Conservative Republican candidates rally in Orland Township
Conservative Republican candidates rally at gathering Friday in Orland Township as former Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr., the son of the iconic founder of the conservative movement, offered rousing and inspiring remarks, Goldwater cheered all of the candidates and praised Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman for her efforts to strengthen the Republican and conservative voice in Illinois
By Ray Hanania
More than 200 people attended a rally Friday (May 20, 2022) for Republican candidates organized by Orland Township Republican Committeewoman Elizabeth “Liz” Doody Gorman that featured the son of the conservative movement’s iconic spirit Senator Barry Goldwater.
Former Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr., praised the group for remaining true to the real conservative movement and saluted Gorman and others for their work in strengthening the Republican Party and conservatives in Illinois.
More than a dozen candidates and their representatives addressed the gathering at Elements Banquets at 162nd and LaGrange Road, cheering as Gorman, Homer Township Steve Balich and speakers running for governor, congress, and regional offices outlined their platforms and candidacies.
Goldwater praised the gathering as “true Republicans” and important to strengthening the Conservative movement in Illinois and America.
“I was greatly impressed by the quality of the candidates appearing here tonight. You really have some great candidates and that is really the key to victory,” Goldwater said praising Gorman.
“You have to work hard and get the vote out, but if you don’t have anything to sell and good candidates to deliver that message. I was greatly impressed, Liz, by what you put together here tonight. You have been in the trenches a long time and you symbolize what quality representation is about in this Republic that we live in. I was always reminded by my father that the quality of the laws we live under are greatly determined by the quality of the men and women who we elect to office.”
Gorman was joined by a long list of candidates including Dan Brady who is running for Secretary of State and received a rousing applause from the crowd.
Candidates represented also include David Shestokas who is running for Attorney General. Congressional candidates in the 6th District included Scott Kaspar who has created a powerful Public Safety Task Force that includes one of New York’s toughest crime fighters, former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Congressional candidates also in the 6th District race included Gary Grasso, the mayor of Burr Ridge who spoke about the need for better representation in the new 6th Congressional district. Also represented were Republicans Robert Cruz and Niki Conforti. Jefferey Regnier, candidate for Congress in the 1st District, also spoke.
“Thank you so much everybody for everyone to be here to support the Republican Party,” said Gorman who is running again for the 17th District Cook County Board and also as Orland Township GOP Committeewoman. When elected, Gorman would be the only Republican woman on the Cook County board.
“Without the support of your family, you can’t do this. It is really difficult to be in politics and government. You are always getting shot at. Most of it is not true.”
Gorman reminded the crowd of her achievements while serving on the Cook County Board 17th District elected to four terms beginning in 2002 as the youngest commissioner ever voted into office and the first Republican woman to serve.
“I never voted for a tax increase on the county board and I never will. I stayed true to my Republican principles even though there are 17 commissioners. The Republicans are a grave minority,” Gorman said.
“One of the assets I had is I know how to navigate in dealing with the Democrats to lessen the blows that they give in the Democratic policies. So, you have to know how to work with everyone in the system to get things done,” said Gorman, who served as a Trump Delegate and helped elect not only the first Republican Mayor in Orland Park but the first Republican Clerk, Pat O’Sullivan.
“I was the only one who supported O’Sullivan who is a Republican. O’Sullivan was attacked by my opponent. He didn’t support him, a real Republican. And that is what I have done and I have been able to deliver so much to the South and Northern suburbs where the district runs.”
Gorman said “crime is spilling into the suburbs. States Attorney Kim Foxx is deliberately freeing armed, violent, habitual criminals. It has turned us into a community we don’t even recognize. For instance a week ago tonight, three homes in my neighborhood were broken into by armed criminals … smash and grab with guns on them and hoodies and took off with significant amount of jewelry.”
Gorman noted a supporter of her opponent posted photos of her home and the other homes that were burglarized “and targeted me and my family. That’s what I am up against. And I am not going to be bullied by these people. We need good people in office and I know what is right and just.”
Introduced by Gorman and Homer Township Republican Committeeman Steve Balich introduced Goldwater who said that there is an inaccurate perception that American face as Constitutional Crisis.
“I would submit to you that it is not a Constitutional Crisis in this country, it is a crisis of leadership in this country and Americans have had enough and they are going to make a change this coming November,” said Goldwater, whose father ran as the Republican Party presidential candidate against Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964 after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a pro-Russian communist activist.
Goldwater noted that his mother was born in Bowen, Illinois just north of Quincy and later became a nurse. His father was born in Arizona, he said.
“I am proud to be here in Illinois. This is a great state. But you need a better government,” Goldwater said.
Kaspar spoke about the importance of security and fighting crime during his remarks and said he formed a Public Safety Task Force, chaired by 40th NYC Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, to find real solutions at the federal level to crime that has stretched across every corner of Chicago and has spread out to the suburbs, even to places 35 miles away from downtown, such as Orland Park, where my family resides.
“My father escaped from a Communist country and came here, to this district, to raise my family. But the America he came too, the bright shining city on a hill, is fading. Crime is rising, gas prices are soaring, and families are fighting to deal with the devastating effects of runaway inflation. I am running for Congress for my children and your children, and the next generation, so that we can restore law and order, and prosperity, and we can believe in the American Dream again,” Kaspar told the conservative Republican forum.
“In addition to greater security, I also am focused on bringing greater affordability to the daily lives of our constituents, stronger foreign policy to secure our borders and curb Chinese and Russian aggression, and better education and more educational choices for our parents and children. We must tackle inflation, which is harming every family in our district. We can do so by bringing down spending and cutting regulations so that we can bring manufacturing and energy production back to Northern Illinois. We must be a leader in this world and stand up against Chinese and Russian aggression, by using our economical power to reward good behavior and punish bad. And we must focus on improving our children’s education and provide parents with greater educational choices, to be sure that our children receive the best education to ensure that America remains the leader in technological innovation and scientific research.”
Both former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik will speak at a forum Kaspar is hosting on Wednesday May 25 in Oak Brook, Illinois, to support my candidacy for Congress, endorsing him as the law-and-order candidate running in the 6th Congressional District.
“These are incredible public servants who have a proven track record of combating crime and driving crime to record lows. When Mayor Giuliani took office, New York City had 2200 murders a year, which is higher than the number of murders in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis combined last year. When Mayor Giuliani and Police Commissioner Kerik left office, murders in New York City were brought down to 600, and eventually fell to 300 annually as a direct result of the policies that Giuliani and Kerik implemented,” Kaspar said.
Grasso also addressed the gathering and said, “We have serious issues in Washington and we need serious leadership. I’m the only candidate that has lived and governed in both counties that make up the sixth Congressional district. I have over two decades of experience in municipal and county government and have produced results ever time I have been elected.”
He added that residents of the district have an opportunity to win in November if they elect a moderate republican that can bring independents and dissatisfied democrats to our side. I am that candidate and I ask the voters to elect me on June 28th.”
Former Orland Park Trustee and longtime Republican leader Jim Dodge served as the event emcee.
For more information on supporting the real Republican Organization and conservative candidates, visit OrlandForward.com.
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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