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Republican State Senator Peter Roskam, a former aide to twice-indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, can’t like the adverse publicity the indictments of his former boss might bring him in his race for the 6th Congressional District seat. But, as Roskam runs alone in the Republican primaries, how big a deal is this for his campaign in the general election?

A bigger deal than you might think.

Peter Roskam’s recent actions signal he plans to run as a Republican political insider. They also show he does not plan to moderate his far-right social conservative positions. Roskam embraces what Tom DeLay represents in power, policy and, it seems fair to say, money, where Roskam plans to raise enough to overcome his political connections and policy positions that likely would alienate crucial numbers of 6th Congressional moderate Republicans and independents.

Establishing GOP Insider Connections

At first it seems a bit surprising that Peter Roskam hasn’t tried to distance himself more from Tom DeLay. While Roskam once credibly emphasized that he worked in 1985 and 1986 for DeLay and, as he said in April, he hasn’t had “contact with him essentially for 20 years,” that distance recently shrunk to a month. DeLay, recently indicted for illegal campaign contributions in the state of Texas, hosted a big money fundraiser for Roskam September 22nd. It’s clear that Roskam isn’t going to abandon his former boss easily - but then that seems part of his game plan.

Further evidence of Roskam’s GOP insider politics comes from the recent visit of Grover Norquist to campaign for Roskam. Bringing Norquist may fire up the far right wing of the GOP, but his views, such as shrinking government “down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub”, have a very different sound post-Katrina. Norquist’s association with Jack Abramoff doesn’t help either. Americans are ready for government that provides security and works. We would like it to be honest government too. Under the Bush Administration we’ve found out what the alternative looks like.

While one can make too much of what is all too common for established politicians, Peter Roskam’s website isn’t shy about suggesting that he believes money is traded for political access. Despite Americans reacting to the failure of crony capitalism on display in the Bush White House, it seems that no one in the Roskam campaign is concerned too much with appearances.

The evidence points in one direction: Peter Roskam believes he can win the 6th Congressional seat as a GOP insider - and that’s how he is going to run.

Roskam As Social Conservative - Running to the Right of Henry Hyde

Wednesday the Chicago Tribune ran an editorial titled “Peter Roskam’s priorities.” The editorial suggested Roskam’s upcoming decision on whether to bring up in the Illinois General Assembly veto session SB 57, a NRA-backed bill Roskam previously led, will show whether Roskam will “choose to emphasize his social conservatism [by backing a “bad” bill], or…choose to appeal to the more moderate direction of the district.” Wherever Roskam lands on this issue, he has already made the ‘choice,’ a choice the Tribune correctly suggests “may decide the election.” Roskam is no moderate - and he isn’t pretending to be one.

The evidence goes beyond the appearances of Roskam accepting Tom DeLay’s fundraising money at a time when it was likely DeLay was going to be indicted along with his indicted close associates, and when DeLay had already been admonished by the House of Representatives Ethics Committee for financial improprieties. It goes beyond Grover Norquist’s visit endorsing Roskam.

In January, when Roskam likely was already considering a run for Henry Hyde’s seat, Roskam misrepresented the Illinois Human Rights Act to appeal to social conservatives, arguing incorrectly that the new law required churches that see homosexuality as a sin to hire gay ministers. The Beacon News reported that fellow social conservative State Representative Joe Dunn found the talk offensive,

“‘I was just really turned off by what was coming out of the mouths of some of my fellow party members,’ he said of the conservative Republicans who were trying to derail the bill. ‘I just didn’t like the hatred and bigotry and intolerance I was hearing.’
….
‘It was just disgusting, what they were trying to do,’ Dunn said.”

I’ve suggested that Dunn was very calculated in his positioning, but that doesn’t make the critique any less accurate. As the Beacon News reported,

“One downstate Republican, Rep. Shane Cultra, went as far as to suggest that, if homosexuals were extended equal rights, pedophiles and people who have sex with animals might as well be given similar legal protections.”

Is this the line of argument Peter Roskam wants to associate himself with, misrepresenting bills to demonize people and fan social conservative fires?

In May, according to Lynn Sweet, State Senator Peter Roskam ducked a Social Security vote against President Bush’s private accounts, failing to join the majority of the state elected officials, and the majority of Illinois residents who reject putting Social Security at risk.

