-By Warner Todd Huston
Last April current gubernatorial candidate Andy McKenna was the Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. At that time Party money paid for a poll to determine what the level of support was for the various Illinois Republicans that were considering, or might consider, a run for governor.
McKenna is now admitting that his name appeared on that poll at his own bidding and this was a violation of the pledge he took upon taking the GOP chairman’s seat. Like all other Chairmen, McKenna pledged to work for the party and not his own candidacy once he took the GOP chief’s role.
McKenna now admits that he directed that the poll include his own name despite that he pledged not to push his own candidacy while he was the GOP Chairman. Soon after the poll was conducted McKenna quit as party chief and then announced his own run for governor. This is all in contravention to his pledge to work for the party.
One month ago the state party decided to investigate McKenna’s action and today this tepid response was issued by the party:
The State Central Committee of the Illinois Republican Party has concluded that Mr. McKenna should not have done so without prior Central Committee approval and disclosure. Mr. McKenna had no intent to violate the spirit or the intent of the Party’s by-laws and he sincerely apologizes for having done so.
Well, maybe it isn’t completely tepid in that it actually happened at all. Brady should be given some level of kudos for even starting the investigation in the first place. That in itself is a step, no matter how small, away from the good old boy’s network that affords them license for every infraction or criminal action.
Still, I think Brady should have gone farther and demanded that McKenna repay the $25,000 the party spent on the poll back in April.
Andy McKenna is a prime symbol of all that is wrong with the Illinois GOP.
**Update** The Full Ill GOP Statement:
Over the last several weeks, questions have arisen regarding a poll commissioned by the Illinois Republican Party and paid for with State Party funds during the tenure of Andy McKenna as Chairman of the Party. The poll, taken last April, contained opinions of Illinois voters related to relevant issues and voter identification of a number of potential statewide Republican candidates. At his instruction, and at the urging of the Finance Committee, Mr. McKenna’s name appeared in the voter identification questions of the poll. The poll also included an analysis of his personal name identification with Illinois voters.
The State Central Committee of the Illinois Republican Party has concluded that Mr. McKenna should not have done so without prior Central Committee approval and disclosure. Mr. McKenna had no intent to violate the spirit or the intent of the Party’s by-laws and he sincerely apologizes for having done so.
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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 Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, 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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