The Illinois Gubernatorial Dilemma

Written by David E. Smith

A good number of folks–especially on social media–are asking why I continue to refuse to vote for the incumbent Republican governor even in the wake of the Sam McCann betrayal. It’s pretty straight forward. I believe that Bruce Rauner is more dangerous to the conservative cause than J.B. Pritzker could ever be.

Bruce Rauner, the leader of the Illinois Republican Party, has severely damaged the conservative cause and has battered the GOP brand in inconceivable ways over the past four years. He not only lied to the voters about not having a “social agenda,” but he has also lied to members of his own party’s leadership and to the Catholic Archbishop of Chicago. A man is as good as his word, and Rauner’s word is untrustworthy.

Regarding his social agenda? Well, we expect Democrats to act like cultural Marxists; we do not expect Republicans to advance, cheer-lead and fund a left-wing agenda.

We need a bold fighter–a true conservative (like Jeanne Ives)–to help revive the Illinois GOP. Donald Trump is showing us that the Republican platform can appeal to large swathes of the American population. His approval rating is now at 36 percent with blacks and 47 percent with Hispanics. Can you imagine a conservative candidate running in Illinois getting 20 percent of the black vote and 20 percent of the Hispanic vote? We’d be unstoppable! (And I think we could build on that.)

For these things to happen, we MUST purge the Republican Party of those who are untrustworthy and betray us and the platform. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, we need to raise a banner of bold colors (no pale pastels) which make it unmistakably clear that the Illinois Republican Party is the clear alternative to the Illinois Democratic Party.

Bruce Rauner is a liar and a traitor. I am surprised at the number of smart people who refuse to identify him as such. Traitors are not to be tolerated or ignored. Traitors must not be allowed to do more damage to our cause. Their ideas pollute and corrupt the party from within.

Of course, if you want more betrayal and want the GOP to be further damaged from within, you will support this snollygoster for another term. For me and my like-minded friends, we refuse to reward his treachery.

Unfortunately, we thought we had a conservative candidate with Sam McCann to vote for in this election. We were wrong. A true pro-life conservative doesn’t attack other pro-life conservatives with lies and in the process, enable pro-abortion liberal candidates. Because of his pro-family voting record in Springfield, we overlooked the support McCann has gotten from unions, but now he’s attacking lawmakers who have stood up to the unions — allies who are unequivocally pro-life. We’re asking ourselves what and who is really motivating him to do costly mailings into these districts?

So, what do you do with your ballot regarding the gubernatorial race in this election cycle?  Well, it’s important to know that under-voting is absolutely acceptable and does not invalidate your ballot. In other words, it is okay to skip the gubernatorial race (leave it blank) and proceed to vote for the other down-ballot races. I plan to write in “None of the Above” and have been advising others to do the same. Others are planning to write in “Jeanne Ives” in protest.

In the long run, the Illinois Republican Party would be better off without Bruce Rauner and liberals like him. We need true conservatives who believe conservative principles and are willing to fight for the policy planks found in the Illinois Republican Platform. We need a fresh start in 2020 and 2022, and that requires that we purge those who embrace left-wing policies. For example, the considerable expansion of entitlements to advance human slaughter (aka abortion) through Medicaid and state employee health plans is a slap in the face to both social and fiscal conservatives.

We simply cannot ignore Rauner’s horrific record of governing and the fact that he and his wife personally co-sponsored Planned Parenthood of Illinois’ fundraiser with a $50,000 donation. The Rauners are not merely pro-abortion, they are financiers of infanticide. The sooner we eradicate candidates like these from the Republican Party, the better.

Finally, I urge my Christian friends to pray for all the leaders of our state. We cannot dismiss the Apostle Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy 2:1-3 to pray for those in authority as too simplistic or irrelevant for our day or current crop of leaders. I believe that if Christians in Illinois would take this exhortation seriously and fervently pray daily for our leaders, we will see God working in the hearts and minds of those in authority. (See Proverbs 21:1)

We should also pray that God would give us a new generation of strong conservative leaders who will challenge the status quo. Leaders who will be willing to boldly tell the truth and champion policies that will lead Illinois away from financial and moral insolvency.

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