Illinois Review

Obama appoints pro-abortion leader as communications director

On Saturday, President-elect Barack Obama made official his top communications appointments, and any hopes that Obama will take a moderate stand on abortion were dashed with his appointment of pro-abortion radical Ellen Moran as his administration's all-important director of communications.

Moran is the executive director and chief strategist of EMILY's List, the nation's most powerful political action committee that focuses on increasing the number of pro-abortion women in Congress and governorships.  "Early Money is Like Yeast," the group's originating name, focused on 14 races nationwide and featured them on EMILY's List website.

It's Sunday -- So What Are You Thankful For?

Let's start out Thanksgiving Week 2008 with kids reminding us of things we, too, should be thankful for...

The Double Threat of Libiot Republicans Like Christie Todd Whitman

by Sam Pierce

I know this post will expose me to criticism as a nasty pro-lifer who also happens to be a denier of the left’s second major sacrament, anthropogenic global warming. I welcome those criticisms for two reasons. First, I am proud to have a moral compass and enough common sense to realize that the climate changes… naturally. Second, I enjoy when libiots expose their character flaws.

I was reading a Roll Call column by former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman and I had an epiphany. Here we have a Libiot Republican that truly poses a double threat. I already knew Governor Whitman held a despicable viewpoint in regards to the slaughter of innocents in the womb (being for the slaughter of innocents in the womb qualifies as despicable.) So as I read her compilation of organic fertilizer, “We Can Win The Battle Over Climate Change,” I began to put two and two together. Actually, I began to see CO2 as a common thread that runs through this libiot’s stated positions.

From her column:

Give thanks for freedoms and blessings

From George W. Bush's last Thanksgiving Presidential Proclamation:

On this day, let us all give thanks to God who blessed our Nation's first days and who blesses us today. May He continue to guide and watch over our families and our country always.

...I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to strengthen the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy.

Full 2008 Thanksgiving Proclamation HERE

Global Warming: Small Variable, Large Deceit

by Matt Gauntt

Most people don't think about dirt very much.  As a guy that has designed dozens of subdivisions and works with site construction, I have gotten to learn lots about dirt.  Dirt is dirt, right?  Well everyone knows that there is top soil and clay.  But in reality, there are hundreds of different soil types.  Even within these different soil types, there are dozens of variations.  You never thought dirt was so complicated.

Well, turns out environmental scientists didn't either.

A Day at Illinois' Capitol

At the capitol of a state in financial and moral turmoil, Wednesday, November 19, the General Assembly was in session, and the Capitol was full of folks pleading their causes to our state elected officials.

Groups such as "Protect Marriage Illinois" voiced their concerns about Illinois enacting same sex civil unions; historical site volunteers and state park employees who had just received pink slips voiced concerns about the state closing at least twenty of its tourism centers; and state care takers demanded the state pay up six month overdue bills.

IR Editor debuts on Beyond the Beltway

If you've got any pointers on how to best represent Illinois conservatives, they certainly are welcome as your IR editor prepares for two hours of conversing with national radio talk show icon Beyond the Beltway's Bruce DuMont and Sun-Times' columnist Mary Mitchell Sunday evening from 6 to 8:00 PM on Chicago's WLS 890 AM... and yes, I know, we're recording the two episode of "24."

Newsbusted

by Eric Wallace

Grey Matters

by Charlie Johnston

Much of the establishment media and other assorted lefties are crowing that Obama's election signals the rise of more high-IQ voters going to the polls. Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post suggested on his discussion blog that if we had raised the IQ of a couple of hundred thousand voters in Ohio in 2004 or even fewer in Florida in 2000 we never would have had George Bush as president. I read an anecdote about a woman in Seattle who complained to a reporter about the liberal bias in the media and got the reply, "Well, truth has a liberal bias."

So I got to wondering...which is the party that is constantly trying to register felons, illiterates, and illegal immigrants? Which party complains that demanding that people be able to perform such complicated tasks as getting a photo ID or signing their own names are partisan efforts to depress their votes? I'll give you a clue...they won just about everything this year.

