* Eric Krol has a full Q&A with Rep. Paul Froehlich (D-Schaumburg) posted online. Here are a few relevant excerpts.
On his treatment by fellow House Republicans…
“[The House Republicans have] killed some of my bills that are totally non-controversial bills. Heck, I had a (Republican state Sen. Randall) Hultgren bill on gang tattoos. When I called it, members of my own caucus started railing against it. I realized it’s not the bill, it’s me. And it’s not the Democrats who are jumping up and down on me, it’s the Republicans.”
On whether he was taking the easy way out and saving his own hide by switching parties…
“I’m doing it the hard way then. My district is still significantly more Republican than (former neighboring state Rep.) Terry Parke’s is. There’s changes happening in mine, there’s no question. But it’s not at the same rate as (Democratic Rep. Fred) Crespo’s (who defeated Parke).” Here, I’m going to be a big target now. How is that the easy way? I’ll be the subject of some pretty uncomplimentary comments. If I wanted the easy way, I would have just run for re-election as a Republican, win or lose.”
On his meeting with House Speaker Michael Madigan…
“I met with him on Saturday. In his political office on Pulaski (Road) by the (Midway) airport there. The meeting went very well. He was very welcoming. I didn’t realize because I’d never talked to him much before, but he’s a personable guy. I was welcomed in with open arms, which was a change for me to feel really welcome in a caucus.”
And this exchange is pretty funny…
Q. So, you’re a Democrat now. I assume you support Gov. Rod Blagojevich then?
A. I don’t anticipate I’m going to suddenly be impressed with the effectiveness of his leadership. But you know, that puts me in the company of a whole lot of Democrats. I think the governor still has a whole lot of improvement to do on leadership.
* The Tribune had a response from Madigan’s spokesman…
“The speaker believes that Paul has always been a responsible and conscientious member of the House and will expect the same moving forward. He will be a very good member of the Democratic caucus.”
* The State Journal-Register’s story quoted Madigan’s spokesman as saying “Our practice has always been to support the incumbent.” and had this analysis…
But Schaumburg - like other parts of suburban Cook County -– is no longer a rock-solid Republican area, as conservative white residents have moved out and many Democratic leaning Latinos have moved in.
In the 2006 elections, Gov. Rod Blagojevich captured 48 percent of the vote in Schaumburg Township, election records show. Just four years before, Blagojevich lost the township by almost 12 percentage points to Jim Ryan, the GOP gubernatorial candidate.
Also last year, longtime GOP Rep. Terry Parke lost his House seat in the adjacent 44th District to Democrat Fred Crespo, who just two years prior was an up-and-coming Republican figure.
Waning Republican power in his district was a likely factor in Froehlich’s decision to switch parties, said Kent Redfield, a political studies professor at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
* One of my favorite lines to fellow bloggers, “There ain’t no hat tips in the mainstream media for us,” was proved false today in the Sun-Times…
Froehlich confirmed the switch to Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rich Miller, who publishes the Capitol Fax political newsletter.
* The Sun-Times story has some good quotes. One from Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson, who is close to Froehlich and will play a big role in defending him against his formerly fellow Republicans next year…
“Paul talked to me about this a while back. He indicated his frustration with getting things done and being an effective legislator,” said Schaumburg Village President Al Larson, a longtime Froehlich friend. “Increasingly, he felt as though somehow he wasn’t getting the support he felt he should be getting for some of his initiatives.”
And this one from Sen. Millner…
“I don’t know how good this will be for Paul in the long run,” said state Sen. John Millner (R-Carol Stream), whose Senate district covers the area Froehlich represents. “I think there are a lot of Republicans in the district, and I think they may feel betrayed by this.”
* Suburban Democratic blogger Hiram Wurf tries to make sense of it all…
I am reminded of Ronald Reagan’s famous description of why he left the Democratic Party [the party left him, Reagan said]. We have here… another Reagan moment, this time for why people are leaving the Republican Party
* Illinois Review blogger Bruno Behrend looks at the Froehlich move and the Dillard ad for Obama and calls for a mass exodus from the Illinois Republican Party…
In the 1850s, a ragtag anti-immigrant party destroyed itself, and took the declining Whigs with them. In the ensuing chaos, the Republican Party was born, and held sway over the nation for about 60 years. It’s time for that to happen again. You can’t fix this. Leave it and start anew, keeping faith with the Principles, not the party hacks who have destroyed a good name.
* Speaking of Dillard, the Daily Herald quoted Dillard about his TV ad for Obama (which you can see here)…
“It’s Iowa, and it’s a Democratic primary and I’m for (Arizona Republican) John McCain for president,” Dillard said. “And maybe if my party understood issues of racial reconciliation, less partisanship and hope, they would be the majority party.”
Still, it’s an interesting political change for Dillard from 2004 when he blasted Obama as a big-spending Democrat whose policies would “eat the average family out of house and home.”
Heh.
*** UPDATE *** CBS2 managed to get Obama on the record about Dillard’s ad, and quoted Hillary Clinton’s campaign about it as well. Click the pic to go to the story…
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Rep. Froehlich’s press release, which accompanied his press conference this morning…
I disagree with some of the trends happening at the national level and feel that the party, at the national and state levels, has lost touch with regular rank-and-file Republicans,” Froehlich said. “I want to be clear: my disagreement is not with the average person who considers himself or herself a Republican. Until today, I was just like them. Unfortunately, I’ve seen firsthand that the party has drifted away from people like us and there’s no reason to think it’s coming back anytime soon.
The full release can be downloaded here.
*** UPDATE 3 *** I should have mentioned this yesterday and completely forgot. Illinois Review was the first to report that Froehlich might switch parties back in early May. Froehlich flatly denied the rumors at the time.
Yesterday, IR editor Fran Eaton, who interviewed Froehlich in May, had this to say on the site…
In reviewing the May interview with Rep Froehlich when he denied he was switching parties, I can’t help but believe he intentionally misled me as a journalist and as a fellow Republican. Let’s just say that Benedict Arnold Froehlich will fit well in the dirty Dem-coat he has donned today. Now I understand why he didn’t answer our query. Who would have believed anything he had to say anyway?
* And IlliniPundit is just plain bummed about Froehlich and Dillard…
I love being out in the grassroots, working my tail off, and seing things like this. Very motivating, it is.
It’s going to be even more frustrating watching our state’s “leadership” react impotently and unwisely to these events
Grrrrr.