BARRINGTON - Feeling a little bummed out and preparing for the worse in November? Leave it to an independent-minded, thoughtful and innovative Tea Party activist, political veteran Bruce Donnelly to change the lens on what's going on in Illinois and how things may not be as they appear. Donnelly contends the media is bent on depressing Romney voters with faulty polls and anti-Romney rhetoric.
First, Bruce looks at recent Illinois statewide numbers -
...Many of the polls are skewed by assuming that the 2012 turnout will resemble the high 2008 Democratic turnout, when many independent voters and even some Republicans voted for Obama. Since Obama won Illinois by a 62%-37% margin over McCain, who hardly made any effort to win in Illinois, it is assumed by all the pundits and pollsters that Romney has no chance here.To put this in perspective, remember the 2010 statewide election results
US Senator Mark Kirk (R) 1,778,698 48.01%
Alexi Giannoulias (D) 1,719,478 46.42%
Governor Pat Quinn (D) 1,745,219 46.79%
Bill Brady (R) 1,713,385 45.94%
As you can see, both races were remarkably close in 2010. It is a myth to think that Illinois cannot be won by a Republican candidate.
Then he looks a little closer at races farther down the 2010 ticket:
What fewer people have noticed, however, was the race for Illinois Treasurer.as contrasted to the race for Secretary of State, where Jesse White has enjoyed strong bipartisan support.
Treasurer Dan Rutherford (R) 1,811,293 49.68%
Robin Kelly (D) 1,650,244 45.26%
Secretary Jesse White (D) 2,590,222 69.87%
Robert Enriquez (R) 1,001,544 27.02%
Note that Jesse White did even better than Obama's 63%-37% victory in 2008, but Dan Rutherford got more votes than either Sen. Mark Kirk or Gov. Pat Quinn.
Then Bruce reminds: "Dan Rutherford is the chairman of the Romney campaign in Illinois."
Donnelly says that Illinois is really up for grabs because of one un-recognized factor: Illinois' active Tea Party network, busily working like proverbial mice under leaves.
Despite all the efforts by the liberal media and Obama campaign to declare that the Tea Party movement has gone away since 2010, that is not the case. We have simply changed tactics to iimprove our performance in preparation for the most important election of our lifetimes.
Rather than focus on rallies and events for media attention, we have concentrated on targeted volunteer work for primary candidates and now the general election. This October and November will prove whether this change in strategy has been successful. We need to flip the U.S. Senate, the White House, and the Illinois General Assembly while retainiing the House of Representatives.
Donnelly's full piece "Tea Party rises from the dead in Illinois" is posted at the Barrington Tea Party website. See any weak spots in Donnelly's assessment? Tell us about it.
