Diersen’s News, Clips and Upcoming Events, February 8th

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
February 8, 2010

Fellow Republicans:

News clips and upcoming event information:

DIERSEN: While candidates might win primary elections with nasty skeletons in their closets, it is far less likely that they will win general elections. Needless-to-say, it is very important that the news media, party leaders, elected officials, opposing candidates, etc. bring these skeletons out during the primary. As everyone knows, voters hold conservative Republican candidates, that is, platform Republican candidates, to much higher standards than they hold other candidates.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

• Cohen says he’s dropping out of race – Kristen Schorsch and Rick Pearson ¹

(FROM THE ARTICLE: The state central committee is not bound to select any of the candidates who lost to Cohen in last week’s primary. State Rep. Art Turner of Chicago, a member of Madigan’s House leadership team who was backed by the powerful Southwest Side lawmaker, finished second to Cohen. Even before Cohen stepped off the ticket, some Democratic leaders said privately that they would like to expand a search beyond the primary election contenders and look to fill the vacancy to provide some regional balance–namely a downstate resident. Currently, all of the nominees on the Democratic statewide ticket come from Chicago – a point Republicans have used in the past to contend that city-controlled politics dominates state policy. Republicans faced a similar problem on their statewide ticket in 2004, when the primary-elected nominee for U.S. Senate, businessman Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race amid damaging disclosures contained in his divorce file. The Illinois GOP held an open casting call for the post but ended up settling on controversial conservative Republican activist Alan Keyes from Maryland to run as the nominee. Keyes was swamped by then-state Sen. Barack Obama in the 2004 general election. Turner, said he would make a case to the state central committee that he was the most qualified of those who sought the lieutenant governor nomination – but that his second-place finish should not automatically give him the spot. “I don’t think it ought to be an automatic. The fact that you finished second, I would not want to set a precedent for that,” Turner said. “What I’m saying is that of the people interested in the job– others could have expressed an interest but didn’t–I am the most qualified.” Ryan dropped from the ticket in late June and the GOP didn’t pick Keyes as a replacement until early August. Democrats, however, could actually benefit from the early February primary by quickly forging a new teammate for Quinn to try to put Cohen’s nomination behind them before general election voters tune into the fall contests. Still, Republicans are expected to use the Cohen debacle, on top of the scandal that put Quinn in office – the ouster of disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich – to campaign against the Democrats’ one-party rule of state government. “It will be among the things we’ll bring up,” said Pat Brady, the state’s Republican chairman. “We’ll point out what the Democrats have done to get this state where it is. But it’s more important to have our candidates talk about what we’re going to do.”)

• Cohen quits race for lieutenant governor Mounting pressure over scandalous past forces him to drop out – Kristen Schorsch ²

(FROM THE ARTICLE: Democrats now face the prospect of filling Cohen’s vacancy on the ticket, a decision to be made by the 38-member Democratic State Central Committee. The committee, the governing board of state Democrats, is headed by powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan, the state Democratic chairman. “The speaker is prepared to work with the members of the (Democratic) State Central Committee, Gov. Quinn and Senate President (John) Cullerton to work on selecting a replacement,” said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown. “We’ll start with members of the central committee and work on ideas.” The Democratic panel is scheduled to meet March 17, though a meeting could be held sooner. The state central committee is not bound to select any of the candidates who lost to Cohen in last week’s primary. State Rep. Art Turner, of Chicago, a member of Madigan’s House leadership team who was backed by the powerful Southwest Side lawmaker, finished second to Cohen.)

• DIERSEN HEADLINE: Absurdly, the Chicago Tribune, which functions as an arm of the Illinois Democrat Party (IDP), gives advice to the IDP ³

NBC5

• Cohen. . .Cohen. . .Gone Gov. Quinn calls it the “right decision” – B.J. Lutz ⁴

(The vacancy leaves state party leaders — not the electorate — with the responsibility of replacing him on the ballot. Sunday’s announcement came after a meeting with House Speaker Michael Madigan in Chicago where Cohen was encouraged in a “very direct and frank” manner to drop out of the race, Madigan aide Steve Brown told the Chicago Tribune. Madigan will work with members of the Democratic State Central Committee, Gov. Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton to find a replacement, Brown said. The selection task falls to the DSCC, which is made of a male and female representative from each of the state’s 19 congressional districts. The DSCC is not required to pick from Cohen’s primary competitors.)

CBS2

• Embattled Lt. Gov. Nominee To Quit Race Democratic Candidate Tearful As He Explains Decision ⁵

(FROM THE ARTICLE: Madigan, as party chairman, will get feedback from Quinn and Senate President John Cullerton, Brown said. The party’s State Central Committee will determine the replacement nominee in a vote, he said. There are two committee members per congressional district, and the vote is weighted based on primary-election turnout. The committee is slated to meet in mid-March but could get together sooner, Brown said.)

