For those watching the race in IL-14, you might want to read this rather long post. It shows some promise for the district and why Rove is worried about a Hastert retirement.
The most prominent, informed and unbiased Blog in the district that is covering this race is Hiram Wurf’s Wurf While.
This Diary includes 6 Full sections:
- Success from JDL 2006
- IL 14 – Going Blue
- Will Hastert Retire?
- What has John Laesch been doing?
- John Laesch – Changes from 2006-2008
- Poll – "We The People" Theme
Success from JDL 2006:
In 2006, for the first time in 20 years, Dennis Hastert had to come home to IL-14 and campaign to hold his seat. The fact that Denny is delaying his retirement is a compliment to all of the hard-working precinct committeemen and volunteers who worked tirelessly in the 2006 campaign. Watch Channel 7’s coverage of the election.
Instead of donating the remainder of his campaign war chest to the NRCC (National Republican Campaign Committee) Hastert spent almost $1 million in advertising and polling here in the 14th District.
Instead of sending interns and staffers to battleground districts, Hastert hired part-time election help to work the streets and train stations of IL-14.
While many living outside of the district might be critical of our 40% vote total, I believe that it is a remarkable achievement when you compare the $300K that we spent to the $4.5M that Hastert spent on his own race. Here is a comparison showing expenditures for Hastert’s 2004 race and his 2006 race.
IL14 Going Blue - Cracking the crucible of Republican Power:
Illinois’ 14th District was gerrymandered into a Republican stronghold in 2000. Grassroots Democrats like Larry Quick started hammering away at this District, working together with local party leaders to rebuild the Democratic Party. This map tracks progress at the Congressional level since 2000.
Hastert played a significant role in crushing local Democratic opposition by maintaining a full, 13-person campaign staff throughout the district since he became Speaker in 1999.
However, things have been changing over the past 4-7 years - see the map of recent Democratic successes.
The Illinois State House was also gerrymandered to favor Democrats in 2000. State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia was one of the first Democrats from the district to get elected in years. Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois, is home to a large (70%) Hispanic population and this small corner of IL-14 has been turning into a dark blue over the last 7 years.
In 2002 and 2004, a tough grassroots campaigner, Progressive Democrat, Mike Noland ran for State Representative in Elgin, IL. Noland, received no State Party support and went door-to-door on his own; losing the 43rd State Rep District by 400 votes in 04’. In 2006, Noland won an open seat for State Senate; crushing his opponent by 10 percentage points. (Noland was a top target for State Senate Democrat, Emil Jones.)
In 2006, running for the 43rd State Rep. seat, a good friend, Laurel Bault lost by a few points. Her campaign was finally backed by the State Democratic Party and we had one or two staffers working in her district (and Noland’s) on a near-daily basis.
Also in 2006, Democrats won a second State Senate seat in IL-14, Linda Holmes won a tough battle in the district that overlaps Aurora. (Holmes was backed by State Senator, Emil Jones)
One of the biggest victories for Kane County was a win by Pat Perez who won a tough fight for County Sheriff. Perez worked the doors and was visible at every event in Kane County. Great organization boosted Perez to victory after an unsuccessful race four years earlier.
Other remarkable progress has been made in DeKalb County. A dynamic Democratic Party Chair, Eileen Dubin has been working tirelessly to win seats in DeKalb County. The DeKalb Dems work harder than most paid campaign staffers and most hold progressive views. All of the success in DeKalb comes without an ounce of support from the State Democratic Party. In 2006, the DeKalb Democrats won the majority on the County Board and now control a 3-seat lead. Dekalb has teamed up with neighboring counties and will most likely win a State Senate seat in 2008.
In the far western portion of the district, Stanley Stennis won a County-wide seat in Whiteside County (this is the only county that I won in 2006). My good friend Vicki Wright won an Appellate Court Judge seat that overlapped both Henry and Whiteside counties (Wright and Stennis received no State Party support). If there was one area that I wish I had spent more time in, it was Henry County. Another great friend, Tim Wise, lost his bid for County Sheriff by 400 votes. Wise is an energetic, honest police officer and a young Democrat who we helped at the last minute, but not enough. If I could do one thing differently in 2006, I would have camped out in Henry County and donated another $1,000 to Tim Wise. He tells me that he will run again in 2010 when the seat is next up for election. (Wise received no State Party support).
Finally, I have to talk about my home County, Kendall. The 2008 election will test our viability as a new, progressive party. During the 2007 municipal election (non-partisan), we worked on several campaigns in Hastert’s hometown of Yorkville, IL. Several of the candidates were members of the Democratic Party and others are simply progressively independent. Candidates backed by the Democrats won. Another Democratic Party member and friend, Bob Hausler, won a city council seat in Hastert’s new hometown of Plano.
All of the above-mentioned people and many who are not listed deserve a round of applause for all of the hard work achieved; most of this success came without State Democratic Party support. These people are part of the reason that Karl Rove is concerned about losing IL-14 in 2008.
Will Hastert Run in 2008?
Taking a back seat in the House of Representatives has to be tough for someone who used to bang the gavel, twist arms for votes and earmark Federal highway dollars for personal profit.
If Hastert did not plan on retiring, this seat might still be on Rove’s list of worries, but it might have come a bit later in the game. According to Fox News... had to site them once!
