July 8, 2024

Exactly, what impact will Trump have on the new Republican Party platform? In American politics, everything is either liberal or conservative. Political parties exist to help elect candidates who can/will defend/advance their platform. The Democrat Party platform is liberal and the Democrat Party helps elect candidates who can/will defend/advance the Democrat Party platform. The Republican Party platform is conservative, but the Republican Party far too often fails/refuses to help elect candidates who can/will defend/advance the Republican Party platform. Far too often, the Republican Party lets far too many hold leadership positions who are anti-conservative if not anti-Republican and who reject far too many planks in the Republican Party platform. I should write a book about the leaders of the Illinois Republican Party (IRP), DuPage County Republican Central Committee, and Milton Township Republican Organization who reject the most planks in the Republican Party platform. Most commonly, they reject the personal responsibility, traditional marriage and family, right to life, immigration, illegal drugs, Second Amendment, and/or equal opportunity (no race of gender based preference giving) planks. I would focus on those leaders who have taken the most/biggest adverse actions against me because I promote the aforesaid planks. I would focus on those who removed me from the 2024 IRP State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD & THE HILL
— Democrats say “Fears grow among conservatives over abortion in GOP platform.”
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/hill-politics/fears-grow-among-conservatives-over-abortion-in-gop-platform/amp/
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4754938-rnc-trump-abortion-platform/

HERALD WHIG & CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD & WAND TV & ABC NEWS
— Democrats say “National abortion ban splits the Trump campaign and Republican activists writing the party platform. Republicans may remove a vow to ban abortion from their party platform for the first time in 40 years.”
https://www.whig.com/ap/national/national-abortion-ban-splits-the-trump-campaign-and-republican-activists-writing-the-party-platform/article_0f05e32b-2658-5fed-a45e-29dbe8d88366.html
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-national-abortion-ban-splits-the-trump-campaign-and-republican-activists-writing-the-party-platform/
https://www.wandtv.com/news/national/national-abortion-ban-splits-the-trump-campaign-and-republican-activists-writing-the-party-platform/article_7a146a61-0b38-5931-b453-9013f0e5af1d.html
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/national-abortion-ban-splits-trump-campaign-republican-activists-111736365
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/2024-rnc-platform-alter-gops-abortion-position-time/story?id=111728686

