Could someone tell me why Peter Fitzgerald just

[coffeenap]

disappeared from sight even before the beginning of the campaign season?
Is there something there that I missed?

[Tweed]

1. First, Welcome to the DU Illinois Forum!

Please be sure to check in on one of the County by County roll call threads.

Second, as far as I know, Fitzgerald turned out to be too much of a maverick for some Illinois Republicans. He felt that he wasn't wanted so he didn't run again. I'm sure MANY Republicans regret that decision and will for quite sometime. I'm sure other people can fill in some more info, but that's basically what happened.

[coffeenap]

2. Thanks! That is all I heard too, but it seems like there should

be more to the story, doesn't it? (His kids went to my kids' school before he moved to Washington--meaningless, but interesting.)

[chicagojoe]

3. There's really nothing else.

His own party didn't like him. Why stick around?
He was probably strictly an "ego" Senator, anyway.

[benny05]

4. I didn't like him either

Thank goodness for Obama!

[coffeenap]

5. ok--it just seems that there is usually more to things these days

thanks for the answer!

[mopinko]

6. he appointed patrick fitzgerald

over the strenuous objection of the party. it was well known that patrick would go after ryan, and that was the point. i always thought he was threatened. well, obviously he was threatened politically. he knew he would never get re-elected. but i mean more than that. he was pretty much never heard from after that.

[coffeenap]

7. Ah...that makes sense. thanks. n/t

[Tweed]

8. Yikes, didn't know that

Valuable information though. Thanks for that.

[seventythree]

9. His political downfall

was because he spilled the beans about Georgie saying that he would assassinate Saddam if he could get a good shot (or was that OBL?). IN any case, assassination is illegal and it made the President look bad, not to mention being a blabber mouth. That was the beginning of the end for him and happened before Patrick's appointment, if I recall correctly. Although I certainly had a strong difference of opinion with him regarding such things as the bill to criminalize a doc who prescribes RU486, I did think he was really sincere about cleaning corruption out of government, even his own party, and for that I had to admire him.

[mopinko]

10. he said a lot of things that we're not well received, but

it was the patrick fitzgerald appointment, with it's obvious purpose to bring down george ryan, that was the end of the road. he knew he was slitting his throat.
for a repub, he was honest and brave.

[coffeenap]

11. Then, should we invite him over to the other side? nt

[mopinko]

13. i'd be tempted, but

i just can't go that far. a note to say that we long for the good old days of rockefeller republicans might be interesting, tho.
god, i just get so nostalgic for nixon sometimes.

[seventythree]

16. not arguing,

but that appointment had to be approved by Ashcroft and Bush. I personally think it was less that appointment than all the accumulated stuff -- as you infer -- like going after the Ill. Republicans over the Lincoln library -- he knew the pinstripe patronage that was going to go on. My understanding is that his ability to raise the megabucks was dried up because he ticked off too many -- from the President on down to the patronage worker. It's kind of like Spitzer and the Chamber of Commerce -- Spitzer (God, I love that man) says honest business wants this trash cleaned up because it works against honest business and the Chamber says -- leave my scum bag members, alone. That little honest business guy has a wee voice, but the Chamber has clout. Honest republicans in the state know that Ryan had to come down, but they aren't running the show, as evidenced by Jack Ryan and Keyes -- the dishonest in the party are calling the shots.

[coffeenap]

12. THIS THE SAME PATRICK FITZ. WHO IS WORKING

on the Wilson/Plame situation! We might want to write Peter F. a thank you note. (See http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3123180
Scroll down to #15

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55560-2005Feb1.html

[mopinko]

14. the very same

see why it was harikari?

[coffeenap]

15. Shor' do! But it makes me want to call him and thank him

I asked a fairly well connected friend of mine if she knew what he was doing now and she didn't. That is interesting since she usually has the scoop on the rep. side. I wonder where he is and what he is doing.

[mopinko]

17. countin' his money

i guess. he was rich to begin with. i guess i would be curious, tho.

[coffeenap]

18. That "connected" friend just told me he is doing exactly what

you said. Running his bank(s). (One of them happens to be across the street from my kid's school, hmmmm.)I still cannot understand in this day and age why he just quietly went away. That just doesn't seem to happen any more. Ok, I'll stop now...:)

[davsand]

19. He didn't haul the GOP freight all the time.

Fitz pissed off a lot of the higher up GOP folks in Illinois when he set up the hunt for George Ryan. I was told (dunno if it is true) that he was told point blank not to put Ryan (and the rest of the ILGOP) in any danger.

Anyhow, if you look at his voting record, he really didn't vote a straight GOP agenda either. He was a GOP toad on several votes, yes. But he was not as big of a toad as he could have been.

Anyhow, he got cross ways with a bunch of the GOP bigwigs and knew he was gonna be attacked by his own party. LaHood had already weighed in against him, and he knew it was just the start. What makes it all kind of ironic is that fact that a lot of the GOP regulars (not the bigwigs) loved Fitzgerald for his Independence. He probably would have done OK in a primary as long as he paid his own way.


Laura

[mopinko]

20. funny thing

if he had seen the dean example in his magic 8 ball, he probably could have raised ienough 5's and 10's out of the "little people" and stayed alive.