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Illinois GOP Chief Sets Aggressive Agenda for Victory

-By Warner Todd Huston

Earlier this week, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady addressed the City Club of Chicago.

Here is the text of his prepared remarks:

“My rise to the leadership of the Illinois Republican Party and within the Republican National Committee has been fast – and somewhat of a surprise.

Although I never contemplated a leadership role in party politics, I have been active in supporting Republican candidates since 1970 when I first walked precinct 27 in Bloomington with my Dad.

In 1999—after continually working on a variety of races and fundraisers— State Representative Jim Durkin called me at work one evening and asked if I wanted to accompany him and “this guy from Arizona who is running for President” as they tried to fundraise in Illinois. I had met Senator McCain in 1984 and thought even back then he would be a good President — so I agreed to help. This began my 10-year effort on behalf of the McCain for President campaign.

Being the smart guy that he is, Jim Durkin also enlisted my wife Julie’s help. She became Deputy Co-Chairman of the 2008 campaign. Although we took a beating in the general election, Senator McCain won 98 of 102 Illinois counties in the Primary and all but 3 of our delegates were elected.

The McCain effort brought me to the position of National Committeeman for Illinois.

In that role I was one of the first public supporters of another anti-establishment long shot—the current Chairman of the Republican National Committee—Michael Steele.

Mike Steele has always impressed me – and I knew that he also represented the growing appeal of our message in all communities of this great country, something I think will be vital to our success in Illinois.

Chairman Steele has done a tremendous job. In a media dominated by unapologetic Presidential cheerleading, he has persuasively articulated our opposition to bigger government, more spending, higher taxes and socialization of U.S. health care. As a result, the RNC has consistently out raised the Democratic National Committee since last spring. And the President’s health care take-over is at 41 percent support and headed south.

After his election in January, Mike asked me help him reshape RNC’s finance and budget operations and chair the newly created RNC Ethics Committee.

But then it happened.

On Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair, upon Andy McKenna’s resignation, the State Central Committee elected me State Chairman.

This proves the Chicago axiom: Never attend a meeting unless you know what its outcome will be.

I think it is important that I make it perfectly clear that as the new Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, my allegiance is to the fundamental principles of the Republican Party…and not to any individual or group. I did not get this position because of someone’s agenda. I am not part of a chummy club. I receive no financial benefit from this position. I do not lobby. I do not have commercial zoning or property tax appeal clients. Simply put, I am not beholden to ANYONE, except the Republican Party and I will act in the common interests of ALL Republicans in the State of Illinois. I believe this is the proper role of the State Party Chair and it is how I will run the Illinois Republican Party.

I also believe that it is imperative we succeed. Illinois needs a strong voice in opposition to hold the Democrats accountable and break their single-party stranglehold on Illinois. The citizens of Illinois cannot afford to have the Illinois Republican Party to be “Missing in Action.”

Almost 7 years ago, Illinois voters entrusted the Democrat Party with virtually uncontested control of the affairs of our State.

Since then, we have endured the Indictment and Impeachment of the Democrat Governor and his campaign operation for — among other things — attempting to sell a United States Senate Seat and extorting a children’s hospital for campaign contributions;

Two of our Democrat Members of Congress are under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

One is also under investigation by the United States Department of Justice; both rank in the top 15 most corrupt members of Congress according to DC Ethics Watch.

The Democrat Cook County Board President is under investigation for abuse of his position.

A Democrat member of the Illinois House is under investigation for trading campaign support for favorable property tax rulings.

And all of this has been on top of the constant subpoena, indictment and conviction story we get from City Hall.

This pattern of corruption is not just a fluke. It is not just a coincidence. No, it is not just a failure of Rod Blagojevich, either.

It is a failure of the Illinois Democrat Party to honor the trust bestowed upon them by the citizens of Illinois.

And corruption is just half the story.

Under single-party, Democrat rule — Illinois ranks at the bottom of virtually every category used to measure performance.

We have one of the highest deficits of any State.

We have one of the most oppressive tax structures.

Our bond rating dropped this year.

Cook County has the highest sales tax in the Country.

We rank at the bottom in education.

Our Treasurer, a Democrat and a former banker, who thinks he should be a U. S. Senator, allowed the savings of Illinois families for their kids’ education — to be placed in risky derivatives that lost 85 million dollars.

