GOP Rolls Over, Plays Dead in 5th Cong Dist

Shame on Andy McKenna, Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. Shame on the entire party, which seems hellbent on continuing its dismal record of losing elections. Although the Illinois GOP has won more "games" than the Chicago Cubs have over the past 100 years, at least the Cubs can honestly say they've been trying. The Illinois Republican Party seems content to roll over and play dead.

Rosanna Pulido won the Republican special primary election in the Illinois 5th Congressional District on Tuesday, March 3. The election is being held to fill the seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel. You might not know this, however, from looking at the Illinois Republican Party's website (http://www.weareillinois.org/), where there are only two brief mentions of Rosanna Pulido. Pulido will face Democrat candidate Mike Quigley and Green Party candidate Mathew Reichel on April 7.

We're not talking about a minor elected office. We're talking about a seat in the US Congress. Although it is unlikely that Pulido can defeat better funded Quigley, the GOP should at least be touting their candidate in the 5th. Barely a mention on their website. The GOP is making a lot of noise in support of a special election to replace Roland Burris, who was appointed by Gov. Blagojevich to fill the congressional seat vacated by Barack Obama.

Yet the GOP is all but completely ignoring an ongoing special election in the 5th Congressional District. That's hypocritical and cowardly. It takes no courage to scream for a special election that will most likely not happen. It is cowardly to not support your own candidate in special election that is actually taking place. The Republican National Committee (RNC) is equally guilty of ignoring the 5th Congressional District election.

GOP Chairman McKenna has a Facebook page. Did McKenna congratulate Pulido on Facebook? Did he even mention her? Nope. One person did post this to McKenna's Facebook page:

I know a lot of people may feel that the 5th District is a lost cause, but they shouldn't. There is a strong GOP candidate here. Rosanna Pulido needs all of our help. I know it's not election season, but that is more reason for people like us to step up and show the Democrats that not only do we exist, but we can be contentious. All around ... Read More voter turnout for the April 7th special election will most likely be low. Democrats expect that and they expect that the "silent" Republicans that reside in the district will not turn out. We CAN mobilize ourselves! We should be doing our part to turn up at the polls. This is something that is bigger than our district and our state. One more seat in Congress is one more step towards preventing the socialization of our country. If you live in the 5th you need to make the effort to mobilize yourself and others like you to vote! This election is not something that is lost for us. It is something we have gained!

Why no such words of support for Pulido from McKenna and the Illinois GOP? Why are McKenna and the GOP "leaders" not thinking like the guy who wrote on McKenna's Facebook page? Not a word from either the RNC or Andy McKenna. Nada, zilch.

There will be more about this next week. Much more.

http://rogersparkbench.blogspot.com/2009/03/gop-rolls-over-plays-dead-in-5th-cong.html

Donations Need Right Now
Due to the lack of help from the Republican Party, signs are desparately needed for the 5th District.  AIP has done the work, everything is ready, but money is needed to get them printed.  If you can help pay for printing, email Tom at tomhoefling@gmail.com.

Make Some Phone Calls
Not all of the phone bank list has been covered yet.  Everyone in the district deserves to hear about Rosanna.  Whether you can make 10 calls, or 100, please email Maureen and she will send you a list of however many you can do.  nmaureen@hotmail.com