• Palin Says She’s Open To 2012 Presidential Run Former Alaska Governor Slams President Obama ⁶

WGN TV

• VIDEO CLIP: Cohen drops out of lieutenant gov. race ⁷

SPRINGFIELD STATE JOURNAL REGISTER

• DIERSEN HEADLINE: Bernard Schoenburg reports on the Sangamon County GOP Chairman’s joys and predictions ⁸
• Lawmakers returning to packed agenda – John Guidroz and Matt Hopf (DIERSEN: What about SB600?) ⁹

DAILY HERALD

• State senator Duffy threatened with eviction from Barrington office – Bob Susnjara ¹⁰
• 212,902 reasons Cohen shouldn’t have quit – Chuck Goudie ¹¹

(FROM THE ARTICLE: Disclosure: I wasn’t among those who handed a 30,000 vote margin of victory to Mr. Cohen, so I have no personal stake in this. Actually, I skipped over the lieutenant governor’s candidates altogether on Election Day in silent protest of the usually inconsequential state office.)

(DIERSEN QUESTION: Did the voting machine reject Goudie’s ballot for undervoting?)

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

• Hynes would consider spot on ticket, but not pursuing it – Dave McKinney ¹²
• 3 aldermen were critical to Cohen’s election Democrat now dropping out was supported by 2 dozen elected officials in Illinois ¹³
• People may have voted, but decency ruled Cohen’s problems were just too distasteful for party to handle – Richard Roeper ¹⁴
• DIERSEN HEADLINE: VERY SAD: The anti-religious Ted Z. Manuel of Hyde Park demonizes and denigrates religions people, he calls them “right-wing bigots, who are miserable without some group to hate and/or fear and/or persecute.” ¹⁵

CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS

• Gov. Pat Quinn’s primary win gives him a few more months to show he’s up to the job – Greg Hinz ¹⁶

(DIERSEN: The Illinois Democrat Party (IDP) platform is vehemently anti-business. Crain’s Chicago Business is supposed to be an advocate for Illinois business, but it acts like it is an advocate for the IDP. Why is that?)

(FROM THE COMMENTARY: Officially, the GOP line is that Republicans can’t talk taxes until the Democrats get serious about cutting costs – like pensions for some of those state employee unions that are so generous in filling the political coffers of Democratic candidates. Frankly, it’s a good line. “What I sense from my caucus is that they’re really not for a tax increase, short of fundamental reform in state government,” Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno says. Mr. Madigan’s spokesman throws the ball right back to the Republican side of the line. Filling the budget hole “will require a bipartisan solution,” he says. But House Republican Leader Tom Cross is in no mood for bipartisanship. “How many (Democratic) votes does the speaker have in the House? Seventy. You only need 59 to pass a bill,” he says, pretty much daring Mr. Madigan to pass a bill himself. “Before we have any discussion about taxes, we’re going to have to have discussion of reform” – everything from pensions and Medicaid to helping businesses expand and further tightening of the state’s ethics laws.)

SOUTHTOWN STAR

• Not ‘coming home’ to Catholic church – Kim Brehm ¹⁷

KANE COUNTY CHRONICLE

• Local Republicans unite following Tuesday’s election – Eric Schelkopf ¹⁸

(THE ARTICLE: Local Republicans are confident the GOP will regain power at both the state and national level come November. “I think we have the opportunity to have a clean sweep in Illinois and across the nation,” said State Sen. Randall Hultgren, R-Winfield, during Saturday’s Kane County GOP Unity party at Riverside Receptions in Geneva. Hultgren won the GOP nomination in the 14th Congressional District Tuesday in a close race with Ethan Hastert, who was seeking his father’s former seat. Hultgren will face incumbent Democrat Bill Foster of Batavia in the Nov. 2 general election. Saturday’s event served as a way for Republicans to unite after the election, which turned testy after Hultgren’s campaign produced a mailer that alleged the law firm Hastert works for lobbies for companies that have a history of human trafficking. Hultgren later apologized for the mailer, and praised Hastert during the event. “I know you will make a huge difference in anything you do,” Hultgren said. “You will make us so proud.” Hastert in turn has thrown his support behind Hultgren. “We need to do everything we can to send him to Washington,” Hastert said. “Bill Foster has to go.” Kane County GOP chairman Mike Kenyon also was upbeat about the Republican party’s chances in November. “This is our time,” Kenyon said. “We’re going to get this state back in shape.”)