SOUTHERN
— Democrats say “Donald Trump will define 2024 RNC platform.” – Tommy Barone
https://southernillinoisnow.com/2024/07/07/donald-trump-will-define-2024-rnc-platform-committee-members-say/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: The GOP’s first new platform since 2016 will also be the first truly defined by former President Donald Trump, Republicans who have served on the platform committee say. In 2016, then-candidate Trump deferred to party operatives to craft the document, according to the platform veterans. In 2020, the GOP declined to introduce a new platform, merely appending an updated introduction to the same platform from Trump’s first campaign. Now, several veterans of the platform committee predict that the document to be unveiled at the RNC convention in two weeks will reflect a Republican Party united behind the person and policies of Donald Trump. “I think the dynamic between then and now is totally different,” said Tom Schreibel, the Wisconsin Republican Party national committeeman and a platform subcommittee chair in 2016. “The campaign didn’t carry as much sway back then,” said Schreibel, who serves on the Committee on Arrangements for the 2024 convention, which will take place in his home-state capital of Milwaukee. “We spent weeks working with House and Senate staff to get their insights on what was happening currently.” “What were the sensitivities of the House? What were the sensitivities of the Senate? Where were the conferences at at that point? And what was the art of the possible?” said Schreibel, recalling the considerations he had weighed. James Bopp Jr., an Indiana lawyer who served on every platform committee from 2000 through 2016, called the process that produced the former president’s first platform “quite unusual.” “The Trump campaign took the explicit and well-circulated position that they were going to be very light-handed in terms of fashioning the 2016 platform,” said Bopp, “and leave it to the platform committee and the delegates to do that.” While that platform certainly bore Trump’s mark, it also contained positions out of step with the former president. On LGBTQ+ issues, it veered to Trump’s right, affirming a definition of marriage as strictly a union between a man and a woman, something fought for by religious conservatives. And at the convention, then-Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort successfully pushed to dilute the platform’s support for Ukraine — a change Trump later said he was neither involved in nor aware of. This year, Trump may not be able to say the same. “I expect this to be Trump’s platform,” said Jesse Law, a 2016 platform committee member reprising his role this year. “I expect the members of the committees to fall in line.” Schreibel concurred, saying, “Trump has gained control of the Republican Party, being the former president.” Schreibel, Law, and Bopp each made a version of the same point, though: This platform won’t be Trump’s because Trump has commandeered the platform process — this platform will be Trump’s because Trump has united the party behind him. “If you have 50 states, and we’re averaging 70% of every state party, every county party being pro-Trump in such a way, you’re going to see this in the makeup of those who are delegates,” said Law, who serves as chairman of the Republican Party in Clark County, Nevada. Law contrasted this dynamic with the 2016 convention, where “you had the Bible Belt, and you had the northeastern folks, and you had the Midwest folks, and you had the West Coast folks.” “We didn’t have a lot of cohesion,” he added. To Law’s point, RNC platform committee membership lists reviewed by ABC News show that only 12 members of the 2024 committee also served on the committee in 2016 — less than 15% of the total. While an ABC News analysis finds that this figure is consistent with the churn from 2012 to 2016, it shows that the 2024 platform will be shaped by a new generation of party leadership. The three leaders of the 2024 platform committee — who work with policy staff weeks before the convention to decide the drafts on which the broader committee will then deliberate — also come from Trump’s orbit. Two — Randy Evans and Russ Vought — served in the Trump administration, as ambassador to Luxembourg and Office of Management and Budget director, respectively. The third platform leader, Ed Martin, did not have a role in the Trump administration, but he marched to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and has become a prominent figure in the “Stop the Steal” movement advancing the false theory that Trump won the 2020 election. Schreibel pointed to a similar dynamic in the congressional considerations that influence the platform, noting that “issues within the House and Senate on X, Y or Z are turned by President Trump and his ideals.” And, said Schreibel, because Trump was relatively new to politics in 2016, he had less familiarity with the process, causing him to have “a lot of people at the table” working on plans for transition and the administration. One area where Trump’s influence over the party platform may make all the difference is on the polarizing issue of abortion rights. Since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in 2022, ruling that there is no constitutional right to abortion, nearly two dozen states have banned or severely restricted access to abortion. This tide of state-level restrictions has become politically toxic for national Republicans, as Democrats have made it a signature campaign theme, attacking the GOP as extreme on the issue. As recently as a year ago, Trump — who appointed the conservative justices that enabled the overturning of Roe — eagerly took credit for the decision, writing in a post on Truth social, “I was able to kill Roe v. Wade.” More recently, however, the former president has adopted a more muted tone, saying that he wouldn’t sign a national abortion ban and emphasizing his support for leaving the issue to the states. Trump’s circumspection — along with the news that the 2024 platform will be much shorter than usual — has fueled speculation that the document might only briefly discuss the issue, drawing criticism from some anti-abortion rights groups. The New York Times has reported that a coalition of advocacy groups sent a letter to Trump, asking he “make clear that you do not intend to weaken the pro-life plank.” But the platform committee veterans who spoke with ABC News were largely unconcerned. Bopp, who told ABC News he had played an instrumental role in advocating for anti-abortion rights provisions in the platform since 1980, said of Trump’s abortion stance, “I fully embrace it, 100%. I think he’s absolutely right that the focus should be on the states.” “There is no votes for any national, substantive law on abortion,” said Bopp. “We should not be — nor have I ever been — confused with Don Quixote.” For Law, Trump’s line on abortion in the first presidential debate augured the approach the platform would take: “He was very concise with his comments the other day. That’s what I would expect.” “The majority of the Republican base agrees with that,” Law added. During his debate with President Joe Biden, Trump said he would not block access to the mifepristone abortion pill and stressed that the states should decide the extent of abortion rights, with exceptions for rape, incest, and danger to the life of the mother. As much as the 2024 platform may bespeak a party remade in Trump’s image, the platform committee veterans interviewed by ABC News stressed that it will remain, at least in part, a document that responds to the needs of the party as a whole. “This is a document that is worked on and thought about quite a bit by many members. Ensuring that all the parts of the Republican Party are heard and that we hear from the leadership — the elected leadership of the party — is important,” said Arkansas Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge, who chaired a platform subcommittee in 2016. “It will be reflective of the Republican Party as a whole.” “President Trump is in charge of the Republican Party, and so he’s going to have a bigger voice in what is said,” echoed Schreibel. “But still, at the end of the day, that document’s gonna have to represent House members and also Senate members.”)

