ELECTION DAY 2009
Grassroots is where it's at!


We know that there have been a ton of UIS College Republicans events and happenings, from here (Lincoln Day Luncheon w/ Mike Huckabee, Bay Buchanan event, Senator John Millner meeting, Student Government, etc...) to Washington, D.C. (CPAC 2009!!) and back. We have saved draft posts below, which will hopefully be published, with some recaps and coverage of this.

For right now however, it's Election Day... My last post contains an e-mail that was sent out, for volunteers; several UIS College Republicans are involved in the important local elections, for "Illinois Consolidated Election Day" 2009, either here in Capital Township, the greater Springfield area, and/or elsewhere in Illinois. UIS CR alumnus Matt Mau is running for Village Trustee in Chatham, UIS CR Event Coordinator Braxton Denton is running for School Board in Vandalia, and former UIS CR Chairman Kurt Kojzarek (who scored a major victory last time), is running for Township Clerk up in Elgin.


For our area, here are the candidates, who've been endorsed by the Sangamon County Republican Party:

[Note: To find out what districts you're in, enter your address here (if you're registered in Sangamon County).]


CAPITAL TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES (Vote for 4):

Candice D. Trees (Republican)

Rich Berning (Republican)

Sarah Delano Pavlik (Republican)

Phil Chiles (Republican)

-----------------------> Check out this site for our Capital Township Trustee Team...


SPRINGFIELD PARK DISTRICT (Vote for 3):

Gray Herndon Noll [ www.graynoll.com ] [ Facebook Group ]

Brian Reardon [ Facebook Group ]

Mark Beagles



SPRINGFIELD SCHOOL BOARD, DISTRICT #186 (Vote for 1, in your district)

Subdistrict 2: Nick Stoutamyer

Subdistrict 4: Keith Sias [ www.keithsias.com ]




Note: For the following offices, the candidates are unopposed.

[LINCOLN LAND] COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRUSTEES (Vote for 1, in your district)

District 1: Justin Reichert
District 2: Cinda Edwards
District 3: Kent Gray
District 4: Andy Ramage


SPRINGFIELD METROPOLITAN EXPOSITION & AUDITORIUM AUTHORITY (SMEAA)

District 1: April Troemper [ Facebook Group ]
District 3: Tony Smarjesse
District 4: [Vote for 3] - Mary Frances Squires, Mike Coffey Jr., Connie Sebok

Election Time Again!!

Below is an e-mail that I had the current UIS CR Chairman forward to our list yesterday; it provides an overview of what's going on today, here in Springfield and the surrounding areas (as well as throughout the state of Illinois):


Dear all,

We've mentioned before how local-level elections can have an even greater impact on our day-to-day lives than the statewide and national ones do. Also, your involvement can help make the difference, in important races, like we did last time... Illinois Consolidated ELECTION DAY is tomorrow (TUESDAY)!!

One of the Democrat candidates we are trying to defeat won her last race by only 8 votes. In addition to that race, our Capital Township Trustee Team has a heated election, with a whole team of Democrats to go against.

*** Please meet us at the Sangamon County GOP Headquarters around noontime tomorrow (TUESDAY); if you are not able to make it at that time however, we could use your help at other points of the day as well.

---------> The HQ is at 1132 E. Sangamon Avenue (here is a map and directions), near the intersection of Sangamon Avenue & Peoria Road, across from the Main Gates of the Illinois State Fairgrounds (and a couple buildings down from Fulgenzi's Pizza).

ANY ASSISTANCE that you, or anyone else you know, could provide, will be very much appreciated, by us, and by the area Republican leaders. We hope to see you tomorrow (Tuesday)... If you need transporation, or have any questions, please contact me, at (217) 652-0987 or uisconservative@yahoo.com . Thank you!!

Sincerely,
Aakash Raut

Precinct Committeeman, Capital 36

(217) 652-0987

Monday, February 2, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nathanael Arthur


Statement of the UIS College Republicans on the Conviction and Removal of Rod Blagojevich
The UIS College Republicans are truly relieved that the impeachment and trial of Governor Rod Blagojevich are finally over. We applaud the General Assembly for finally standing up to a corrupt and imperious Governor and for advocating for the people of Illinois. It is our hope that the General Assembly will learn from this ordeal and work to enact tough campaign and ethics laws to ensure tranparency within the system and trust back into state government.

Though we disagree with Governor Pat Quinn when it comes to political views, we hope that he will be open to the General Assembly's input and that there will be greater transparency, especially in the crafting of the budget. We also hope that Governor Quinn will work better with the General Assembly in addressing the challenges facing Illinois and in restoring Illinoisans' trust and confidence in state government and politics.

###

Happy New Year!!

Who is Roland Burris?
The media dossier on Blago's appointment
After our unfortunate governor, Rod Blagojevich, threw a bizarre [albeit shrewd] curve-ball, in appointing former Illinois politician Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate vacancy of President-elect Barack Obama, I thought I would compile, for my personal blog (and web space, to which this material is uploaded), a collection of past mainstream media articles on certain actions and policies of Blagojevich's appointee. All of a sudden, the whole national media focus (television, radio, newspaper, and Blogosphere) is on these issues, involving our state's politics, Roland Burris, and Rod Blagojevich... (If only they knew what we've had to deal with, for all these years! ;-)

While I saved this draft on New Year's Eve, so as to publish this list of past news coverage, this entry is being published on Thursday, January 8th. Later today, Roland Burris will be arriving back in Springfield [the news yesterday was unfortunate; Blago and his buddy seem to have won... at least for now], to testify at the Illinois House of Representatives Impeachment Committee hearing. It will be at 3:00 PM, in Room 114 of the State Capitol.

Here is an archive of relatively-recent press coverage of Roland Burris, which deals with the controversies that he instigated or has been involved with. There are some major ones - contrary to the portrayal I've noticed in the national media, since the appointment was made.

Note: When this appointment was first made, I remembered several Roland-related controversies, from his prior [unsuccessful] runs for Governor - there was the "non-qualified white boys" remark, which may have nixed his bid for the 1998 Democratic nomination, and I remember, during the 2002 gubernatorial primaries, the issue of the Rolando Cruz death-row case being prominent. However, I mainly noticed it being used against Republican candidates; perhaps because I was more focused on those primaries... But I did remember Roland Burris being mentioned as a Democrat who was also involved in that case. (Burris was running again for Governor that year, but once again fell short, in the primary.)

And now it seems that the media, and the Blogosphere, is all over the Rolando Cruz case again. I just saw that Mary Brigid Kennedy has now spoken out, about Burris' appointment. I wonder how much (if any) of this issue will arise, in the Impeachment Committee hearing today. Because the Rolando Cruz trial (the Jeanine Nicarico murder case) is already being discussed so much in the Blogosphere, I only provided a few items on that topic in this Burris press archive; I did include an Illinois Issues piece, because it's by our university's very own Professor Charlie Wheeler (and in the superb magazine, published right here on the campus!). Also included is then-Attorney General Roland Burris' letter-to-the-editor response. (Too bad Burris isn't speaking out on that case now! ;-)




The Roland Burris controversy compilation
From the mainstream media memory hole




- - - - - [More archived press items will be added soon... Like the award-winning 1993 series from the State Journal-Register, discussed here at the Illinois Issues blog, and raised by rival Democrat, U.S. Attorney Jim Burns, which inspired the book Illinois for Sale - on the relationship between $tate contract$ and campaign contribution$ ]


03/21/2002: Roland Burris says he won't run again, Bernard Schoenburg, The Hotline (National Journal) & Chicago Tribune
From The Hotline: Roland Burris "may have finished dead last" in the Dem primary, but "at least he's used to it." Burris has lost "six times in 10 attempts" since '76, and he said this was his last race. Burris: "I'm done, and it's very easy to say that." Burris said he was "relishing the thought of leaving the rigorous campaign trail." Burris: "It's unbelievable what you go through, what you put your family through ... I'm just going to go on with my life and enjoy what little life I have left" (Mihalopoulos/Becker, Chicago Tribune, 3/21).