Ex-McHenry County Deputy Sheriff Sues, Claiming Racial Bias

by Cal Skinner

I found this summary of what recently fired Deputy Sheriff Zane Seipler's suit says the Office of McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren did wrong interesting. Maybe you will, too.

It's listed under “Monell Allegations” near the bottom of the suit. Seipler is represented by Blake Horwitz. 67. It is the custom, practice and/or police of the supervisors/agents and/or other employees of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and the COUNTY OF MCHENRY to perform the following acts or omissions:

a. generate false documentation to cover-up for the misconduct of McHenry County Sheriff’s Department officers;

b. fail to properly discipline officers from said police department who have committed act(s) of racial profiling;

Standing in line for change

by Chuck Asay

Team of Unqualified Rivals

by Mark Rhoads

Maybe it will happen and maybe not, but the Obama PR team has worked out a story line in case it does. If the courtship of Hillary for Secretary of State is real, the Obama team will deflect sceptics about his ability to control Mrs. Loose Canon by pointing how Obama is a fan of Lincoln.

Say what? Well, Obama's aides were in an airport one day and walked past a Barnes and Noble store to grab a Cliffsnotes study guide of Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It was a great book that lots of people purchased as Christmas gifts and very few actually read. Just going by the title, Obama decided he could claim greatness akin to that of Lincoln by appointing his rival in the primaries.

Where Did the Reagan Votes Go in the 2008 Election?

by Phyllis Schlafly

Where did the super majority of votes gathered by Ronald Reagan in his Presidential campaigns go in 2008? Can they be reclaimed by future Republican candidates?

Reagan's 1980 and 1984 victories were based on a coalition of three different groups. He attracted the fiscal-integrity/limited-government conservatives who had not given up since Barry Goldwater's campaign, the social conservatives who newly came into the political process to be active against the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion, and the Reagan Democrats (mostly blue-collar, Catholic and/or Irish) who sought a change from the stagflation of the Jimmy Carter years.

In 2008, the first two groups shrank because of lessened enthusiasm for the Republican candidate. Sarah Palin brought new life to the Party, but it wasn't enough.

Liberal Turkeys

Relax conservatives. We believe the turkey's in the video below were liberal turkeys. And you gotta love Sarah Palin. Most Illinois GOP men wouldn't have the fortitude to even contemplate turkey slaughtering - much less watch it. Probably why those sissy boys hang out together in Springfield.

Illinois' own departs White House

For the past year or more, we here at Illinois Review have been especially interested in proclamations President Bush distributed during holidays and special occasions. We've not made public our above average interest in those proclamations,  but with the photo to the right, it should now make sense.

We wonder why we lost?

When a GOP Congressman says the money he and his colleagues dole out isn't our [the taxpayers] money, you can understand why we lost.

Obama's Personnel Problem

by Ralf Seiffe

The nearby cartoon confirms the news media’s buzz over the precipitating Obama cabinet with all noticing that it is Clinton redux. The mainstreamers are mainlining the prospective administration’s positioning that these appointments are stellar choices of America’s “best and brightest”. It is, according to one pundit, “a refreshing break with the past when a new president would arrive with his buddies in tow.” This is a load of malarkey. Barack Obama is appointing Clinton retreads precisely because he does not have any of his own buddies to tap.

Rewrite the State Budget!

by John Bambenek and Adam Andrzejewski

At an education policy conference, from the podium an Illinois state representative says, “we need your help…we [elected state reps] are clueless!”

Springfield needs our help now, the clarion call cannot be more clear…$2 billion of unpaid bills; worst pension debt in the nation; a total state debt of $110 billion; years of functionally unbalanced budgets; a Governor instituted, multi-million dollar, unconstitutional extension of the FamilyCare health insurance program; an Auditor General report stating that the state agencies can’t even quantify the number of state programs they run or how much they spend; $2 billion of 2008 undocumented Democratic member initiatives with the accompanying Judicial Watch lawsuit; increasing their own legislative pay 16.9% in the last 16 months!

Despite having record incoming revenues, Springfield is in economic chaos. And yet, Springfield is threatening us with unprecedented across the board tax increases and in a time of severe economic downturn.

The UnFairness Doctrine

In 2007, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin told The Hill newspaper: “It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine.” With the liberals in full control of the federal government, he may get his wish.

