Editing Janice Hart

{{About|the American politician|British entertainer of this stage name|Cassie Walmer}}
'''Janice Hart''' (born 1955) is an American former politician who was an unsuccessful candidate for the office of [[Illinois Secretary of State]] in 1986.

Hart, a political unknown and a [[LaRouche movement]] activist since the age of 17,<ref>{{cite news|title=Janice Hart proud she never went to college|author=Lloyd Green, Don Hayner|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=Mar 20, 1986|page=5}}</ref> unexpectedly won the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party's]] nomination.<ref name=naf13/> Her opponent, [[Aurelia Pucinski]], came from a politically prominent family and was supported by the party organization. On March 19, 1986, Hart celebrated her victory of the previous day, saying "I'm going to revive the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and General Patton. We're going to roll our tanks down State Street."<ref name=naf13/>

Prominent Democrats nationwide opposed Hart's candidacy, with Democratic National Committee chairman [[Paul G. Kirk|Paul Kirk]] saying "Good Lord, we have a problem here."<ref name=ladeb>{{cite web|url=http://www.prin.edu/users/els/departments/poli_sci/state/state/larouche.htm|title=The 1986 LaRouche Election Debacle in Illinois|author=John W. Williams|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204152922/http://www.prin.edu/users/els/departments/poli_sci/state/state/larouche.htm|archivedate=2004-12-04}}</ref> Democratic gubernatorial candidate [[Adlai Stevenson III]] refused to run on the same slate with Hart and the LaRouche-supported candidate for [[Lieutenant Governor]], [[Mark J. Fairchild]]. He described Hart, who is Jewish,<ref>{{cite web | last = Berlet | first = Chip | authorlink = Chip Berlet |author2=Joel Bellman | title = Fascism Wrapped in an American Flag | publisher = PublicEye.org | date = 1989-03-10 | url = http://www.publiceye.org/larouche/nclc2.html | accessdate = 2008-12-16}}</ref> and Fairchild as "neo-Nazis... who preach anti-Semitism, who cavort with the Ku Klux Klan, and who want to destroy labour unions."<ref name=naf13>[http://www.lyndonlarouchewatch.org/fascism13.htm Chapter 13, Lyndon LaRouche and the New American Fascism<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Adlai Stevenson Considering Bid For 3rd Party|work=Wichita Eagle|date=1986-03-27}}</ref> Instead, Stevenson formed the [[Solidarity Party (Illinois)|Solidarity Party]] and ran with [[Jane Spirgel]] as the Secretary of State nominee. Hart achieved 15% of the vote, with Spirgel taking 17%. Hart and Spirgel's opponent, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbent [[Jim Edgar]], won the election by the largest margin in any statewide election in Illinois history, with 1.574 million votes (67%).<ref>{{cite news|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041104020001/http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/obama03.html|archivedate=2004-11-04|url=http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/obama03.html|date=2004-11-03|author=Christopher Wills|title=Commuters give Obama the thumbs-up | work=Chicago Sun-Times}}</ref> Following the election Hart defiantly said,  "Victory is not defined by your petty election."<ref>''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' November 6, 1986</ref>

Hart appeared in the news again in the summer of 1986 when she threw a pound of raw liver, as a symbolic "pound of flesh", at the feet of [[Milwaukee]] [[Archbishop]] [[Rembert Weakland]], to protest what she perceived as his support for the [[International Monetary Fund]]. After initially failing to appear to answer the charges, she was fined $500 for disorderly conduct.<ref name=ladeb/>

Hart opposed Pucinski again [[1988 Cook County, Illinois elections#Clerk of the Circuit Court|in 1988]], this time for the Democratic nomination for Clerk of the [[Cook County Circuit Court]], which Pucinski won. When Hart applied for the nomination for Secretary of State again in 1990 she did not qualify due to insufficient signatures on her petition. She subsequently retired from public life. In 2007, one-time ticketmate Fairchild told a reporter that Hart was no longer with the LaRouche movement.<ref>{{cite news|title=LaRouche follower returns to Capitol; Mark Fairchild pushes for ban on home foreclosures|author=BERNARD SCHOENBURG|work=State Journal Register|location=Springfield, Illinois|date=Nov 2, 2007|page=5}}</ref>

==Political significance==
Hart ran on the LaRouche platform, including measures to classify AIDS as a communicable disease "and give health officials the power to test and quarantine
where needed,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etext.org/Politics/LaRouche/larouche.program.15 |title=The LaRouche-Bevel Program to Save the Nation- LaRouche's Program for a War on AIDS |publisher=Independents for Economic Recovery, LaRouche for President |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050209141015/http://www.etext.org/Politics/LaRouche/larouche.program.15 |archivedate=2005-02-09 }}</ref> investigation of supposed drug smuggling cartels protected by [[Henry Kissinger]] and [[Katharine Graham]], and strong support for the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] and [[nuclear power]]. Ever since the 1986 election the Hart candidacy has been discussed and studied by academics, and journalists. Some blame Stevenson for his inept campaigning for the ticket and voters for their apathy. Dennis King in ''Lyndon LaRouche and the New American Fascism'' (1989) cites evidence that some of Hart's support resulted from below-the-radar organizing and campaigning in farm communities and rust belt towns.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120716200820/http://www.dailyillini.com/archives/1994/March/4/tonycol.html LaRouchies pose serious threat to uninformed voters]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041105150447/http://www.showmenews.com/2004/Mar/20040330Feat003.asp Brooks’ fraudulent arguments aren’t worth ignoring anymore]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060909123629/http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1990/ii900223.html Primary elections: GOP contest for governor, Democrat fights for two lesser offices]
*[http://www.illinimedia.com/di/archives/1994/March/14/larouche.html LaRouchies not welcomed on Democratic ticket]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Daily Ilini
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{{s-bef|before=[[Jerome Cosentino]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Illinois Secretary of State|Secretary of State of Illinois]]|years=[[1986 Illinois Secretary of State election|1986]]}}
{{s-aft|after=Jerome Cosentino}}
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{{LaRouche movement}}

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[[Category:LaRouche movement]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Women in Illinois politics]]
[[Category:Illinois Democrats]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]