Illinois

There are less than five days left until Super Tuesday.  Chances are by Midnight Tuesday we will know who the Republican standard bearer is going to be.  In watching this week’s Wednesday night CNN debate it seemed to me Romney and Huckabee are the only two candidates left who could carry forward the conservative movement.  Both are flawed candidates but either would be preferable to McCain.  Conservatives need to choose between Romney and Huckabee and it would be better if they made that choice before Super Tuesday.  The default candidate is John McCain.  So let’s take a look at where we are.

McCain has emerged in the last two weeks as the candidate of the RINOS, liberals and the Republican establishment.  One by one, leaders in the establishment are coming out for McCain at strategic times in order to influence primary voters.  Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced his endorsement for McCain on the day of the Florida primary.  On Wednesday Rudy Giuliani and Governor Swartznager announced their endorsements for McCain just before the Semi Valley CNN debate in order to get maximum media coverage.

In spite of the fact that the media is attempting to sell McCain as the consensus candidate he has yet to get a majority of the Republican vote, much less the conservative vote.  In the Florida primary he received only 20% of the conservative vote.  In other words, 80% of the conservatives who voted rejected McCain as their candidate.

(Read the full post about ‘McCain Can Win Nomination But Not The General Election’…)

In spite of having observed Chicago politics for most of my adult life, I am still disappointed when I witness the unprincipled actions of some of my fellow conservatives. Twenty-four hours ago (January 29) the majority of core conservatives in the public arena, on talk radio, the blogosphere and the print media were warning us about the dangers of a McCain Presidency. Today many are talking as though Florida was the final state to participate in the primaries instead of one of the first, and McCain is the hero of the hour.

Did I miss something? Did McCain have a “road to Damascus” moment? Did he denounce all his prior betrayals of the conservative movement when I wasn’t listening?

(Read the full post about ‘What A Difference A Day Makes’…)

The topic of presidential delegates was discussed previously on Illinois Review, but with Fred Thompson dropping out this week, there was discussion again. 

Thompson delegates have reportedly conferred and most are going to remain "uncommitted" and will run on their own area name recognition and merit.  If Thompson endorses another candidate, his delegates are not required to follow his recommendation.  They’ll be allowed to make their own choice at the Republican Convention scheduled in August in Minneapolis. 

This week’s development brought up discussion about just who is running and who’s running for which GOP presidential candidates. 

We’ll get things started by looking today at the 1st and 2nd CD slates.  If you can help us by adding more info about the people on the list, please do so in the comment section.

(Read the full post about ‘Who’s who in IL’s presidential delegate race: 1st CD’…)

I think we could come up with a few others . . . Any ideas?

This is getting tougher by the day. . . Before conservatives settle in on John McCain, IR Reader Evert Evertsen points out a 2006 piece connecting McCain with George Soros:

Senator John McCain, a bona fide war hero and decorated prisoner of war, would seem an unlikely candidate for cooperation with the likes of George Soros. But things aren’t always what they seem. Upon close examination, it turns out that Senator John McCain and his various efforts are funded by a number of George Soros’ shadowy organizations. . .

Link: John McCain: George Soros’ Best Friend.

by George Dienhart

In typical fashion, the Clintons have been caught in a lie, again. Maybe lie isn’t the right word. Massive campaign of deception might be a better description. Look at this picture. Yes, that’s who you think it is. Chicago’s biggest political star- Tony Rezko.

Hillary did tell Matt Lauer "I don’t know the man, wouldn’t know him if he walked in the door, I don’t have a 17 year relationship with him…"  Hmmmmm. Could there be more to the story?

Something interesting did pop up in my search for campaign contributions. Mr. Rezko donated money to Rick Lazio.

Rick Lazio is barely a footnote in history.

(Read the full post about ‘It’s Morning in the Clinton Household’…)

For me, and with my particular tastes, I’m comfortable saying that the new record by Austin-based singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt is the best of the new year. By now Danny’s got a recognizable and distinctive vocal delivery and I love it. His songs are as literate, and can be as funny and clever, as anyone else in the songwriting racket today. I’ve written about his upcoming record, Grey Sheep, here, but frankly I did so too early. His record has a Feb. 19 release date and at the time of my initial mention there was nowhere to pick up this great CD. But now there is. Buy it here via his label, Waterbug, now. Danny Schmidt’s description of “Cliff Song” is better than anything I can come up with. (Read the full post about ‘Danny Schmidt’s “Grey Sheep” (One of the best records of the new year…there I said it!) (Waterbug Records, Feb. 19)’…)

MATTOON – The proposed $1.8 billion FutureGen clean coal power plant scheduled to be built in Mattoon may not be built after all, and politicians are claiming it’s a victim of partisan politics.

Department of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman told much of the Illinois congressional delegation Tuesday morning that his department plans to disband the FutureGen Alliance and move in a different direction.

The FutureGen Alliance was a combined effort among 13 energy companies from around the world and the Department of Energy.

"The Department of Energy has turned its back on us," U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, told The News-Gazette.

(Read the full post about ‘No future for FutureGen?’…)

Gov. Rod Blagojevich released an angry statement Tuesday after learning of the Department of Energy’s plans to "restructure" the FutureGen plans.

"Only after it became clear that an Illinois site would be chosen over a Texas site, the department suggested the project be delayed and now today, that it be dismantled," said Gov.

(Read the full post about ‘Governor blasts Department of Energy’s plans’…)

Sometimes just checking something out can reduce the odds of you acquiring a mess of a headache.

Someplace, somewhere online (who knows where? I’m looking at a couple hundred Web sites and mailing lists a day. I know. That’s way too much.) I read that something about the alleged collectability of compact disc longboxes.

For a gallery of what longboxes looked like, go here. These were long, thin cardboard boxes that held compact discs for display when they were originally being issued in the late 1980s. The primary reason for longboxes was music stores were equipped to carry 12-inch by 12-inch record albums, and the longboxes could sit in them alongside albums during that brief stretch when vinyl and CDs co-existed.

At the previously mentioned online someplace, I read that longboxes were going for considerable amounts on eBay.

(Read the full post about ‘CD longboxes’…)