--------------------------------------------------
01/18/2007: Vegas probe casts doubt on county deal, Steve Patterson, Chicago Sun-Times, January 18, 2007

06/16/2004: Roland Burris' consulting firm awarded $150,000 contract by IDOT, Doug Finke, State Journal-Register, June 16, 2004

06/05/2003: Ex-attorney general Roland Burris to lobby for Indian casino, Eric Peterson, Chicago Daily Herald, June 5, 2003

Article list via: "Burris' pay-to-play political history"

----------------------------------------------

03/03/1998: Burns: Burris part of problem, not solution, Bernard Schoenburg, State Journal-Register


03/08/1998: Front-runner Burris no longer above the primary fray, Bernard Schoenburg, State Journal-Register


03/08/1998: Burris failed his only major test in office as Attorney General, Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune (re: the Rolando Cruz case)

------> April 1993: Attorney General Roland Burris' letter to the editor, responding to UIS' very own Charlie Wheeler III, in which AG Burris defends his reaction to Mary Brigid Kenney's resignation and complaints, Illinois Issues April 4, 1993



------> Original article: March 1993: Justice bereft of common sense?, Prof. Charles Wheeler III, Illinois Issues, March 6, 1993

02/02/1992: Burris borrowed $28,000 from campaign fund, Chuck Neubauer & Mark Brown, Chicago Sun-Times, February 2, 1992

Labels: barack obama, Blagojevich impeachment, charlie wheeler, House impeachment committee, Illinois House, Illinois Issues, impeachment, media, pay-to-play, rod blagojevich, roland burris, rolando cruz, UIS

Roland Burris Round-up & Reactions

Illinois Republican Party: The Facts on Roland Burris [ Also see Anne Leary's post ]

Rod Roland Reactions
Blagojevich Burris Blogosphere Roundups

Rich Miller (Capitol Fax): This just in… *** Guv to appoint Burris *** White says No *** Blatant appeal to race *** Quinlan resigns ***
John Ruberry (Marathon Pundit): Blagojevich buddy Burris
Chicago GOP: Blagojevich to name Roland Burris to open Senate seat
IlliniPundit: Blago to Name Burris to Senate Seat - UPDATED
Mark Shelden (IlliniPundit): Welcome Senator Burris [very prescient!!]
Bill Dennis (Peoria Pundit): Politics: Blago to name former AG Burris to Senate seat
ISU College Democrats: Roland Burris?

ArchPundit has so much great stuff on Roland and Rod, I can't link to just one post!


Guest-blogger DRJ (Patterico's Pontifications): What’s Next for the Illinois Senate Seat?
Michelle Malkin: Blago surprise: Here comes his Senate replacement; race-card circus; Obama says no
AllahPundit (Hot Air): Video: The surreal, race-baiting Blagojevich press conference; Update: No seat for Burris, says Obama; Update: Blago’s General Counsel quits

The Real Barack Obama: Blago Punks Dems
Rick Moran (The American Thinker): Blago names respected African American Pol to senate seat
Gary Gross (California Conservative, Let Freedom Ring): Defiant Blagojevich Names Obama's Replacement
Rich Moran (Right Wing Nut House): REID BALKS AT BLAGO SENATE CHOICE
Jazz Shaw (The Moderate Voice): Senator Burris: Much Ado About Little
Patrick Edaburn (The Moderate Voice): A Proposal For Mr. Burris
Pete Abel (The Moderate Voice): Blagojevich the Exponential Cynic?
Uppity Woman: Obama says Burris choice is “disappointing”
Anne Leary (Backyard Conservative): Blago Makes a Move
Dan Riehl: Did Blago Actually Have To Appoint Someone?
Neoavatara: Blago! Are you kidding me?

Update (1/10/09): And, the best post of all!

(Basil must be from our state!! ;-)

Labels: barack obama, blog round-ups, blogosphere, rod blagojevich, roland burris

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

- Isaiah 9:6


Merry CHRISTmas!!

For Our Liberal Friends: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to observe religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures.

For Our Republican Friends: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and may God bless you and yours in 2009.

This time of the year is about change; it's about the future. We look at the New Years celebration as a change of the year and look forward to all of the exciting things to come that year. But Christmas is also about a change - it's about a change in the World for the rest of the future, not just a year. When Jesus Christ was born in a manger, it signified a change; it was the start of a beautiful future full of possibilities that last much longer than a year, but an eternity. So, this holiday season, don't just look to 2009, but look to the future. And the future is bright. In this Christmas and Holiday Season, let's work to change the future and change the World. And we as Republicans, can do just that if we stay focused, stay energized, stay loyal, and remain the best party on Campus. Look to the future, my friends. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and here's to a bright future.

(Jeffrey Isbell is a former UIS College Republican and is currently the Children's Pastor and Youth Leader at the West Monroe Apostolic Church in Herrin, Illinois)

I spent a few hours at the Capitol today to see what the legislature planned to do regarding Governor Blagojevich. From everything I read in media reports the main item on the agenda was to vote on a bill to create a special election for the vacant US Senate seat. That did not happen. Republicans on the House side were upset about this to say the least. House Minority Leader Tom Cross spoke on the House Floor on the need to hold a special election because any appointment to the US Senate, whether it be by Governor Blagojevich or Pat Quinn would be tainted. He and other Republicans are going to continue to fight to ensure a special election does take place to name the replacement for President-elect Obama.

The House did vote to create a panel of 12 Democrats and 9 Republicans to put together a report that investigates whether there is enough to go forward with impeachment in the House. This panel will meet everyday in room 114 of the Capital and is open to the public. They will not meet on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day. This bill was Resolution 1650. Republicans introduced an identical Resolution last week, 1644. The only exception was that the Republican version called for 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans. The Republican resolution was not discussed and several Republican Representatives voiced their strong disapproval on the House Floor. Representative Bill Black (R) of Danville, was perhaps the most vocal to the Democrats. He spoke very passionately and gave quite a speech.

So, the House has formally created a committee to investigate impeachment of the Governor. It is my hope that this committee will act swiftly and decisively and be prepared to act if the Governor does not resign. There is much at stake and impeachment is not something that should be taken lightly. However, given the serious nature of the allegations against Governor Blagojevich, I believe that he is not fit to remain Governor. If he does not resign on his own than it is my belief that the House of Representatives should move swiftly with impeachment and allow a trial to take place in the Senate. Now is the time to act. The time for change in Illinois is now. We need to put the past 6 years behind us and move forward to tackle the serious issues facing Illinois families today. I encourage you to call your State Representative and ensure that impeachment moves swiftly to put this state in the right hands.


Trackbacked to third world country, The World According to Carl, DragonLady's World, Rosemary's News, and Political Byline, courtesy of Linkfests.us, and to The Conservative Cat.

Labels: House begins impeachment process, rod blagojevich

As I was watching the coverage yesterday of Blagojevich's arrest, I couldn't help but notice how all of the national political pundits were utterly shocked and surprised (not to mention many Illinois politicians) by the arrest of the governor. For most citizens this should come as no surprise. He has been under federal investigation for several years and has had several former aids indicted by federal authorities (Tony Rezko comes to mind). Contrary to what many people in the nation believe, this is just politics as usual for Illinois. I've heard it said from classmates that this will allow for a clean slate in Illinois. Given the number of governors who have been arrested and put in jail in the past 30 years or so, I doubt that such a thing will happen.

Labels: Blagojevich Arrest, media, rod blagojevich

Well folks, I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.

For the last 6 years of the Blagojevich administration there has been a cloud of suspicion hovering over this Governor over pay-to-play politics. In 2002, Rod Blagojevich campaigned across this state pledging to end the business-as-usual that was the status quo in the state of Illinois at the time. He pledged to ride into Springfield on a white horse and clean up this state. I didn't support him in 2002, I thought then that former IL Attorney General Jim Ryan was the right man for the job. My candidate lost. I was willing to give Blagojevich a chance to follow through on the promises he had made because Illinois desperately needed to put the George Ryan years behind us. George Ryan was a person I looked up too. He was a Republican and he and I shared a decent name haha. George Ryan let me and the rest of the state down by putting his own personal interests ahead of the interests of this state. When Blagojevich took office, I had hopes that we could finally put that behind us. Unfortunately, that trust was wrongfully placed by the people of Illinois.

Early on we began to see that business-as-usual in Illinois simply transferred from the Republican administration into the Democratic one. Instead of putting the interests of IL first, Blagojevich began doing whatever it took to enrich himself, his family, and his friends. This is why I became actively involved in Judy Baar Topinka's campaign for Governor in 2006. The entire campaign Blagojevich falsely used George Ryan to link him to Topinka. He was able to spend millions and millions of dollars, a lot of which was raised by now convicted felon Tony Rezko, to air TV ads linking Topinka to George Ryan. Remember, Judy Baar Topinka, What's She Thinking? During the campaign, I was able to get to know Judy very well and Joe Birkett as well. But because Blagojevich had a massive campaign war chest, he was able to distract the voters of IL away from his own failures and create a false impression that Topinka was just another George Ryan crony. Judy Baar Topinka warned us in 2006 of what lay ahead for IL. She was right. She and Joe Birkett fought for an Illinois that worked for working families. In the last 2 years since his re-election, we have seen what can happen when we have a Governor more interested in being served than serving the interests of this state.

Public service is about serving the people, not to be served. It is a sad fact that we have TWO consecutive Governors that have been arrested. This corruption does not belong to one party or one group. This is a bipartisan problem in Illinois that needs to be dealt with. For too long our elected officials have routinely betrayed the public trust and engaged in pay-to-play politics. It's time to put our state first. It's time to put forth leaders that are interested in putting the business of this state ahead of their own personal agenda. We can do better than what we are getting out of Springfield. Because quite frankly, we deserve better. We deserve better than having 2 Governors involved in corruption. We deserve honest, decent, and honorable people to serve in the rank and file of State Government. We face serious challenges in Illinois and its time for Governor Blagojevich to step aside and put the interests of Illinois first, because he has lost all credibility that he might have had. This isn't a partisan issue. This is an Illinois issue. All of us, Democrats and Republicans, need to stand up for Honest Government and a government that will work for all of us.