What is the so-called “Fairness Doctrine?” It is a government mandate that forces liberal media on the American people - and limits Conservative media. Bottom line: this dangerous doctrine equals censorship and an assault on the First Amendment.

Liberals have been unable to compete in the media marketplace. Their attempts at talk radio have been abject failures, while Conservative talk radio has been extremely successful.

How do the liberals want to remedy this situation? Rather than try to compete any further in the marketplace of ideas - they want to reinstate the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” - essentially muzzling conservative media and imposing “equal time” for the liberals.

The United Republican Fund has launched a new project called "ProtectFairness.com". It is dedicated to building a national movement to stop the Un-Fairness Doctrine and to ensure that competition for ideas is safe on America's airwaves. Right now they're asking people to join the fight on this issue by signing a petition opposing the reinstatement of the "Fairness" Doctrine.

Friday Funny: Thanksgiving

by Matt Gauntt

For all of you that won't be huddled around the TV set on Thanksgiving watching football (like me, much to my wife's disappointment), a joke that you can tell on Thanksgiving.

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.

John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary. Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder. John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer.

Third Clinton term

Steve Benson

Illinois joins national same sex union debate

Caprio declares war on Senate Republicans

Statement released by Family PAC's Paul Caprio today:

Last night, the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus formally filed a divorce petition from millions of Illinois pro-life and pro-family voters and their own political base.

It will be a messy divorce.

By electing Christine Radogno, a pro-abortion, pro-homosexual rights Senator as their leader, Illinois Senate Republicans have placed themselves under the authority of someone who has been indentured to two of the most radical anti-family groups in Illinois: Personal-Pac, an abortion on demand organization and Equality Illinois, which promotes same sex marriage. Radogno has done the political bidding of these anti-family extremists throughout her political career.

The pro-family movement has formed an important grass roots base for many pro-family Republican Senate candidates in Illinois. Continued support for Senate Republicans who voted for Ms. Radogno last night will be seriously eroded and will be terminated by Family-Pac, as well as many other pro-family organizations across Illinois.

McKenna congratulates Radogno

Statement from Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna on the historic selection of Christine Radogno as Senate Republican Leader:

"Senator Radogno made history within Illinois government by being chosen as the first female leader within the legislature from either caucus or party and I am proud that glass ceiling was broken by a Republican.

"Senator Radogno is a proven leader who has fought for lower taxes, worked to strengthen this state's ethics laws, and stood up to Rod Blagojevich. 

"I congratulate Senator Radogno on this significant achievement and look forward to working with her to bring real change to Illinois."

Project Reality closes its doors

Parents, time to step up and influence your own kids' attitudes about sex.  Chances are they won't be getting that kind of talk at school from now on...

While the Illinois legislature never could garner enough votes to officially stop abstinence education programs and enact Planned Parenthood-backed, explicit sexually-detailed classes for kids from kindergarten and older, the Blagojevich Administration has starved out Glenview-based Project Reality.  The group, founded in 1985, at one time received $1.2 million annually in state funds and private donations, announced publicly yesterday it is shutting its doors December 15.

In order to meet the demands of the 120,000 high school students enrolled in their abstinence courses statewide, Project Reality fought, begged and pleaded for state funding. For the past couple of years, the Blagojevich Administration gradually turned off the funding spigot.  As the funding dwindled, the group cut staff and then shut its doors.  What's left of Project Reality's efforts will merge with Abstinence and Marriage Partnership, Project Reality's founder and long time director Kathleen Sullivan wrote yesterday:

Celebrating Financial Transparency: For The Good Of Illinois!

by Eric Wallace

On November 13th at Carlucci Restaurant in Downers Grove, ForTheGoodOfIllinois.org held their Second Annual Celebration Event.  This year the event was entitled, “Meet the New Faces of Illinois Good Government!”  And new faces there were:  60 volunteers from around Illinois were recognized and honored for their contribution to the “Open Book” transparency movement.  Advocating the

posting of school district check registers online, the group has been successful.  Total government expenditures posted online amount to nearly $1 billion!

