Part 1 – Candidates Cruising with Family PAC

Yesterday, I put up an article about Phyllis Schlafly’s receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award on Paul Caprio’s Family PAC cruise.

It was pretty late when I finished it and I promised to do a piece on the candidates working the crowd on the cruise.

There were plenty there.

Schlafly said they were the generation who would reform the Illinois Republican Party.

I know I won’t do them justice, but here goes.

There were two congressional candidates.

Jim Oberweis gave me hope that he might reverse the special election results. He did that by pointing out the extremely low turn out this spring, compared with the numbers who will vote this fall.

Oberweis explained that 100,000 people voted in the special election, while 300,000 will troop to the polls in this traditionally Republican 14th congressional district at this fall’s presidential election.

That is reason for optimism, it seems to me.

Antoine Members, the Republican Party candidate opposing 1st congressional district Congressman Bobby Rush

Republican Cook County State’s Attorney candidate Tony Peraica also was on the cruise, as he has been before.

There were two incumbent state senators, Bill Brady and Randy Hultgen. You can see Brady below, but, unfortunately, my best shot of Hultgren has his tongue out. (No, not like my son likes to do when I take his picture; more a indication of concentration, I think.)

Brady and Oberweis spent a lot of time talking to each other. You’ll remember that they were opponents during the 2006 GOP gubernatorial primary election. (Charlie Watts can be seen standing between the two.)

There were three Republican state senators, if you count Carol Pankau, who isn’t a big boat person.

She mingled with people before the Lake Michigan cruise.

As I’m told did former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Gidwitz did as well.

More tomorrow.


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