As we noted in the Early Bird, attendance was quite low at the Illinois State Fair's Republican Day. Lawmakers tried to stay upbeat, but it's difficult when interest in the party is so low.

I'm willing to give Illinois Republicans some benefit of the doubt. It's tough to drum up support with the shadow of the failed Bush presidency looming large -- one characterized by a disastrous foreign policy, retrograde social policies, and a tanking, deregulated economy. Statewide demographic shifts that favor left-leaning politicians play a role too.

But as the Tribune's John Kass wrote earlier this week, the Illinois GOP is "lacking in brains and backbone," and therefore can't pass the buck entirely. For instance, take their Agenda for Action platform. Here's The Daily Herald's description:

Specifically, Republican leaders say if they were in charge, they would quickly move to increase how many votes it takes for lawmakers to increase taxes, approve recall of elected officials, and increase homeowners' tax exemptions and rebates.

If you were looking for any more evidence that Republicans have run out of ideas, this document should do the trick. All GOP leaders Tom Cross and Frank Watson can muster are antiquated calls for restrictions on tax hikes, some budget deficit hawkery, and support for the bi-partisan, Blagojevich-favored capital plan. Sure, the section on ethics is needed, but the Republicans also devote a huge chunk of the agenda to online predators. Meanwhile, there's nary a word about such minor concerns as health care, climate change, immigration, K-12 education, and poverty.