Adam Andrzejewski, Founder and Director, spoke for 15 minutes-  mostly telling stories of volunteer success.  Two themes were evident in his talk:  the impossible is now achievable in Illinois and regular people are fighting City Hall-  and winning!  Illinois Good Government through financial transparency now has real momentum in Illinois.  Andrzejewski’s objective is to reverse the reputation of Illinois government.  He called the posted $1 billion in 2008… “A good start!”

Pro-life movement: Both ends against the middle

by Jill Stanek

I regret to report it was pro-life dissidents who caused the defeat of the South Dakota abortion ban initiative and worsened the lopsided trouncing of the Colorado personhood amendment. According to Medical News Today:

The defeat of abortion ballot measures across the country... may have been the result of divisions among anti-abortion groups....

Opposition to the measure in South Dakota came from the anti-abortion groups American Life League and South Dakota Right to Life....

In Colorado, the failed Amendment 48 measure... found opposition from Americans United For Life and National Right to Life....

GOP Senators Pick Radogno

From the GOP Senate Caucus -- Radogno's their choice.

State Sen. Christine Radogno will become the first woman in Illinois history to lead a legislative caucus. Radogno (R-Lemont) was selected Nov. 19 by her fellow Republican Senators to be the next Senate Republican Leader.

She will replace Senator Frank Watson (R-Greenville) who announced recently that he would not seek another term as Senate Republican Leader, following a stroke in October. Watson, who has been undergoing rehabilitation therapy attended the caucus meeting and participated in the vote for Radogno.

Roskam chides auto bailout

You go, Peter! Keep talkin' that common sense stuff and someone in DC just may begin to listen ...

Senate Republican caucus to pick leader Wed night

Word is the Senate Republicans will be voting this evening on their new leader to succeed Republican Leader Frank Watson, who stepped down after a sudden recent stroke.  Watson reportedly is pushing for Senator Chris Radogno, Senator Chris Lauzen told pro-family leaders he was supporting Senator Kirk Dillard, and the third candidate in the race is Senator Dale Risinger.

More to come...

Georgia On My Mind

by Andy Haaf

I, like many conservatives, care a great deal about what happens in the Georgia Senate race. A Democrat super majority scares the crap out of me. As a result, I spent a bit of time on Republican Saxby Chambliss' website to see how he is positioning himself and his ideas to voters. The verdict? We are hosed.

It appears as though he has staked his campaign on a single issue: taxation. Nearly every ad ends with the following statement: "In this election you have a simple choice. I want to cut your taxes. Jim Martin wants to raise your taxes." Um, how did that message work for the rest of Republicans who got smoked earlier this month? Give me a break. How many cereal box tops did he cut and send in to get the consultants advising him? And, no doubt the NRCC and GOPAC are running similar ads to support his efforts. I can picture it now. Bumper stickers with the phrase TAX BABY TAX on them. Ugh, we are hosed.

To all Republican candidates running for office ... please ... I beg you to listen to me when I tell you most Americans DO NOT BELIEVE THEY HAVE A TAX PROBLEM!!! And why? BECAUSE MOST AMERICANS PAY LITTLE OR NO TAXES!!! I am pretty sure we established that during the election, right? Selling taxes with traditional Republican methods does nothing but ricochet off most of the electorate. Period.

The Price For A Bail Out

by Ralf Seiffe

One of the new administration’s stated objectives is to pass the so-called “Employee Free Choice Act” a piece of legislative jetsam that would end employees’ right to a secret ballot in union elections. The bill, which has received a majority in both Houses of Congress, would permit a union to bypass an actual election when it secured the signature of more than half the workers on an organizing petition. At the same time, the car companies are in Washington seeking a second installment of a bail-out. This coincidence presents an opportunity for the Republican “loyal opposition” to connect union reform with the bail-out and thereby increase real liberty.

Blagojevich's year end budget wishes

Governor Blagojevich wants more power to fix the state's budget crisis.  In a press release Tuesday he listed his year end budget wishes.  He's even asking for help from President-Elect Barack Obama to help salvage Read between the lines ...what does what the Governor wants for Christmas mean for Illinois taxpayers?

