Illinois Establishment GOP Sinks In Sleaze


Ed Hudgins

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Illinois Establishment GOP Sinks In Sleaze
By Edward Hudgins

September 2, 2014 -- Illinois is well-known for corrupt Democratic governors and government. Sadly, establishment Republicans are joining in the sleazy moral morass.

To qualify to be on state-wide ballots, Democratic and Republican Party candidates in Illinois need only several hundred petition signatures while third party candidates need 20,000. The Libertarian Party collected 42,986, more than enough. But the GOP in the state decided not only to challenge nearly 24,000 signatures. Its operatives also sent out armed private agents to go to the homes of LP folks who had signed petitions or collected signatures, telling them they had done so illegally and intimidating them into signing forms recanting their support.
The reason for this shocking stupidity is as clear as it is unnecessary. This year the Republicans have a good chance of defeating Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat. In recent decades Illinois has led the nation in political corruption. The last two governors, George Ryan and Rob Blagojevich, both Democrats, have gone to jail. Two other Democratic governors, Otto Kerner in the 1960s and Daniel Walker in the 1970s, also did stints in prison after their stints in the state house. Current Governor Quinn is also under investigation for corruption.

So the Republican nominee Bruce Rauner could certainly run to restore honestly and integrity to the state. But Republicans are always concerned that Libertarians will siphon off some of their votes. So the GOP decided to counter Democratic corruption with their own form of criminality. It is a felony to engage in the kind of intimidation the Republicans have used. Naturally, Governor Quinn, posing as a crime fighter full of moxie, has promised to bring the perps to justice.
This incident, of course, signals voters “Here’s how we plan to govern,” e.g., with little regard for the law. But more fundamentally, this incident is another battle in the civil war for the soul of the GOP. It highlights a fundamental failing of establishment Republicans. They should seek the votes of LP members and libertarian-leaning Republicans by supporting liberty. Instead, they simply promise to be more honest and efficient managers of the collapsing welfare state, and Illinois Republicans now will have trouble making the “honesty” argument with straight faces.
Yes, Republicans must learn to make compelling, positive cases for personal autonomy that will appeal to voters other than hardcore libertarians. That takes political skill. But the GOP’s Illinois antics simply prove to uber-lovers of liberty as well as all other voters that the Republicans are just another collection of crooked statists.
Maybe in Illinois the stink of corruption on the Democrats will still overwhelm the rotten smell of the Republicans who have soiled themselves as well. But in the long-run, the Republicans must earn votes by fighting to restore liberty and by restraining abusive government or they and, sadly, this once-free country, will end up in the dustbin of history.

EXPLORE:
*Edward Hudgins, “Michigan, Georgia pols show the fork in the GOP's road.” August 12, 2014.
*Edward Hudgins, “Rand Paul Revolution in Silicon Valley.” July 25, 2014.
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Rand specifically cited the Republicans for their distasteful, almost groveling, "me-tooism" as evidence of the intellectual bankruptcy of the opponents of modern statist liberalism. Having grown-up in Illinois, I witnessed many examples of the allegedly conservative Republicans paying lip-service to conservative principles and then, when elected, trying to outdo the Democrats in enacting new social programs and increasing the power of state bureaucrats..

Back in the 1970s, Richard Ogilvie ran for Governor and based his whole campaign on his pledge that he will save Illinois taxpayers from the state income tax that the nefarious Democrats were planning to enact. But almost immediately after being sworn-in as Governor, Ogilvie brazenly reversed himself and helped the State legislature enact that very income tax! Voters were outraged and saw to his defeat in the next election. Unfortunately, they have a short memory. And did the State GOP learn anything about integrity and honesty from this episode? Not at all. Has the Illinois electorate caught on yet? I wouldn't count on it..At least as far back as the Roosevelt Administration, the Republicans have been playing this game - and getting away with it. Republican voters grumble about it, but have no viable alternative so they reluctantly keep backing the GOP in the hopes that somehow the Republicans will finally offer a fiscal conservative who keeps his word.

But, as is evident from this latest stunt that the Illinois GOP pulled to block the inclusion of libertarian candidates on statewide ballots, they are up to their old tricks. They manage to get away with this sort of cynical maneuver because they think that Republican voters will continue to vote them in, because they have no place else to go.

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Ed,

I have to live with this crap.

I live in Illinois.

Also, for Republican slime in Virginia, here is a report by Rachel Maddow:

Maddow: Even Throwing Wife Overboard Fails "Family Man" McDonnell

I'm on the opposite pole of Maddow's politics, but when she gets her claws into a mess like former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, she is refreshingly factual and merciless. (I remember a report by her on Dick Morris's sleazy money trail that was excellent, too.)

I say this while holding my nose against the background Maddow lives in, but I thoroughly enjoyed her takedown of McDonnell, starting with her framing the issue by identifying Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson as the first governors of Virginia.

I didn't realize what a bucket of sanctimonious moral slop McDonnell was until I saw her video.

And note, I'm a lot more friendly to Christians than most in our subcommunity.

What's wrong with these people? You can't suddenly blame it all on your wife to save your own neck and still preach family values. And that's just for starters.

btw - I was born in Virginia. And I lived in Brazil. There's something about me and corruption that I haven't figured out yet. :smile:

Michael

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As a continuation of my post on Virginia (sorry, Ed, not trying to derail the Illinois thing---maybe it's just too depressing for me to go into since I live with it :smile: ), here are some thoughts from Mark Levin:

Andrew McCarthy: I Would Not Have Prosecuted Bob McDonnell

Both Levin and McCarthy talk about technicalities and the vagueness of the meaning of "official act" used in the trial. I believe this will be a good argument on appeal and might even work.

But one thing they did not say jumped out at me. I'm actually hoping this does not pass appeal and the vagueness of the meaning of "official act" persists. That would mean all future politicians would have to watch their backs real hard when lobbyists come knocking.

Also, on a bright side, I am actually salivating at the idea of the other side prosecuting Obama's staff (especially Holder and maybe even Obama himself) after he leaves office partially grounded in the legal precedents set by the McDonnell case. After all, that is a federal case, not state. If there is a Republican sweep of the Senate and a Republican president, I predict that is exactly what will happen.

Michael

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MSK - Thanks Michael for your thoughts! Yes, the stupidity of Republicans combined with the stupidity of Democrats is an advertisement for limited government. By the way, Virginia Democrat Governor Terry McAuliffe is a corrupt crony capitalist as well and under investigation for is work with a "green" car company. We really need to emphaisize that as long as the government has the power to give out favors, we'll have people like McDonnell and McAuliffe.

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Also, on a bright side, I am actually salivating at the idea of the other side prosecuting Obama's staff (especially Holder and maybe even Obama himself) after he leaves office partially grounded in the legal precedents set by the McDonnell case. After all, that is a federal case, not state. If there is a Republican sweep of the Senate and a Republican president, I predict that is exactly what will happen.

I wouldn't hold my breath. Cabinet level officials are rarely prosecuted and Presidents never are. The left were salivating at the prospect of charging Bush and his minions with various crimes like illegally torturing people and nothing much has ever come of it. I predict the same happens with Obama and his cronies.

Darrell

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