The Republican Party has become deeply divided. In recent years, the conservative pro-life/pro-family base of the GOP has not only had to stand its ground against the Democratic Party, but now finds itself constantly having to fight off liberal, pro-abortion/anti-family interlopers within the Republican Party.
These liberal “Republicans” really have more in common with the Democratic Party than they do with Republicans, yet they insist on trying to water down and infect the Republican Party Platform with their liberal social agenda. We truly are in the midst of a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party.
This battle is perhaps best exemplified by the high-profile and nationally followed Illinois Republican gubernatorial primary race. This hotly contested and explosive race clearly represents the ongoing rift between the conservative majority, and the liberal minority within the larger national Republican Party. The primary has boiled down to a two way race between conservative businessman Jim Oberweis, who is pro-life and pro-marriage, and the liberal pro-abortion, pro-homosexual activist Judy Baar Topinka.
Eagle Forum’s venerable Phyllis Schlafly has endorsed Oberweis, and is enthusiastically campaigning on his behalf. Additionally, conservative pro-life and pro-family leaders throughout Illinois and the rest of the country have endorsed Oberweis, and are actively campaigning for him, and against Topinka.
But of equal significance is the fact that a group of grassroots Illinois GOP faithful have recently joined forces in defense of the conservative principles upon which the Republican Party was built. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has very publicly introduced this group of concerned Republican citizens who call themselves StopTopinka.com (www.stoptopinka.com ). This informal group of Illinois voters is fighting to regain precious ground lost to the liberal Republican “George Ryan” old guard in Illinois (of which Topinka is a proud member).
The liberal Republican establishment in Illinois, currently headed by Chairman Andy McKenna, has controlled the Illinois GOP for decades, and has decimated the party to the point where it’s hardly recognizable as a Republican organization. The establishment has made no bones about its open support of former Party Chairman and State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka in her bid for governor.
Topinka and her establishment are inarguably responsible for the manifest absence of Republican representation in high-level government positions in Illinois; nonetheless, political self preservation trumps common sense, and precludes them from getting behind an “outsider” – a reformer like Jim Oberweis, who has made it clear that he intends to rout out corruption both in Illinois government, and within the Illinois Republican Party once he’s elected.
The old guard is terrified of Oberweis, and rightly so. He promises to get government back on track, and return the Illinois GOP to both its conservative roots, and a position of prominence in state government.
StopTopinka.com provides must-see video of Judy Baar Topinka’s annual participation in the Chicago “gay-pride” parade. By virtue of her active participation in the parade, one can only conclude that Topinka endorses its cause and message. This parade features nudity and lewd public displays – even though young children march in the parade and attend as observers. Additionally, it provides facts relative to Topinka’s pro-homosexual activism, and her diversion as state treasurer, of $10 million in state taxpayer dollars to build a “gay” community center in Chicago.
StopTopinka.com spokesman Peter LaBarbera said he and other concerned citizens created the website “to get the truth about Judy Topinka's radical pro-‘gay’ activism out to the voters of Illinois. We know that most Republican voters in Illinois are still unaware of Topinka's liberal agenda, which includes helping hardened homosexual activists achieve their goal of using government power to force others to accept their lifestyle.
“Every year, Judy celebrates homosexuality by marching in Chicago's debauched ‘gay pride’ parade, but she's not talking about that now that she's running for governor as a Republican. We just feel the people have a right to know when a politician who claims to be conservative is championing immoral and unhealthy behavior,” he said.
So, as the gubernatorial primary heats up and heads into the final stretch, Illinois Republican voters have a choice to make. Do they want to continue to reward the failed “George Ryan” old guard by maintaining the status quo and electing Judy Baar Topinka, or do they intend to head in the new direction of party repair, and government reform?
Illinois Republicans need to remember – the rest of the nation is watching. Our actions in this election will set the tone for the rest of the country and help to define the ideological path the Republican Party heads down in the future. Are we as a party going to continue to morph into “Democrat-light,” offering voters no distinction between Republican and Democrat – or are we going to re-establish our roots in both the Republican Party Platform, and the time-honored conservative principles set forth therein? The choice is ours on March 21st.
Copyright © 2006 by J. Matt Barber
J. Matt Barber is a Republican strategist, and is currently a Campaign Coordinator for Jim Oberweis in his Illinois gubernatorial bid. Matt is a non-practicing attorney, an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer (Matt “Bam Bam” Barber), and a jazz drummer in Chicago, IL. In addition to his Law Degree, Barber holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy from Regent University. Matt is a Contributing Editor for TheConservativeVoice.com, and a contributor to the Washington Times’ “Insight Magazine,” AmericanThinker.com, and a number of other top online and print publications.
E-mail your comments to Matt, at jmattbarber@comcast.net.