With the election of a new chairman to the RNC, Republican leadership promised to pay attention and put forth effort into all opportunities to elect Republicans to congress. That means finding viable candidates in all 435 districts.

Job one should have been the Special election taking place this March to replace Rahm Emmanuel in the Illinois 5^th. And yet…nothing.

I’ve looked at the candidates and surveyed the area. The front-runner is Patrick O’Connor, or, as I prefer to call him, Rahm Lite. Just about every lawn and every small business’ window in the district has an “O’Connor for Congress” sign. I’ve also seen a handful of shows of support for Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, a man who I actually met once. I had to shower for two hours straight and I still couldn’t get his slime off of me.

So I tried to look at how the supposedly revitalized RNC was responding.

There are three “serious”—and I use the term very loosely—candidates on the Republican side. First is our “front runner,” Tom Hanson. Hanson ran against Emmanuel in 2008, but of course, he lost. Can anybody say “Adlai Stevenson?” Looking at his campaign website, I cringed. It looks like it was designed by a high school sophomore and has just about as many grammatical errors on the front page as would be expected from a website designed by a high school student from the Chicago Public School System. He made me want to throw away the State Constitution and run myself. I’m sure I’d do better.

Our second-best is Rosanna Pulido, the State Director of the Minuteman Project. You’re likely thinking what I am: is the Illinois GOP serious? She’s a one-issue candidate with views on immigration that make Ann Coulter look rational and moderate, running in a district where white people are considered a “healthy minority.” If she gets over 4% of the vote, I think I’ll choke on something. But at least her website looks more professional than Hanson’s, so she gets to lose in style. By the way, on her front page, illegal immigration is mentioned in four out of eight of her “headlines,” including sections on “Defending Our Chicago Police Officers,” “Rosanna For Congress,” and two that are actually called “Illegal Immigration.”

There are other candidates on the ballot, but you get the point. The Illinois 5^th should be our first real fight; a symbol that Republicans are prepared to get back on the horse and that we really are more competent than the shamed Blagojevich Democrats. Instead, we are displaying ourselves as a party in ruin; why would Illinoisans vote for the party that can’t run one viable candidate in one special election? This state will vote for Democrats with the logic, “Well, they’re corrupt, but at least they’re smart enough to occasionally accomplish something. These Republicans are boobs, but, OK, honest boobs.” Wake up, Republicans! If this is a sign of things to come, then our party is, indeed, finished. 

Call me an idealist. I sent out the following message to members of a newly created Facebook group whose stated purpose is to try to get Congressman Peter Roskam elected Governor in 2010:

“I want to thank all of you for joining this group. Especially those of you who are actually from Illinois--although all support from any State is appreciated!

Why did I start this group? I'll confess, I'm a bit opportunistic. With the arrest of Governor Blagojevich, I see an opportunity that our State party would be remiss not to take. The people of Illinois are tired of voting for the lesser of "who cares?" We deserve a real politician, not the stuffed shirts we get stuck sending to Springfield. And with the Illinois Democratic Party left tainted, State Republicans have a chance that is too good to miss.

Governor Blagojevich won in 2006 because Topinka simply sucked worse. Forgive me for being so blunt. The people of Illinois deserve better... The Illinois GOP deserves better.

For once, we have a legitimate shot at electing a politician who has more than just the "gravitas" that voters usually have to settle for. Peter Roskam, I believe, is a man of authenticity. He is the perfect candidate to become the face of the Illinois Republican Party.

Our Party is in shambles. Illinois Republicans are disorganized, lost, and confused. That's because our candidates, even when they have electability, lack real leadership potential. Peter Roskam has it.

For 2010, we have a choice. The Illinois GOP could nominate another stuffed Republican that will fail the Party and the State, or we could elect a real leader. A principled Republican of character, authenticity, moral fiber, and, yes, that gravitas.

For all intents and purposes, this is 2009. We need to get a jump on supporting the man who can and should lead Illinois in 2010. Invite friends, rally support, wear "Roskam for Governor" t-shirts. Anything to get the word out.

Thank you for joining.”

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “The good ones always lose. ESPECIALLY in Illinois!” You’re not wrong.

I supported Fred Thompson during the 2008 Primaries, not because he was the most electable man, but because I honestly believed that he would have been the best man for the job. I learned quickly that the politician who should win is usually not the one who does.

But, here, in Illinois, in light of the recent tainting of the Democratic Party in Illinois, is it so insane that I see more of an opportunity than ever to push to elect the right man for the job?

Politics doesn’t have to be a choice between who will screw us less. We have a chance here to put in a candidate that we can honestly believe in. Illinois deserves that kind of chance.

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.