So, now it's time for Governor Blagojevich to step aside. If he does not, the General Assembly should convene and begin immediate impeachment hearings and allow Lt. Governor Pat Quinn to take over. He has opposed Blagojevich on many key areas and I think will lead this state honorably and will help to put this state first.

Labels: Blagojevich Arrest, rod blagojevich, tony rezko

Breaking news: Governor Blagojevich [finally!!] arrested...

There has been a TON of stuff that's happened, since we last posted here (from Washington, D.C.), and several entries have been saved as drafts below - to hopefully be published soon.

We just had to interrupt this blog however, to post this morning's latest news... Our governor, the insufferable Rod R. Blagojevich, has been arrested!!

This is something that has been a long time coming; it was surprising though, how it just suddenly happened, triggered by a new issue (the filling of the vacancy of outgoing U.S. Senator Barack Obama).


Blago is currently in federal custody, along with his Chief of Staff. The U.S. Attorney will be holding the press conference, regarding this, at the top of the hour (in about 10 minutes).

This will be an interesting situation to watch (as Illinois politics oftentimes is! ;-)...

www.defendingthedream.org


I wish I'd been able to publish something about this, before we left, or at least last evening (the first day of this event), but that with all that took place over that 24-hour period [planes, trains, and automobiles, ferries, etc..., it was not possible.]

As some of you may have heard, we came yesterday to Washington, D.C., for the 2nd-Annual "Defending the American Dream" Summit, sponsored by Americans for Prosperity.

Special thanks to the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity for covering our airfare costs, for this great event!! We were able to find affordable lodging (we're staying at a Holiday Inn Express in suburban D.C.), and left yesterday morning, for a 6:00 AM flight from Lambert International Airport in St. Louis [STL].

Yesterday [keep in mind that none of us really got any sleep], we went [starting at about 3:00 AM (again!)] from:

Chatham & Springfield to intermediate parking at STL [by car]
Intermediate parking to the East Terminal (for Southwest Airlines) [a mile away, by shuttle]
STL to Baltimore-Washington Airport [BWI]
BWI to our hotel [$130 cab ride]
Hotel to Metro station (Franconia/Springfield stop) [shuttle]
Franconia/Springfield to Crystal City stop [Metro]

(Here, at the Crystal City Marriott, we all got to meet Grover Norquist, one of the most influential leaders in the United States. Myself and then-UIS CR Chairman David Clary saw him both at the College Republican National Biennial Convention last summer (July 2007), as well as few months later, at the 5th-Anniversary Luncheon of the Illinois Policy Institute, here in Springfield, Illinois. Then-UIS CR 2nd Vice-Chairman Zack Davis was at both events as well, and the photo that the State Journal-Register chose to include on its front page, the day after the 5th Anniversary Luncheon, was that of Zack and Mr. Norquist.)


Crystal City Marriot to U.S. Capitol [bus]

U.S. Capitol to Crystal City Marriot [[me]] [bus]
U.S. Capitol to Franconia-Springfield stop [Metro] to Holiday Inn Express [shuttle, which probably had to be specially called] back to... [[the others]]

That rally at the United States Capitol (referred to on the television news as "angry capitalists storm Capitol Hill!" ;-) was a good experience, as we got to network with some great people.

I was interviewed by the Business-section reporter at the Washington Times (that's a great publication; I'm so glad that in Washington, D.C., there is a second major newspaper to balance out the ideology of the Washington Post).

There was a reception in the evening, but the big event last night was the Tribute to Ronald Reagan dinner banquet.

Also, earlier that day, I succeeded in getting added to Bloggers' Row... They have a room set up for us, from which I've tried to live-blog (though at my personal weblog), as others are doing here. It has been hard [especially without having had a chance to drink the hotel coffee this morning, and with no Red Bull (!) in sight], to quickly post, while things are happening... Right now, the lunch break has begun (it's now well underway), but I'm still in the Bloggers' Row room. The breakout sessions begin at about 1:30 PM this afternoon (we are now an hour ahead of everyone in Illinois).

The speakers at the Reagan Dinner last night were fantastic. We will try to have updates and recaps posted soon. Meanwhile, here are some others, blogging from the "Defending the American Dream" Summit, here at the Crystal City Marriott (Arlington, VA):

Fran Eaton, our friend at Illinois Review

Our old friends at Save the GOP

Steve Eggleston at No Runny Eggs

Young [constitutionalist] Republican Joey Dauben, now at the Ellis County Observer

Liberty and Prosperity for Today

Mike Illions and Sharon Soon from Conservatives with Attitude
Michael Sparxx (or is it "A.J. Sparxx"? ;-) from the good-old PoliPundit weblog

Alice Shope from Alice's Restaurant

Austin Cassidy from Conservative Pulse

Bob Weeks from Voice For Liberty in Wichita

Doug Welch from Stix Blog (whose work I used, in prior entries here, like with our trip last week, to the Sarah Palin debate events - and also for last months Republican National Convention; Doug's from nearby St. Louis)

The great columnist Rachel Anderson Alexander (sorry, Rachel! ;-), and her sometimes-anonymous co-blogger [so anonymous, I don't recall his name! :-) ], now at the Sonoran Alliance. [From just heading over to that weblog, I am thinking that it might be Pete.]

[Wow... He just walked back in the room, after I typed this. I'm now over in a corner, not up by the big-screen live-feed, where I was during this morning's program, because my laptop ran out of batteries, and I couldn't find an available outlet. This room has cleared out some, because it's lunch period, but over by that area where Rachel and Pete (?) are, Fran Eaton and Mark Johnson (from our state) are also there, and it looks like they are interviewing Grover Norquist (who is now here as well). Erik Telford, a national staffer for Americans for Prosperity (and Executive Director of Right Online - a new AFP project), who we want to thank for coordinating the blogging/technological support for this Summit (and especially for allowing me to be on Bloggers' Row! ;-), just mentioned that more people are here in this room, for available interviews.

Steve Lonegan, the State Director for the New Jersey division of Americans for Prosperity, is one of them, and he has sit down at the table next to my corner one, with Dave Nalle of the Republican Liberty Caucus, who I just a little while ago witnessed doing a video interview with the new head of Bureaucrash, Pete Eyer (our old friend J.D. Talley apparently no longer heads that organization).

I wanted the names (and spellings thereof), and tried to ask, before this interview began... Mr. Nalle let me come over, and I am co-interviewing (though I haven't asked any questions yet).

Steve Lonegan spoke at the General Session this morning, and is the former Mayor of Bogata, New Jersey. I just found his home page: lonegan.com [encyclopedia article]

The person to the left of Mr. Nalle just told Mr. Lonegan, at the end of this interview, that he had Twittered (or perhaps the term we're 'sposed to be using is "tweeted") on this interview, and he received a response from someone in South Carolina... I couldn't really hear what he said that comment was about - perhaps because of how increasingly exasperated I am getting, by witnessing, and being in the middle of, what is going on.

As I've said before, I have no idea how some of these people are able to professionally compose and publish so rapidly, about events that have just happened (or are taking place). I should be able to do that, at this point (and perhaps would be able to, once I get ahold of something stronger than Coca-Cola ;-).

A woman leader from Texas (formerly with the Republican National Committee), came over, as Mr. Lonegan was leaving, and though I went over to get extra business cards, and then was able to speak to Mr. Lonegan before he left, I did come back, and heard them discussing property tax issues. She is from a part of Austin, Texas (which is the Lone Star State's capital) that is liberal.

Now, another woman here is taking a picture just took a picture, of us over here. Also, though I was behind this table, on the opposite side of Mr. Lonegan (as was interviewer Dave Nalle, and whomever this other guy is*, my voice will probably appear in the video feed (that's how Mr. Nalle was interviewing Steve Lonegan).

* I just asked, and I feel bad... I met this gentleman last night, with Socialist Squirrel and Grizzly Groundswell. He did respond by noting that he didn't have any business cards last night, but just gave me one - and I mentioned that from the side, and with his hat, it was hard to recognize him (this seems to be happening increasingly to me, these days - people know who I am, but I have trouble placing them. Either I'm getting older, or I'm making so many networks and connections, it's becoming crazy, keeping track and remembering everyone - In this case, I think it's mostly the latter.) Dr. Bill Smith is the National Political Director of Let's Get This Right, which is a coalition of traditionalist, libertarian, and constitutionalists within the Republican Party (precisely the type of people our party needs more of, but that's a topic for another time ;-)...

Dr. Smith is also the editor of the Arkansas Republican Assembly's News Service website.

Now, David P. Baumgardner, M.P.A., who has become the Wisconsin Coordinator, for the Republican Liberty Caucus (Mr. Dave Nalle, mentioned above, who conducted that interview with Steve Lonnegan is with the Republican Liberty Caucus in Austin, Texas). Before that, a reporter with MTV News came, and sat down there... I think that she should talk to the College Republicans and other young people here, considering her target audience.

As this was happening, John Fund (who was one of the featured General Session speakers this morning) of the Wall Street Journal, came in... He asked to use the laptop and internet connection of blogger Thomas Cox.

I was at that corner table, before moving over to co-interview Steve Lonegan, but when this happened, I decided to move back over... I am across from Mr. Fund right now, who was just called for an interview, which he had to delay, as he tries to access the internet, while eating the boxed lunch (something that I need to be doing, as the lunch period is almost over, while I am still blogging!... Crap, I really need the Red Bull).