HERALD REVIEW

• Insiders left speechless by primary results ¹⁹

URBANA CHAMPAIGN NEWS GAZETTE

• DIERSEN HEADLINE: Tom Kacich a) demonizes and denigrates Republican Brady and Democrat Quinn and b) glorifies and praises Green Whitney ²⁰

CHICAGO NOW

• Berkowitz w/State Treasurer Candidate Dan Rutherford ²¹

RED STATE

• Sarah Palin: Authentic and on the Money – Erick Erickson ²²

MICHELLE MALKIN

• Shady Dem drops out of Illinois lieutenant guv bid ²³

HUFFINGTON POST

• Republican Governors Association Using Dan Hynes Campaign Ads To Attack Pat Quinn ²⁴

WALL STREET JOURNAL

• Tea Party Plots Its Next Move Election Wins May Be Next Goal; Palin Deepens Ties, Ponders White House Run – Susan Davis ²⁵

NEW YORK TIMES

• Analysis: ‘Tea Party’ Is Democracy at Work – AP ²⁶

WASHINGTON TIMES

• Clinton sees Islamist terror as No. 1 threat Obama team hits back on soft on jihad charge – Nicholas Kralev and Jennifer Haberkorn ²⁷

(DIERSEN: What percent of those who voted for Obama see conservatives, that is, platform Republicans, that is, the base of the Republican party as being the “No. 1 threat?”)

• Nominee for Ill. lt. governor bows out – AP ²⁸

RASMUSSEN REPORTS

• Game Day: 62% Plan To Watch Super Bowl XLIV ²⁹

(DIERSEN: Needless-to-say, America, and therefore, the world, would be much better off if Americans were as interested in politics as they are interested in spectator sports.)

HAWAIIAN STAR BULLETIN

• VERY SAD: Bad economy boosts interest in gambling – Katherine Nichols ³⁰

MEXICAN OCCUPATION

• Illegals demand radical amnesty! Or else they will go home? ³¹

ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN PARTY

• WATCH: Illinois GOP Unity Breakfast Videos ³²
• Photos from Illinois Republican Unity Breakfast ³³

GOPUSA ILLINOIS

– Actions, that hopefully, DuPage County Republican Party Chairman candidate Dan Cronin will soon take – Dave Diersen

http://www.gopillinois.com

• Schedule a major DuPage County Republican unity event as soon as the gubernatorial primary election issue is resolved.
• Immediately post on the DuPage County Republican Central Committee’s (DCRCC) website

a) the Illinois Republican Party (IRP) platform;
b) DCRCC’s by-laws (now posted in searchable PDF format on the www.gopillinois.com Files page);
c) information, including hyperlinks to campaign websites, for all Republican candidates who will be on November 2, 2010 ballots in DuPage County;
d) the names of the Chairs and members of all DCRCC committees;
e) etc.
–

• Publish the names of those he wants to serve as the IRP State Central Committee (SCC) members for each of DuPage County’s three congressional districts, DCRCC Secretary, DCRCC Vice Chairman, DCRCC Treasurer, DCRCC Chairwoman, DCRCC Committee Chairs, DCRCC Committee Chair members, and DCRCC employees.
• Invite all precinct committeemen and elected officials to attend monthly DCRCC Executive Committee (EC) meetings, post the agenda for the meetings well in advance of the meetings, include an open comment period in each of the meetings, and limit items discussed in executive session to only those items traditionally discussed in executive sessions. According to Article V, Section 5 of DCRCC’s by-laws, those invitees who “can contribute to the ideals and welfare of the Organization” can attend monthly county party meetings as “observers.”
• Send out an email on the first of each month to all DuPage County Republican precinct committeemen and elected officials that
  a) summaries the minutes of the DCRCC EC meeting during the month just ended,
  b) lists DCRCC’s accomplishments during the month just ended,
  c) lists what DCRCC will do during the month ahead,
  d) reports on township party meetings held during the month just ended,
  e) lists the schedule of township party meetings for the month ahead,
  f) provides hyperlinks to major articles posted during the month just ended that directly impact DuPage County,
  g) lists funds raised and money spent during the month just ended,
  h) summaries the DCRCC Chairman’s report on the Republican County Chairmen’s Association meeting during the month just ended,
  i) summaries reports from the three IRP SCC members that represent DuPage County,
  j) etc.
• Provide DuPage County Republicans with information on the party’s financial condition. According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, during the last 6 months of 2009, the party raised $49,226.36 (including $375 from Diersen), borrowed $25,000.00, and spent $93,550.96. It began the period with $70,718.28 on hand and ended with $51,393.68.
• Report on efforts by individual township parties and their success in
  a) having an active elected precinct committeeman in each of their precincts,
  b) maximizing Republican turnout for each election,
  c) maximizing attendance a monthly township meetings,
  d) having the best possible election headquarters,
  e) etc.
• Announce when and where the first “annual coffee” for DuPage County “Constitution Club” members will be held.
• Per Article V, Section 8 of DCRCC’s by-laws, appoint and establish an Advisory Committee that would suggest ways to reach out to DuPage County conservatives, that is, to DuPage County platform Republicans, that is, to the base of the DuPage County Republican Party.
• Propose that the DCRCC adopt a resolution similar to, if not stronger than, the one that the RNC recently adopted — “RESOLVED, that the Republican National Committee urges that no support, financial or otherwise, be given to candidates who clearly do not support the core principles and positions of the Republican Party as expressed in the Platform of the Republican Party.”
• Make it clear that he will not appoint or reappoint anyone to any DCRCC position who
  a) endorses Democrats,
  b) gives money to Democrats,
  c) accepts money from Democrats, or
  d) demonizes or denigrates conservatives.
• Go back to supporting SB600 like State Senator and 14th Congressional District candidate Randy Hultgren did.
• Respond to the aforesaid suggestions at TAPROOT’s February 20 breakfast meeting, or sooner, if possible.

