Turning on a Dime
ArchPundit
When your on the outs with Jack Roeser, your on the outs. After being the anointed for Illinois Governor, it appears that Oberweis made the horrible mistake of endorsing the eventual winner, Judy Baar Topinka. John Biver does the stenography:
Politics can create problems for friendships, but it can also lead to problems for people who are just friendly with each other. A lot of folks personally like Jim Oberweis. The times I?ve spoken with him I?ve found him likable ? and I even supported him for governor just last year.Many of us, however, have a problem with Jim Oberweis? approach to politics. In a sentence ? it?s all about Jim.Think about it for a second: imagine the good that could?ve been done by Jim had he skipped just one of his recent statewide campaigns and instead spent a few million dollars helping reform candidates win seats in the Illinois General Assembly.Say he would?ve skipped that crowded primary for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and instead spent some of his money helping elect a better class of state legislators. That might well have made a real impact on the mind of Republican primary voters during last year?s race for governor.Before he first ran in 2002, the name Oberweis never came to anyone?s mind as people looked for potential leaders. After he lost that 2002 U.S. Senate primary there were many ways he could?ve pitched in to help build a viable party. Instead, the next we heard of him he was running for the U.S. Senate again in 2004.Using that 2004 cycle differently, he could?ve been seen as the go-to guy for 2006. Instead, he’s seen by many as just one more rich guy trying to buy himself a political office. He?s still not seen as the go-to guy even after three statewide runs.His name has popped up here and there occasionally between the times when he?s funding his own campaigns. He put his name in for the state party chairmanship after Topinka stepped down, and later tried for the top party post in Kane County. When he failed to get either of those, he disappeared.After Jim lost the 2006 primary for Governor he would?ve have been better off completely disappearing. Instead, he made an abrupt about-face and showed an important insincerity regarding one of the key message planks in his just-completed campaign. He had spoken out aggressively against corruption within the Illinois GOP and as a result finished a strong second place. Then, incredibly, he decided to endorse Topinka. To put it another way:
When Andy Martin starts talking about the great divisions in the Democratic Party, someone should just bring up the town of Carpentersville and see how he reacts.
But this kind of attack raises the stakes. What happens if Oberweis wins? Is Lauzen allowed to back him in the general election? Fealty to Roeser appears the only way to not face attacks later.