Democrats putting the heat on the GOP

It was not very long ago that a Democratic win in an election in the suburbs was stunning stuff.

Less than a decade ago, in fact, it was almost unheard of. When Jack Franks was elected to the Illinois House from a district in McHenry County in 1998, it was attributed to an anomaly. The conventional wisdom assumed he'd be little more than a one-term wonder. He's in the midst of his fifth term now, and since he first was elected, other suburban Democrats have followed him to Springfield -- to the point that it's no longer astonishing news.

In fact, in such a short period of time, Democratic might has grown so much that it even lured one Republican state legislator, Paul Froehlich, to switch parties and become a Democrat. That's the same Paul Froehlich who had been Republican committeeman of Schaumburg Township, once revered as one of the most conservative townships in the nation, the township of Don Totten. When it goes Democratic, you know that change is in the air.

And now we have a Democrat, Bill Foster, winning election to the congressional seat long held by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

It was surprising, but not stunning. Melissa Bean, a Democrat, seems firmly in control of the U.S. House seat long held by conservative Philip M. Crane. Republicans still hold most of the other suburban seats in Congress, but they know there is no such thing as a safe district anymore. Mark Kirk, for one, will have his hands full this November. Peter Roskam, for another, had his hands full in 2006.

What's the cause of this shift?

Undoubtedly, a change in populations and demographics has much to do with it. The suburbs are much more diverse than they used to be, not just in ethnicity but also in economic backgrounds. And the continued migration of Chicagoans out to the suburbs brings some of the city's unique political loyalties with it.

And yes, those changes to our population provide challenges to the Republican Party in the suburbs.

But the party's own self-destructiveness may have something to do with it as well. In recent years, it seems to have become less inclusive and more intransigent, more apt to get caught up in the reflexive Limbaugh-style acrimony that excites true believers but turns off large numbers who otherwise might warm to fundamental Republican philosophy.

By and large, suburbanites believe in basic tenets associated with the GOP -- reduced government, low taxes and fiscal responsibility.

But, on the one hand, President Bush and former Gov. George Ryan did not exercise fiscal responsibility. And on the other hand, the party has distracted itself by focusing on social issues that lack broad consensus.

As the Foster election only confirmed, Republicans are on the run in the suburbs these days. Largely, it is up to the party to determine whether that shift is halted.