IDCCA President’s Message
by Doug House, IDCCA President
@ILDCCA @RICoDemocrats
Let’s Get Going! It’s 2018!
There’s no turning back. It’s 2018 and our chance to harness the enthusiasm for change is now more important than ever.
Democrats throughout Illinois are motivated and engaged. And the IDCCA is building upon the remarkable growth and strength of the past two years where we’ve enacted our plan to recruit, organize and train Democrats and progressive-minded activists to build the strongest Democratic Party in every corner of Illinois. 2018 begins the third year of our three-year effort and, thanks to thousands of partners like you, our foundation to retain and reclaim elective offices is solid.
Last fall, at our Candidate Boot Camp, the IDCCA trained the finest, most diverse collection of candidates Illinois has likely ever seen. These determined Democrats are already utilizing that training and they’ve have launched successful campaigns that many agree are favored to win!
Working with our partners, the IDCCA has helped to build a robust group of over 2,000 newly-trained committeepersons and determined activists. These folks are moms and dads, students, small business owners, retirees and everything in between. They’re Illinoisans who share a vision of a state that can grow jobs, ensure a strong and stable health care system and invest in an education network for every learner, regardless of their zip code. Already, these committed Democrats are staffing campaigns and County Party Organizations throughout the state.
For the IDCCA, all of this is part of the plan. We’re following the blueprint we mapped out two years ago and, with the help of thousands of players, we’re executing our design with passion. While we’re ready to win, we know there’s so much more work to be done. Work that can only be completed with your continued engagement.
Even though voters barely elected Bruce Rauner to take charge, he’s admitted that he’s not in charge of Illinois government. It’s evident that he’s never even tried to work to improve our state. His approach has been to take no responsibility, degrade anyone who doesn’t agree with him and hope that his campaign machine will save the day. The only jobs he’s created has been a few extra gigs for producers of political commercials. It’s just not acceptable.
But make no mistake, the Bruce Rauner Lie Machine is warmed up and humming. They’re working overtime to blame their litany of failures on Democrats. They’re already distracting voters away from their inaction that tripled our state’s unpaid bill backlog to over $16 billion. They’re plotting ways to hide their destruction of our state’s higher education system. They’re doubling-down on the idea that it isn’t their failures that are largely connected to the exodus of jobs and population.
Don’t buy the lies. And don’t let your friends, colleagues, family members or neighbors accept them either. Democrats aren’t to blame. In fact, it’s Democrats who’ve had to carry the tough burden of fixing many of the problems caused by Bruce Rauner’s gross mismanagement.
Bruce Rauner and his band of Rauner Republicans haven’t earned another term in office. But they’re not about to stop trying through lying – just as we’ve seen them do year after year.
But this is 2018. Together, Democrats and the IDCCA are more organized than ever before. We’re planning and executing every day to help bring victory to every office in Illinois. And we can do it because of your selfless support and commitment to victory.
For what you’ve already done, thank you. For what we need you to do in the months to come, thank you in advance.
I hope you’ll stay tuned for many more exciting developments for your Illinois Democratic County Chairs Association.
In Unity,
Doug
