Edgar and Brady help give Rod a second term
Make no mistake my fellow Illinois Republicans, had it not been for the work of Jim Edgar and Bill Brady, we would not be facing four more years of Governor Rod Blagojevich. Only Judy…
Read MoreLeadership/Communications
All Politics is NOT Local
According to the Financial Times, Next month’s midterm elections will be the most costly congressional races in U.S. history…[an] estimated $2.6 billion [will be spent]…Republican candidates, parties and advocacy groups would spend $1.4 billion…
Read MoreTwo narratives competing for our embrace
There are two narratives competing for our embrace: Blagojevich’s big victory is guaranteed – or Topinka still has a chance. They’re both represented by polls announced this week. It was funny to receive an email…
Read MoreStep One: admit you have a problem
One of the failed gubernatorial candidates from last March’s Republican primary rejected some good advice about a year ago. The simple suggestion was to admit that Republicans have been a part of the problem…
Read MoreHow to win elections and influence turnout
Tomorrow is August—so time is running out on U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald—he only has a little more than three months left to win this campaign for Topinka and Birkett. Speaking of poor strategic decisions on…
Read MoreOne former Edgar advisor reveals the mind of Topinka
There’s at least one former advisor to Jim Edgar that’s being honest in an assessment about the problem with Blagojevich—and in so doing, implying the solution Topinka would bring. A year ago Mike Lawrence, who heads…
Read MoreIllinois: Land of Ideas and the Idealess
Imagine this scenario: a state in the union with a direction-less, idea-less, and principle-lacking Republican party. Now imagine that in that same state’s largest city resides the nation’s best state-level think tank. Can you conjure that…
Read MoreSpiro Agnew Was Right About Media
By Jim Burns: They’re still ‘nattering nabobs of negativism.’
Read MoreNewt Gingrich for U.S. Senate
This isn’t a request for Newt Gingrich to move to Illinois, but rather to visit. Republicans here are in desperate need of a little assistance, primarily from someone who can effectively articulate the Republican…
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On the Passing and Presidency of Ronald Reagan
Despairing over the gap between where we are and where we need to be with Illinois political leadership led me to take last week off from writing a column — and then on Saturday, President…
Read MoreThe Need for Republican Outsourcing
Many Illinois Republicans are less than encouraged fourteen months into the reign of the new General Assembly leadership. Like fans unhappy with the performance of their team, they’re still awaiting evidence that the new…
Read MoreWhat U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald Should Do
“I’m thinking about trying to make sure Peter has an opponent…I think we can do better than him.” — Illinois Republican Congressman Ray LaHood as quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times, November 25, 2002 referring…
Read MoreCross, Tenhouse, and the Importance of Ideas
“To get good government means to get consent to good governors, and this is the political problem.” So said political science scholar Walter Berns in 1965. Media reports say today is the day for…
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