BREITBART
— Border Security, 2nd Amendment, Judges Examples of Winning GOP Platform Issues. – KEN BLACKWELL and KEN KLUKOWSKI
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/07/07/blackwell-and-klukowski-border-security-second-amendment-and-judges-examples-of-winning-gop-platform-issuesll-klukowski-border-security-second-amendment-and-judges-examples-of-winning-gop-platform/

MSN
— Democrats say “‘Behind closed doors: Republicans break with precedent to pass policy platform in secret.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/behind-closed-doors-republicans-break-with-precedent-to-pass-policy-platform-in-secret/ar-BB1pi9vO

ABC NEWS
— Democrats say “Donald Trump will define 2024 RNC platform” and “Different from 2016, it will show a party in lockstep with the former president.”
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-define-2024-rnc-platform-committee-members/story?id=111715854

NEW YORK TIMES
— Democrats say “A Republican Platform That Could Read Like a Trump Rally. The former president’s campaign team has packed the 2024 platform committee, which meets in Milwaukee this week, with the MAGA faithful.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/us/politics/trump-republican-platform.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Democrats say “Trump doesn’t want Americans to know what Republicans stand for. The former president wants the 2024 GOP platform to be anodyne, but don’t be fooled. He has an extreme agenda.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/07/rnc-platform-2024-gop-trump/
— Democrats say “Democrats focus attacks on right-wing Project 2025 pushed by Trump allies. The former president has sought to disavow the plan being touted by former advisers and aides, but Trump has endorsed many of the same ideas.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2024/07/08/project-2025-trump-election/

POLITICO ILLINOIS
— PICKING A POOBAH: The Illinois Republican State Central Committee is scheduled to meet Friday, just a few days ahead of the Republican National Convention, to elect a new party chair “on an interim or permanent basis,” according to the Illinois GOP. Behind-the-scenes: Party leaders are grappling with how to manage the friction between its establishment and more conservative members, who are also divided regionally with moderate Republicans near Chicago and conservatives living downstate. The search for a new leader follows current Chair Don Tracy’s announcement last month that he’s stepping down. Names in the running (so far): State Rep. John Cabello, who represents Winnebago County and parts of Boone and Stephenson counties up north; state Sen. Jason Plummer, who represents the Edwardsville area near St. Louis; and Aaron Del Mar, a former Cook County GOP chair. The deadline to apply is Wednesday. – SHIA KAPOS
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/illinois-playbook/2024/07/08/the-illinois-chatter-about-biden-00166773

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

ABC7
— Chicago shootings: At least 103 shot, 19 fatally, in citywide holiday weekend gun violence
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-shootings-weekend-least-101-shot-18-fatally/15041696/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKSQD38faDk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aInjzRMkAA0
— Protesters arrested at NASCAR Street Race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YVN0D1Drj8

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Democrat and RINO leaders ever-increasingly use DEI to get rid of Republicans.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/08/ag-dei/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/08/column-chicago-pride-weekend-vandalism-washington/
— Democrats say “Americans are split over whether Trump should face prison in the hush money case.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/08/trump-hush-money-2/

