There are so many people here who write with precision and eloquence. I am not one of them. My thoughts rush out too fast and too passionately. My fingers stumble over the keyboard. But I am going to express as best I can my humble gratitude to the ordinary people who flamed the fires of democracy on the prairies of Illinois.
The results of the Illinois 06 Congressional race aren’t final. Apparently the shiny new electronic voting machines have created a nightmare and final results may not be known for days. Yet it appears that the big boys from DC have managed to buy, at exorbitant cost, a very close victory for Tammy Duckworth. It also appears that a recount would cost the Cegelis campaign a minimum of $75,000 under Illinois law. Clearly this race is a poster child example of the need for both voting reform and campaign finance reform. I’m sure much will be written about these issues in the coming days.
No matter what the ultimate outcome, I want to stand in humble gratitude before Christine and the grassroots supporters who fought so valiantly for her victory. They are true American heroes. They really are. They are among the most patriotic people I have ever had the privilege to meet.
A few short years ago, Christine took on the challenge of running against Henry Hyde. She did this not because she had always dreamed of becoming a powerful Congressman, but because she was horrified at the direction in which the country was moving. She asked herself what she could do to make things better. She went on the internet and found out what one had to do to run for Congress and she did it. She did not genuflect before the Democratic powers that be. She took action. The Democratic machinery didn’t care. That district was not “winnable” from their perspective. One wonders what Christine’s nearly 45 per cent total against Hyde would have been if the party had lifted a finger.
Christine’s campaign came at great cost to her professionally and economically. She essentially blew up her nice tidy suburban life and took a huge risk in order to make her country better. She is a person of outstanding integrity and honor. She opposed the war early and passionately. She is Catholic, but never wavers on the issue of a woman’s right to choose. She is grounded. She is strong. She is funny.
Christine’s first campaign attracted a lot of Kucinich and Dean supporters who were long on passion and short on political experience. They worked like crazy and as a team made an impressive showing against Hyde.
Chis decided early on to run a second time. Her supporters returned – a little more seasoned. New ones, some with much more political experience in their background, arrived. For over a year these people have been growing the campaign through one grassroots effort after another. Early fundraising allowed for some professional support, but largely Chris was surrounded by ordinary citizens as passionate and as honorable as she was. Ordinary people who left their comfort zones so far behind them it wasn’t even funny. People who care deeply about America. True Patriots. True heroes. People who never gave up on their progressive principles — even when the DC big boys decided that the constituents of Illinois 06 needed a more (genuinely) dramatic outsider to represent them in Congress.
No matter what the outcome, these patriots made a difference. They let the machine know that there are numerous citizens who will fight like hell for their progressive beliefs. They raised issues. They worked to educate the public. They gained invaluable experience. And no matter what the outcome they will fight again. I stand in humble gratitude before their efforts and know that the fire they started on the prairie will spread light and warmth in the years to come.