Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Unsung maverick

"Mr. Obama may indeed be destined for political stardom, but before Obama fever fully takes hold it's worth noting how little national attention has been given to the senator he's replacing: Peter Fitzgerald. The 44-year-old maverick Republican is choosing to retire after one term in part because his brave crusade against political cronyism had so alienated key figures in his own party that the GOP state committee actually declined to endorse him for re-election."

Read the entire article here:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110006105

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've always admired good ol' pete. He's the kind of politician I'm going to be like, when I become King of America. I know what you're saying, "Phil, America is not a monarchy. We don't have a king. If you want to be king, move to Monaco, or Sweden, or Denmark." Well to you I say, I invision an America where a poor kid from Nowhere, IL can become king of the good ol' US of A. An America where the old ways of governing can mesh with the even older ways of governing. And where women's lives can once again be taken for not birthin' me a son.

If you're with me please visit my website: www.philwinkelmanforkingofamerica.com

-phil

Anonymous said...

Let me tell you about a blond haired, blue eyed girl from central Illinois. We’ll call her “Teresa,” because that’s her name. Teresa (as well as The_Dude), graduated from a class of 222 in the idyllic town of Normal, Illinois in June of 1998. Teresa, the third youngest in her class, was still 17 when she and The_Dude headed off to the University of Illinois (for the record, The_Dude had turned 18 a couple weeks prior to high school graduation). At the U of I, The_Dude would inhabit the 5th floor of Illini Tower, while Teresa would enjoy the 6th floor. Now before Teresa left the cornfields of Normal for the cornfields of Urbana/Champaign, she made sure to head to head to the McLean County Courthouse to register to vote. Teresa was only 17 at the time, but she was allowed to register since she would be 18 by the time the November election rolled around. Teresa was thrilled that she was finally old enough to vote, having had the urge since the day The_Dude raised his fists into the air and yelled “REPUBLICANS!!” in Mr. Stypokowski’s 7th grade social studies class. Not only would young Teresa vote for the first time in her life, but she had the chance to vote-out one of the most despicable senators of all time. You know her as Carol Mosley Braun. And the cherry on top? She’d kill two birds with one stone and vote for a conservative Republican by the name of Peter Fitzgerald. Teresa would campaign for Mr. Fitzgerald. She sported his sticker in her 1991 GMC Sierra with pride. Teresa was thrilled to be voting for a man who swore up and down that he would protect her Second Amendment Rights. Peter Fitzgerald was elected Senator, and Teresa and her gun-totting friends couldn’t have been happier. But then it happened. Senator Fitzgerald waffled. He flip-flopped. He started voting anti-gun. Teresa and all of her gun-totting friends and family were deeply saddened. It was worse than a liberal senator voting anti-gun because Teresa felt betrayed. Teresa and her gun totting-friends swore that they would never vote for a waffle like Peter Fitzgerald again. Senator Fitzgerald would never run for Senate again, knowing that without the pro-gun vote, he’d never be reelected.

And that, my friends, is the story of Teresa, featuring The_Dude.

The General said...

If I ever see Peter Fitzgerald on the street: I'll pistol whip him. Don't worry, though, folks. The clip will be empty, and a trigger lock will be securely fastened to prevent an unfortunate accidents. My pistol will be used solely for pistol-whipping Peter Fitzgerald. Then I'm going to shoot Carol Mosley-Braun. Never trust a woman with two last names.

Oneway the Herald said...

It's great to see T-bone make an appearance. I know next to nothing about Pete; I should of just asked Teresa.

But I got a question for you T-bone. Obama vs. Fitzgerald, where you at?

Anonymous said...

Fitzgerald vs. Obama? I'd have to grit my teeth and go with the lesser of two evils, Fitzgerald. Obama's record is horrific in every single way. You wouldn't be remiss to say that I loathe the man.

T-Bone