By DOUG IBENDAHL • May 22, 2009
Will those same House Republicans help Republicans by voting YES on SB600?
Unbelievable. On Thursday, 25 House Republicans joined Democrats in passing HB255. The vote was 86 to 30, with one Democrat voting “Present.”
HB255 is a three-pronged attack on the Republican Party Platform. First, it massively expands gambling in the state by legalizing video poker. It also allows lottery wagering over the Internet.
Second, it raises the fee for a driver’s license.
And third, it imposes sales taxes for the first time on previously exempt grocery items like candy, non-carbonated beverages, and health and beauty aids. Taxes on wine, beer and other alcohol are also increased.
Here are the names of the 25 House Republicans who helped pass the Democrat bill:
Mark Beaubien; Bill Black; Mike Bost; Dan Brady; Rich Brauer; Tom Cross; Jim Durkin; Roger Eddy; Renee Kosel; David Leitch; Jerry Mitchell; Donald Moffitt; Richard Myers; JoAnn Osmond; Raymond Poe; Jim Sacia; Skip Saviano; Tim Schmitz; Darlene Senger; Ron Stephens; Ed Sullivan, Jr.; Jil Tracy; Mike Tryon; Jim Watson; and Dave Winters.
Tom Double Cross and his pals have been champing at the bit to massively expand gambling for years. Recall they were behind Judy Baar Topinka for Governor in 2006 and gambling expansion was one of her big things.
And just last year, most of the 25 Republicans listed above also voted for a massive casino expansion scheme that was led by Rod Blagojevich. It took Democrat Mike Madigan and his caucus to mercifully torpedo that bill – undoubtedly because Madigan had the good sense not to give Blagojevich billions more to spend. Incredibly, 28 House Republicans last time – again, led by Cross - apparently never gave the Blagojevich partnership a second thought.
Now let’s look at what the Illinois Republican Party Platform says about gambling expansion:
We call on the Governor and the General Assembly to balance the state budget and provide for a responsible capital development program without resorting to the expansion of gambling, which harms Illinois’ families and our state’s business climate and presents costly challenges for both law enforcement and social service agencies. [Emphasis added.]
Needless to say, those 25 House Republicans just blew the GOP Platform out of the water. They didn’t just expand gambling - they legalized brand new forms of it! And forget about just issuing a new casino license or two – every corner bar and VFW hall can now aspire to be a mini-Vegas.
Our current State Platform was adopted last June at the State GOP Convention in Decatur. What’s almost funny about that is the Platform was pretty much the only positive thing to come out of that shameful weekend.
Cross & Co. was way too busy trying to jury-rig-in just the right stooge to replace the outgoing Bob Kjellander as National Committeeman. And of course they had to kill any debate on the direct election reform. Bad behavior can be very time consuming – not to mention distracting.
There was so much else to keep the riggers busy in Decatur – they really didn’t bother with the Platform. Of course as we’ve seen, they never intended to abide by it anyway.
The good news was a good group of dedicated Republicans managed to make it onto the Platform Committee. That core group worked hard, and for the first time in a long time, came up with a State GOP Platform that is proudly Republican. It stacks up very well against the National Party Platform.
But here’s what’s really sleazy – even by Illinois standards. Many of those same House Republicans who just blatantly violated the Platform adopted at the State Convention last year – are some of the same Republicans still telling the lie that SB600 was rejected at that same Convention. They want to use that as their phony excuse for voting “no” on SB600.
First of all, there was no debate on direct elections last year in Decatur by the delegation. Andy McKenna was on record promising such an open debate – but when he got to Decatur and saw the energy for reform, he simply broke that promise. There was no discussion or comment allowed from the floor on ANY issue. There were lots of burly security guards on the floor, but no debate – on anything. There wasn’t even a microphone on the floor – which was standard at the three other State Conventions I’ve attended (Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin).
Second of all, even if McKenna hadn’t run a sham convention – there was no SB600 to discuss in Decatur last year. The bill we’re talking about today was only drafted this year! It’s not only a fundamentally different bill than what passed the Senate in 2005 – it’s a whole lot better today.
So to summarize – some of the House Republicans want to rely upon last year’s State Convention for something that didn’t even happen.
But the one good thing that did come out of that Convention (the Platform) – they just shamelessly violate.
And they try to say that we Republicans are too stupid to elect our own State Party leaders?
Cross has made a complete mess of the House GOP caucus. He’s got the whole thing turned on its head. Republicans are supposed to be about better elections and better accountability (SB600) – and anti-tax and spend. Cross does just the opposite and behaves just like a Democrat.
Here are the e-mail addresses for those 25 House Republicans who once again sided with the Democrats:
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
We know they like to help the Democrats. Will they ever do anything to help Republicans? They’re willing to put video poker in every bar. They’re willing to boost taxes on your shampoo and beverages. Are they willing to give you a vote by passing SB600?
Why not shoot them all an e-mail today and ask them. Better yet, give them a phone call.
If any of them are too busy helping the Democrats to help Republicans – it’s probably time they followed Arlen Spector’s example and joined the tax-and-spend party. If they dislike Republicans so much – if they have so much contempt for us that they don’t even think we deserve the same voting rights every Illinois Democrat already enjoys – our Republican Party is clearly not the place for them.
Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party.
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