Vote this week in Illinois Republican Party straw poll

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Eaton

Updated: January 23, 2012 4:23AM

Instead of complaining about consistently being ignored by the Illinois Republican Party, conservatives have a chance this week to let the party leadership know how many of them there are and whom they prefer as their 2012 presidential nominee.

The state party is holding its first-ever presidential straw poll and the nation’s first online preferential tally through Saturday evening.

Over the years, Illinois hasn’t had much influence on the Republican presidential nominee as Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina have. By the time our primary rolls around, the die’s usually been cast and the choice made. This year, the state party’s trying something innovative that will prove to be either ingenious or disastrous.

A little more than 2 million voters out of Illinois’ nearly 13 million residents cast ballots for Republican John McCain in 2008. Among that 15 percent of the state’s population is where the Illinois Republican Party will look to get straw poll participants. For $5 a vote, anyone with a credit or debit card listed with an Illinois ZIP code can vote from home until 7 p.m. Saturday.

For those not comfortable voting online, in-person polling will be conducted throughout the state. Locally, Cook County GOP chairman Sig Vaznelis will host a poll at the Lemont Township Community Center starting at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

State Republican Party chairman Pat Brady said 1,052 participated last weekend in the online straw poll. The $5 charge per vote pays for the online balloting cost and also contributes to county GOP organizations to bolster the party’s struggling bank account.

The goal of the “presidential preference” straw poll is to make Illinois Republicans relevant and to build on the state party’s infrastructure, Brady said. A lofty goal, no doubt, considering that Illinois Democratic Party chief Mike Madigan and his staff successfully drew Illinois’ legislative and congressional maps to maintain the Democrats’ control of Illinois for 10 more years.

While the Republicans are challenging the congressional maps, complaining that the Democratic Caucus Congressional Committee was actively involved in drawing them, Illinois House and Senate districts are settled. That makes it even more difficult for Republicans to gin up their base and activate donors. Why bother, many grumble, when it doesn’t matter what we do?

But things aren’t so rosy for Illinois Democrats, either. They may dominate now, but Illinois business owners are angry — paying more state taxes while the state budget dips further into red ink. Taxpayers who see less in their paychecks while daily expenses and taxes and fees steadily increase are losing patience with lawmakers.

And they have no one to blame but those in control — the Democrats.

Brady said the Illinois party will tie the state’s high unemployment and deep budget deficit to unpopular Gov. Pat Quinn and Democratic legislative leaders and an increasingly less popular president, Barack Obama. It’s their economic policies that will be blamed for Illinois’ problems in 2012.

So, a state GOP straw poll is a good way for unhappy conservatives and independents to get involved. They get a voice in the process, bolster opposition to Democrat control and reinforce the currently weak party infrastructure. They need to use this chance to show just how strong is Illinois’ conservative base.

But the early participation rate isn’t encouraging. About 500 per day have voted in the straw poll so far, meaning a mere 3,500 will vote if that trend continues. Conservative Republicans would be well-advised to kick up these numbers into the 35,000 range by Saturday night.

The more who vote, the more likely that conservative grassroots opinions will matter in the state party’s positions leading up to next year’s state convention and beyond. Conservatives should not leave the symbolism and the vote numbers to party insiders and continue to taunt from the sidelines.

While some conservatives are discouraging participation in this straw poll, I see it differently. The more who support conservative candidates, the stronger the message to the Illinois Republican Party leadership: There’s a huge conservative and independent movement in Illinois, and it’s important that we be heard.

I urge you to vote in the poll for the Republican candidate that you feel best represents conservative principles such as limited government, individual rights, free markets and traditional values. If enough of us do so, the message will be strong and clear and worth every dime.

Go to www.illinoisstrawpoll.com, place your vote and stop complaining about there being no choice and no voice in the Illinois Republican Party.

Fran Eaton is a Southland resident who co-founded and edits the conservative political blog, illinoisreview.com