Posted by
"Mind and Morals" Michael Coyne on Thursday, August 14, 2008 12:29:00 PM
We constantly hear about how corrupt the United States
Congress is, but national politicians can begin to look like angels when
compared to the Illinois General Assembly.
It’s no secret that Illinois politics has been broken for
quite some time. Illinois Democrats frequently concern themselves with lining
their own pockets with little consideration for their constituency. Meanwhile,
Illinois Republican politicians are even worse; they bend to the whims of
special interests, without even firm organization. Different Republican
districts in Illinois might as well be in different States, as the party no
longer has any legitimate unifying base. The Illinois Republican Party has even
taken to raising lawsuits against fellow Republican organizations for failure
to get the State Party’s “permission” to call themselves “Republicans.” The
word “Republican” refers to a system of political beliefs, not necessarily to a
group of bureaucrats. It’s no wonder the Democrats hold so much power in this
State; they are at least organized.
On August 12 and 13, a special session of the Illinois
General Assembly was called. The intended topics: capital spending on drug and
alcohol treatment facilities and school funding. Did they ever get around to
those topics? No. Rather, the Senate wasted the day bickering about their own
pay raises, while the House of Representatives never, to my knowledge,
discussed anything. This is the same Springfield machine that failed for several
months to solidify a State budget. This is not what our government was created
to do.
Obviously, I bear concern for the status of our Federal
Government, but we need new leadership right here in the State of Illinois,
first. Readers may or may not know that our State holds the National record for
the highest number of indicted Governors. That’s not very reassuring to the
people of the State.
Also needless to say, elected Illinois Republicans—if
they ever do accomplish anything—seem to act more like Democrats,
advocating more spending, the State equivalent of big-government solutions, and
new laws and regulations that force our party to the center. Or even, dare I
say it, to the left.
What we face is a problem similar to what many National
Republicans have had since the 1930s; we look too much like our Democratic
rivals to warrant voters to switch sides. “At least this one admits he’s a
Democrat,” they think. Or even, “Better to stick with the Devil we know, rather
than the Devil we don’t.” What good are we, as a party, if we are too corrupt
to care, too cowardly to stand up for what we believe in, and too fragmented to
present a united set of Republican ideals? What good is the Illinois Republican
Party if our last measurable accomplishment was Abraham Lincoln? It’s time to
fix these problems. It’s time to put an end to the chaos.
This article is meant to be a stepping stone, a rallying
cry, a glaring light on the flaws in Illinois’s political system. More
specifically, the flaws and structural breakdowns in the Illinois Republican
Party. Without valid leadership and a valid structure of Party unity, Illinois
will become a one-Party State. The Land of Lincoln stands to become the Land of
Daley and Obama. Illinois Republicans deserve better. Illinois Citizens, in
general, deserve better. And, one way or another, we will get better.