Progress Illinois

Ever since his crushing defeat in the special election for Illinois 14th Congressional District, folks have been wondering about the political future of Jim Oberweis.

He is set to challenge (now incumbent) Bill Foster again in November, but it seems that many in the Republican Party wish he would just go away. In fact, an Oberweis campaign spokesman admitted earlier this month that it is unlikely the campaign will receive any funding from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). That's a pretty big about-face for an organization that spent $1.2 million, (nearly a fifth of its cash-on-hand at the time) trying to get him elected in the March 8 special election.

And the NRCC aren't the only ones throwing the "ice cream man" under his truck. John McCain came to Illinois in February to endorse Oberweis before the special election. At a joint press conference they spoke of their shared views on, among other things, immigration reform. But after Oberweis' defeat, the Republican presidential nominee appeared to forget his former comrade's name. Here's McCain last week on NPR:

We just had a loss of Denny Hastert’s seat out in Illinois. The Republican candidate out there, I am told, had very strong anti-immigrant rhetoric also, so I would hope that many of our Republican candidates would understand the political practicalities of this issue.

The "I am told" is priceless. Of course, if Oberweis had instead defeated Foster in the special election, he'd almost certainly be one of McCain's many "friends" by now.

As the GOP tries to respond to its tanking popularity, what it does with Oberweis will be informative. If he is pushed out in favor of a more moderate candidate (as some have suggested), we may see similarly shuffling elsewhere. If Oberweis soldiers on to face Foster again -- this time without any party support -- it could belie a sense of fatalism about Republican prospects in November. Judging from comments like this one left on the conservative Illinois Review, it seems the only GOPers hoping Oberweis does run are the ones that have already given up hope:

It's lost - put it on Oberweis to take one for the team in November. No use ruining future nominees for an inevitable November tidal wave in favor of the Dems.

For his part Oberweis is adamant that he will face Foster again in November. If there is one thing you can say about the man, he does not let defeat -- four defeats, that is -- stand in his way.