I was trying to avoid getting dragged into the whole issue of Dick Durbin's bizzarro move to appeal to President Bush for commutation of convicted former Governor George Ryan's prison sentence for corruption, but it appears we now have a 10th District connection. The Pioneer Press reports this afternoon that Congressman Mark Kirk sent a letter to President Bush opposing any pardon or reduction in Ryan's sentence.
"George Ryan betrayed the public trust, was convicted beyond the shadow of a doubt by a jury of his peers and lost all of his appeals," Kirk wrote. "His crimes struck at the fabric of our democracy and invited a new wave of public corruption in Illinois." "Today, as U.S. Attorney (Pat) Fitzgerald investigates and prosecutes further allegations of public corruption in Springfield, I urge you not to embolden the corrupt and criminal by pardoning or commuting George Ryan's sentence."
If you want more coverage of this wacky move by Durbin, head over to Capitol Fax Blog, where they've been discussing it with an enthusiasm that I just cannot seem to muster. He's gone, he should stay there, he deserves no special treatment. End of story.
I can't help but wonder why, if Durbin felt so strongly about this, didn't he raise it as an issue during his recent election campaign? Given his huge win, I don't know that the end result might have been any different, but it would have made for a delightful issue, don't ya think?
UPDATED: Here's an article from the Chicago Tribune.
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5 comments:
This issue has legs TA. I have been waiting for the catalyst that will allow the Illinois GOP to begin to break free of the George Ryan shackles and close the dark chapter in our party's history.
Thanks to Dick Durbin standing up as a Democratic beacon of compassion for Ryan, he is transforming the issue and allowing the Republican Party to put some distance between ourselves and the Ryan fiasco.
I think the message by Andy McKenna and Mark Kirk are exactly what we need in response to this issue. If the local newspaper comment blogs are any indication--this is one more step in the resurrection of our great party.
On another note, I just wanted to thank you, TA, and all you readers who helped us out on our campaign. I am running again in 2010 and will use the lessons learned in 2008 as a springboard for what will ultimately shape up to be a very competitive 2010 election cycle for Illinois Republicans.
Tim Stratton
Candidate, State Rep 58th
Dear Andy and Mark,
While I am pleased to see you take on Durbin and your own party now, the time for this was 2 and even 4 years ago when there were things called elections going on and neanderthal senators were ripe for taking on with a little courage. I am tempted to applaud your gestures today, but it's mail that should have been delivered years ago.
Mark, the White House isn't your biggest fan so doubtful they'll listen to you. The country would listen to you but you chose not to run for leadership or invest in the state party. I also hope you keep in mind 4 words chris shays rob simmons-both men waited until it was too late to step up to fix the world around them believing falsely that people would always ticket split.
Your friend and fan of King Louis the Ellen slayer,
TA Anon blogger
P.S. Tim, good work this time and I hope you get a state party with half the spine and guts you have because Karen May is beatable, big time and I hope you get the support you need to knock her aging soccer mom politics out.
Tim-
Glad you could pop-in. I'm going to try and keep this as short as possible, as I share TA's impatience with this preposterous concept, and I'll try to stick to the 2010 ramifactions.
Or lack thereof. I don't want to step on any advisory toes, but unless you're running against Durbin, I'd be surprised if this becomes a central issue 2 years from now. There are many reasons for this, but the most likely is that we will have a shiny brand new indicted governor to crow about, one Karen May is much closer to, by party if nothing else. While the patrons of this fine establishment are rightfully riled up, I have a hard time believing that it can translate into an effective anti-Karen May message.
Two years is a long time. A lot will change, in Illinois and the country. The state has, and will have, much bigger problems than an ex-Governor rotting away in his corner cell. If you don't have anything to say on the state budget, on transportation, on education funding, on current corruption, on imtramural gridlock, property and other taxes, and any of the thousands of other issues that directly affect the lives of Illinoisans, then quite frankly, I don't want you in Springfield.
The state GOP's woes are cured much more simply: have ideas. Real, innovative policy prescriptions to correct this state's course. Someone tells you it's not conservative enough, respond with, "I don't give a damn. It's gonna make peoples lives better.". Screw George Ryan. He's not worth the blog space.
Lots of luck in two years.
1. Karen May can be beaten. The economy sucks almost as much as Rex Grossman, the democrats are doing nothing to fix it and complicit aging soccer moms who only show up to cut ribbons for arts centers and in your mailbox on even numbered years are perfect targets. People are sick of democrats downstate so you have the change thing going for you.
2. Unlike Mark, Tim doesn't have to swallow any faux-religious right crap from the national party. If you live in glencoe you are obviously successful and know how to get your shit together-get some new ideas.
3. Please look to the national governors association meetings and other people who have nothing to do with d.c. republicans. Also there are a number of moderate think tanks out there talking about the future. Competitiveness is a huge issue.
4. I restate my case that Mark has to fire Andy McKenna and that he is killing the party by not stepping up locally. Tim would be a much better rep than karen may just as keith would do better than terry link. However, these are not full time folks who can just call together scholars at cannon house office building and get donors to drop 4 figures. It's our leaders at the top that can and if they aren't doing a better job people like time will pay. Conservatives always complain about how little moderate gopers do to show up and fight, the fact that our local candidates have to go it alone is proof positive of that.
-FOKLAES
(Fan of King Louis Astaves the Ellen Slayer)
Thanks, TA, for speaking up against the miserable concept of a George Ryan pardon. No one kicked the Illinois Republican party harder than Ryan, a criminal, whose antics turned so many away from Republican activism. Pardoning Ryan is a horrible idea, and I certainly hope that George Bush knows that.
Tim, I'm so glad to hear that you will make another run in 2010; you do New Trier proud!
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