CENTRAL ILLINOIS PROUD
— Americans are split over whether Trump should face prison in the hush money case (COMMENT: My critics/opponents who have taken big adverse actions against me have always hinted/implied/argued/shouted that their operatives and their dupes wanted them to take those big adverse actions against me. I should write a book about my critics/opponents who have taken the biggest adverse actions against me and their operatives and their dupes. I would focus on those a) who removed me from the 2024 Illinois Republican Party State Convention Platform and Resolutions Committee and b) who ended my service as the Republican fundraiser for Wheaton Independence Day parades and fireworks in 2021.)
https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/politics/ap-americans-are-split-over-whether-trump-should-face-prison-in-the-hush-money-case-ap-norc-poll-finds/

NPR ILLINOIS
— In your county, in your township, in municipality, and in your school district, how many cast Republican ballots in primary elections but then vote for Democrats in general elections?
https://www.nprillinois.org/2024-07-08/why-some-republican-led-states-are-limiting-who-can-vote-in-party-primaries

CAPITOL FAX
— Morning briefing
https://capitolfax.com/2024/07/08/isabel%e2%80%99s-morning-briefing-320/

FROM ILLINOIS CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WIREPOINTS
— Pritzker tells CNN that jobs are coming back to Illinois. The number of people employed in Illinois under his watch says the opposite. Ted Dabrowski and Nick Binotti
https://wirepoints.org/gov-pritzker-tells-cnn-that-jobs-are-coming-back-to-illinois-the-number-of-people-employed-in-illinois-under-his-watch-says-the-opposite-wirepoints/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-RIGHT SOURCES

WASHINGTON TIMES
— In letter to congressional Democrats, Biden says he’s ‘firmly committed’ to staying in the race. – Jeff Mordock
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/8/in-letter-to-congressional-democrats-biden-says-he/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=subscriber&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=oD8jJF9rz%2BvactMnz44gYY4Mz0Xgvu%2FJGTGNQlRQ6d4%3D&bt_ts=1720447331583
— Democrats set deadline for Biden to prove himself or withdraw from the race. Party coalescing around Harris as replacement atop 2024 ticket if he steps aside. – Mallory Wilson and Susan Ferrechio
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/7/democrats-set-deadline-biden-president-must-prove-/
— White House doctor who gave Biden glowing health report helped him cash in on business deal. – Susan Ferrechio
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/7/kevin-oconnor-who-gave-joe-biden-glowing-health-re/

NEW YORK POST
— ‘Woke’ policies fall flat as NY suburban Dems fight to take back party in blow to activist liberals. – Carl Campanile and David Propper
https://nypost.com/2024/07/08/us-news/woke-policies-fall-flat-as-ny-suburban-dems-fight-to-take-back-party-in-blow-to-activist-liberals/

BREITBART
— 99% of Illegal Aliens, Border Crossers Living Freely Across American Communities – JOHN BINDER (COMMENT: Anticipate/expect that many millions of them will use their false identifications to vote for Biden.)
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/07/07/report-99-illegal-aliens-border-crossers-living-freely-across-us/
(FROM THE ARTICLE: Roughly 99 percent of illegal aliens and border crossers are living freely across the United States as President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) monitors fewer than 1.5 percent of the nation’s illegal population, a report states. The federal data, compiled by the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) and circulated by several House and Senate Republicans, looks at the overall illegal population living in American communities — estimated at nearly 17 million today.)
— Joe Biden’s Social Service Programs for Migrants Almost Ensure They Are Never Deported. – JOHN BINDER
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/07/07/report-bidens-programs-migrants-almost-ensure-theyre-never-deported/
— NYC’s Low-Income Neighborhoods Overwhelmed by Migrant Shelters – OLIVIA RONDEAU
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2024/07/07/report-nycs-low-income-neighborhoods-overwhelmed-migrant-shelters/

DAILY CALLER
— Trans Kids Are The New Fashion Accessories Among Hollywood’s Most Deranged Moms – LEENA NASIR
https://dailycaller.com/2024/07/07/transgender-kids-fashion-accessories-hollywood-mom-charlize-theron-jennifer-lopez-megan-fox/

