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U.S. Senate
Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
4:05pm
Mon Aug 9, 2010

Defunding Health Care Reform

If Republican U.S. Senatorial candidate Mark Kirk and his Republican colleagues are serious about repealing health care reform, they might have to shut down the government entirely to do it. The American Spectator's Philip Klein outlines one potential approach gaining steam among GOPers, which would center around stripping funding for key provisions during the appropriations process, in his latest piece for the magazine.

Without control of at least one chamber, Republicans wouldn't be able to pull this strategy off. They also run the political risk, by cutting out any funding for a bill that does promise near-universal health insurance coverage, of appearing callous. Still, this scenario is far more realistic than Kirk's "repeal-and-replace" gambit. And if Republicans cloak the defunding amendments in abortion language, they could have an ally in U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski. It's something to keep an eye on as the Fall rolls around.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
9:33am
Mon Aug 9, 2010

"Unfit"

Attempting to draw attention to U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk's needless and repeated resume embellishments, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias has released a new statewide television ad titled "Unfit." Watch it below:

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:30pm
Fri Aug 6, 2010
1 comment

Alexi And The Moderates

"You can trust him. You can count on him,” President Obama said of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias before supporters at his blockbuster fundraiser yesterday. The message was certainly tailored to moderates in Illinois, with whom the state treasurer -- dogged by "ethics" concerns -- still has not connected. While Republicans in virtually every competitive U.S. Senate race this year are polling horribly among those middle-of-the-road voters, Giannoulias is only 6 points ahead of U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk among that constituency.

Giannoulias can probably help himself out in this regard by emphasizing issues on the stump (like gay rights, abortion rights, and clean energy jobs) that appeal to both moderates in Illinois and his unenergized base. It wouldn't hurt to point out that Kirk -- once a respected environmental and social "moderate" --  has turned 180 degrees on all of these topics, either.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
1:57pm
Wed Aug 4, 2010

Kirk's New Bank Money

If the banks "own" Washington D.C., as Illinois' own U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin famously suggested last spring, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk is certainly one of their favorite tenants. The GOP Senate nominee has collected $826,149 in campaign contributions this election cycle from the financial services industry, according to data collected by the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch. Kirk ranks behind only U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who literally represents New York's Wall Street, in the quantity of donations.

Kirk might have a big fundraising advantage in Illinois' senate race, but these contributions should make voters reconsider whether Kirk plans to represent the interests of Illinois citizens or big banks in the upper chamber.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
12:17pm
Wed Aug 4, 2010
1 comment

Kirk Rewrites History On The Stimulus Debate

Election 2010

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk's latest exaggeration -- that he convinced the entire Republican Party to vote against the stimulus package -- is just as absurd as his resume embellishments.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
10:46am
Wed Aug 4, 2010

Seniority And The Senate Special Election

If you think this fall's U.S. Senate special election is worthless, think again. Although it will be held on the same day and will have identical ballots to the scheduled general election, whichever candidate wins could gain a leg up on his eventual freshmen colleagues. The Tribune's Eric Zorn explains why:

“Because he will technically be sworn in during the current Congress (the 111th Congress) and the rest of those elected in November wont be sworn in until January (the 112th Congress) he would be the first incoming senator to get committee assignments,” said Joe Shoemaker, spokesman for Ill. Sen. Dick Durbin.

And because he’ll have the most seniority, “he’ll be the first of those senators to move up into sub-committee chairmanship slots and be in a position to have greater impact on the process earlier in his term.”