By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – For a few minutes on Republican Day Thursday at the Illinois State Fair, the party’s “brand” was making fun of how Democrats look.
Emcee Paul Palazzolo, the Sangamon County circuit clerk, noted that Gov. JB Pritzker the day before did not attend the county chairs’ brunch. “You know that had to be difficult for him, because, well, you know, brunch! In fact, some people say that JB stands for “Just Bacon.” Now, I don’t want to say that the governor’s heavy, but these days, all of his infrastructure spending is on belts.”
Palazzolo left out the one about sitting “around the house.”
He also said U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has had so many facelifts her mouth snaps open when she crosses her legs, and that she is so ugly a peeping Tom threw up on her windowsill.
Asked afterward how this humor advances the party’s cause, state Republican chair Don Tracy said he did not like the jokes but otherwise limited his comments to, “His speech speaks for itself.”
On other topics: Tracy said the pendulum is ready to swing back to the party, which currently holds no statewide offices and is in a superminority in each chamber of the Illinois General Assembly. And he said that Chicago has a diverse group of Republicans and that he is working on improving the party’s demographics, but added he’s only been chairman for six months.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].