I asked Tom Cox if he could take a picture of me here... He did, but what I wanted was one of me with John Fund, both of us working away. I didn't have to ask though, as he [Tom] seemed to read my mind.

Speaking of digital video-interviewing and photo-taking, this is all-the-more reason (actually, the prior trips, to Washington, D.C., Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and elsewhere were more than reason enough - see below!) to get that Flickr and YouTube set up completed, ASAP.

Now, unless President Bush or Vice-President Cheney, or Senator John McCain, happen to also walk in here, I'm going to go get lunch!

(Actually, at this point, even if Bush, Cheney, or McCain were to walk in here, I'd probably still go to lunch! ;-)

[Though the same could not be said, if the person walking in here were the Governor of Alaska!! :-) ]

Note from Aakash (10/5/08): I am only tangentially involved in campus affairs right now, so my awareness of what is going on, with respect to all of that, is often only indirect... The new leaders of the UIS College Republicans should be posting here soon.


Updates, and the Vice-President Debate
In St. Louis, to see Governor Sarah Palin beat Senator Joe Biden
Quite a few things have happened, even in the short time since I last posted. At least week's College Republicans meeting, the new UIS CR Executive Board created and appointed four new positions. One of those is Web/Com - After having so many experiences, from Sangamon County, to other parts of Illinois (Springfield to Chicago), to elsewhere in the Midwest (Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Minnesota again, Missouri again (!!!!)** etc..., to Washington, D.C., multiple times***, and having plenty of photos from these national, regional, and local events, as well as some video clips, including newscasts on which we were featured, it has been very frustrating not having them compiled, in a display-sharing format - especially since there are now so many widely-used services, that do this for you (Flickr, YouTube, Picasa, Google Video, etc...). We hope to have new web pages and recap compilations up soon.


** When I was Chairman in the Fall 2004 semester (the last time we had a presidential election), I remembered us attending the rallies (through Illinois "Victory 2004") in St. Louis, surrounding the Bush-Kerry debate. When I heard the news about another upcoming debate there, this time around, I thought we should look into possibilities, regarding rallies and attendance at the historic Vice-Presidential Debate, between Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden.

Early this week, I received notice, from Jeremy Hagen (Chairman of the statewide Missouri College Republicans organization [MOCR]), of the three events planned for Thursday, surrounding this debate. There would be a rally for Governor Palin near the debate site (Washington University in St. Louis), followed by the huge Debate Watching Party, at Chaifetz Arena in Saint Louis University (SLU), at which 10,000 people were expected, and after which Governor Sarah Palin would be speaking to us.

Despite the uncertainty of ticket availability (that's why no all-group e-mail was sent out), and despite these events being during work and class times, we made arrangments the prior day (Wednesday) - as well as on Thursday morning - and attended these fun and exciting events. Those UIS College Republicans who were able to attend, and for whom we obtained tickets, included myself, Matt Mau, Braxton Denton, Ryan Melchin, Lexi Kirschbaum, Kelsey Quinn, and Ryan Roth.

Matt and Braxton were admitted into the Debate itself (at Washington University in St. Louis) and Lexi and Kelsey got to be on the Arena floor, right in front of the podium, when Governor Palin gave her exciting and motivational Post-Debate Rally address. (That was preceded by a talented country singer [trying to find the name - It sounded like "Sarah Maran"... But we weren't sure exactly], and then, the actual "Straight Talk Express" bus drove into the arena!!)




I am going to try to make the trip to campus right now, for the remainder of this evening's Homecoming events. [Our entries in the 2008 UIS Homecoming Parade had to be cancelled, as probably did the other political-related* entries, due to very-unfortunate - and very troubling!! - developments... Though that is a topic for another time (though that time will likely have to come soon, due to the problems our crazy Governor continues to cause everyone)... It's neat to see F.I.R.E., the ACLU, the Obama supporters, and the Republicans all on the same side, though!] Our new College Republicans Chairman, Brandon Guiliano, will be sworn in as Vice-President of the Student Government Association at the University of Illinois at Springfild (UIS SGA) at halftime, during the Homecoming game.

*Update (10/05/08): I should have said "campaign-related" parade entries... I am not on campus much, nor that involved in university affairs anymore, but from what I have heard, there were political candidates and issues represented in the Parade. However, I do not know of any campaign organizations that had entries, like was done in prior years. (And the College Republicans did not "drop out" of the Parade... Our members were planning to walk in the entries for the candidate campaigns, but those entries had to be cancelled yesterday morning, due to the controversy regarding Governor Blagojevich.)

I hope that we have some recaps, photos, and video posted here soon, regarding our recent experiences in Saint Louis... and perhaps some commentary and analysis of the VP Debate itself as well. I am sorry I was not able to post much, in the way of recaps, regarding our experiences at the Republican National Convention, a month ago, in St. Paul, Minnesota. We hope to have those services mentioned above (photo and video sharing) implemented soon.


*** Unlike last year (when we almost did, but didn't), we will have a delegation this time, at the "Defending the American Dream" Summit, in Washington, D.C., later this month. This will be our organizations 10th trip to the Washington, D.C. area within about a four-year time period.

www.DefendingTheDream.org

Happy CONSTITUTION Day

I have several entries below as drafts (to hopefully be published soon), but right now, I wanted to wish everyone a happy Constitution Day!

Right now, our campus is holding a forum for Constitution Day, themed on First Amendment issues and the freedom of the press. I wish I was on campus right now, but as I am not able to make it there, I am watching the forum online right now. You can as well, through the UIS webcast system:
www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html

I regret not being able to make it to campus on time, especially as blogging is going to be discussed by this panel, and I was one of the first bloggers on this campus, and one of the first political bloggers in Springfield (started in Fall 2002).

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for State and Policy Leadership here at UIS, a great institution within our university, with which we have good relations, due to our organization's past and ongoing events and contributions to this campus, and to the community.

- - - - - - - - - - The Dillman Family diary - Convention Photos

Update (9/12/08): Thanks to our UIS CR Secretary Katie Salter for the reminder... I should have mentioned that our very own Matt Mau (whom I had mentioned in this entry, and in the previous one, below), was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central.
Here is the the clip (with interviewing by Samantha Bee). He was mentioned in the Columbia Journalism Review (as was Mike Sneed, also mentioned in this entry, and the prior one), and in the article in our city's excellent State Journal-Register newspaper, by Bernie Schoenburg.


Pains, Trains, and Automobiles...
Today has been much of a blur (I came down with something, at the end of the Convention)... But somehow, I was able to arrange an Amtrak trip from St. Paul (or perhaps it was Minneapolis), Minnesota [MSP - Midway] to Chicago (ugh!!) to Naperville, Illinois [NPV], and make it to the (wealthy suburban) Village of Glen Ellyn, where my car was still parked, and then drive back home to Springfield (though I'm still somewhat still in a daze).

THANKS to everyone who helped out... especially Rob Martin, the new Minnesota Field Representative of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC). [He was also not feeling too well on Friday morning - we were all exhausted and worn - but he helped me figure out a good place to stay for that night, near the Amtrak station, and took me there.] Thanks also to County Board member Jen Dillman (Volunteers for Shimkus) and McCain Alternate Delegate Matt Mau [both of whom are affiliated with our UIS College Republicans organization], and to Stacey Bishop (of Representative Raymond Poe's office), for also assisting, as well as to Ashley Barbera of the CRNC, who was also the one who worked hard to coordinate all of the activities, for our "Top 40" CRNC STORM contest winners group, from beginning to end... and to my roommate Robert E. Lee (now a Leadership Institute CLP Field Representative), his wife Melissa, and Sarah Perkins (of ISI & the Susan B. Anthony List) for the moral support.


As I said in that e-mail I sent last night, after arriving back home: Because of how fast things were moving this week, I wasn't really able to "live-blog", from St. Paul (Also, they for some reason blocked wireless access, from the XCel Center [despite it indicating that free wi-fi connectivity was publicly available].)... I was apparently not the only one with this dilemma, and who will be "live"-blogging after the fact! ;-)

If those of you who were there want to contribute anything, we can post it here at www.uisgop.com. Thanks!

(We really need to set up a Flickr, YouTube channel, or web page collection, to compile the photos, as well as audio and video, from our many past activities, from Springfield to Washington, D.C., and everywhere in between.)

It's 3:00 AM...

(Well, a little past that, as I'm running late!)

As we've said here before, please don't let the lack of updates at this weblog give you the impression that there's been a lack of activity. It's been (and continues to be!!) quite the opposite... Maybe that's one reason for the lack of updates!! :-)

Right now, I am about to depart, first to stop by the home of the College Republicans Chairman at our sister campus (UIUC), and then we are heading to St. Paul (and Minneapolis), for the 2008 Republican National Convention!!
[latest news]

Both of us were winners of the "STORM" contest of the College Republican National Committee.

