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RFM NEWS
Letter from the Editor by Dan Zanoza *
Chicago, Illinois
www.RFMNEWS.com
Dan@rfmnews.com
April 4, 2002
Since RFMNEWS.COM has been in existence for just over a year, quite frankly, there were conservative organizations who I had little experience working with. Whether you would call it naivete or plain stupidity, I thought groups like Illinois Citizens for Life (ICL) and the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) were interested solely in advancing each of their social issues. For example, I assumed the eradication of abortion was ICL's modus operandi and the protection of Second Amendment rights was the main focus of the ISRA. However, after closely covering the recent Illinois Republican gubernatorial primary, and the roles these organizations played in that process, I've learned politics is the primary motivator in several of these key single-issue groups.
Now, I do not want to be misunderstood. There are many organizations that have no interest in political gamesmanship or the accumulation of power and influence. And there are members within these same groups now corrupted by power and politics who care deeply about the issues for which they fight. Yet, in many cases, the most influential conservative social interest groups in Springfield are the same organizations which have been tainted from within their leadership.
In a recent ISRA-PVF newsletter, the organization's President, Jim Vinopal, criticized RFMNEWS.COM for being "Political Wannabees". By his own words, Vinopal admits politics reigns supreme in his organization's agenda and affirms the ISRA is an established player in the political world. I'm sorry, Mr. Vinopal, your organization should not be a major player in the world of politics. Your organization, the ISRA, should have only one mandate--and that is protecting the Second Amendment which is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The ISRA should also be an advocate for the individual gun owner and ensure that his or her right to own a firearm is not trampled on by forces which constantly assail the right to bear arms.
Vinopal was commenting on an RFM NEWS story from March 26, 2002, titled, "ISRA-PVF endorsement mailers of O'Malley hard to come by / Stealth backing from gun group may have played role in O'Malley defeat" (http://www.rfmnews.com/03.26.02dan.htm)
But the ISRA-PVF's foray into the world of political cronyism, power and influence, at times, seems to run contrary to the agenda of protecting the right of Illinoisans to bear arms. Therefore, the issue itself, all too often, is given a back seat to what should be its primary interest.
The same can be said for the ICL and the Illinois Federation for Right to Life (IFRL). These two groups also find themselves waist deep in the gamesmanship which permeates the state's political system today. The dual endorsement by the political action committees of these two groups of state Senator Patrick O'Malley and Attorney General Jim Ryan in the GOP gubernatorial primary was a testament to the reality there were other mitigating factors at work behind their decisions. Patrick O'Malley was, by far, the clear cut leader in the Illinois Senate when it came to the protection of the innocent unborn.
In contrast, Jim Ryan had a poor track record on right to life issues, especially his handling of Advocate Christ Hospital's use of the live-birth abortion procedure. How did Ryan handle it? He did nothing, but pass off the responsibility to another agency, while newborns, who survived the live-birth abortion method, died slowly, gasping for air.
O'Malley's sole endorsement by the ICL and the IFRL political action committees should have been a no-brainer. In fact, every major pro-life/pro-family organization in Illinois endorsed O'Malley exclusively. But the ICL and IFRL played the game of political expedience and co-endorsed O'Malley and Ryan.
The ICL and IFRL were the only groups to issue a dual endorsement for the Governor's race in the GOP primary. Some of the members in these groups sold out Illinois' pro-life movement in the 2002 primary. Yet the ICL and IFRL are primary players in Springfield, lobbying for bills directly affecting abortion legislation.
Now some will say the political mechanisms of these groups are necessary since, after all, they are dealing with politicians. My point is politics have become the dominant motivator among such groups and, all too often, the cause itself is bargained away in the process. There should have been no consideration for a political endorsement other than how a candidate performs related to an issue. In the case of the ICL and IFRL, however, one of the organizations included a former member of Jim Ryan's staff. And then there is the old cliche of "electability" which was tossed around as part of the reason O'Malley did not receive an exclusive endorsement. I would like to ask the following question. How can a candidate be viable, or electable, if the people do not support that individual? It's like what came first, the chicken or the egg?
O'Malley is intelligent, articulate and perhaps the greatest friend the pro-life community has in Springfield. But the ICL and IFRL played the game of political expedience and hedged their bets with a dual endorsement of both "supposed" pro-life candidates in the Republican gubernatorial primary. This was wrong and they knew they were wrong. This whole attitude of viability and compromise is perhaps the very reason why Illinois continues to be the abortion dumping ground of the Midwest and why our state is the only one in the Midwest with absolutely no restrictions on abortions or abortuaries.
