Baar Topinka’s Loss: The Fruit Of GOP Establishment’s Legacy Of Machine Politics And Corruption

From by Daniel T. Zanoza, National Director of Republicans for Fair Media, on Nov 8, 2006:

Tuesday’s election results in the state of Illinois is a lesson I thought Republicans learned long ago. Moderates cannot win statewide high-profile campaigns–like those for Governor or the U.S. Senate–without the wholehearted assistance of the religious right. No matter what individuals like Joe Birkett say, Judy Baar Topinka did not have a snowball’s chance in Hades to defeat her extremely vulnerable Democratic foe on Tuesday without the support of social conservatives. But don’t worry, individuals like former Republican Governors “Big Jim” Thompson and Jim Edgar will fight to their last breaths to defeat social conservatives in the primaries and, during the last decade, they have developed a strategy to do so.

Social conservatives were on a roll after the unexpected victory of Al Salvi versus Lt. Gov. Bob Kustra, the Republican Party’s establishment candidate, in 1996. Even though Salvi was a disappointment (after his primary victory) running up to the general election, the ground work had been laid for pro-life, pro-family candidates to succeed in Illinois.

Peter Fitzgerald took the ball to the end zone when he also surprised his establishment foe, Loleta Didrickson, in the 1998 GOP primary for the U.S. Senate. This time, Fitzgerald went on to become the United States Senator from Illinois, but this set off alarm bells among the powers that be and they developed a strategy to ensure this would never happen again.

The Republican establishment then infiltrated the rolls of the conservative ranks from that point on, in some cases, with the assistance of well known conservative politicians. The strategy became “divide and conquer” and that’s just what happened in every gubernatorial or U.S. Senate Republican primary since Fitzgerald’s victory.

I’m not saying those conservatives who ran in these primaries were a part of the conspiracy. After all, if someone is whispering in your ear, “get in the race, you can win,” it is a major stroke for the ego of very successful men who want to serve their country. And it didn’t hurt those who were seeking consulting jobs either.

In 2002 there were no less than eight candidates seeking the GOP’s nomination for the U.S. Senate race. The eventual winner of this free for all, Jack Ryan, was ultimately disgraced and had to drop out of the campaign, leaving the Democrats a clear path to victory in November. Sources at the time said Ryan’s tawdry past was well known to people who surrounded him. Yet they encouraged Ryan to press on. He eventually fell on his sword and dashed the hopes of the GOP while doing so. Many speculated whether Ryan was well served by those who surrounded him and questioned whether his impending doom indeed served a dual purpose–which was to drain Ryan’s pockets, while insiders knew he would be eliminated as a viable candidate for the U.S. Senate, thereby assuring a Democratic victory.

In the race leading up to the 2005 gubernatorial primary, there were two social conservatives battling Judy Baar Topinka, who was better suited to run as a liberal Democrat. Topinka won the nomination because the conservatives cancelled each other out and a strategy–that was formed nearly a decade previous–again served its purpose.

“Only a moderate can win major statewide elections in Illinois,” bellowed some Party leaders. But those of us who knew essentially one-third of the Party would sit on their hands during the campaign laughed at such foolishness. Baar Topinka ended up losing by nearly ten percentage points to an admittedly weak Governor, slashing the “only moderates can win” theory to bits.

Besides the political intrigue that has permeated Illinois politics since I was too young to vote back in the 1960’s, I do not understand why Jim Thompson and his now impotent political machine have such disdain for the social conservative wing of the Party. Many call individuals like Thompson and Baar Topinka “RINOs” (Republicans In Name Only). The truth is these type of politicians only care about money…making money, having the power to distribute money, keeping money out of the hands of Democrats. This is their one and only charge. They care nothing about abortion. They care little about Second Amendment rights. They care even less about the poor and programs that would break the cycle of poverty for millions of Americans. In fact, I have more respect for Democrats than RINOs because they at least are honest about their ambitions for America.

When you have no moral foundation, corruption has a tendency to seep in through the cracks of government. Hence, this is the problem the GOP has faced with former Illinois Gov. George Ryan and numerous members of the U.S. House of Representatives, who were forced to resign because of political malfeasance.

Sadly, socially conservative Republicans have been slow to recognize the duplicity among the power-brokers in state politics. They have been like cattle, led to the slaughter, by individuals who have no moral code, instead of being as wise as serpents, as the Bible instructs them to be. Therefore, their ranks have been infiltrated and corrupted, sometimes from within, which has led to one defeat after another.

Now, in the very near future there will be those within the media and the Party’s hierarchy who will blame the recent GOP disasters on social conservatives. Somehow, this wing of the Party will be blamed for Judy Baar Topinka’s loss. In reality, Topinka’s loss was due to her position on abortion, her support of homosexual “marriage” and her soft stance in defense of Second Amendment rights. Thompson and his minions will say Barr Topinka’s defeat was the fault of Evangelicals. However, the rationale they will use has no basis in truth.

But the conservative movement in Illinois is not doomed. However, some fault can be assigned to the leaders and wannabe leaders in the movement themselves. To overcome the forces aligned against them, in the future, egos will have to be put aside. Running the show should not be the purview of one individual who claims to have a sole understanding of how to right the sinking GOP boat in this state. Those who think money is the root of all power will have to put aside that modus operandi and work together with other social conservatives to find candidates with honest chances to win. And those who make deals with the devil should be considered part of his army. Also, it should be remembered being a millionaire just isn’t enough. There is a need for conservatives to realize these truths and work together to overcome a presence that has dominated and corrupted Illinois politics for far too long.