We are not officially part of the Illinois "delegation" - or even the Illinois guest delegation... Since we are going through the CRNC. Not only do we not have to pay the $1,200.00 cost of lodging [we'll be staying for free, starting this afternoon, at Concordia University], but we also do not have to buy the attendance pass (for $600.00), like everyone else does... We will have the equivalent access that volunteers for the Republican National Committee get - and perhaps even better seats! (Sorry, guys!!)


UIS CR Matt Mau and alumnus Mike Sneed are also attending, as elected Alternate Delegates (from the 19th Congressional District of Illinois).

Distinguished UIS CR alumna Jen Dillman [who was appointed to the County Board last summer] is also attending.

www.jendillman.com

In fact, they are already there.

Soon, we will be too.

-----------------

Please pray that this trip goes well, for all of those who are attending.

But more significantly, please pray for the people down south, as they cope with the pending Hurricane Gustav.

Illinois Republican Convention 2008

www.WeAreIllinois.org


The 2008 Convention of the Illinois Republican Party was this weekend... I had wanted to do some live-blogging from Decatur, but this was not possible (due to time and logistical issues).

Our UIS CR chapter was the only College Republicans organization that had a major presence at this Convention, which is held once every four years (just like the Republican National Convention, which will be a few months from now, in Minneapolis).
Our new UIS College Republicans Chairman, Brandon Guiliano, was selected to be a full-fledged Convention Delegate, as was I. Other current and former Executive Board officers, and members of our organization, were also registered attendees, at this major event.

We will have some recaps posted soon. Thanks to all who helped out this weekend!!

At last night's end of the year election the UIS College Republicans elected a new executive board. After several close votes, the positions were filled as follows:
Chairman: Brandon Guiliano
1st Vice-Chairman: Nathanael Arthur
2nd Vice-Chairman: Dan Klosak
Secretary: Katie Salter
Treasurer: Philip Rukosuev

They will officially take over their duties on June 1st. We wish them the best of luck in this pivotal election year.

David Clary
UIS College Republican's Chairman

RELAY FOR LIFE 2008

Each year, since it began, our College Republicans organization has had a top team, in the Relay for Life for "Springfield-area colleges." This year will be no different.

Although we got a late start this year, we will have a full team - and will be continuing to raise money - for the American Cancer Society - up through the final day, which is August 31st.

[Like in 2006...]

The voting is over...

The waiting begins...

Weblog Updates - Belatedly-published recaps
In time for the National Convention, I have finally published the draft entries that I had saved, regarding our organization's activities during the Fall 2006 semester.

I have more [yet-unpublished] draft entries saved below as well, for some of our [many, many, many...!] activities during this past Spring semester. Those will be published shortly. In the meantime, please take a look at this review of election-related activities, for the Spring 2007 elections. (We do a lot of non-election activities as well, but this is a recap of our involvement in the important 2007 Springfield elections, in which we've been credited with helping boost the Republicans to a surprise majority, in the Municipal government, here in the capital city:

GRASSROOTS STUDENT MOVEMENT KEY IN SPRINGFIELD GOP VICTORIES



We have also been active this Summer, helping local Republicans, attending local government meetings, and [especially!] planning for the big CRNC Biennial National Convention.

Our UIS CR Chapter is sending the largest delegation of any school in Illinois; we will be leaving for Washington, D.C., tomorrow. We may be live-blogging, from this event.

In the mean time, please look through the recaps posted below, and at that link, listed above. (Please keep in mind that this was a rush job, and is by no means exhaustive... When so many things are going on, it's hard to find time to blog about them all!)


Update: I still have, on the sidebar of this blog, links to sites pertaining to the 2005 CRNC Biennial Convention Elections. The elections this year should be far less contenscious, but controversy is still brewing. Here are some weblogs with info:
|| CR Nation || CRNC World News || CRNC Rumor Mill || Red State Rampage ||

And, of course: The Truth Caucus

Note: These are simply the links that I could find, and in the interest of open discussion, I wanted to provide these sources. NO ENDORSEMENT OF ANY KIND should be inferred, by my posting of the links above.

An Unbelievably-full Semester - The Specifics

Please see my entry for December 18th: An Unbelievably-Full Semester

As it says there, the fact that there was a lack of updates to our weblog this last semester (Fall 2006) should not lead one to thing that activity has been lacking - it has been quite the opposite!

I wish we had been posting updates, with recaps of some of our MANY activities and events, during the Fall 2006 semester.

Since this was not done, I have published some recaps below, with the dates that they correspond to. I apologize for not having these published at the time they were taking place, and there is a lot that has been left out.

I have also saved some drafts entries, above this one, regarding our activities so far, during this current [Spring 2007] semster... Those will be published soon.

Thanks,
Aakash

Saturday, December 9, 2006

Christmas Party and Ballot Access Petition Drives

Last year, in the period before the end of the Fall Semester, we were conducting a ballot-access petition drive, at the behest of the Illinois Republican Party, for our candidates who had just entered the races for Attorney General, Comptroller, and Treasurer of our state.

This year, we were asked by the campaign of Frank Lesko (see November Election Night entry, below), to assist with ballot access, on the morning of our Annual Christmas Party. Despite it being the weekend right before Finals Week, several UIS CRs helped out with this, in both morning and afternoon shifts.

That same day, another candidate, Debbie Cimarossa, asked for our help with ballot access, telling us that she had decided to enter the Ward 7 City Council Race. (see below)

We had another successful Christmas Party this evening, at Bellacino's Restaurant.

------------

The following weekend, the semester had concluded, and most students had gone home, for Christmas Break. However, we were still able to provide volunteers, to help Debbie Cimarossa collect ballot access petition signature, in Ward 7. Ms. Cimarossa is a distinguished alumna of our university, and has served as an adjunct professor here at UIS as well.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Thanksgiving Food Drive

For the second year in a row, and third year overall, the UIS College Republicans conducted a Thanksgiving Food Drive, for the Ronald MacDonald House Charities.

This year however, our pickup was derailed, due to a major snowstorm that hit our city, the day before we were to pick up the food donations. Despite the incelement weather, uprooted trees, and power outage, some people did put out food, for us to collect, on the scheduled day. We continued our Food Drive afterwards, and more people - on campus, and in the community - donated food.

November 2006

72-Hour "GOTV" efforts

During this 72-hour period, we helped with elections, at all levels of government. Kevin Masseth & Jeffrey Isbell were all over the state, assisting with the U.S. House campaigns of Andrea Zinga (17th Congressional District), David McSweeney (8th District), and Peter Roskam (6th District).

Others were phonebanking, at the HRO office and State Party headquarters.

The Chairman of the Sangamon County Board, the Hon. Andy Van Meter, had asked for our assistance with the campaign of Brad Jones, who was running to win back his seat to this important body. This was the first time we were so involved at the County level... Considering how influential and significant the Sangamon County GOP leadership is, this is a very important level in which to develop involvement.

On Election Day morning, we began at 6:30 AM, handing out cards, at polling places. We came back in the afternoon, and were active right up till the end of the day.



At the Sangamon County Republican Election Night Party (this was on November 7th - the night of the 2006 general election), we already got our first request for assistance, in the next elections. The Hon. Frank Lesko, a prominent local Republican, who we had worked indirectly with before, in supporting a U.S. Senate candidate, asked for our help, in his upcoming race for City Council. He was going to be running for the seat being vacated by powerful Democrat Alderman Chuck Redpath, and would be needing our help, in this campaign... Mr. Lesko said he has "heard nothing but good things" about the UIS College Republicans.

We would soon be greatly involved in elections, barely after this cycle was concluded.

Thursday, November 2, 2006



Today, we're ending the nonsense...

Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 03:05:33 -0600 (CST)
From: Aakash Raut
Subject: Today, we're ending the nonsense


TODAY = Roskam + McSweeney + Laura Bush + Radogno + ???


Dear Kevin, Joe, Jeff, Matt, Nathan, and Leslie, et. al.,

Despite the fact that we have new events and activities that arise each and every single day (by the way: the Reception, featuring Jeff Fulgenzi and Sheriff Williamson, went great!!) - there are some who believe that we aren't doing enough.

So, I am thrilled that all of you are coming with us. In case you didn't get my messages, we are leaving, for the Laura Bush event, at 5:00 AM, from Lincoln Residence Hall. Five of us (Masseth, Grigoletti, Isbell, Mau, and myself) received Secret Service clearance through the Roskam campaign, while Mr. Mansfield and Miss Reliford were vetted through the McSweeney campaign.

Jeff's vehicle fits only four people comforably - five people max. Gas fare for a second vehicle can be reimbursed, though. I told Nathan last night (after the Sheriff's Reception got over) that I would be willing to drive... possibly. I am not that familiar with the directions [I've spent awhile tonight/this morning on Mapquest however], but I have done this type of thing before. It might help if Kevin, or someone famiar with the suburban Chicago area, would ride with me... That is, if I am the second driver. I don't anticipate getting much (if any) sleep tonight - I mean, this morning, though. But during the past couple of years, through CR activities, we've grown used to this types of situations (as some of you can attest to... ;-)

One other thing to be concerned about however: In order to be in the special "VIP" section of the Rally featuring the First Lady, we need to each do two hours of solid phonebanking, from 9:30 to 11:30 AM, in which they expect 100 calls to be made. I hope someone remembers to pack the Mountain Dew...

