Republicans Were Warned About Rauner. But in 2014, They Just Wanted to Win.

Written by John Biver

In 2014, Business Insider wrote about the fact that Bruce Rauner had an extramarital affair with his current wife Diana Rauner (who was “set to be married” to another man at the time) while his wife was pregnant with their third child. It was a messy situation to say the least. Here is Elizabeth Rauner’s attorney James Feldman in one excerpt from the article:

Our client, Beth, has three small children. She discovered a paramour existed. She then confronted Mr. Rauner. He said that he wanted to reconcile continuing to live in the house…. Then she discovered some notes indicating that he had consulted with an attorney about a divorce. He then suggested to her that they consult with an attorney.

“At the time of their ‘difficulties,’” the article explains, “the couple’s three children would have been about 6, 4, and 1 year old.” You can read portions of the affidavit here. NBC News also picked up the story.

When Bill Clinton was running for president in 1992, Illinois’ own U.S. Senator at the time, Lynn Martin, famously said that “you can’t be one kind of man, and another kind of president.” Monica Lewinski and the rest of the country found out that was true a few years later.

Republican News Watch’s (RNW) Doug Ibendahl ran a series detailing Rauner’s business dealings and warned Republicans against both nominating him and electing him in the fall. Links to his articles can also be found here, and a search of “Rauner” at RNW is linked here.

Neither Laurie nor Doug emphasized Rauner having had an extramarital affair while his first wife was pregnant. Laurie’s warning concerned Rauner’s veracity and his positions on family issues. Doug focused on the number of troubling lawsuits that were settled by Rauner’s company.

Rauner’s behavior in office has been atrocious. Most people know the litany of terrible legislation that he has signed into law as well as his leadership failures. Now his campaign is running the most dishonest ads many of us have seen in a very long time. One ad suggests that his opponent, Jeanne Ives, is a Mike Madigan stooge. It’s laughable.

When “No-Social-Agenda” Rauner (as Laurie Higgins calls him) took office, many hoped that his leadership would provide what Illinois needed. After all, the ability to lead effectively is not determined by grave errors made earlier in life.

The problem in 2014 was that there was ample evidence that Rauner was problematic. Troubling evidence existed that his election would do damage to the state and to the Illinois Republican Party–the vehicle where policy reform will have to be carried if this state ever is to be saved.

Rauner does not deserve a second term. Jeanne Ives is a terrific candidate with a solid pro-economic-liberty and pro-family background. She is the candidate to support.

(View the IFA Illinois GOP gubernatorial comparison piece HERE.)

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