It only seems that I am the only Constitutionally-eligible
registered Republican in Illinois that has not declared himself a candidate for
governor.
After all, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) has launched a bid for
the U.S. Senate. But the field for governor is crowded, and for the first time
in more than a decade Illinois could make a right turn in many of the statewide
elections.
The 2010 midterm election comes with Illinois - and the
nation - at a crossroads.
It should be the best of times for Democrats here. Not only
have the Democrats controlled the statehouse for the past decade, they won all
the statewide races in 2006. While Cook County has long been a Democrat
stronghold, the collar counties have trended left. The northwest suburban district
that conservative stalwart Rep. Phil Crane (R-Ill.) held down for more than 35
years (after succeeding Donald Rumsfeld) has elected Democrat Melissa Bean
three straight times. Former House Speaker Denny Hastert was succeeded in his
far west suburban district by Democrat Bill Foster. Kirk narrowly won
re-election for his 10th District seat, fighting off Democrat Dan Seals.
Not only have the few remaining elected Republicans been
running for their political lives, but Illinois Democrats seem not only to be
in charge of the state, but the country. Sen. *** Durbin is the Senate
Majority Whip. Former House Rep. Rahm Emanuel left his leadership position in
the House to become White House Chief of Staff. Of course, the White House is
stacked with Illinoisans with President Barack Obama taking office.
So why are so many Republicans rushing to declare candidacy?
The field is full of candidates with strong resumes, people like former
Attorney General Jim Ryan, the 2002 GOP nominee, and former Illinois Republican
Chairman Andy McKenna, a strong contender in the 2004 U.S. Senate race, State
Senate Minority Whip Kirk Dillard, State Senator Bill Brady (a candidate in the
2006 GOP Primary for Governor) and DuPage County Board President Bob
Schillerstrom. Two other strong
Republican primary candidates, Dan Proft and Adam Andrzejewski, are different
in that neither have run for elected office. Proft is a political consultant
and Andrzejewski a businessman who later founded a PAC.
This many experienced candidates would not launch costly
primary runs if the chances for the Governor's Mansion were slim. Proft wouldn't mount a futile run for
governor considering his services are in high demand during campaign season.
There's opportunity that Illinois Republicans haven't sensed
since 2004, when no fewer than eight GOP candidates ran to replace retiring
one-term Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.). At that time, Obama was just one of a
handful of Democratic Senate hopefuls, an Illinois State Senator unknown to
those outside his district. But in March 2004, Obama began his rapid ascent
that landed him the White House this January. First, embarrassing information
about the leading Democrat's divorce boosted Obama from second or third in
primary polling to a landslide winner. Then, embarrassing information about
Republican nominee Jack Ryan's divorce came out in June. Ryan dropped out of
the race, and the state Republicans weighed replacing Ryan with numerous
candidates, including former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka.
Then, Obama gave his famous Keynote Address at the 2004
Democratic Convention in Boston. All of a sudden, very few people wanted to
launch a run against an instant celebrity - so few that the Republicans
imported Alan Keyes to run for the seat. (Keyes' run was a disaster.)
Why is the thrill back? Ethics. With all the problems the
state faces: a nearly-bankrupt treasury, failing city schools, high
unemployment, a shrinking industrial base throughout the state, and an unstable
real estate market, the race is becoming a contest of who is most ethical.
With the previous governor preparing for trial, and the
governor before that in federal prison, Illinois voters might have lost their
tolerance for corruption.
It's more than that. Chicagoans will vote Democratic, but
they will complain about their 11.25 percent sales tax, about their soaring
property taxes, about the city's mismanagement of basic services. They'll
complain about the city, county, state and federal governments regulating all
types of facets of their lives, from seat belt usage, to an indoor smoking ban,
to the administration of individual health care.
But most of all, they hate to see the privilege their
government helps itself to.
Want a solution? Shrink the government. A smaller government
produces fewer opportunities for government officials to treat taxpayers like a
piggy bank.
If only there was a political party that even paid
lip-service to that.
Is that the opportunity Republicans are sensing in Illinois?
Is that the opportunity Republicans sense nationwide?
T. J. Brown's Bio
T.J. Brown is a small business executive by day and a freelance writer by night. He earned a Bachelor's of Arts in Journalism at Indiana University and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago. He lives in Northbrook, Ill. and can be reached at comments@tjbrown.com.
Posted
10-30-2009 12:01 AM
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