GOPUSA ILLINOIS
– New GOPUSA poll: Which statewide candidate are you going to work the hardest to elect?

http://www.gopusa.com/illinois/poll.shtml

– U.S. Senator – Mark Kirk
– Governor and Lieutenant Governor – Bill Brady or Kirk Dillard and Jason Plummer
– Attorney General – Steve Kim
– Secretary of State – Robert Enriquez
– Comptroller – Judy Baar Topinka
– Treasurer – Dan Rutherford
UPCOMING EVENTS: FOR EVENT DETAILS, VISIT THE EVENTS PAGES AT: www.illinoisreview.com, www.weareillinois.org, and/or www.dupagegop.com

2/8 Event: Former GAO Comptroller David Walker to speak at the Union League Club
2/8 Event: Connelly, Senger, Hultgren, and Dillard host business summit in Naperville
2/8 Event: DGTRO monthly meeting
2/9 Event: Fort Dearborn Group meeting in Chicago
2/9 Event: Deadline to for SCC candidates to notify the IRP
2/9 Event: Geneva Township GOP meeting
2/9 Event: Lake County Young Republicans meeting in Libertyville
2/10 Event: Republican National Lawyers Association meeting in Chicago
2/10 Event: Town Hall meeting in Chicago
2/11 Event: Wayne Township GOP meeting
2/11 Event: RALC meeting in Mundelein
2/12 Event: McCain to discuss Obama foreign policy at IL GOP luncheon in Chicago
2/12 Event: Lincoln Summit in Oakbrook Terrace
2/13 Event: Tazewell County Unity Breakfast
2/15 Event: Lisle Township GOP meeting
2/15 Event: DGTRO organizational meeting
2/17 Event: Winfield Townhip GOP meeting
2/18 Event: Addison Township GOP meeting
2/18-20 Event: CPAC 2010
2/20 Event: TAPROOT breakfast meeting in Lombard
2/22 Event: Northwest Lincoln Day Dinner in Schaumburg
2/22 Event: Vernon Township GOP meeting
2/23 Event: Bloomingdale Township GOP meeting
2/23 Event: York Township GOP meeting
2/24 Event: Milton Township GOP monthly meeting
2/24 Event: DuPage Young Republicans meeting in Wheaton
2/26 Event: Pankau fundraiser in Medinah
2/27 Event: NTRO monthly meeting
3/3 Events: County Party Conventions
3/8 Event: Republican State Senate Campaign Committee Reception in Springfield
3/12 Event: Senator Cronin’s Annual St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner at Diplomat West Banquets, Elmhurst
3/14 Event: Addison Township GOP Annual Brunch
3/19 Event: Rove to speak at DuPage GOP Lincoln Day Dinner
4/9 Event: NTRO Annual Pizza Party
5/5 Event: Cinco de Mayo RNHA fundraiser in Aurora
11/2 Event: General election
Each and every morning, I send a GOPUSA ILLINOIS email to each and every GOPUSA ILLINOIS subscriber. If the email does not appear in your inbox, to view a copy of it, please visit: http://www.gopillinois.com. Also each and every morning, I post a link to that copy on the Illinoize page at http://www.capitalfax.blogspot.com. Since January 1, 2005, GOPUSA ILLINOIS has brought to your attention 59,439 internet postings and information on many upcoming events free of charge and without any advertising. GOPUSA ILLINOIS asks that its subscribers use the information in the emails to help elect and reelect Republicans who can and will defend and advance the Illinois Republican Party platform.

Thanks,
Dave Diersen
Phone: 630-653-0462
Fax: 630-653-9665

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