The Democrat majority created an abysmal environment for jobs and investment. In fact, it repels new jobs and sends existing jobs away.

We rank 46th in the country as a place to do business. The Chicago Tribune said: “The inconvenient fact here is that Illinois is tanking as a state in which employers want to do business.”

And we have the unemployment rate to show for it — one of the highest in the nation — at 10.4%.

We rank 46th in job creation. We have not created a net new job since 1997. (Source: Professor Geoff Hewings, U of I)

Over the last 7 years, the Democrats have imposed more than 300 different business and professional fees and eliminated a substantial number of tax incentives.

And their newest idea to make everything better? Raise our taxes.

Why do business here, put up with the corruption and be treated as the enemy when you can go to Indiana and be welcomed? More and more Illinois employers are answering that question with their feet.

Single party Democrat rule has turned Illinois into an internal struggle for power and control of the process. The insiders come first. The interests of the citizens don’t count.

This became apparent in the Democrats’ unilateral decision last winter to deny Illinoisans our right to a special election for the Obama Senate seat — against overwhelming public support.

Remember, Rod Blagojevich made that appointment in January, after his arrest in December.

But this litany of abuse, incompetence and failure only begs the more important question — what will Republicans and the Republican Party do differently?

What will we do to appeal to all of Illinois – from the South Side to Cairo, from the West Side to Quincy and from the North Side to Galena?

First, Republicans will end the culture of corruption in Illinois.

We have learned the lessons of George Ryan and his cabal, so Republicans will lead the effort to get Illinois’ house in order and run a transparent government that serves the people and not the other way around.

This will require our Candidates to advocate real reform, not the watered-down version that the Democrat Leadership tried to slide by last summer.

The obvious starting point for reform is with campaign contribution limits. Illinois is one of only 4 states with no limits on personal or corporate contributions to political candidates.

To illustrate the point, let me give you a passage from the Blagojevich Indictment. . . . .
“our Governor….and others…..caused government actions including appointments to boards and commissions, the awarding of state business, grants and investment fund allocations, the enactment of legislation and executive orders and the appointment of a United States Senator in exchange for financial benefits for themselves and others including campaign contributions for Rod Blagojevich.”

The Blagojevich for Governor Committee raised $58 million dollars in six years, including 435 donations of $25,000 or greater. By comparison, Governor Edgar in 8 years only had 8 such donors. Absent the pay-for-play culture of corruption— I am guessing that if we could resurrect Abraham Lincoln and run him for Governor, he would not attract this level of financial support. There is too much money washing around in Illinois politics. All Illinoisans need to know that with the Republicans, they will get real reform of our system.

Second, Republicans will enact a pro-job economic growth agenda to attract businesses. We have substantial advantages in geography, transportation, technology, higher education, medical care and access to capital. However, we are a corruption, regulatory, political, tax and fee disaster.

As all of our highly qualified candidates for Governor emphasize, Illinois must rightfully be a destination economy for businesses.

Third, Republicans will clean up the Democrat budget mess. Democrats gave us an $11 billion budget deficit. Now they want to give us the biggest tax hike in history to pay for it. We say, “No thanks.”

Hand in hand with a pro-job growth agenda, Republicans will advocate fiscal restraint. Spending money that we do not have or spending good money after bad has never been an effective strategy for any enterprise, government or otherwise.

So, we know tough decisions on spending will be made.

Ending the culture of corruption, Creating a pro-JOBS Illinois economy, and cleaning up the Democrat budget mess are our top priorities.

But Illinois faces numerous other issues that must be resolved. Here is how we will approach them:

We Republicans — at our core — believe in empowering individuals and not the State.

We believe that the proper role of government is to create opportunity — not dependency.

We believe free people in a free market find superior solutions to that of a government-imposed one-size-fits-all program.

Simply put, we put our faith in the people — not in the Bureaucrats, and certainly not in Party Bosses.

However, as deeply as we know and hold those beliefs, we also know that Republicans will not return to majority status until we improve our State Party.

We are following states that have re-tooled. With advice from national leadership, we are implementing components of an effective organization.

First, we stepped up Candidate Recruitment.

At the Constitutional Office level, we will field the most diverse ticket in our history.

Robert Enriquez, a Honduran-born former Marine Intelligence Officer, a businessman and an activist will be our Secretary of State nominee.