FOX NEWS
— What would a President Pritzker do on immigration, border crisis? Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has called for significantly more federal action on the crisis. – Adam Shaw
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/what-would-president-pritzker-do-immigration-border-crisis
— Anti-Israel protesters arrested after locking themselves inside fence at NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race. Organizers condemn Israeli driver Alon Day, who spoke out about city’s pro-Hamas protests. – Scott Thompson
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/anti-israel-protesters-arrested-after-locking-themselves-inside-fence-at-nascars-chicago-street-race

LEGAL INSURRECTION
— Harvard Gaslighting: Task Forces “sanitizing antisemitism under the guise of fighting ‘Islamophobia’”  “Harvard tries to ‘both sides’ the campus problems, but in reality the anti-Israel and antisemitic students were the aggressors. Jewish and pro-Israel students were not holding rallies calling for the destruction of Palestinians and using anti-Muslim rhetoric. It was almost all in one direction, but you wouldn’t know that from the reports.” – William A. Jacobson
https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/07/harvard-gaslighting-task-forces-sanitizing-antisemitism-under-the-guise-of-fighting-islamophobia/

FROM NATIONAL CENTER-LEFT SOURCES

THE HILL
— Democrats say “If Joe Biden can’t do it, Kamala Harris sure can.”
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4756495-biden-harris-trump-presidential-race/

NEW YORK TIMES
— Democrats say “Read Biden’s Letter to Congressional Democrats.”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/08/us/president-biden-letter-to-congressional-democrats-78.html
— FRONT PAGE TOP OF FOLD: Democrats acknowledge that “6 Top Democrats Privately Saying Biden Should Go.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/07/us/politics/biden-democrats-congress-murphy.html

WASHINGTON POST
— Democrats acknowledge that “Nine House Democrats call for Biden to step aside as he seeks to energize his campaign. Amid rising unease among Democratic leaders, the campaign scrambled to schedule Sunday events to show Biden’s vigor and his intention to forcefully confront Donald Trump.” (COMMENT: What do you stress that shows your vigor? I stress the my putting together and sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters every morning.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/07/biden-campaign-trump/

USA TODAY
— Democrats acknowledge that “Trump’s presidency viewed more favorably than Biden’s.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/07/trump-presidency-viewed-more-favorably-poll-finds/74292329007/
— Democrat leaders ever-increasingly promote more LGBTQ.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/06/23/democrats-anti-trans-rhetoric-in-2024-lgbtq/74118688007/

CNN
— Biden’s defiant delusion. – David Axelrod
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/06/opinions/biden-failed-to-quell-panic-abc-interview-axelrod
— At least 100 people shot, 17 fatally, during violent Fourth of July weekend in Chicago – up 27% from last year’s holiday. – Chris Boyette, Fabiana Chaparro, and Chris Boyette
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/08/us/chicago-shootings-july-fourth-weekend/index.html
— The Democrats who ran GAO in 1980, IRS in 1971, and the Post Office in 1966 hired me because they could not find a qualified Democrat, minority, female, younger person, or veteran who would take the job. All those who GAO, IRS, and the Post Office promoted over me had less work experience than I had, had less education than I had, had no professional certifications or fewer than I had, and/or had no professional license like the one I had.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/07/opinions/kamala-harris-dei-hire-racism-2024-obeidallah/index.html

MSN
— How would a brokered convention to replace Joe Biden work – Sarah Ewall-Wice
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/how-would-a-brokered-convention-to-replace-joe-biden-work/ar-BB1pyGyj
— Democrats have declared a Second Civil War on Republicans. Illegals are soldiers in the Democrat Army.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/editorial-donald-trump-s-vile-attack-on-immigrants-pushes-gop-further-into-a-white-nationalist-party/ar-AA1lLMDv