No Illinois House members made Rove's list of the 20 most vulnerable Democratic incumbents. But three Illinois Republicans are on his list of seats the GOP must work hardest to protect: freshman Rep. Peter Roskam, who narrowly defeated Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth; Rep. Mark Kirk, a six-year House veteran; and former House Speaker Denny Hastert, who may not seek re-election.
And, while speculation runs wild between the Blogs, print, political circles in D.C., and local rumor mills, only one thing is certain, Dennis Hastert is keeping his cards close.
He has maintained a low profile in the district. To my knowledge he wrote a letter to the editor calling for a ban on Medicinal Marijuana but remained silent when we learned about Walter Reed. In Washington, his voting record is atrocious as usual; he voted against the minimum wage and continues to support Bush’s endless, reckless war.
Lynn Sweet writes in her May 24th Chicago Sun Times column:
Hastert, who was the longest-serving GOP speaker before the Republicans lost the House in 2006, would be tempted to run again if he had work remaining on energy, health care, trade and anti-drug issues, Stokke said.
The official word out of Hastert’s office is, "wait until August (2-3 months)." (August 7th is the date when the ballot access phase begins in Illinois).
One Republican contender who desperately wants to go to Washington is Chris Lauzen who’s campaign manager has shared a similar opinion with me. The Batavia Sun writes:
Lauzen is speculating that Hastert could run again, win the Republican primary and then withdraw so the GOP can name its chosen nominee.
Hastert’s "wait till August" stall does force State Rep. Chapa LaVia to choose between a run for State House and U.S. Congress; however, Lauzen is not up for re-election in the Illinois General Assembly and is free to raise $.
I personally don’t care if Hastert is the guy to beat or if someone else is given the GOP nomination. This is about changing our political system to represent the American people instead of special interest groups. Additionally, Hastert can’t physically campaign, shake hands in parades and raise money like a Speaker of the House. He also doesn’t have the "I can bring back the pork barrel highway project that will make me a millionaire" moxie anymore.
This seat is wide open and Democratic gains (most without State Party support) are cause for investment in Illinois’ 14th District.
What has John Laesch been doing since the 2006 election?
Most importantly, I am very excited to announce that Jennifer and I are getting married in mid-June. It will be a small, family gathering in St. Augustine Florida at the Castle Otttis. It was the only Irish castle in America and time, laws and $$$ prevented us from traveling to Ireland for the wedding.
I am back to full-time work as a Union Carpenter with Local 195. Periodically, I get to work with my older brother, Andrew Laesch who is an absolute riot. My older brother is running for Mayor of Sheridan, IL in 2009.
Jennifer and I devoted a good amount of time to the City Council/Mayoral campaigns in Yorkville, IL; electing a progressive, environmentally concerned majority!
I have spent the last week on the phone raising $$$. We launched our campaign on Firedoglake in an informal, live VLOG. My greatest appreciation to the Blue America Community!
I am part of a committee who is working with PDA/DFA/Move-On.org to create a district-wide progressive organization in IL-14.
Jennifer and I will be back to campaigning full-time after the wedding. I am very lucky to have a great woman who tolerates and joins me every day on the campaign trail.
What will be the same/different in 2008?
DIFFERENT: I will be happily married! :)
SAME: Going to YearlyKos in Chicago! Albiet, I don't know if I will be there all four days because I will be campaigning full time. We do hope to see you all there.
DIFFERENT: I rarely raised money by phone in 2006. I realized that the pundits would write this district off b/c of Hastert’s power and his connections to Chicago Democrats. Instead of tapping the phones, we tapped people-power by recruiting and training new Precinct Committee people. 06’ was a grueling campaign and I can’t tell you how much every contribution and letter/comment of encouragement meant to all of us.
In 2008 I have started off by hitting the phones every night and we hired a full-time fundraiser who would shriek if I didn’t point to the contribute button right now.
SAME: I plan on hiring more grassroots organizers and working to recruit more progressive candidates and precinct workers in the 2008 election.
DIFFERENT: Working on public speaking, staying on-message a bit better and hiring an experienced communications team who can do this full-time.
SAME: Trying to keep "The Joe" (Joe McKeown) on our field team.
DIFFERENT: I expect that there will be more debates in 2008 than there were in 2006.
SAME: Very enthusiastic about reclaiming America’s political system for "We the People!"
What do Kossacks think of "We The People?"
If you read this entire book, then you might even use another minute to vote on our campaign theme. There are pluses and minuses to changing our campaign logo and theme, but I want to do more to define who I am and what we want to accomplish.
The Iraq War Funding debacle by the Democratic majority, reconfirmed my belief that we have to do more to reclaim government for the American people. The same people who sent a Democratic majority to Congress to put an end to Bush’s reckless war in Iraq deserve better.
So our campaign theme is, "We the People." It says so much and I think that a big parade float with a paper mache Constitution would send a powerful message.
But we have not decided to change our colors yet. I have several "mock-ups" of a new logo and of course the old logo with the purple wave.
Here are the choices:
- Keep the same logo/colors because it is part of Laesch’s name recognition.
- Go with a new logo because it is a powerful message
- Go with a new logo, but without the antique script.
- Go with an entirely different, green logo and emphasizes progressive roots
- Go with an entirely different logo – see my suggestion belows
