Those in control of the Illinois Republican Party have chosen to make one person – Mike Madigan – the evil villain, not the Leftism and radical movement he's enabled for so many years.
A growing number of Illinois conservatives are saying they can't vote for incumbent GOP Governor Bruce Rauner because he has sided with Democrats on key issues and has bought up the IL GOP and GOP county organizations with his personal wealth. Illinois' weak counter to Democrats is now the "Rauner Party" not the "Republican Party." The "Rauner Party" ignores and ridicules the Republican Party platform upon which thousands have based their political affiliation.
Now we learn that even the IL GOP elitists like former Governor Jim Edgar are backing away from endorsing the Republican incumbent and schmoozing up to Rauner's Democrat challenger, another billionaire – JB Pritzker.
So what political party will be left for Illinoisans that are conservative, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, pro-legal immigration fiscal hawks? They are not welcome in either the Illinois Democrat or the Illinois Republican Party – despite an admirable, but failed attempt to rise to IL GOP leadership levels.
Certainly there are good conservatives as high as the State Central Committee level, but the Rauner Party dominates and controls all levels of influence in the party – keeping the party from making unified, strong statements to counter the Democrat Party radical Leftist control in Illinois. Those in control of the Illinois Republican Party have chosen to make one person – Mike Madigan – the evil villain, not the Leftism and radical movement he's enabled for so many years. A movement that has destroyed the morale of a whole state.
The New York Conservative Party formed because they had no choice – just like those in the Illinois Republican Party have now. So we pose these questions for discussion:
- Like the Pilgrims left Europe to start a new nation that held strong beliefs that would not be ridiculed or muffled, should conservatives in Illinois begin an effort to build a Conservative Party?
- Or like the Puritans that stayed behind to attempt to correct the situation from within, should conservatives work to sway the IL GOP back to its roots?
- If your thought is to start a new party, what should the Illinois Conservative Party include in its platform? Sam McCann is running for governor on the Conservative Party ticket in the upcoming election, but there's no indication of that party's basis. What should it include?
Please comment here or on Illinois Review's Facebook Page.