WALL STREET JOURNAL
— Prominent House Democrats Want Biden to Exit 2024 Race. President travels to Pennsylvania events to try to shore up support after disastrous debate. – Annie Linskey, Natalie Andrews, Siobhan Hughes
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/some-democrats-urge-biden-to-weigh-options-as-age-worries-linger-2ff735e6
— The Thomas Eagleton Precedent for Democrats. George McGovern changed running mates in 1972 for mental-health reasons, but the ticket still lost big. – Joshua M. Glasser
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-thomas-eagleton-precedent-for-democrats-fe95f5c3
— FRONT PAGE: ‘We’re Not Dead Yet.’ Baby Boomers’ Good Times Drive the Economy. Sky-diving, concerts, classic cars. An influx of older Americans bolsters the nation’s fastest-growing city. Heather Gillers and Ben Eisen
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/baby-boomers-drive-economy-d4b72e40

BOOMBERG
— Griffin Gives $500,000 to Back Miami-Dade’s Democratic Mayor. – Anna J Kaiser
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-05/ken-griffin-gives-500-000-to-back-miami-dade-s-democratic-mayor

FAST COMPANY
— Employers believe this is the age you’re too old to hire. This is why they’re wrong. – JINJA BIRKENBEUEL (COMMENT: In 1974, when I was 25 years old, my Democrat IRS superiors used “up-or-out” to write me off as being too old to be promoted to GS-13. They would not have done that if I had been a Democrat, minority, female, and/or veteran. That rendered worthless my a) earning job-related master’s degrees in 1976, 1980, and 1997, b) earning job-related professional certifications in 1979, 1981, 1990, 1994, 1996, and 1997, and c) earning a job-related professional license in 1981.)
https://www.fastcompany.com/91142325/employers-believe-this-is-the-age-youre-too-old-to-hire-this-is-why-theyre-wrong

POLITICO
— Democrats say “Biden’s Survival Plan: Decry ‘Elite’ Critics, Appeal to His Base. Black voters and organized labor have been the president’s key backers and they’re going to have to carry him now.”
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/07/08/bidens-campaign-black-union-voters-00166761
— Lindsey Graham: Anybody who could be president should undergo cognitive tests. – Isabella Ramírez (COMMENT: What do you stress that shows your cognitive abilities? I stress my putting together and sending out GOPUSA ILLINOIS newsletters every morning.)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/lindsey-graham-anybody-could-president-163919891.html
— Leaders of foreign countries who want America to lead the free word want Trump. Leaders of foreign countries who want to destroy America want Biden.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/07/nato-prepare-trump-2024-00165522

Author: David Diersen

The opinions that I express in GOPUSA ILLINOIS emails are based on experience that I have gained doing many things since 1948. I base my opinions on what I learned a) working for the federal government for almost 30 years -- Post Office 1966-1969, IRS 1971-1980, and GAO 1980-1997, serving on the Executive Committee of the Association of Government Accountants Chicago Chapter 1983-1996, and being a union member while I worked for the Post Office and IRS; b) earning an MBA from Loyola in 1976, a masters degree in accounting from DePaul in 1980, and a masters degree in financial markets and trading from IIT in 1997; c) passing the CPA examination on my first attempt in 1979 and passing the Certified Internal Auditor examination on my first attempt in 1981; c) serving as a Republican Precinct Committeeman since 1999, the GOPUSA Illinois Editor since 2000, the TAPROOT Republicans of Illinois Chairman 2005-2012, a member of the 2008 Illinois Republican Party (IRP) Platform and Resolutions Committee, a Wheaton Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee member 2003-2011, the Milton Township Republican Central Committee webmaster 2008-2010 and 2000-2004, an Illinois Center Right Coalition Steering Committee member 2003-2007, and an American Association of Political Consultants Midwest Chapter board member 2001-2004; d) attending the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 IRP State Conventions as a delegate; e) being the subject of a nasty 4-page article in the February 1978 issue of Money Magazine; f) pursing litigation including Diersen v. GAO and Diersen v. Chicago Car Exchange; g) being married since 1978; h) living in Crete 1948-1972, in University Park 1972-1976, in Chicago 1976-1978, and in DuPage County, Milton Township, and Wheaton since 1978; and i) being baptized, raised, and confirmed as a Missouri Synod Lutheran.