By Mark Weyermuller, Opinion Contributor
It’s FESTIVUS season with the ”Airing of Grievances,” meaning public comment was allowed during an open meeting of the Illinois Republican State Central Committee Meeting. The meeting took place Saturday morning December 10th, at the Bolingbrook Golf Club.
Over 250 people showed up, many to “air their grievances.”
Festivus became famous as an alternative to Christmas in the 1997 television show, Sienfeld. A Festivus for the rest of us with this description:
“The non-commercial holiday’s celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, occurs on December 23 and includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the ‘airing of grievances’and feats of strength’, and the labeling of easily explainable events as ‘Festivus miracles’.[3] The episode refers to it as “a Festivus for the rest of us.”
The State Central Committee consists of 17 members who were elected last June during the primary voting. There is one member for each of the 17 Illinois congressional districts. Don Tracy is the chairman of the IL Republican party.
The meeting lasted four hours starting with two hours of speeches and power point slide shows. Then it moved to public comment. It was a “feat of strength” for many to endure the long, boring presentations.
There was a lot of tension in the room as there were only enough chairs for about half the crowd. There appeared to be no effort by the organizers to bring in more chairs.
Why were more chairs not brought in? The coffee ran out in the first ten minutes and there was no food provided for this meeting which took place over the lunch hours.
Along with the Festivus theme, there was no Festivus pole, but there were plenty of grievances.
People who waited patiently for hours were abruptly told around 12 pm that they will only be allowed to speak for 90-seconds, even though many drove hours to attend and speak. And the general consensus in the room was that the chairman and many on the board were very rude.
Former IL Senate candidate Matt Dubiel was one of the 90-second speakers. He explains his thoughts on a 60-minute Facebook live.
There was an elephant in the room – and that was President Donald Trump. A man brought in a mannequin of the former president and carried him on his shoulders as he walked around the room.
Trump along with the MAGA movement continues to be a major force in the Republican Party.
There was clearly widespread disappointment with the last election cycle. And while this doesn’t compare to a Seinfeld episode, parts of the meeting did resemble a bad Saturday Night Live skit.
On a positive note, over 250 grassroots activists showed up at the meeting.
They are looking towards the future with the next election coming up in April 2024. Those elections will include suburban village, park, library and school boards.
Will the Illinois GOP support grassroots candidates during the April elections? Only time will tell.
To hear more details about the meeting, listen to this rebroadcast of “Mark My Words” hosted by Mark Vargas on AM 560 The Answer.