Radogno Phonebanking

From there, we plan to be back in Springfield in time to go directly to the Illinois House Republican organization headquarters, at the Monroe Business Center, to help the Radogno campaign get through their call lists. In addition to us, David Clary, Sarah Doyle, Brian Bartoz, and Steven Lupa plan to help out, with the phonebanking for this close campaign.


I know that it was proposed that the UIS College Republicans hold our Executive Board meeting at 8:00 PM tonight, after all this is over. When we had our last E-Board Meeting, I hadn't had any sleep the night before, and wasn't able to get through hardly any of my points.

There is SO MUCH for us to cover - both new stuff (espcially with the 72-Hour GOTV period about to begin), and with the important items that I wasn't able to address last time, some of which have come to a head. Our Executive Board meeting could last around 90 minutes, and I agree we need to have it ASAP. But I still have not gone to bed, and after all that is going on today, I don't know if I'll be able to do it, at that point tonight. We can discuss that, at the Radogno phonebanking.

Please pray for us today... and through the Election. There is so much to get done, and so little time - but then again, I remember this being the case, almost every year.

I will see some of you in about two hours, and the rest of you this evening. THANKS SO MUCH to all of you who are helping out!!

Sincerely,
Aakash Raut
Chairman, College Republicans
University of IL at Springfield
www.uisgop.com

(217) 652-0987

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Support your local Sheriff!!

For the first time in awhile, Sangamon County Sheriff Neil Williamson was facing a tough opponent, for re-election. We had arranged an event for Wednesday night, six days before Election Day, where he would speak on campus, and Fulgenzi's Pizza & Pasta agreed to provide the food.

Since this was being held on Wednesday night (not a good night for meetings or events, we've found), I thought attendance might not be good, and told Fulgenzi's we may only have 20 people or so.

What happened was surprising... This event was after the first Men's Basketball game of the season (which had been immediately preceded by the first Women's Basketball game). After the games, many people actually went to our event!!

We must have had 60 to 80 people in attendance!! We ran out of pizza, but the rally for the Sheriff went great! (He ended up coasting to re-election, six days later.)

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

One week before Election Day
A spooky meeting, and strategy session...


Though it fell on Halloween night, we had to have our College Republicans meeting. Despite the parties going on, and the fact that being so busy that week prevented us from being able to advertise much for this important meeting, attendance was nonetheless pretty good. We signed up two more people that night, for the upcoming trip up north, to the Rally with First Lady Laura Bush.

Oh, one more thing... Governor Rod Blagojevich made a surprise appearance at this meeting. People were amazed, but realized that this was appropriate, considering how scary another Blagojevich administration would be.

[Photos]

Monday, October 30, 2006

A Week to go

The week prior to Election Day got off to a big start. We left Springfield Monday morning to go back up north - this time, to the actual City of Chicago, to a fundraiser featuring U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), for the campaign of David McSweeney, the Republican congressional candidate in those two key U.S. House races (the 8th and 6th districts).

I think that this was an expensive fundraiser, but through a deal arranged by the College Republican National Committee (CRNC), we received complimentary admissions. One non-UIS CR was there also, who we got to meet. Brett Kotecki went on to start a College Republicans chapter at the College of DuPage.

- - - - - - - - - -

We got their early, and therefore got to choose a good table... They asked if we would be willing to move one over though, because the front & center table was meant for the press... We obliged, but we were still up in the front. Towards the end of the Q & A session following his speech, Senator McCain specifically referred to us.

He didn't say "College Republicans" though... He called us "these young punks"... ;-)


-------

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After the event was over, we had a short amount of time for photos... I did get to talk to former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Gary McDougal, conservative commentator Tom Roeser, then-IL Attorney General candidate Stu Umholtz, and several other prominent Illinoisans.

We spoke to Illinois GOP State Central Committeewoman MaryAlice Erickson, who was wondering (as were others) why we were up in Chicago, for an event for congressional candidate David McSweeney [a four-hour drive from Springfield]. I told her that, thanks to the College Republican National Committee, we have been making several trips up north, to help with these races. But one year earlier - in November 2005, when there were no elections in Illinois - we sent our members to different states... Some went to the state of Virginia, to help out with the key Governor's election (our candidate was Jerry Kilgore), while others of us went to Missouri, to help with a special election for State Representative (the candidate was Moira Byrd).

Ms. Erickson was quite impressed, and said that our UIS CR chapter should be used, as a model for other CR chapters in Illinois...


We then went to the Roskam for Congress campaign headquarters (he was the other key U.S. House candidate, mentioned above, and in past entries), and did phone banking. The phone banking was for the upcoming event to take place on Thursday, when First Lady Laura Bush was going to be in Schaumberg, for a rally with our Illinois Republican candidates.

On the ride home, I was doing my own "phonebanking," to let people know about that event, and about the two events on the two preceding days (the next day, Tuesday, was our College Republicans meeting, and day after that, Wednesday, was our reception with Sheriff Neil Williamson, who was in a contested re-election battle).

October 12, 2006

Rallying with President Bush in Chicago

As noted in my last entry, our CRNC Field Rep recruited a few student volunteers, to attend the Chicago Rally featuring President George W. Bush, for northern Illinois congressional candidates Peter Roskam and David McSweeney.

I set up a Facebook Event for this Rally ( "See President Bush in Chicago!... We will be lining the streets..." ), and we invited CRs from all over the state to attend. Since we were going to be coming up all the way from Springfield, to provide volunteers to line the streets (in opposition to the anti-Republican protestors who were expected to turn out), I asked if we would be able to go inside the Chicago Hilton and Tower, to the event itself... or if we could get in, at a discounted rate. I also noted that our CRs planned to attend the debate, following the Rally, between Peter Roskam and his Democrat opponent.

The event's organizers were unsure what to do about my request... In an e-mail to one of the organizers, one northern Illinois Township Committeeman mocked my request. Finally, one of Speaker Hastert's staffers, who was organizing the event, told me that because of a room change and space issues, they could not allow us to come inside... nor were they authorized to offer "discount tickets." She also made clear that she was not aware that CRs were coming to rally for the President, to assist with this event, and to appear at the subsequent congressional debate.

(Note: This relates to the attitude that I criticized in my last entry... The one that I was relieved that our guest speaker, the Hon. Greg Stumpf, clearly does not share.)


This was still a very fulfilling experience. After the Rally, our CRs went to the congressional candidate debate, between Peter Roskam (R) and Tammy Duckworth (D), for the previously-mentioned 6th U.S. Congressional District - the seat being vacated by the great Henry Hyde.

UIS CR Kevin Masseth was deeply impacted by this debate, held at the College of DuPage. He came away with a very negative view of Ms. Duckworth, and a major appreciation for the candidacy of Peter Roskam.

In a letter he wrote after seeing the debate, Kevin commented on Tammy Duckworth: "...I respect her service to our country, but politically, she's a partisan hack. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee pretty much wrote her positions on every issue for her, and she spent the entire debate not answering a single question she was asked, but rather bashing her opponent repeatedly (Roskam, to his credit, kept his cool admirably). Also, her position on abortion is scary (abortion on demand any time for any reason up to and including all 9 months of pregnancy). If you have any opportunity to assist the Peter Roskam campaign, please avail yourself of that opportunity. This is a very close race, and we must defeat Tammy Duckworth.

October 10, 2006

Mid-Terms Week Meeting

Despite it being mid-terms week, we had an excellent, and decently-attended, College Republicans meeting, featuring the Hon. Greg Stumpf. Mr. Stumpf is the father of one of our new College Republicans members, and was one of the few incumbent Republican Sangamon County Board members in a contested race for re-election.

Unlike many candidates, who look to CRs mainly just as a source for free labor, Mr. Stumpf made clear that the primary reason he was there was to communicated with us, and to foster a relationship between college students, and the local Republican leaders - while allowing us to get involved in local and statewide affairs and issues. It was so refreshing to see a candidate who had that type of attitude; I wish there were more like him!

We discussed "Career Pursuit" - the UIS 'reality television' contest. Several of our CR members were contestants, including Gretchen Ross, who explained to us what this show was about.

Our CRNC Field Representative, Jeffrey Isbell, talked about the next northern Illinois congressional candidate event, a rally for Mr. Roskam and Mr. McSweeney, featuring President George W. Bush and U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

October 2006

Out of our Districts
Heading up north, to help Roskam and McSweeney

Since last year, when we sent our members to different states (Missouri and Virginia) to assist Republican Party candidates in key races, we have been willing to go out of our areas, to help our fellow party members, in need of assistance.

It was recognized by many that of the 19 U.S. House of Representatives contests throughout the state of Illinois, the two most competitive would be in the 6th and 8th Congressional Districts.

Both of these districts are in suburban Chicago, which is about a four-hour drive away from us (here in central Illinois). Nonetheless, our former UIS CR member, Jeffrey Isbell, was now serving as a Field Representative, for the College Republican National Committee, and had the resources and vigor to get us involved in these races.

