CHICAGO – The Illinois Republican Party is in shambles. That's what Illinois GOP officials from the precinct level to the State Central Committee level are saying, anyway. A vast majority of those that were politically active a decade ago when the Tea Party Movement rose up have now returned to their homes, defeated and dismayed.
But the IL GOP website calls for people to "Join the Fight to Help Rebuild Illinois" – no mention of the IL GOP's need for new energy and enthusiasm.
The Illinois Republican Party recently released another e-mail survey, asking for input and donations. Results from a survey circulated earlier this year were not made public – and there's little hope among Republican grassroots that the current survey results will be made public either, and if they are, the results are sure to be doubted.
And for that matter, we're told, can anyone really trust any response from the IL GOP?
In an effort to hear from concerned Republicans and conservatives, Illinois Review asked for ideas about what the IL GOP should do to turn itself around and several thoughtful responses came in. In order to be as transparent as possible, we're going to publish these response verbatim as they came in.
First, Ron Brzoska's thoughts:
In response to your call for ideas that the Illinois Republican Party State Central Committee could use, I am writing a list of ideas that I have had. Some I have even shared with SCC members, but since they are limiting public input (which is a mistake) and they need to hear our voices, here goes…
- Be open to new ideas. Talk to the people that do the volunteering, talk to the committeemen. Why do they help the Republican party? What are they looking for? What do they hear at events? What do they hear when they are knocking on doors? Don't rely on the limited reach of postcards and emailed surveys answering crafted questions. Listen to real experiences and ask follow up questions to get to the heart of the matter.
- Send the hacks home; hire professionals. Easier said than done, I know, given the sad state of ILGOP finances. There are too many people involved in campaigns that work on failed campaign after failed campaign. Why? It's still who you know and not what you know. They need real marketing professionals running the campaigns. They need people that understand that their base and the voters are customers and need to be treated as such.
- Bring about unity by having party officials staying out of primaries. Outside of allowing candidates such as ArthurJones carry the Republican label, DO NOT take sides in a primary. Do not have official endorsements during a primary. They are meaningless to the general public and create resentment within the party. The resentment even happens when the primaries are tame and don't have dirty tricks. The leadership creates an atmosphere of an upper and lower class within the Republican party.
- Work on new messaging. Blaming Madigan is old. No one cares. Blaming JB {Pritzker] is going to become just as old quickly. Most Illinoisans are dissatisfied. Very dissatisfied. The Republican Party has to show the voters how our policies will make Illinois worth staying for. Give voters something to vote for instead of asking them to vote against boogeymen.
- Stop being scared of Trump. This is probably the hardest thing for them to do, but they need to do it. When the party seems to ghost the president and seems to have a difficult time promoting the administration's accomplishments, it's hard to have a confident and hard working organization. The message that I hear from the average guy on the street that may have center-right leanings is "people are ashamed to admit that they are republicans." I've heard this many times from a wide variety of people. The ILGOP doesn't need to behave like Sean Hannity, but it does need to stop treating our president (that is carrying out many of the policies that we say we advocate for) like an embarrassment.
Good luck on the search for other ideas. Maybe we will get lucky and the ILGOP will steal some. Like Ronald Reagan said "There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit."
And from Steve Alban:
You asked……here is my two cents…..
Illinois Republicans will never be successful until they do two things. And I might add they are not very good at mirroring the Democrats.
One: The Illinois Republicans need to define themselves.
What do the Republicans stand for? Who is a Republican? Let me say this a different way…. Why do the Republicans in Illinois allow the Democrats to define them? Every year it is the same thing. The Democrats define the Republicans and the GOP loses more than it gains.
For that matter, the Republicans need to identify and define what a Democrat is and how that impacts every citizen of Illinois. This needs to be a collective message tailored for each candidate and for a single, united platform. Turn the definition of who the Dems are into a platform for programs to mitigate what the Dems have done to this State.
More about that another time…..
Two: The Illinois Republicans are terrible at messaging. The message does not reach the voters in this State. The media and the Dems act in unison. Still, Republicans do what the media and the Dems suggest, every time. Why? The current way has been going on for 30 years. We let the editorial board ask pointed questions designed against the Republican traditional message. Why do we do that? Same for TV.
Republicans need to share their values and message to younger people, as young as high schoolers. State wide there should be a grass roots movement for basic values Republicans care for. The Dems begin in those schools.
Again, more later…..
Recap:
- Define ourselves
- Define the Democrats.
- Turn the definitions into a platform
- Message the platform and programs from high schools to senior homes all across the state
The Illinois GOP is a reactive mess. We need a proactive and aggressive action team. Without all of this well, yawn…. nothing shall change.
