The Illinois Review is no friend of the Republican Party. I've decided to write about this because it is clear that the Republican Party in Illinois in trouble and a recent, unfortunate, event relating to the Illinois Review's treatment of those who post on their system suggests what is, at the very least, part of the problem. The Illinois Review is advancing the political influence within the Party of what I shall dubb "retrograde" elements, and by this I mean elements in the Party that look backwards towards a social agenda that has been, basically, out of date for many years. There is a new reality the National Party is trying address. John McCain knew this when he appointed conservative Sarah Palin. The Illinois Review if I am right is one instance of an attempt to extend the political influence of a few using a website as leverage. This is something not difficult to do, given the relative lack of technological sophistication within the Republican Party weighed against the demand for representation Repubicans seek.In other words, the objective is neither news, reviews, nor information. It is influence gained, not through success at the voting booth, but influence gained by media manuevering. There is nothing wrong with this in itself. My claim is that Illinois Review is suppressing access to those who support one conservative faction of the Party.

That is the conclusion I reached after considering the treatment I received recently from one among them who prefers anonymity, such are the methods of the "old guard" within a GOP in trouble in Illinois. If this were just a matter of a single person, myself, involved in a personal disagreement that would be one thing; but it is more than that and reflects a closed culture within the extreme elements of the conservative wing of the Republican Party. But before proceeding, I must remind the reader that I am a conservative, which is in fact all the more reason for concern regarding the censorial attitudes of Illinois Review.

Because I think there is more at issue here than one person's unfortunate experience, I am going to enter into a discussion of these matters in a more general way, but from a personal perspective. The reason: Illinois Republicans are in disarray; they're performance has been dismal; their candidates, generally, weak, and their reputation for corruption is matched only by their appearance of being out of touch. So, here, I'm going to chronicle not merely the event that has motivated me to write but comment on the forces that makes it emblematic of what some find distasteful in politics more generally. Since I will be writing on the Republican Party in Illinois, let me clarify my motives.

I was born in Mt. Vernon IL; I grew up on Chicago's south side, around LIttle Company of Mary, Calumet High (where I was a student) and St. Leo High, which is where most of my friends were from. After graduating from Roosevelt U. I left Chicago for many years, living in (among other places), the Cambridge/Somerville area. I have published in certain areas of analytical philosophy and operate a website devoted to the history of analytical philosophy. (www.hist-analytic.org). I am not a politico in the usual sense, but I have strong views on what is wrong with the Republican Party's conservative faction, of which I count myself a member, excepting when it concerns the typically incorrect characterization of conservatives as including,e.g., only people who want to go hard on illegal immigrants. I'm strong on border security, but I don't want to throw mothers and kids over a Texas wall into a country whose language some of these kids don't even speak. In addition, I support the Log Cabin Republicans, and, while I am not homosexual, I regard this as an accident of birth or experience. Among my very best friends aremembers of the gay, and immigrant communites. In addition, I am not a grudingly quiet supporter of civil rights, although I have been very critical of many of the leaders within the "civil rights" establishment. Enter the Illinois Review.

Upon my return to Chicago, I became, briefly, involved with the Congressional campaign of Antoine Members, an African American police officer who'd had enough of the corruption and misdirection of the Chicago Democratic establishment and wanted to do something about it. Given the impoverished state of the Republican Party in Illinois, there was little the party could do for him; but he has his own means and is an intrepid active political agent of change whose concern for his community is not seasonal. My problem with Illinois Review began when I attempted to do two things. First, suggest that Antoine broaden his base, inasmuch as the kid (he's 29) was even more conservative in some ways that I am. He probably didn't notice this. Secondly, I wanted to take a hard look at what was wrong with the Illinois Republican Party. All my kinfolk in S. Illinois are Democrats, my parents were, and my family had been involved in socialist agitation as early as the days of J. A. Wayland. Before I became, strongly, opposed to even the so called "moral argument" of socialism (Lichtheim) I embraced Marx, begrudgingly. By age 13 I became a De Leonist and by 18 a full fledged Trotskyite. These facts, understandably, contributed to the apprehension of the folks at Illinois Review. It is difficult for me to provide details of the epistemological assumptions in play as to how this inference was warranted. But from the onset it occurred to me that there was a xenophobic distrust of anyone who would,even, constructively criticize the sort of candidates the GOP was fielding.