In the 6th U.S. House District, the very-Honorable Henry Hyde was retiring. The Republican nominee for this Congressional seat was conservative State Senator Peter Roskam.
*** This race was seen as the bellwether Congressional race, that could determine whether we would maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

In the 8th U.S. House District (which was held by conservative leader Phil Crane, before he was defeated in the last election by Democrat Melissa Bean), there was a spirited [and sometimes nasty] primary fight, which resulted in David McSweeney emerging as our nominee, to attempt to win back this seat.

Because these races were so critical, national and statewide GOP celebrity-type leaders came in, to host fundraisers and rallies for Mr. Roskam and Mr. McSweeney. This gave an additional incentive for College Republicans from Springfield to come up, to assist in these key races, while also being able to meet well-known national leaders.



The first of these trips took place on Thursday, October 5th, when UIS CRs travelled to Schaumburg, to rally for Peter Roskam and David McSweeney, at an event featuring "America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani, and former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar. Our members who attended got to personally meet both of these nationally-known Republican leaders.

September 27, 2006

First Meetings, and LI Briefings

We had our first College Republicans meeting (for this 2006-2007 academic year) on September 13th.



Two weeks later, we had our second meeting, featuring Brad Jones. Mr. Jones is a former member of the Sangamon County Board, who lost his seat a few years ago, to Democrat Sam Cahnman, by a margin of only 35 votes. Since Mr. Cahnman had become the Democrat nominee against our friend, State Representative Raymond Poe, Mr. Jones was running to win his seat back. He spoke briefly about his candidacy, and answered a few questions. We went over a couple of other items, and then adjourned. This was the shortest meeting we'd had, in quite awhile... It last only 19 minutes.

After we adjourned however, a briefing was held, by Colt Harris, our new Field Representative for the Leadership Institute. (Previously, our very own Chad Shaffer served in this position... and he set the record for the most number of conservative groups founded, at college campuses.)

Colt spoke to us about starting conservative clubs at UIS. We ultimately decided to start a pro-life club, a pro-2nd Amendment club, and a conservative publication.

September 2006

Never Forget
It's been five years...

Last year, we were thrown off by the fact that the university did not hold their Candlelight Vigil on the 9/11 anniversary (as was done previously)... We did not have that much time to organize anything, but we released a resolution commemorating the anniversary, and created "Never Forget" lapel stickers, for our members to wear.

This year, we wanted to do something more major, to commemorate this tragic anniversary. We decided to hold a public screening of "United 93," the powerful documentary that had been in theaters earlier that year. We purchased the distribution rights, with underwriting help from Sangamon County GOP Chairman Tony Libri, Deputy Chairman Brian Schackmann, and Mr. Rob Winchester. The introduction for this event was delivered by Sgt. Wes Barr.

Young America's Foundation sent us materials, for distribution, as part of the "Never Forget Project."

The event was well-attended, as students, staff, and community members packed Brookens Auditorium, for this event.

After it was over, people were in tears... and outraged.

Part of the outrage was actually due to the fact that proponents of a wacko "documentary" - promoting a conspiracy theory about 9/11 - were waiting, for people to exit the auditorium, and they handed out flyers for the screening of their film, which was to take place the next day, at Lincoln Library downtown.

Some people were confused, and thought they were with us. When it became clear that those leaving the movie were very much not happy with what these people were doing, they ran away.

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Here is the press release that our university issued, and a related article in the local newspaper.

We were one of the four CR organizations in the country listed on the 9/11 anniversary page of College Republican National Committee's official website.

In addition to the movie screening, we set up two flags at the Fountain, on the UIS Campus Quad. They remained up for the entire day (September 11th, 2006).

"Tears run from the eyes of U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony in honor of Medal of Honor winner Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham in the East room of the White House in Washington, January 11, 2007. Cpl. Dunham was killed when he jumped on a grenade to save fellow members of his Marine patrol while serving in Iraq. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES)"

Bush may not be the greatest President we've ever had in some people's eyes. He may not always be right on the issues, but no one should ever say that he doesn't care. I support President Bush and our Troops!

(Note, this blogging is taken from a series of posts/essays and is currently being hosted on http://superclary.blogspot.com )

Lessons from Texas

We've been on the road today since a little before 7:00 a.m. Yesterday we crossed through four states, today will take us across only one.

Its flat. Its red. Its dead. The roadside is littered with broken buildings and seemingly abandoned junkyards of decay. Piles of rusted vehicles and oil pumps speak of a time gone past. A better time?

The city of dallas was quite impressive.... well, what we saw of it anyway. Sprawling, clean, friendly, and inviting. I could move there. It beemed with an intriging aurora. This shanty town atmosphere a few miles past it is a perplexing contrast.

Empty cotton fields, leafless trees, and skinny powerlines seem to be the only evidence of any existence of real life, save for the moving cars on the interstate. An occasional green, evergreen bush is plopped into the field of view every ten minutes or so. These trees and bushes speak. They move their limbs and trunks to form words. Their needles whisper sentiments of discontent. "I am doing everything right, correct. I eat, I grow, I provide for those around me. How the hell did I end up in this mess of a desert disaster?" Even the cactus seem to have given up.

It was to this desolate outlook I laid my head on my pillow and contorted my body to the will of the cramped church van. I closed my eyes, if only for a moment, I don't know.

Something happened. I don't know if it was the bump of one of the many potholes in the road, or the changing of songs on my mp3 player which I had neglected to remove from my ears, but one eye blinked open. On my side of the van the view was bleak and dead. The west offered no hope. But to the southwest.....something on the horizon.

For the next forty-five minutes we drove past a forest of man made propellers spinning in the wind. It took us around the bends and curves of the highway. The horizon stayed clear, but the left side offered a view. Wind power. Texas's one (only?) stand against the a world sliding into desolation.

It made me think. A thought for Illinois. Bad politicians, a sliding economy, and a bleak future. A political and fiscal desert. What are we doing? What is our fan on the horizon? What if someone, one man, could change that?

Foreign oil continues to go up in price. Ethanol derived from corn is inefficient and still quite expensive. Brazil achieved "oil freedom" by resorting to sugarcane ethanol. (Why is this running through my head?) Rough estimates of its potential, state that ethanol derived from prairie grass is five to ten times higher yield/more efficient than from corn. Prairie grass is nto a seed crop, it only needs to be planted once. (Not every season.) It can be harvested more than once a year. It has few natural predators, and is naturally disease resistant. I wonder if its cheap? You would not need numerous pieces of expensive farm equipment sitting around. Harvesting cannot be overly technical. Illinois has historically been good at one thing, growing grass. What if we were to return to that? It still requires more research and fore-thought. But driving through texas got me thinking. It lit something in my brain (or was it me heart?) A drive, a push, a yearning to do something. The what, I am still workjng on. The insperation, though, was my lesson from Texas.

David Clary
UIS CR's First Vice-chair

Merry Christmas!!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

- Isaiah 9:6

The Battle Plan for Winning Illinois


Check the time stamp on this blog posting. This is a college students’ political blog, and thus this post is being put up at a college students’ convenient posting time (closer to sun rise than sunset.) Lack of sleep may play into the generalizations and cocky logic, but seeing the current Illinois Republican strategy in progress, I think there are few qualified to negate this. It should also be noted- I am completely sober. (No Ted Kennedy syndrome here.)

A battle plan. A plan of attack. A strategy for the coming season. Allow me to digress from the analogy of war and switch to something a little more civil. Let’s call politics a sport. A high stakes sport. There is a winner and a loser (or multiple losers.) Nobody dies from losing (I hope, but we’ll leave the Chicago mob mentality out of this); however, there is a definite reward and advantage for the victorious party. On a team there are specialized roles and parts that must be played effectively to have a winning season. In professional sports, you have the owner, the manager, the coach, the coaching staff, the players, and a host of other people to fill in the cracks. Let me break things down piece by piece for a moment.

You have the owner. Now using this analogy you can go two different directions. You could say that the owner is the public - the party voting base. They make up the fans who own joint stocks in the team. In a perfect bi-cameral, republic, this would be the case. In Illinois, I hate to say it, but I’d have to lean towards the second option. The owner is one (or several) wealthy businessmen (and women) who sit up in the tinted press box and call for who gets to be in charge.

The manager is in charge of scouting the players and finding the right politicians to do the job. He works with the coach to figure out a winning strategy and make sure that the right players are on the roster to achieve the goal.

The coach calls the shots in practice and at the game. What are the issues? What are the best ways to get out the vote? How can you compensate for human mistakes?

The players are the ones in the field doing the work. Meeting with their constituents, raising money, and smiling for the cameras. (Will someone please tell McCain to smile a little more?) They don’t see the whole game and season (they aren’t paid to); they are paid to see the field. They can report back to the coach what they see, but they aren’t in a position to call most of the shots. (Now we could pick a sport and delve into individual positions, but that is irrelevant to the big picture here.)

What I see in Illinois is a major disaster in the way the sport is being played. Instead of being a unified party, we are split and dissected on nearly every level. First off, the owner. Who the hell is it? I’m sure Topinka and Ryan could easily tell you who they think is in the back calling the shots, but I’d imagine said person would prefer to keep a low profile. The manager. Seems to have filled out their two week notice, cleaned out their desk, and left town long before the spring primary free for all rolled around. Which player did we need to win? We went for number one in the draft; instead we should have gone for Vince Young dang it.

