Thursday, December 11, 2008

Republican National Committee calls for special election in Illinois.

Republican
National
Committee

To: RNC National Committee Members
Fr: Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan
Re: RNC Memo on Illinois Senate Seat
Date: Thursday, December 11, 2008

I wanted to share with you an interesting development that took place yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) drafted and sent a letter to Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) asking that he step aside so that the lieutenant governor could make the appointment concerning President-elect Obama's vacated seat in the U.S. Senate. In the last 24 hours there has been increased activity on the part of Democrats to discourage an election in Illinois where voters would decide who should represent them in the Senate.

That leads to one question, why?

The reason is because Harry Reid and Democrats on Capitol Hill are seeing exactly what we are seeing. Republicans are competing and winning. We are holding seats in states and districts carried in the past by Republicans, and we are also picking up seats in Democrat strongholds, as is the case in Louisiana's Second Congressional District.

Voters are embracing leaders who represent core conservative values, such as Saxby Chambliss, John Fleming and Joseph Cao. They are rejecting politicians who offer words, not deeds and fail to demonstrate a real commitment to getting things done.

Voters in the Second District of Louisiana rejected the greed and corruption demonstrated by Congressman Jefferson and embraced Mr. Cao's commitment to preserve the dignity of public office by championing comprehensive ethics reform, keeping taxes low, and providing greater accountability for Congressional spending.

We expect that the same may be true in Illinois and it appears Harry Reid agrees.

The situation in Illinois clearly speaks to the need for a special election as articulated by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) when he stated the Illinois General Assembly "should enact a law as quickly as possible calling for a special election" to fill the Senate vacancy of Barack Obama.

His sentiments could not have been clearer and have been echoed by Democrats and Republicans alike.

The people of Illinois should decide who will represent them in the U.S. Senate, as opposed to an insider from the Blagojevich Administration at the behest of Washington politicians.

While Democrats in Washington offer rhetoric speaking to "openness" and "transparency" it seems these words have little meaning behind them at moments of political inconvenience. This is an opportunity for the politicians in the nation's capital to step aside and allow the people to have their say. As Chairman of the Republican Party, I believe in these unique circumstances to restore integrity into the system, voters should have the final word on who represents their interests in Illinois and I would hope Democrats in Washington are willing to place their confidence and trust in the people to elect their next Representative in the U.S. Senate.


Paid for by the Republican National Committee
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Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Source Lynn Sweet

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