will ryan's prosecution hurt the il. thugs?

[mopinko]

how thick is the teflon on the rethuglican party? i guess even if there is no guilt by association, it will be fun to see ryan get his just desserts.
anyway, it will be fun to watch. especially watching the timing of developments.

[Cuban_Liberal]

1. *Will* it hurt?

It already has, and will continue to do so, as will their civil war.

:evilgrin:

[mopinko]

3. i'm hoping, believe me

i guess i am still shaking my head about christine cegalis' loss.
if they still have the power to re-elect that corpulent slug, hyde, they are still a force. i don't think that keyes candidacy was the joke to them that it was to us. he was there to serve the same purpose as the gay marriage amendment in so many other states.
well, pass the popcorn, i guess.

[Tweed]

6. Cegalis is different

Hyde is a local legend (how sad). Cegalis was a new comer who had never run for office before. I wouldn't be surprised if her name recognition was under her vote total. Hyde's 56% vote total shows how weak the Republicans are in this state as oppose to how strong they are if you ask me.

Here's an article that shows that Hyde is almost certain to lose if he doesn't retire in '06. http://www.russstewart.com/11-17-04.htm

[mopinko]

7. well she got the shaft a few times

name recognition-wise. that district is really shifting, tho. i was surprised when i was planting yard signs for her the real blue collar pockets that are in that district. and the dupage dems are really growing. i went to a rally out there that was a real barn burner.
cegalis is planning to run again. i think hyde will retire, because she will "bean" him if he runs again. i'm hoping they will run some keyes clone against her.

[madrchsod]

2. i`m not sure if this will

lead the keyes supporters to claim that the "liberal" republicans will not win in the next election. there will be a big power struggle over the direction of the party and i think the hard right will win out here in the bean and cornfields while the burbs will remain more centrist. it will be very interesting to watch that is for sure.
but wait! it`s the family feud... are they all going to make up before easter dinner?

[mopinko]

4. i loved mell's comment today

"the irish manage to work these things out in private" something like that. as an irishman from a f*ed up family, i laughed pretty hard.

[Tweed]

5. Is Alan Keyes an embarrassment?

:)


Seriously though, I think that Ryan's investigation during the campaign season would have different effects depending on the race. For example, if we are talking about statewide elections, I think it will hurt the Republicans alot. Ryan (as far as I know) never held a congressional office, or at least if he did, it was quite some time ago. People think of the Illinois Republicans being corrupt, they don't want them running the state. However, I don't think Ryan's case so much would hurt Ray LaHood if he does indeed decide to run for governor. LaHood was in Congress the whole time, he never worked with Ryan, or should I say, never worked under Ryan officially. The more and more I think about a LaHood governor run, the more and more it makes sense for Republicans. Topinka would be toast because of the fact that she worked under Ryan IMO. Especially if we fan the flames of people thinking that she picked Alan Keyes to come to the state.

I don't think congressional races will be hurt as much. They aren't necessarily involved in the corruption. I don't tie them closely at least. That could be because I get so involved in politics though. I see a clear difference between Obama and Blago, between Topinka and Hyde. Other people probably blur it and think a politician is a politician.

To summarize, I think Ryan's case will help us ensure another 4 years of Democratic rule unless all of the Illinois Congressional Republicans run for statewide office.