Since 1994, 169 state legislators have switched parties according to Ballotpedia. 80 of those were Democrats joining the Republican party while only 23 Republicans became Democrats in those nearly 30 years. Those pickups have mostly taken place in states that have taken “hard right” turns and where the GOP has entrenched their power. While there haven’t been a ton of official “changes” of party affiliation locally, it’s incredibly apparent the region has turned very red in the last 30 years. That has the White County Republican party feeling it’s oats and with nearly 80 folks in attendance for the party’s Lincoln Day Dinner Saturday, even a cancellation by attorney Thomas DeVore couldn’t dampen their spirits.
Chairman David South kicked off the evening. He was followed by a representative from Dave Severin’s office. Fisher Overstreet opened a theme of party unity saying the in fighting has to stop.
“One of the biggest things that we have to do to ensure that we win in this state and that we turn this state back around is we have to unite the party. The in fighting has got to stop at some point. There is nothing that J.B. Pritzker wants more than for us to fight and argue against one another.”
State Representative Patrick Windhorst and State Senator Terri Bryant were both in attendance. United against Democrats was the theme.
“It means a lot that you would trust me to be your voice on the House floor when it comes to arguing against the
progressive agenda of the Democrats. I take that very seriously and I take that responsibility as one of my main goals in life is to make sure I’m representing you to the best of my ability.”
Windhorst has been named the House Republican floor leader for this term. He gave an update on some of the second amendment lawsuits that are ongoing and ended with a reminder that the Constitution begins with “We the People”.
“We the people of the United States have granted authority to the government that we grant that authority through elected representatives who represent the majority and who pass laws. But just because there’s a majority doesn’t mean they get to do whatever they want. Our founders were wise and they said we want majority rule, but we want to make sure we protect peoples rights. And the founders said those rights and I think we would all agree those rights don’t come from the government. The government doesn’t give us our rights. Our rights are God given. We have the right; the freedom of religion. That’s a God given right. Freedom of speech. That’s a God given right. The freedom to assemble peacefully is a God given right. The freedom to defend yourself is a God given right. The Constitution doesn’t give us those rights. The Constitution protects those rights.”
Bryant called the Republican party the party of reason and spoke about both second amendment rights and said the other issue Republicans were united on was the issue of life.
“The other side is united in their push for death. I have run a bill for I believe I’ve been running it for 5 years. Very simple bill that just says that if a woman is given an ultrasound, she has a right to see that ultrasound if she wants to see it. Sounds like common sense right? But at a Planned Parenthood facility, when they’re doing an abortion and they do an ultrasound, they’re doing it so they can see the size of the baby’s head and the positioning so they can kill that baby. Right? 70% to 75% of the time when a woman sees an ultrasound, she will not have an abortion.”
Bryant says she can’t get that bill heard. Bryant who lives in Murphysboro says she enjoys being close to Carbondale because it’s where she goes to church, but also called it a “little Chicago”.
“Whatever liberal thing is going on in Chicago is gonna be happening in Carbondale.” She says while she doesn’t normally talk about the issue of life unless someone approaches her about it, she says there are some things people need to keep track of including that there is one active abortion clinic in Carbondale, a second that’s about to open, and she believes a third “that they’ve been able to keep very quiet. I’ve been trying to figure out if it’s open or not. There are plans to have as many as five abortion clinics in Carbondale.”
Additionally, she says Republicans wouldn’t mind to sit down at the table and talking about some red flag laws.
“What can we do to keep firearms out of the hands of those who are mentally ill and still protect our Constitutional rights? We can’t get the other party to sit down and have those conversations with us.”
She also touched on energy, specifically the solar farms and the proposed wind farm that may stretch from White into Hamilton County. Bryant says to make sure you have a qualified attorney to review the lease.
Keynote speaker duties were split between Rhonda Belford and her niece Adriana Armstrong. Belford is the first woman president of the Illinois Republican Chairman Association and says there’s a movement afoot.
“We’re hearing lots of things. The Democrats and all these naysayers wanted to say we didn’t have a red wave, but Gallatin County you know what happened; you were really red. We were really red in Hardin County. It went all the way up at our local levels. But now you know what’s happening…the nit picking…the in fighting. We have got to stay united. The Democrats are loving seeing what’s happening and we’ve got to unite and we’ve got to get together and see through because we haven’t had some of this really red stuff ever.”
Belford, a known talent, is the writer and performer on her niece’s Sportsman Channel hunting show, “Grace, Camo, and Lace” theme song. Armstrong is an accomplished hunter and co-host of the show along with her sister. She talked about growing up in Elizabethtown, competing in S3DA archery, her work at Southeastern Illinois College and specifically her show, “Grace, Camo, and Lace” featuring hunts across the country and even into Canada. At age 7, Armstrong became the youngest girl to complete the Turkey Grand Slam meaning she harvested all four types of turkey sub species. She traveled to Texas for the Rio Grande, Wyoming for the Merriam, she got her Eastern here in Illinois, and completed the grand slam by getting her Osceola in Florida. You can learn more about Armstrong’s show by finding Grace, Camo, and Lace on social media, specifically facebook and Instagram.
