News from the Illinois Political Front Lines: Part 3 — A Major Reason for the Upsurge in Conservative Energy

Written by John Biver

In the last article, I listed several reasons for Illinois conservatives to be encouraged. As someone who has paid close attention to the downward trajectory of our state for over twenty years, the items I listed are not small things.

I left off at the good news that President Donald Trump is changing national politics. His example can be followed here in Illinois, a state where a lot of forgotten men and women live and work.

It is not a small thing that Donald Trump won industrial and agricultural states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. How did he do it? By offering something different. By dropping the phony façade most politicians put forward. One brilliant friend of mine said he knocked candidates and elected officials and yes, even himself, off the pedestal. As a result, a lot more Americans listened to the GOP presidential candidate and took him seriously.

For millions of citizens, candidate Trump injected his own style of humor into the previously stale process by constantly going off script. Not all Trump fans like everything he says (or Tweets), but it’s easy to observe that more people are paying attention. And more people see politics as something approachable rather than some lofty endeavor where only the wealthy elite are allowed. He showed his personality, warts and all, and got people to listen who are tired of the continuing bromides from old-style conservative politicians.

Trump’s template can and needs to be utilized here in Illinois. A handful of conservative activists I spoke with in the past few days had extra energy in their voice and their refreshed enthusiasm was connected to the fact that the guy who helped us avoid another President Clinton is also fulfilling his promises. And our president is doing that despite being up against unprecedented opposition — even from within his own party.

Issue for issue, the Illinois mess can be compared to the federal government mess leading up to the 2016 election. The economy was stagnant, jobs were leaving, income was depressed, and a radical Leftist social agenda was on the march. Millions of Americans knew it and a plurality of them in the Republican Party preferred Trump’s honesty and unconventional style and believed he was truly determined to make American great again.

Trump’s template doesn’t require a playboy/billionaire/reality TV show celebrity background. It only requires guts, genuine leadership and communication that leads people to believe this candidate is not like all the rest.

If you don’t subject yourself to the daily “destroy Trump” dominant media narrative and instead seek out news about what’s happening with things like the economy and unemployment, you’ll notice an increasing optimism for the future of the nation despite its present trials.

Americans love the fact that Trump fights back, calls out the media and “fake news” narrative, is playing tough with rogue nations, has all but destroyed ISIS and doesn’t care about the opinions of the liberal elite.

Like Trump, in the March primary, Jeanne Ives made amazing inroads and out performed the expectations of political pundits in Illinois. She too is a courageous fighter who has a stellar and honorable background. We need more courageous leaders who will not cave into the pressures of the politically correct crowd (like 8 Illinois GOP Senators did on ERA).

I’ll close this series of short articles with this passage from a speech by President Donald Trump:

[W]e believe that family and faith, not government and bureaucracy, are the foundation of our society. You’ve heard me say it before on the campaign trail and I’ll say it again tonight. In America we don’t worship government. We worship God. Tonight, we’re going to set aside the cynics and the critics because we know exactly why they are so angry and so bitter. Day by day, week by week we are restoring our government’s allegiance to its people, to its citizens, to the people that we all love.

It is entirely possible to be optimistic about Illinois’ future. Strong, honest and effective leadership, however, is necessary.

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