Something Important About The Illinois Primary
On March 20th, Illinois voters will head to the polls to vote in the Presidential Primary. In addition, many of us will cast votes in local primary races ranging from county board to coroner. However, one of the most important votes cast isn't for any of those races; it's for Precinct Committeeman.
One of the general criticisms of the Tea Parties is that they are very disconnected from each other and have generally failed to rally around a particular candidate or have split their support among a field of candidates. Hence the rise of Mitt Romney as the front runner and the others in the field splitting the other 75% of support.
Another criticism of the Tea Parties is their unwillingness to be absorbed into the Republican party or any party for that matter. They are staunchly conservative, but independent. This point has been both their benefit and their defeat. Staying independent has allowed the Tea Parties to largely operate outside of the normal political world while affecting elections to their liking in 2010. At the same time, the Tea Parties have failed to affect the Republican party leadership despite being instrumental in the takeover of the US House and other races.
There is a growing number of conservatives and Tea Partiers though that have recognized this problem of not affecting the Republican Party leadership at both the local and state level. As a result, these people have collected signatures on petitions within their respective voting precincts in order to be placed on the ballot on March 20th for a two year term as a Precinct Committeeman. An overwhelming majority - if not all - of those conservatives/Tea Partier Precinct Committeeman candidates you will find on the Republican ballot.
These people understand that in order to effectively affect change within the Republican Party, you must become a voting member within that party. Once a voting member of the Republican Party, these same conservatives/Tea Partiers can then help affect change at the leadership level.
Of course change won't happen overnight, but getting involved as a Precinct Committeeman is one of the important things you can do within the political world and voting for a Precinct Committeeman is one of the most important things you can do this upcoming Illinois Primary.
Unfortunately, the deadline for petitions to be on the March 20th ballot as a Precinct Committeeman has passed. But there is still hope for you! 28 days fter the Primary, your county Republican Party will meet for their County Convention to elect the new party leadership and only elected Precinct Committeemen can vote during this convention. After the County Convention, you can still step forward and ask to be appointed to any precinct that does not have a Precinct Committeeman elected to it. In this way, you can still affect the party through other ways since during the next 2 years, all Precinct Committeemen - both elected and appointed - can vote on party business at the county level. As a result, even though you missed the deadline to file, you still have an opportunity to make changes at the county level.
When March 20th comes around and you are in polling place casting a vote, make sure to check to see if there is a Precinct Committeeman running in your precinct. If there is someone running, then make sure you vote for him or her. If there isn't, then contact your county's Republican Chairman or another Precinct Committeeman (list available at your county clerk's office) to get involved.
If you are a Tea Partier, you must get involved in party politics, especially if you want the movement to survive longer than previous political movements before it. The machine that is party politics will leave the Tea Parties in the dust if the Tea Parties do not join in and attempt to take over the party machine. This Illinois Primary is your first chance to do just that. The next opportunity won't happen until 2014 - and pray it won't be too late by then. If the Tea Partiers don't get involved now, then they risk being nothing more than a blip on the map of political history like Soccer Moms, Reagan Democrats, etc.
To quote one of my favorite movies, "get busy livin' or get busy dyin'.".
One of the general criticisms of the Tea Parties is that they are very disconnected from each other and have generally failed to rally around a particular candidate or have split their support among a field of candidates. Hence the rise of Mitt Romney as the front runner and the others in the field splitting the other 75% of support.
Another criticism of the Tea Parties is their unwillingness to be absorbed into the Republican party or any party for that matter. They are staunchly conservative, but independent. This point has been both their benefit and their defeat. Staying independent has allowed the Tea Parties to largely operate outside of the normal political world while affecting elections to their liking in 2010. At the same time, the Tea Parties have failed to affect the Republican party leadership despite being instrumental in the takeover of the US House and other races.
There is a growing number of conservatives and Tea Partiers though that have recognized this problem of not affecting the Republican Party leadership at both the local and state level. As a result, these people have collected signatures on petitions within their respective voting precincts in order to be placed on the ballot on March 20th for a two year term as a Precinct Committeeman. An overwhelming majority - if not all - of those conservatives/Tea Partier Precinct Committeeman candidates you will find on the Republican ballot.
These people understand that in order to effectively affect change within the Republican Party, you must become a voting member within that party. Once a voting member of the Republican Party, these same conservatives/Tea Partiers can then help affect change at the leadership level.
Of course change won't happen overnight, but getting involved as a Precinct Committeeman is one of the important things you can do within the political world and voting for a Precinct Committeeman is one of the most important things you can do this upcoming Illinois Primary.
Unfortunately, the deadline for petitions to be on the March 20th ballot as a Precinct Committeeman has passed. But there is still hope for you! 28 days fter the Primary, your county Republican Party will meet for their County Convention to elect the new party leadership and only elected Precinct Committeemen can vote during this convention. After the County Convention, you can still step forward and ask to be appointed to any precinct that does not have a Precinct Committeeman elected to it. In this way, you can still affect the party through other ways since during the next 2 years, all Precinct Committeemen - both elected and appointed - can vote on party business at the county level. As a result, even though you missed the deadline to file, you still have an opportunity to make changes at the county level.
When March 20th comes around and you are in polling place casting a vote, make sure to check to see if there is a Precinct Committeeman running in your precinct. If there is someone running, then make sure you vote for him or her. If there isn't, then contact your county's Republican Chairman or another Precinct Committeeman (list available at your county clerk's office) to get involved.
If you are a Tea Partier, you must get involved in party politics, especially if you want the movement to survive longer than previous political movements before it. The machine that is party politics will leave the Tea Parties in the dust if the Tea Parties do not join in and attempt to take over the party machine. This Illinois Primary is your first chance to do just that. The next opportunity won't happen until 2014 - and pray it won't be too late by then. If the Tea Partiers don't get involved now, then they risk being nothing more than a blip on the map of political history like Soccer Moms, Reagan Democrats, etc.
To quote one of my favorite movies, "get busy livin' or get busy dyin'.".
Posted by downstateiladvocate at 1/13/2012 9:16 PM 
Categories: General
Tags: Precinct Committeman Illinois Primary Republican
Categories: General
Tags: Precinct Committeman Illinois Primary Republican
Comments