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Mark Kirk
Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
11:06am
Fri Oct 15, 2010

Rove's Voter Suppression Guru Swings Through Chicago

Last night, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann examined Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Mark Kirk's "voter integrity” program. Michael Dorf, General Counsel for the Alexi Giannoulias campaign, told the anchor what steps his office was taking to ensure nobody in the precincts Kirk allegedly wants to target will be scared away from the polls. Watch it:

Perhaps the most interesting tidibt from the spot was the news that Hans von Spakovsky was in Chicago yesterday talking to a local Federalist Society chapter about "steps [that] can be taken to minimize the opportunities to commit fraud and change election outcomes." Von Spakovsky, a member of the Federal Election Commission during the last Bush Administration, was one of Karl Rove's voter suppression gurus, helping to politicize the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. As Talking Points Memo put it, the man worked to "purge voters from the rolls, ensure that voter ID laws were approved with no fuss, and punish lawyers who did not toe the line."

While the Federalist Society is not connected to the Illinois Republican Party in any way, it's certainly conceivable that the folks who attended his lecture might be game to volunteer for poll-watching duties organized by the party.

PI Original
by Adam Doster
9:16am
Fri Oct 15, 2010

The Facts About Bright Start (VIDEO)

Election 2010

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias is getting reamed for his stewardship of Illinois' 529 college savings program. How much blame does he really shoulder?

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
11:31am
Thu Oct 14, 2010

In Post-Citizens United Era, Kirk Cashes In

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk has a reputation as a prodigious fundraiser. During this election cycle, he's getting some help from friends outside of his normal political circle, too.

The Sunlight Foundation has been tracking all of the reported spending by outside groups in this season's federal campaigns. According to their data, which Capitol Fax highlighted this morning, independent groups have already dished out roughly $3.7 million attacking Kirk's rival, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias. All but $290,000 of that total came from American Crossroads, a 527 group founded in March by Karl Rove, and its tax-exempt partner Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies. Neither arm of the operation will disclose its donors. Following the Citizens United U.S. Supreme Court decision, corporations and rich donors can give unlimited cash to these groups. Kirk seems to be cashing in.

Crossroads GPS, for what it's worth, could be the subject of a government probe. Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center have already filed a joint complaint with the IRS, claiming the group is violating U.S. tax laws that limit the political activities of non-profit groups. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is urging the tax collectors to get involved, as well. Stay tuned ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
11:22am
Thu Oct 14, 2010
4 comments

Kirk's Troublesome "Voter Fraud" Crusade (AUDIO)

Election 2010

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk is planning to dispatch election lawyers across the state on November 2 to protect the integrity of the election. Why are Kirk's pals only going to work in black neighborhoods?

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
9:24am
Mon Oct 11, 2010

Kirk, Giannoulias "Meet The Press"

For those of us who have been following the U.S. Senate race between State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, yesterday's debate on NBC's Meet The Press didn't really cover new ground. But it did offer the candidates the unique opportunity to make their case for the federal position on national television. Watch it below:

The major party candidates will duel twice more before November 2, in an ABC debate October 19 and on WTTW's Chicago Tonight October 27.