Steve Kim, a first generation Korean-American, will be our Attorney General nominee. Steve is a practicing attorney and a former aide to Governor Edgar.

Their personal stories and our platform of ending corruption, building jobs and cleaning up the Democrat budget mess will greatly appeal to the many Hispanic- and Asian-Americans — and all Illinoisans — who run small businesses and hope to succeed.

They know, in every zip code of this state, that with the cycle of corruption, waste, deficits and more taxes – all of us lose.

We have spirited primaries underway for Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller and Treasurer.

I am very proud of all of our statewide candidates and see each as a vast improvement over their Democrat counterpart.

Tom Cross and our House committee have recruited our strongest field in years for 17 contested seats. It is a team of able and diverse individuals with varied backgrounds and impressive credentials.

Representative of that group is Hamilton Chang in the 17th District. That’s Beth Coulson’s seat, in New Trier, Northfield, Niles, and Evanston Townships.

Hamilton’s parents came from Taiwan on a freighter. Their first-generation American Son is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Hamilton and his family are an American and a Republican success story. They represent the strength of our ideals, our beliefs, our policies and our recruitment efforts. We proudly welcome Hamilton to his role as a candidate.

Senator Christine Radogno has had equal success in her contested seats.

Former State Senator Steve Rauschenberger will be a candidate.

Steve is one of the few people in Illinois who knows precisely how bad the Democrat budget mess really is. He is recognized by all as a budget expert.

Next year, when our Democrat friends try their hardest to confuse us about their record of spending abuse and tax hike intentions, Steve will be there to tell the truth, as sad as it may be. My hat is off to Steve – and to Chris.

Second, we are constructing a “Get Out the Vote” infrastructure. For the first time in 25 years we are putting a statewide ground game in place.

Because we see pick-ups for the U.S. Senate seat and perhaps 2 seats in the House, National Party organizations will pour substantial resources into Illinois.

So we plan between 15 and 20 fully staffed “Victory Centers” for the General Election, many of which will be in Chicago, Suburban Cook and the collar counties. For perspective, the most we have had in recent years is three.

The Victory Centers will provide robust and technologically savvy Voter Identification and Voter Contact Programs, Get Out The Vote Programs and a structured approach to early and absentee voting.

Third — We must have funding. We need investment, just like the state. This requires a proven and professional approach to fundraising — at all levels — which is already showing promising early results.

Finally, and as important as anything else I mention today, within our party, we respect and value differing opinions and ideas. We are not a clone of the Democrats, who punish ideological deviation.

Instead, our respectful tone is set by the Party Chairman.

We need to hold our candidates accountable to our core principles and to value differences… This strengthens us. It unifies us. And it guides all of us to victory in November, after family disputes in our primaries.

Chief Justice John Roberts noted at the time of his nomination, “Reasonable people can disagree.”

That is true in all of life and in all of politics – in fact it is what makes politics go.

So I, as Chairman, say and will say: “We are big enough to welcome many ideas. They make us stronger. Voice your ideas in the primary as best you can. Then – win or lose – reconcile and unite with all Republicans and go on to contest the general. That is how we will win.”

Illinois Republicanism is the only political party in the world that traces its origin to Abraham Lincoln.

To chair a party with that history is a lesson in humility.

As the Democrats of his day defied him and his ideas, so do their heirs today defy us and the people of Illinois.

They stand for a closed system – government of, by and for the insiders – except when it comes to sticking the rest of us with their tab.

It cannot go on.

The people of Illinois know it, and we have the guts to say it.

We even have the guts to recruit the candidates who will end it.

So I consider it a privilege – a signal privilege of my life, unexpected though it was — to stand before the City Club of Chicago and to declare that the strangling of our jobs, the corruption of our trust and the spending of our future will cease. They will cease when the people of this great state, Republican, Democrat and independent, in every neighborhood and of every background, rise up and know that they have a real choice.

They will vote for a new day in Illinois – led by Illinois Republicans.

Thank you.”
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as NewsBusters.org, RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, TheRealityCheck.org, RedState.com, Human Events Magazine, AmericanDailyReview.com, and the New Media Journal, among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events and is currently the co-host of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Conservatism” heard on BlogTalkRadio. Warner is also the editor of the Cook County Page for RedCounty.com.

He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston

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