Conservative Congress

Yesterday, the citizens of Illinois cast their votes in the first primary election for national office. Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias were nominated to battle it out for President Obama’s senate seat. A strong shift in public sentiment, most recently demonstrated by Republican Scott Brown’s win over Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts special election to replace the late Ted Kennedy’s, leads many to predict a win for Kirk.

While there are those who would celebrate any Republican victory as a win for conservative principles, it is important to remember that not all Republicans are also conservative. While both Kirk and Brown alike position farther right on the political spectrum than their rivals in the Democratic Party, they fall terribly short of what conservatives are searching for. Kirk’s call for federal subsidies to fund a state-run public transportation program, and Brown’s refusal to take a firm stance on abortion are just two examples. Such waffling is unacceptable.

If Freedom is to succeed, Americans must elect leaders who refuse to straddle the political fence. If Illinois has taught us anything, it is that we must begin as early as the primary elections to speak up, and make our voices heard.

J. Austin Russell