Chicago Daily Observer

Does it matter whether Clinton, Obama, or McCain takes the Oval Office? Whoever does, government will grow, and taxpayers (Let’s not kid ourselves by calling them “citizens.”) will foot the bill. Actually, their children will when our staggering national debt (31,000 dollars for every man, woman, and child) comes due. At this point, Americans should hope for the candidate who is going to take the least amount of their money, and that is anybody’s guess. McCain may seem like the choice here, but he has been explicit about his plans to escalate prosecution of an illegal and unjust war that has cost the taxpayers 500 billion dollars. Remember those taxes you just paid? A third went to the War in Iraq. How high will it go under McCain?

If you are looking for a sign of hope, however, look at Congressman Walter B. Jones of North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district. ... Read More...

Make no mistake about it: The Republicans are on the verge of eradication, if not extinction. If they don’t want to suffer the fate of the Federalists or Whigs, who vanished in the 1800s, their solution is simple: Lose the 2008 presidential election.
Let the country repudiate, and then forget, the Bush Administration.
In fact, the 2008 contest is really about future failure, not future “change.” Given the intractable situation in Iraq, coupled with a worsening economy – especially $4-a-gallon gasoline, inflation, and the collapse of the real estate market—the next president confronts a world of woe, and likely failure. It will be Jimmy Carter, Part Two.
To be sure, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain want to win in 2008. But that winner will be a loser in 2012. The 2008 outcome will either reaffirm the country’s two-party system, or precipitate a transitional non-party ... Read More...

On March 5 GOP county committeemen elected a political neophyte, Lee Roupas, the chairman of the Cook county Republican party. With the backing of former chair Liz Gorman and ally Maureen Murphy, among others. he received roughly 102,000 votes to defeat long-time GOP loyalist and Northfield township committeewoman June O’Donoghue, who received 74,000 votes.

Roupas says he’ll work to strengthen the county GOP, but initial signs aren’t encouraging. I sincerely hope I’m proven wrong, as I want to see a revitalized county GOP to counterbalance Democratic corruption.

So I’m puzzled and disheartened by what county Republicans apparently consider to be qualified leadership. Roupas was head of the Young Republicans at George Washington University in 2004. That same year he lost a race for president of the student association in a 32–68 per cent landslide. In 2006 Roupas fresh out of college was elected committeeman for Palos ... Read More...

For Illinois Republicans this is the midst of a great depression. The news that suburban voters, even in the GOP heartland of DuPage County, pulled more Democrat than Republican ballots in the primary is an ominous foreshadowing of a very bleak November.

The likely presence of Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) on the national ticket makes a bad situation much worse. Obama is a favorite son who has energized the Democratic party nationally and has whipped it up to frenzy here in Illinois. The odds are very strong that Obama will be on the national ticket. I picked him to win last summer, believing there were just too many Democrats who don’t like Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). Now, though, even if Clinton’s organizational strength prevails she almost has to work hard to persuade him to take the vice-presidential slot, whatever her personal preferences. With the racially-charged attacks the Clintons made ... Read More...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the how the immigration issue was splitting the Republican
party, perhaps permanently. Basically, the intransigence of the
anti-illegal immigration wing has split the party, making even a good
compromise impossible. This has alienated the fastest growing voting block
while accomplishing nothing of POSITIVE value (I agree that stopping the
last immigration bill was a good thing, but USA will NEVER do a “Full
Tancredo”.) The anti-immigration block refuses to use its newly gained
clout for a good compromise, and holds out for the impossible. The result?
Bush’s Republican successor (nominee) will NOT be able to look forward to
the 44% of the Hispanic vote that Bush rec’d. Good work, folks. Keep it up.

If polling is accurate, the Iraq war is having the same effect. While I
support ... Read More...

The Republican Party, known since the late 19th century as the party of business, is losing its lock on that title.

New evidence suggests a potentially historic shift in the Republican Party’s identity—what strategists call its “brand.” The votes of many disgruntled fiscal conservatives and other lapsed Republicans are now up for grabs, which could alter U.S. politics in the 2008 elections and beyond.

Some business leaders are drifting away from the party because of the war in Iraq, the growing federal debt and a conservative social agenda they don’t share. In manufacturing sectors such as the auto industry, some Republicans want direct government help with soaring health-care costs, which Republicans in Washington have been reluctant to provide. And some business people want more government action on global warming, arguing that a bolder plan is not only inevitable, but could spur new industries.