Rauner’s left turns on abortion, immigration put his political base in doubt
Now nearly three years into his term, the Republican governor's slate appears almost indecipherable.
Rauner signed into law high-profile, Democrat-backed bills on abortion, immigration and voter rights, prompting questions as to who his base of support is as he seeks re-election, whether he'll catch a primary challenge and how he'll deal with Republican lawmakers going forward.
Rauner was already besieged by attacks from would-be Democratic challengers, and now socially conservative
It's the latest high-drama episode for Rauner, who in recent months has zigzagged between the political right and political left.
A tempestuous summer saw Rauner lose a lengthy budget battle as
Rauner's decision not to pick a lane and stay in it has prompted some
House Republican floor leader Rep.
Attempting to minimize the internal
"After long conversations with advocates on both sides of the issue,
Acknowledging the controversy Rauner's action caused, the campaign featured defenses by Lt. Gov.
During another era of
In 2000, then-Gov.
Ryan said then that he viewed his action as a "no-win" situation, and he was vilified by social conservatives. At the time,
Still, the
Reflecting national tendencies, the
Rauner used his money and power to rebuild the
Writing "big campaign checks," Breen contended, is "the only unique feature left in Rauner's favor" and something that may make others reluctant to criticize the governor. That means "we're going to have to find alternate sources of funding," he said.
Showing exasperation, some
Rauner also signed into law a bill that protects immigrants who are in the country illegally from being detained solely because of their immigration status. He did so even though part of Republican President
The governor approved a measure to make voting registration all but automatic when getting or updating a driver's license or seeking other state assistance, something viewed as beneficial to
Rauner also traveled around the state criticizing a new education funding formula as a "bailout" to the
As a concession to conservative
The goodwill Rauner earned with those
"People are looking at the situation and saying, 'Where is the Rauner base?'" asked state Rep.
"You've got Trump in the
In the case of the abortion legislation, Rauner created a no-win situation by promising as a candidate in 2014 to support expansion of taxpayer-subsidized abortions. But in April, in the midst of the prolonged budget battle with Madigan and
It meant Rauner had made promises to each side, and one of them was going to be broken. Knowing that,
Signing the bill drew appreciation from abortion rights advocates and praise from liberal newspaper columnists, but neither are likely to offer Rauner much help if he runs against a Democrat for re-election next year.
On Friday, Breen said Rauner now has "lame duck" status and that
While finding a highly qualified contender is a challenge, a primary battle could inflict even more damage on Rauner at a time the
More immediately, though, there are prospects for a potentially raucous return of the
With Rauner under attack from his own members, some
Publicly, both Republican leaders --
But privately, one top Republican legislative aide said a rough fall session could just be a prologue for an even tougher spring session with the governor campaign in full gear and Rauner looking for wins to help a re-election agenda.
"Don't come to us expecting us to fall in line like we have for the last three years," the aide said.
"Yes, there are still a vast majority of things the (GOP) caucus and Rauner agree on. In the past, some of those they didn't agree on, they still held their nose and voted for it. Don't expect that to happen," he said.
Breen, as
"I will not be supporting him politically. And otherwise, I'm going to make the call one way or the other on bills as they come before us," said Breen, of
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