar, that had stridden the state as a power for a long time has also been cast down. The corrupt Ryan regime remains in power. Moderates and conservatives do not speak to each other. They need to pick up votes in Chicago and its suburbs but refuse to even recognize the fact. They look to the national party to bail them out but nothing going on there. Even Hasset won't touch it.
With the exception of Oberweis and Topinka, none of the Republican gubenatorial candidates for 2006 were out in full force. Rep. LaHood was there but subdued. Ron Gidwitz, a businessman crazy about school choice, was also quiet. O'Malley fumed quietly as Oberweis stole his thunder. No, it seemed as if the candidates were at a funeral.
And why not ? Their party is going to be dead for a long time. It is feuding. They were stunned by Crane going down in flames. They seem puzzled that the rest of the nation seems to be turning Republican yet Illinois is going even more Democratic. They are divided. They seem lost. And when someone, like Cox, tells them what they need to hear, they close their ears.
Topinka, Oberweis, Nalepa, O'Malley, Gov. Ryan and pervert Ryan, Alan Keyes (who was not mentioned and not missed at the meeting), even Denny Hastert all put their own interests before their party.
And, with the exception of Hastert, they are all going down together for a long time.