I recall saying such things as that I was weary of look-alike, think-alike, suburban conservatives, or yet another ambitious fellow who "owns his own business" and now wishes to extend his conquests to the chambers of government. In a word, the Republican field in Illinois if full of what in boxing we call "stiffs," a class of politicians that Illinois Review, and many old-guard suburban politicians, appear to consistently support. One subscriber in response to my early prediction that McCain would select a woman remarked that I was advocating "hiding behind woman's skirts." Now they rave like prophets of what Freud called "the volcano gods" (Moses and Monotheism about how great it is to have a woman on the ticket!. But then the pin was pulled from the grenade, following my defense of Antoine Members against what was, ostensibly, a subtle attempt to discredit Antoine.

The editor of Illinois Review posted a report that Antoine had said in an interview that he was unhappy with his treatment by Repubs and that he would consider going independent if he didn't receive more support. I was surprised that they reported it; it only hurt Members. Why would they do such a thing? Hadn't the left wing press done enough? It occurred to me that it was not uncommon that they would report negative stories on Republicans in the name of news, news which was available in abundance in the mainstream press. So why? Then I began to notice people complaining that they could not post, and then THOSE posts disappeared. Then it occurred to me that most of the Republicans under scrutiny by the Illinois Review were Cook County Democrats. Why? Following the "outing" of Members as someone Tonia Members wrote a message which attacked the editor of Illinois Review. Tonia's message was emotional and, in my opinion, understandably so.

I replied to Tonia's posting in measured tones. There was nothing rancourous in my response. I attempted to smooth over matters between the Editor and Members. Almost immediately all my attempts at posting on Illinois Review were blocked or removed. I contacted a fellow I'd met at the Illinois Republican Convention, someone who seemed to me to be fairminded and possessed of a rational mind. I did this because the email addresses of the Editor and staff are unavailable to readers. He replied and sent his message to the Editor as well. I requested clarification. I was ignored. No reply was given, no explanation was given. The idea apparently is that critics have no recourse. How can people such as this expect trust. The bottom line appears to be that Illinois Review does not WANT the Cook County Republicans to succeed! They have an agenda of influencing the Party which cannot survive a vibrant, more centrist, Cook County Party. The editors of Illinois Review have a deliberate censorial mentality. Moreover, despite their technical excellence, this mentality is not consistent with the the free-speech they would devoutly profess to support.

A final point. There is one respect in which Illinois Review and left wing webites share. It is something that came through, at the Illinois Republican Party Convention in Decatur. The Party has become marginalized by it's backward looking approach to the issues. The social-agenda types are parasitic on free-market types; just as the "progressives" are parasitic on the civil rights people. This has resulted in the Republican Party of Illinois, given its recent history of corrupt politicians, projecting the appearance of "cultishness." I've found this to be true, also, of what one pundit referred to as "Chicago liberal chic." No one will vote for cult leadership. The Illinois Review in maintaining a censorial policy, and one of contempt for diversity of ideas is laying the groundwork for further degradation of Republican ideas of freedom, both in the economy and in the market place of ideas.

My experience with the Illinois Review is not simply one of a disenchanted, spurned, opportunist. I have no interest in elected office. I have no time to promote myself for this purpose. I've written on this matter at lenght because it exemplifies what is most wrong with our party here in Illinois. Cook County people must move methodically and carefully. The west-suburban cabal will only drag them down, and with them it will diminish the one good chance we have of returning to the days of Everett Dirksen and Chuck Percy, days when we were the party of Lincoln in fact as well as name.

More later. Steven R. Bayne Elmhurst Illinois