The coach. What’s the plan? How are we going to win? Knock knock, anyone here? Doesn’t seem to be. Well, isn’t that convenient for this blogging? Humor me while I sit behind the desk for a few moments.

And finally the players. Here is where the chaos goes ape. Kobe in Chicago wants Shaq in central Illinois to keep passing the ball. Whoever else is on the team down in southern Illinois has long since given up expecting anyone other than the other team to ever pass them the ball (by accident if nothing else.) Each level of government keeps shouting up the line orders. Who gets to call the shots? Which ever player brings out more votes in the primary. I guess Kobe gets to run things for a while. Wonder how this will end up. (Looking into my limited edition ESPN crystal ball….. I see a broken team and no championship around the corner.)

With the institution of the massive increase in the minimum wage (I’ll spare the economics lecture for another post), Gov. Blago (may I call him gov. bang-up?) still at the helm, and the debt continuing to increase, the future looks quite bleak. Illinois Republicans claimed to be rallying behind one central cause this election, saving the state. It didn’t work. First of all, it was one pathetic rally. Second of all, how were they going to fix things. Nobody could agree for sure on what the best course of action was, it was just getting Blago out of office.

It didn’t work; why not? No hard work. No organized strategy. No weekly drills and tune-ups designed to get the team with in a reasonable striking distance. And then on game day, there were no well oiled plays being run. No studying of game film, defensive counter measures against the other team. It was a sound beating in every area. Each player seemed more concerned in padding their stats and protecting their individual goals than in risking their necks and fighting with their hearts. The party was divided.

There is an interesting idea in trying to claim the election was lost either by moderates, or by the popular scapegoat-conservatives. I blame neither. In 2004 Illinois ran ultra conservative Alan Keyes against heavily financially backed (and media favored) Barack Obama. Republican voter turn out- 1,390,690 votes. Now fast forward, 2006 election results- Judy Baar Topinka (the moderate/liberal) 1,368,682 votes. Now the popular argument is a lot of people didn’t come out and vote….but who were they? Who didn’t vote? Got a name? Know someone who didn’t vote?

So do you know someone who didn’t vote? Well, I guess we just found our problem now didn’t we? I blame you. I blame you, and I blame them. One can make the argument that conservatives or moderates run the election in Illinois, but I really have to scratch my head and wonder. What if there really are just 1,350,000 (plus or minus) dedicated republican voters in Illinois? If that’s the case, we will lose every single time. It’s time for a new strategy.

(Putting on my coaching hat, red feather and all.) It’s plain and simple, in a state where in this last election a little over three million people got out and voted, you need one thing to win. More votes. You don’t even need that many. A 300,000 vote swing would be nice, but realistically- go for 600,000 new voters. You have (last time I checked) over 11 million people living in Illinois. Go out and recruit one 1 out of 22 people to become a Republican and vote. Right there, Baam, election won!

Now I understand it is not quite that simple, but I have a three step plan I would like to see initiated. I have the utmost confidence (especially at 3:00 a.m.) that this plan is a fool proof way to take the state.

1. Reorganization and emphasis at the county and city precinct level. Word should go down the ranks (not up) to recruit more voters. It doesn’t start with a mass issue based assault, its city council members and county precincts going door to door, walking precincts talking to people. “Do you like what we’ve been doing?” “What would you like us to emphasize more here at this level of government?” “Can I encourage you to vote this republican into office again this year?” “Thank you, my phone is always ready for any suggestions you might have.” Don’t expect lots of people to suddenly jump on your band wagon because you have an issue dangling in front of their face like a fake carrot. Give them something immediate they can effect realistically, their neighborhood. Then their city. Then their district, then as they climb the ladder….. their state.
2. Unify behind an idea, not geography. The betterment of Illinois. Yes, Chicago that means you need to concede a lot more than you currently do. It also means, though, that the parts of central Illinois that have it quite well off need to remember southern Illinois and the other forgotten corner of Illinois called the Quad Cities. The winning idea won’t be, vote because Blago will be the end of us all (that is a likely possibility, but it won’t win elections) the idea, or better yet, the ideal should be, look how much better we have, can, and will make things. Show light on the local level and then build up.
3. Push for, and over turn the idea of registering for your party at the primary. Illinois is simply too corrupt to support this kind of structure. I have talked to countless numbers of people who refuse to vote in the primary, and express great concern voting in the fall election because they fear losing their job. People do get fired for picking a party contrary to the one in power. It’s the illegal and unethical trickle down effect in our current (and previous administrations.) If you could open the primaries, you could free up state and union workers to vote their conscious (whichever way it may swing) instead of vote for their immediate employment. Morally, it’s the right call. Now I’ve seen first hand the benefit that comes from being able to focus just on getting your party out to vote from these records. It’s cheaper, simpler, and less confrontational…..but come on. It hasn’t worked. We are getting are asses kicked at it. Take away the strongest weapon the other side has and play on an even field. Plus, would it hurt to pressure more non-voters to get out and vote? I think not. Exercise your democratic right dammit.

So a battle plan. That’s it in three easy steps. More voters, more unity, more freedom. If that isn’t a platform a party can get behind, then I want nothing to do with that party (And apparently neither do 9.5 million other Illinoisans.)
So what do you say Illinois? Wanna play ball?


(Voter statistics taken from-)
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/index.html

http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2006&fips=17&f=0&off=5&elect=0


David Clary
UIS CR’s first vice-chair

An Unbelievably-Full Semester
As I stated, around the time of the primary elections, please don't let the lack of updates at our weblog make you think that there has been a lack of activity... I can assure you, it has been quite the opposite!!

This semester, like in the prior ones, we have had new events and projects pop up every single week... On a day-to-day basis, our organization has been working to help our members and other students, to help our university and our community, and to help our Republican candidates and promote our issues, while remaining one of the largest and most active student groups in the capital city, and in the state of Illinois.

We do a lot more than elections and campaigns, but along those lines, I wanted to share this recap, from last month's elections. While the results did not go well overall, our organization was recognized for its coordination of events and volunteer support for our candidates - at the federal, state, and county levels. Of the at least 14 campaigns we assisted with (including 4 U.S. House races, 3 statewide officer races, 3 State House races, 1 State Senate race, 2 County Board races, and 1 Sheriff's race), 12 of those Republican candidates received over 40% of the vote, in their election contests. Of these candidates, at least 5 won their races, while one of those races may still be undecided.

Here is an overview of these results.


It was Finals Week at UIS last week, but nonetheless, we've been gearing up for next semester's (very consequential!) Municipal Elections... Not only in Springfield, but in the surrounding areas as well.

The Saturday before Finals Week (nine days ago), we helped circulate ballot access petitions for three City Council candidates. Just yesterday [despite the fact that most of our people have left for Christmas Break], we provided volunteers for candidates again, including a ballot access drive for the Hon. Debbie Cimarossa, a distiguished Sangamon County leader - and an adjunct professor at our very own university! - who will now be running for Springfield City Council (Ward 7). Just last evening, I was personally in contact with Alderman Bruce Strom, who has filed today for Mayor of Springfield, and with the Hon. Tony Libri, who leads our County GOP. [Note: Despite the "Democrat sweep" in many places last month, we managed to retain our strong majority on the Sangamon County Board, where we continue to control 25 out of the 29 seats!... (much to the angst of certain people... ;-) ]


Latest News (Monday, Dec. 18): Candidates continue to file for city offices

*** Best wishes to County Party Chairman Emeritus - and Ward 8 Alderman - Irv Smith for a success recovery, from surgery.



We plan to post more material here, hopefully before the year end, with a review of the numerous activities, events, and projects we were involved with this semester, at the Springfield and statewide levels. (Here is a list from one year ago, for the Fall 2005 semester.)

We are glad to have assisted so many people this semester, and for continuing to do so. Best of luck to all the candidates who are filing for municipal offices today, and those who have already filed. We look forward to working with many of these leaders, in Springfield and elsewhere, while participating in numerous other activities, projects, and events - at the local and national levels - in the coming weeks, and the next semester.

For now however, some UIS students (including myself) still have pending coursework or projects, that need to be submitted. And those reading this at other schools may also have Final Exams and semester-end assignments for this week. Best of luck to all students on tests and coursework, and we hope that you are yours have a great Christmas season!!

Sign up for Get Out the Vote Efforts...

Help Retain the Majority in Congress

72-Hour is most important for those “export” states which do not have targeted races this election cycle. College Republicans in these states make up the droves of volunteers who get out there and get the job done in the final 72 hours of the campaign. Volunteers in the final push of a campaign are involved in intense phone banking, literature dropping, door knocking, and all of those key GOTV arenas where Republicans secure their base and ensure that every Republican is voting this Election Day.

Fortunately for college students with limited budgets, there are other organizations across the nation that are willing to pay to deploy this grassroots army. Individuals interested in signing up for an all-expense paid campaign spree should be directed toward our website, www.CollegeRepublicans.org, where they can sign up to volunteer for the last few days of the campaign. You do not need to provide any further information other than the link to our website, and direct them to the “Sign Up for Volunteer Deployment” button.