• Continued Belt Tightening – The Governor has already taken fiscally responsible steps by reducing the FY09 budget passed by the General Assembly by $1.4 billion, ordering all agencies to reduce spending by 3%, reducing the cost of core services, and decreasing headcount.
• Emergency Budget Act – The Governor will propose legislation to give him the authority to hold back in contingency reserve as much as 8 percent of total appropriation and distributions for all General Funds spending, including agencies under the Governor, the State Board of Education, higher education, state’s pension funds, and funding to local governments.

Buy a Piece of America - Really Cheap

by Matt Gauntt

I have had mixed feelings about the "bailout" of the Big Three automakers (GM, Ford & Chrysler). There are two chief points that have come to my mind in thinking about this:

1. Heavy industry, and especially the automakers, were key to the United States winning World War II. In addition to the phenomenal heroics of our service men and women, our country just completely outproduced the enemy. We could make more planes, tanks and jeeps than they could destroy. Having a vibrant auto industry is a key component of our ability to defend ourselves.
2. These are jobs that create jobs that create jobs, etc., etc. Pretty key.

However, my opinion has changed since reading this article. Click here.

Lieberman and Dems make nice

After spending the last six months at the side of Republican Senator John McCain and reportedly so favored by McCain as to be his top pick for VP, Senator Joe Lieberman and the Senate Democrats bowed to Barack Obama's wishes and made nice today.  Reportedly, Democratic leader Harry Reid wanted to strip Lieberman of his committee assignments, but kissed the soon-to-be-crowned Prince Barack's ring and took away one meaningless chairmanship. 

The Party of Ideas!

by Lee Newcom

Illinois State Party Chairman Andy McKenna spoke to our McLean County GOP meeting yesterday. He told us several times we have "better ideas" than the Democrats. I reflected that every time I hear McKenna speak I hear that phrase, "we have better ideas." He did mention charter schools, but really didn't go into any other ideas. So I was just wondering, since I haven't heard many Republican ideas in Illinios lately, just what those ideas are? 

Doya think maybe that's a problem?

Eric Holder to be Obama's choice for AG

Having served as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno in the Clinton Administration, Eric Holder appears to be Obama's choice for Attorney General.  From his trustee bio on Columbia University's website:

Eric Holder is a graduate of Columbia College (1973) and Columbia Law School (1976). Upon completing law school, he joined the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Section, where he investigated official corruption. In 1988, President Reagan nominated him to become Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

How Obama got elected

Chris Crocker opines on Prop 8

IR reader Alex sent us Chris Crocker's latest YouTube opposing Prop 8. Alex writes to IR: "I know you guys have covered him in some sense before in the past. But this was a great video he did that is important to a lot of people with a good message, it's interesting to see an e-celeb making real world change. Very interesting."

Very interesting, indeed, Alex.

Yes or no on same sex marriage?

Gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgenders want gender references to be removed from Illinois' legal union recognitions. Illinois has a law that defines marriage to be between a man and a woman.  State laws can be overturned by judges or supplanted by new laws, making it necessary to add the definition to the state's constitution.

Below is a simple YouTube explanation of the debate produced by California's Prop 8 supporters:

Good for business...

Dana Summers

The Death of Old Journalism as We Knew It

by Mark Rhoads

Howard Kurtz is a usually sensible media critic who writes for the far left-of-center Washington Post. In his column on Nov. 17, he wonders if the current fever of Obamamania has any limits at all over the next few months.

His feet-on-the-ground analysis is the only one I have seen so far in what conservatives routinely call Main Stream Media or MSM for short. You can read his column by clicking here. Many MSM pundits really do know how far over the line they crossed in their failure to be journalists and instead enlisted as cheerleaders for only one team. Another perspective from CNET covers remarks by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch on Nov. 16 about how MSM venues have lost the bond of trust they once had with readers and viewers. Click here to read that story.

Personal PAC funds Will County races on both sides

With strong Democratic winds blowing in even normally-Republican leaning Will County, Illinois pro-abortion political action committee Personal PAC sensed a unique chance to knock off a pro-lifer in House GOP leadership.  At the same time, they were fairly confident they'd save one of their own endorsed candidates, House Deputy Republican leader Brent Hassert. Both of Personal PAC's efforts in Will County's state races failed miserably.

