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And to think that just a couple of weeks ago, Illinois Republicans were staring down an election year with a scattershot collection of underfunded governor wannabes, and seemingly bleak prospects for unseating Democratic incumbent JB Pritzker.
What a difference a couple of weeks… and the prospect of $300 million… makes.
Now all of a sudden, Republicans have a full slate of candidates and a real chance to reverse the party’s dismal fortunes of recent years. With reports that the slate could be supported by a massive infusion of cash from wealthy GOP benefactors like hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, the contenders have jumped into the race. From Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, now running for governor, to his running mate, state Representative Avery Bourne, to former Sangamon County State’s Attorney and U.S. Attorney John Milhiser running for Secretary of State… they are uniformly telegenic, comfortable in front of cameras and microphones, and known for their track record of success, not for incendiary statements or rigid ideology.
In other words, you couldn’t have scripted it any better if you tried… “scripted” being the key word here. This slate of GOP candidates is already delivering a consistent message, light on details but overflowing with buzzwords.
Crime.
Corruption.
MADIGAN.
Yes, even though Mike Madigan has not had any position of authority in Illinois government or politics for more than a year, every one of these candidates has invoked his name in their announcements and, in effect, vowed to run against him… even though Madigan isn’t running for anything. It’s their message and they’re sticking with it, even when it seems to have little to do with the job they’re seeking. I mean, I’ve stood in plenty of lines at Secretary of State offices over the years, and never once have I wondered what the officeholder was doing about crime, or about Mike Madigan, for that matter. Yet in tweets and press releases, Milhiser has talked far more about that than about any of the services offered by the office he wants to take over.
For now, this carefully-crafted and carefully-followed script is all we have to go on. This slate of candidates has so far avoided most interviews and questions pressing them for details on what they would do in office and how they would achieve it. In fairness, it’s a good script, and it’s likely to resonate with voters, at least for a while. But we deserve to hear from these candidates in their own words about their own ideas, not about the catchphrases that political consultants have dreamed up.
For the record, Democrats are responding with their own catchphrases… like Rauner Reboot. They note that the brain trust and likely funding source behind the slate are the same people who brought us Bruce Rauner in 2014… followed by years of budget impasse and fiscal calamity. Like Madigan, Rauner is not in office nor on any ballot this year, either. But the people that put Madigan in power are long gone, and the people in power now are the ones who denied Madigan another term as Speaker last year. But the people who propelled Rauner to the governor’s mansion are also the ones behind this slate…and it’s fair to ask, and necessary to know, what would be different if they prevail this time.
Illinois voters need and deserve a competitive race for governor and every statewide office… and this slate certainly seems built to provide that. But we also deserve candid answers about how to address the state’s problems, and those won’t come through slogans and buzzwords. The new slate is a potential game-changer for Republicans, especially if Griffin is really ready to drop the kind of money that’s been rumored. But at some point, these candidates will have to demonstrate that they can do more than just stick to the script.