Lauzen in Roll Call:
“The Illinois Republican machine … does not like Chris Lauzen,” Russell said. “The [unknown] candidate … would have the [Hastert] machine influence.”
Russell and Green speculated that the entry of a Hastert-picked candidate will set up an eventual Lauzen victory by siphoning off Oberweis supporters and encouraging typically conservative primary voters to organize around Lauzen.
But Lauzen said he sees his formula for victory in the primary as simple, and he said the contest involves two issues: “performance versus promises and … I win campaigns.”
Still, Lauzen acknowledges that his biggest asset going into the primary — his far-right base of conservative diehards — could prove problematic in a general election with Foster, when heavy swing-voter turnout is expected in 2008 presidential election.
“Primaries are easy because people generally agree with you,” Lauzen said. “General elections: you need all the people you can get.”
So he’s too extreme. Let’s get that out of the way now. Worse, he’s thin skinned and whines non-stop about every little slight such as whether he is a CPA or not. He was nutty enough to sue to CHANGE HIS NAME to Chris Lauzen, CPA because a political opponent questioned his credentials It was denied.
Not to be outdone, the Oberweis campaign has the crack team that brought Keyes in running his campaign with this fine release about a Lauzen hire:
(AURORA, October 30) — Oberweis for Congress spokesman Bill Pascoe — reacting to news that Kane County GOP Chairman Denny Wiggins has accepted a paid position with State Sen. Chris Lauzen’s campaign — called on Wiggins to abide by the majority vote of the Kane County GOP Executive Committee last night and resign his position immediately.
“Republican County Chairmen shouldn’t be serving as paid staff on any campaign at any level,” said Pascoe. “I don’t know which is worse — that Denny Wiggins apparently sold himself to the highest bidder, or that Chris Lauzen decided to buy Wiggins’ ‘services.’
“What this whole episode says about Denny Wiggins is clear: given that he asked Jim Oberweis for a payment of $10,000 per month — a payment Jim refused to make, believing it just wasn’t the right thing to do — and then shopped his services to Chris Lauzen after telling Jim how little respect he had for Lauzen and Lauzen’s record, what this says is simply that Denny Wiggins is a man whose support can be bought.
“What this episode says about Chris Lauzen, though, is worse — it says that Lauzen has been in Springfield too long. Fifteen years in the midst of the George Ryan-Rod Blagojevich mindset has apparently infected Chris, and led him to buy into the notion that it’s appropriate to buy people off. ‘Put them on the payroll’ is the battle cry of the Establishment Insiders, and that’s trouble — because when the Insiders get together in their back rooms to scratch each other’s backs, it’s always the taxpayers who get stuck with the bill.
“Denny Wiggins should immediately step down from his position as Chairman of the Kane County GOP. A leave of absence is not enough — if he maintains his position as Chairman, whether on leave or not, he will maintain undue influence over the organization and its key players. That would deny the Republican voters of Kane County their right to a free and fair election.
“In order to remove even the appearance of impropriety, Wiggins must resign immediately,” Pascoe concluded.
Pascoe, Oberweis, Lauzen, Jack Roeser, and Zahm.
Pass me the popcorn.