They say never say never in politics. Well I'm saying never. Congressman Aaron Schock (R-Peoria) will never be Governor of Illinois.
In response to increasing calls for Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady to resign in the wake of last week's Election Day disaster, Schock went out of his way to prop-up the captain who steered the ship into the rocks.
"I wouldn't fault Pat Brady," Schock told Crain's Chicago Business.
Here's the deal. If a guy can't even get the simple stuff within a shrinking party organization of which he is a part, why would we possibly trust him with the government of an entire state -- especially one as large and important as Illinois?
Brady's tenure as state chairman is best known for another rigged state convention designed to keep the same aging white males in power and doing a horrible job, a shady money-funneling scheme, and anti-Mike Madigan apparel which Brady thought even your pooch might enjoy.
No one will follow or volunteer for an official like this, and small dollar donations to the State GOP have nearly dried-up completely. Most Republicans aren't chumps. Last week's election results speak for themselves.
The Republican grassroots are as dead as I've ever seen them in Illinois. That reality not only sealed the fate of many GOP candidates here, but Obama supporters from Illinois felt free to travel to nearby battleground states like Iowa and Wisconsin. And that's exactly what Democrats did for weeks. The Illinois GOP under Brady couldn't even muster a speed-bump to slow the exports.
When GOP mismanagement spills over and hurts Republicans in other states, now we've become a national problem. Mitt Romney might think about blaming someone other than just minorities and young people for his latest embarrassing loss.
Schock of course remains oblivious. He strikes me as a self-centered kid, serious about working-out, his abs, and promoting himself. Serious about addressing the decline of our state and our party? Not so much.
If a politician can't even grasp the most obvious of issues from his current perch, talk of a promotion has to be out of the question.
Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party.