As far as the ISRA is concerned, in November 2001, RFM NEWS broke a story that uncovered a botched Internet gun buy sting conducted by Attorney General Jim Ryan's office. According to a follow up story written by John O'Connor of the Associated Press, and backed up by an incriminating e-mail trail between Attorney General investigators and possible targets of an Internet gun sting, it was clear AG Ryan's staff came close to ruining the lives of a number of apparently innocent people. O'Connor used the Freedom of Information Act to secure the e-mails he published in his story. (http://www.rfmnews.com/tacticsquestion/12.20.01ap.htm)
One would think the ISRA would have taken the lead to help expose the travesty of justice which nearly took place. Thankfully, the RFM NEWS story (http://www.rfmnews.com/Exclusives/112901excl.htm) and John O'Connor's AP story (http://www.rfmnews.com/Exclusives/12.20.01AGap.htm) were covered by newspapers coast to coast and made public by some of the other organizations that are truly dedicated to protecting the rights of gun owners in Illinois, including the Champaign County Rifle Association, which publishes Gun News magazine, and Concealed Carry, Inc., which also works to protect and preserve Second Amendment rights. The story was also carried on NBC's Chicago news affiliate WMAQ-TV, Channel 5. However, strangely silent on the matter, for literally months, was the ISRA.
In fact, one of the ISRA's officers participated in an attempt to discredit RFM NEWS for an unrelated matter, while ignoring the Attorney General's botched gun program. This proved, to many, that the ISRA put politics ahead of its mandate to protect the rights of gun owners. Some speculate the ISRA backed away from the Attorney General's poorly handled Internet gun buy sting because of politics and the organization's fear Jim Ryan would have not put the ISRA on his "Christmas list" if Ryan were nominated and eventually became Governor.
Going into the 2002 primary, RFM NEWS had no preconceived notions of the battle to protect Second Amendment rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the different organizations who were fighting that battle. RFM NEWS readers can decide for themselves who is out to protect their gun rights and who is making a living off of hobnobbing with elected officials in Springfield. RFM NEWS is a completely volunteer news organization, staffed and contributed to by individuals dedicated to the pro-family cause and the preservation of the U.S. Constitution. We have no political aspirations and Vinopal's charge that RFM NEWS is staffed by "political wannabees" sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.
The ISRA President also criticized an earlier story written by RFMNEWS.COM where it was proven the ISRA had indeed endorsed candidates in a number of races where the un-endorsed opponent had a more solid position on gun rights. (http://www.rfmnews.com/03.16.02%20rfmnews.htm) In an interview with RFM NEWS, Vinopal admitted politics played a role in ISRA-PVF endorsements. In some cases, the ISRA endorsed weaker candidates on the gun issue, just because they were incumbents. In one race, incumbent state Rep. Renee Kosel from the newly drawn 81st district was endorsed over her opponent Jill Stanek. The problem was Stanek had not yet submitted her National Rifle Association (NRA) questionnaire. To make matters worse, the questionnaires were not due at the time of the ISRA-PVF endorsement. According to its national headquarters, this was a clear violation of the NRA rules. By the way, upon review of Stanek's NRA questionnaire by RFM NEWS, the Mokena nurse could not have scored higher concerning her positions on Second Amendment issues. In contrast, Kosel is a liberal on many social issues. RFM NEWS was not able to review Kosel's questionnaire, but many political experts in the area believe Kosel is not strong on subjects like the right to conceal and carry. The NRA does not make endorsements, but it sends out questionnaires to state candidates. In Illinois, it is the ISRA-PVF who make the endorsements.
Those who support the ISRA, but truly care about the Second Amendment, should look closely at the work this group has done for the preservation of the constitutional rights of gun owners. And I would say that similarly, those who are truly concerned about preserving the rights of unborn children and protecting their vulnerable mothers should consider how effective the established pro-life groups have been in getting reasonable pro-life legislation through the Illinois General Assembly when getting ready to respond to those groups' pleas for financial support. It's a call you will have to make and no can make it for you.
But when politics takes precedent over the issues themselves, no matter what those issues may be, the losers are the average citizens who put their faith, and sometimes money, in to failed or compromised institutions.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the exploding scandals engulfing the soon departing administration of George Ryan. It was absolutely foolhardy to think Democrats would give Jim Ryan a pass on the license for bribe scandals. The people who thought Ryan was more electable than O'Malley will soon learn they have played right into the hands of gubernatorial challenger, Rod Blagojevich, and the Democratic Party.
O'Malley was the only one of the three Republican candidates who could not be linked to the license for bribe debacle. Indeed, O'Malley was probably the only chance the GOP had to keep the governor's seat because it would have been an issue-oriented campaign, not an election where the Republican will spend most of his time answering what he was doing when the lights went out at the Secretary of State's office. Ryan's claim of an investigatorial conflict of interest with the feds won't hold up.
Some conservatives sold their political souls to support a man who comes right out of the very same political system which dates back to Big Jim Thompson and beyond. Those of you who sacrificed your values for the sake of Jim Ryan's so-called electability will now be stuck with the baggage that comes with him.
It looks like some of our conservative friends haven't thought this thing through. In hindsight, perhaps the choice of Ryan wasn't political expediency at all. It was political ignorance. Now we all will have to live with the results and suffer the consequences.
It's a sad story about people and groups who traded in their values and ours for influence and power.
* Dan Zanoza is the founder and managing editor of RFMNEWS.COM.
http://www.rfmnews.com/
Copyright 2002 RFMNEWS.COM
Permission to reprint granted with acknowledgment
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