Chicago Republicans

Dear Advice Guru,

I live in Chicago, where "hope" comes from yet I feel left out of the "riches" promised. Just this past week we had: another alderman indicted, the mayor's nephew brought before a grand jury, Springfield trying to impose a tax increase while failing to adopt true political reform, parking meters ripping us off, our impeached governor's trial delayed for a year, and his wife appearing relatively sweet among whining celebrities on an inane reality show. If I look at the nation, GM filed for bankruptcy only after the President secured the unions' and the administration's interest in controlling it, the Chinese are buying Hummer, Obama is on another apology tour, now in the Middle East, Democrats are fighting to keep an activist Supreme Court nominee from being questioned about her record, oh and let's not forget the largest expansion of government EVER including a rush to nationalize health care. What are Republicans and moderates to do? How can we make our votes matter? How did this all happen so fast?

Signed,

Hopeless in Chicago

Dear Hopeless,

Not long ago we had Republicans in power, with Edger and Thompson as governors, Peter Fitzgerald as a U.S. Senator, but somehow their legacies have slipped away. At a Republican gathering last week, I heard some depressing talk that maybe Mayor Daley controls the Republican party and the perception is that Republicans are not much of an alternative to the Democrats. It doesn't help that the media, be it the Tribune or NBC News, help perpetuate the cult of personality and refuse to question and demand answers from our leaders. The Tribune's "Corruption Watch", although a step in the right direction, has yet to go further by demanding answers and accountability. Brian Williams of NBC has his fawning, teenage crush special about a day in the life of the President. Obama and his team seem so hip and cool. This is hard to overcome.

But there is some hope. Is this for real or is it just a temporary stop-gap that merely slows Democrats? Governor Quinn did not get the tax increase he had hoped for. Poll after poll shows that Americans and Illinoisans are right of center on virtually every issue including judges, health care, spending, marriage, abortion and national security. We should be encouraged that with Supreme Court nominees, Democrats are "mis-adopting" our language in trying to sell Sotomayor to the public (even if it is meant to mislead). We need people to respond to policies on their face not their consequences. Anytime you have a politician that believes it is government's role to provide you with something, you will have to pay more in taxes. We need a message that is clear and consistent and a messenger that is incorruptible, convincing, and above all passionate. We need to convince these voices that they belong in government and stand behind them. Not doing that is why we have lost Springfield, Fitzgerald resigned paving the way for a Senator Obama, and now we have machine tactics in our White House. With the right strategy, we could easily regain our momentum, maybe without being as ruthless as the Democrats. So we should have hope. Now go and seek help!