The Tribune editorial notes that Roskam, like Hyde, “stands against abortion rights, for home schooling and against tax increases,” but differs with Hyde in his support of the NRA. Regardless of where Roskam ultimately falls on bringing up his NRA-backed bill during the veto session, that difference stands out. Describing his support of the semi-automatic weapons ban in 1994, Hyde said, “People have a right to own weapons, but not weapons of mass destruction and mayhem whose only purpose is to kill a lot of people in a hurry.” Henry Hyde’s gun control views grew as suburban concerns grew with events like Columbine. A 2003 Tribune poll showed that people in the collar counties prefer more controls on gun sales by a ratio of two to three - a change in sentiment over the years for more gun control, not less. Roskam’s record is clearly out of step on gun control.

Big Money Talks Loudly - Will It Drown Out Average Constituents?

While both announced Democratic opponents, Christine Cegelis and Lindy Scott, are clearly trying to raise substantial sums of money - both are also emphasizing a grassroots approach and small donor contributions to their campaign, trying to preserve their connection with average voters. Peter Roskam undoubtedly wants the support of grassroots hard right conservatives, and likely will get it - but the grassroots is not where his money is coming from.

When it comes to money Peter Roskam seems to subscribe to former Texas Senator Phil Gramm’s maxim that money is “the most reliable friend you can have in American politics” - and he’s willing to do a lot for his friends. How else can you explain, after Peter Roskam publicly offered that he has not had contact with Tom DeLay in decades, letting Tom put on an elite and expensive fundraiser for Peter when Tom DeLay’s under a cloud of ethical and potentially legal violations (that have now resulted in an indictment)? It doesn’t make it look better that Roskam already dominated the fundraising field without DeLay’s money. You can only conclude that Peter Roskam took Tom DeLay’s fundraising money because he believed it was worth the price, a price Peter believes he can avoid paying at the polls. This message is reinforced by the previous discussion of the power of donors described on Peter Roskam’s website, and more importantly from his actual list of donations. According to PoliticalMoneyLine data, from January 2005 through September 2005, Peter Roskam’s individual itemized donors (reported at a minimum of a $200 donation) donated in the percentages shown below (the chart is my creation):

Almost half (49%) of Peter Roskam’s itemized donations are $1,000 or above. By comparison, more than half (52%) of Christine Cegelis’ itemized donations for the same time period were $300 and under. [Lindy Scott has relatively recently entered the race and doesn’t yet report any itemized donations.] While 64% of Peter Roskam’s donation money coming from individual donors was at the required reporting level, only 34% of Christine Cegelis’ was, which is why Cegelis’ average donation is under $130. Peter Roskam’s average donations are likely much higher - much higher than most people in District 6 can afford.

The Republican Ship of State and Peter Roskam

For the last decade in America it’s been pretty good to run as a Republican if you want to win. That is changing. The disastrous record of the national GOP from the sinking American economy to its indifference in crisis, has disillusioned Americans. I recognize among party members old loyalties and habits die hard. The failure of the Bush Administration, now seen in polls, presents a real difficulty for Republicans candidates nationwide, Peter Roskam included. While pundits like Larry Sabato consider Roskam a likely win in the Congressional 6th, he also notes that if “Democrats can keep issues of the GOP’s ethics foibles afloat and President Bush’s approval ratings fail to bounce back in time, the [Democrats] will be poised to gain a substantial number of House seats in 2006, especially in districts where hard-line conservatives…align themselves closely with President Bush and the Republican leadership in Congress.”

I am reminded of the Titanic. As the storied ship went down there were some that took lifeboats to escape, some that accepted their fate, staying upon the ship playing music or otherwise engaged in trying to be calm and keep others feeling calm, and then there was a third group. This group grabbed hold of the ship for dear life, never letting go, sinking with the ship into the ocean depths. In a tragedy such as this we can understand what each group did, and sympathize with their horrible circumstances. Peter Roskam, however, did not start out on the Titanic. It is true that the national Republican ship, the Bush Administration, Senate Majority Leader Frist and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay sink fast with scandal and failure - but not all Republicans are staying aboard that ship. State Senator Roskam, however, has chosen to climb on board at this time. He loyally grabs hold of the sinking ship. It may be that Peter, and perhaps the others, will yet be saved as GOP leaders bail furiously. But voters in District 6 will stand in judgment of Peter. His decision binding himself to national Republicans who sink under the weight of scandal and failure was very much a choice Peter made, and others didn’t. It says something about Peter.