The IL Republican party imploded after the last election cycle. The state is usually pretty evenly split (Dem's in Chicago, Reps in the middle, and socially conservative Dem's in the south). There's a fight brewing between the moderate Rep.s, and the hard right Rep.s in IL. The only Rep. that got elected to a state wide office in 2002 was a moderate Rep.
The far right wing of the party got Alan Keyes to run for the US Senate over the objections of the moderate wing of the party after Jack Ryan was forced to quit (what's really wrong with wanting other people to see you have sex with Jerri Ryan aka 7of9?). I think that the Alan Keyes race was sort of a proxy fight for the Rep. party. The moderates didn't put up much of a fight over Keyes. Now that he's gotten trounced by Obama, the moderates can say 'see what happens when you nominate a far right candidate?'
I expect the Rep. party to shake everything out by 2006. The current Dem. govenor is unpopluar with his own party. So, if the moderate Rep.s win their fight, I expect a Rep. Gov. will get elected in 06, and the state to be in play for 08... unless the national Dems nominate Cliton in 08. Then I predict a Regan/Mondale landslide for the national Rep. party.
Very well said. I have a lot more respect for John Kerry than I do Al Gore. He could have waited for the provisional ballots to be counted in 11 days, asked for a recount, fought it out in court, etc... and still lost. Instead, he accepted that he lost, and he can walk away from the election with his head held high.
I heard an interview with a retired member of congress on NPR recently (sorry can't remember who it was or when it aired). He was asked about the increase in the partisan vitriol that has happened in recent years. He agreed that the amount of partisan ship had increased in recent years, but he attributed that to how narrow the majorities are in congress. When the Democrats had a huge majority, they could be nice to the Republicans because the Republicans couldn't do much to stop them. Now that the congress is pretty evenly divided, BOTH sides are getting nastier and trying to screw the other side as much as possible.
Unfortunatly, it will probably stay that way for a long time because the country is pretty evenly divided and will stay that way because of the primary system and the way the voting districts are drawn up. The primary system rewards the zelots on either side of the isle because that is who usually votes in the primary. The moderates, who would appeal to cross over and swing voters, get the shaft. The voting districts are redrawn every 10 years by whatever party happens to be in charge at the time, and they do everything in their power to draw the lines to make sure thier party stays in power. Even if you do get a moderate past the primary, that person will get trounced in the general election if they're not from the correct party.
Don't kid yourself, it's not just the GOP that are playing dirty. Both sides are doing it, and 'the people' are the ones losing. Until enough people get pissed off and actually vote, nothing will change.
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The IL Republican party imploded after the last election cycle. The state is usually pretty evenly split (Dem's in Chicago, Reps in the middle, and socially conservative Dem's in the south). There's a fight brewing between the moderate Rep.s, and the hard right Rep.s in IL. The only Rep. that got elected to a state wide office in 2002 was a moderate Rep. The far right wing of the party got Alan Keyes to run for the US Senate over the objections of the moderate wing of the party after Jack Ryan was forced to quit (what's really wrong with wanting other people to see you have sex with Jerri Ryan aka 7of9?). I think that the Alan Keyes race was sort of a proxy fight for the Rep. party. The moderates didn't put up much of a fight over Keyes. Now that he's gotten trounced by Obama, the moderates can say 'see what happens when you nominate a far right candidate?' I expect the Rep. party to shake everything out by 2006. The current Dem. govenor is unpopluar with his own party. So, if the moderate Rep.s win their fight, I expect a Rep. Gov. will get elected in 06, and the state to be in play for 08... unless the national Dems nominate Cliton in 08. Then I predict a Regan/Mondale landslide for the national Rep. party.
Very well said. I have a lot more respect for John Kerry than I do Al Gore. He could have waited for the provisional ballots to be counted in 11 days, asked for a recount, fought it out in court, etc... and still lost. Instead, he accepted that he lost, and he can walk away from the election with his head held high.
I heard an interview with a retired member of congress on NPR recently (sorry can't remember who it was or when it aired). He was asked about the increase in the partisan vitriol that has happened in recent years. He agreed that the amount of partisan ship had increased in recent years, but he attributed that to how narrow the majorities are in congress. When the Democrats had a huge majority, they could be nice to the Republicans because the Republicans couldn't do much to stop them. Now that the congress is pretty evenly divided, BOTH sides are getting nastier and trying to screw the other side as much as possible. Unfortunatly, it will probably stay that way for a long time because the country is pretty evenly divided and will stay that way because of the primary system and the way the voting districts are drawn up. The primary system rewards the zelots on either side of the isle because that is who usually votes in the primary. The moderates, who would appeal to cross over and swing voters, get the shaft. The voting districts are redrawn every 10 years by whatever party happens to be in charge at the time, and they do everything in their power to draw the lines to make sure thier party stays in power. Even if you do get a moderate past the primary, that person will get trounced in the general election if they're not from the correct party. Don't kid yourself, it's not just the GOP that are playing dirty. Both sides are doing it, and 'the people' are the ones losing. Until enough people get pissed off and actually vote, nothing will change.