HUNTLEY – “I believe we’re at war. I believe this thing that we call America is at risk of forever being lost, and I refuse to be like a typical politician and just quietly and meekly let that happen.”
Former Representative for Illinois’ 8th district Joe Walsh said the above as a rallying cry to the Huntley Area Tea Party during their Feb. 20 meeting.
The war he was discussing was not one clearly drawn between Republicans and Democrats, but one between those who hold to ideas of individual freedom and responsibility and limited government and those who believe in becoming dependent on government.
Walsh said the country is currently headed in a direction laid out by President Obama and prominent Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid.
Joe Walsh, former representative for Illinois’ 8th district, speaks to members of the Huntley Tea Party during a Feb. 20 meeting. Walsh urged attendees to stick to their conservative values and vote for those who will do the same.
(Mason Souza /Sun Day Photo)
“Continuing down this path has weakened individuals, families, churches, and communities,” he said.
He claimed the opposition “knows they are at war,” while those who favor conservative values need to “wake up” and realize the situation.
“The Democrat Party’s goal one by one and group by group is to get everybody dependent on government; they’ve told me this privately. We’ve seen enough of it publicly,” Walsh said. “They know exactly what they’re doing.”
The rift has struck through the Republicans themselves, Walsh claimed. He said that in an effort to appear electable, many Republicans have leaned left, creating what he called a “civil war” over the party. He cited Senator John McCain’s seeking of immigration reform and Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady’s encouragement of legalizing gay marriage as evidence of the rift.
Walsh acknowledged the battle on a state level, as well, saying, “Illinois is the poster child for everything Republicans do wrong” and bemoaning the party’s inability to stand up to Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and the state’s Democrats.
His call to action included showing a boy named Ethan to the audience and asking them to consider his future and what debt he would inherit and how much of his money he would be able to keep.
Walsh’s plan for conservatives to take back political pow¬er included solving voter fraud, which he called a “rampant” problem, as well as securing the nation’s borders.
“The reason that Obama and the Democrats want to legalize the 11 or 14 or 18 million illegal immigrants is nothing fancier than they want them voting. End of story,” he said.
Walsh urged voters to hold fast to conservative values and not be like other Republicans who he said have compromised.
“If we don’t elect people who are willing to go to war, we will lose,” he said.
Walsh, who lost his senate seat to Tammy Duckworth in last year’s election, did not announce an upcoming candidacy.