Homosexual tyrants protest democracy

by David E. Smith

Nationwide protests took place on Saturday in 175 cities around the nation, including Chicago and Springfield, to protest the decision by California voters to re-establish what four judges struck down -- a legal (and historical) definition of natural marriage.

Think about it, when the California Supreme Court overturned the people's will a few months ago, pro-family advocates didn't hold protests across the country -- they rolled up their sleves and took their case back to "we the people" to amend their constitution and make their will (again) crystal clear.

But radical liberal activists have contempt for the democratic process. They would rather quash individual liberties by mandating special group (minority) rights. It is not like these homosexual activists don't already have the "right" to have consensual relationships with whomever they choose -- they want to impose their strange view of sexual behavior on the rest of the public.

"Let them get married!" declares transsexual

Thousands and thousands of GLBT rights activists hit the streets nationwide over the weekend, protesting state's rights to define marriage as between one man and one woman.  In this weekend's Northhampton MA Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender rally, "Lorelei," a transsexual, declared "Let them get married!" 

Barack Obama has promised equal rights for all -- including those who prefer sex with persons of the same sex ("GL"), those who prefer sex with either and/or both sexes ("B") and those who have gender identity issues ("T").

The Next Bail Out

by Ralf Seiffe

News Item: A California think tank has proposed bailing out the car companies by imposing new gasoline taxes.  Under the proposal, gas prices will be set by the federal government at a minimum, or floor price of $3.50 per gallon, regardless of the market value of the fuel. The difference between the controlled price and the market price would be collected by the federal government and used to fund the automotive sector bail out. In return, the automotive companies would be required to make more efficient cars and limit executive compensation.

This is brilliant! The best and brightest on the Left have now determined how to directly transfuse the profitability of one disfavored industry into the failing corpus of another, more favored industry. The proposed beneficiary is the Left’s new best friend, now called “Detroit”. The name has replaced the archaic term “the unions”. Their financial and public relations victim is their eternal boogyman, the oil industry.

The real beauty of this idea, however, is that the social engineers proposing the plan are using it to gratuitously inject their values into the transaction. Just think, under this plan, the Left adds nothing to solve the problem, it simply adds conditions by making every driver pay more than would otherwise be the case. 

Social Conservatives vs. Fiscal Conservatives or Perhaps Another Way

by Matt Gauntt

During the Presidential election, I was a Romney supporter. While I liked many things that Gov. Huckabee stood for, what drove me away from him was his desire for big government to support social conservative efforts. After a lot of comparing of the candidates, I supported Romney because I thought he was a good amalgamation of social and fiscal issues, which are both equally important to me. I wasn't completely happy with every position on either side that Romney held, but I was satisfied.

Now comes a book by Governor Huckabee where he pillories Gov. Romney and others. See the Hotair.com review by clicking here. I just have one word for this: Sad.

New White House Counsel Greg Craig sounds like a wonderful guy

by Eric Kohn

From the Washington Post:

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Washington lawyer Gregory B. Craig, who served as President Bill Clinton's lead attorney during the 1998 impeachment proceedings, to be his White House counsel, according to an individual involved with the transition.

What other sparkling adornments are on Craig's resume:

Should Rosemont get a casino?

Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office says she's concerned about the tenth casino license going to Rosemont, a western suburb Madigan linked to the mob a few years ago.  Rosemont, though, has outbid all others for the tenth casino license with a $435 million offer to the gaming board, almost double its nearest competitor's.

Do you share AG Madigan's concerns about Rosemont being home to a casino?  If yes, why, and if no, why not?

We fought, we dreamed

We're all getting acclimated to the idea that for the next four years, Barack Obama will be the President of the United States. Conservative Republicans fear all that power in the hands of the U.S. Senate's most liberal member as a tremendous setback to our nation and a threat to its founding principles.

In 1976, Ronald Reagan also suffered defeat during a time when Republicans refused to shake off Watergate and instead hung on to Gerald Ford, who was ultimately defeated by Jimmy Carter. We would all be wise to follow Reagan's 1976 example in dealing with this year's loss because, indeed, the cause goes on.

"We fought, we dreamed, and the dream is still with us..."