by Joyce Morrison
It appears Judy Barr Topinka and Rod Blagojevich are not taking any chances on losing any votes. The Constitution Party collected about 20% of the 25,000 signatures needed for a third party to be on the ballot. Randall Stufflebeam's name will not be on the ballot this fall.
The Republicans challenged the petition filed by the Constitution Party with approximately 5,000 signatures. Ironically, only 5,000 signatures are required for Democrat and Republican parties to get their candidates on the ballot. Stufflebeam is an ex-Marine and he will not give up easily. Going against impossible odds, he will continue the race as a write-in. Who knows - David defeated Goliath.
Long time Republican campaign worker and former Republican candidate for State Representative, Eunice Conn of Ogle County, said she was so disappointed in the choices for governor she has agreed to be the state manager for Stufflebeam's write-in campaign and she has been joined by not only Republicans but disheartened, conservative Democrats in working his campaign. Eunice said that after careful consideration, "I am still a Republican, but I found Randy to be the best candidate we have seen in years and people should not care that he is running as a Constitution Party candidate. If we are going to get Illinois back on track, we need the integrity of Randy Stuffflebeam.....things will not change by electing either of the other two candidates."
A political watchman recently said that the more issues a candidate can agree with on their party platform, the stronger Republican or Democrat he/she would be. Topinka could hardly be identified as a Republican by her line up with the Republican platform. The platform is pro-life but she has given pro-life voters no choice but to vote for a pro-death governor or not vote for that office at all....until Randy came along.
Flaunting homosexuality by participating in the Gay Pride parade is certainly not in line with the Republican platform. If people have an alternative sexual choice, keep it in the bedroom and out of a parade. Judy had the choice of supporting the conservatives or a liberal base....and we see the choice she made. Neither Republicans or Democrats should be obligated to vote for candidates who do not stick to the platform of their party or their moral convictions. If voters are forced to go to a third party to cast their vote, they have to do what they have to do. They didn't leave their party-- their party left them.
In the meantime, the Green Party is boasting they have gotten the 25,000 signatures required for their candidates to be on the fall ballot....and the Democrats are taking a close look at the names collected hoping to find errors. The Green Party should be congratulated on this achievement. It would be next to impossible for volunteers to accomplish this incredible task so the next conclusion would be they hired people to collect the signatures.
The Southern.com news said the Green Party candidate for governor, Carbondale attorney, Rich Whitney, 51, "proclaims himself an advocate for workers, civil rights and a clean environment. He also believes in a universal healthcare plan and a more equitable tax (income tax increase) that, he says, would improve public services and meet state pension obligations?
Before voters get excited about the Green Party as a choice on the ballot, they should look at the Green Party platform . For example:
Women’s full right to reproductive choice – including sex education, birth control, social support for those who choose to bear children, and access to affordable abortion for those who do not. Through this combination, the right to abortion can be upheld, while the incidence of abortion can be reduced voluntarily.
Full, explicit, equal rights for gays, lesbians, bi-sexual and transgender persons, including the right to marry. The Green Party takes an extreme rather than balanced view on the environment and that view causes factory closures with job loss and industry moving to third world nations where emissions and other environmental standards are non existent. They also advocate eliminating nuclear power. If you like air conditioning, your computer, lights or anything electrical, you probably won't find them to be a good choice.
Constitution Party platform says:
- The pre-born child, whose life begins at fertilization, is a human being created in God's image.
The law of our Creator defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman. The marriage covenant is the foundation of the family, and the family is fundamental in the maintenance of a stable, healthy and prosperous social order.
On the environment, the Constitution Party reads,
- "It is our responsibility to be prudent, productive, and efficient stewards of God's natural resources. In that role, we are commanded to be fruitful and multiply, and to replenish the earth and develop it (e.g., to turn deserts into farms and wastelands into groves). This requires a proper and continuing dynamic balance between development and conservation, between use and preservation."
- We affirm the original text of the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We affirm that the nation's Charter, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution contain the foundational law of the federal union. We condemn, therefore, all legislative, executive, and judicial action that departs from the texts and intent of the Charter and the Constitution and their original meaning.
Topinka has abandoned the Republican platform which represented conservative values. Blagojevich never had conservative values. I will continue to support Republicans such as 17th Congressional candidate Andrea Zinga and State Senate candidate Jeff Richey as well as other candidates who have not left the Republican platform.
But I am finding the Constitution Party platform a breath of fresh air and I will support Randy Stufflebeam as a write in for governor and I hope you will too
