Mark Kirk

IL-SEN: Schakowsky Endorses Giannoulias, DSCC Whacks Kirk (UPDATED)

Josh Kalven — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:21:01 -0800

The latest from the 2010 U.S. Senate race ...

Yesterday afternoon, Rep. Jan Schakowksy announced her endorsement of State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary. When they rolled out Rep. Luis Gutierrez' backing a week earlier, the campaign used the occasion to highlight Giannoulias' position on the need for stronger financial regulation. This time, the topic was health care. From a release:

"Alexi Giannoulias is the best candidate to retain President Obama's seat because he has the courage to take on powerful interests and stand up for Illinois families," Schakowsky said. "He supports health-insurance reform that will reign in the soaring costs of premiums and protect families from losing coverage during these difficult economic times." [...]

"Jan and I believe in a simple proposition: if you pay your premiums your insurance company should cover you - no exceptions, no caps, no limits," Giannoulias said. "Mark Kirk disagrees. He believes in protecting insurance companies, not protecting people."

Giannoulias has now racked up endorsements from five of the state's congressional Democrats (Reps. Bill Foster, Mike Quigley, and Phil Hare are also supporting him). Meanwhile, Cheryle Jackson is the only other candidate in the race to receive backing from members of Congress (Reps. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis).

Elsewhere on Sunday, Giannoulias skipped a debate held in Rockford, which Jackson, David Hoffman, and Jacob Meister all attended. ABC 7 has a report on their comments regarding Afghanistan. (All three "expressed deep doubts ... about sending more troops.)

In other news, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a clever web ad today hitting GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk for his shifting positions on Sarah Palin. Watch it:

And in a blog post on Friday, Gianoullias campaign manager Tom Bowen notes that Kirk's latest poll was conducted on a single day and not handled by his campaign pollster:

So, if you're releasing a one-day sample poll that is known to be unreliable, you juice it by running it on November 3rd and it's not done by your real pollster, how accurate can it be? My guess is that he's trying to distract from the real numbers in this race, which look a lot more like the ones we released.

Jackson appeared on Fox Chicago Sunday over the weekend, where she continued to cast herself as "a regular everyday person" and repeatedly emphasized her belief in the need to support small businesses (scroll down for the full video). When asked about Giannoulias' polling lead, she responded: "I think the question is: Why hasn't he locked it up by now, being in the race six months?" At one point, co-host Jack Conaty asked her whether she supported sending more troops to Afghanistan. Jackson's answer was pretty shaky, leading him to end the segment with this quip, "We're going to give you an exit strategy." (We'll add the video if and when Fox Chicago posts it to their website.)

Hoffman also hit the airwaves, showing up on ABC 7's Newsviews yesterday (scroll down for the full video). He continued to pitch himself as the candidate least likely to attract corruption-related attacks from the GOP in the general election:

HOFFMAN: There is no question that it is going to be a risky year for Democrats for a variety of reasons. I think the press has been very consistent about this: that there are vulnerabilities that are very strong on the Democratic side. And the main reason is the corruption scandals: the Blagojevich issue and others. And what people have been saying is that we need a nominee in the Senate ... who just takes the corruption issue off the table.

It should be clear to people that, whatever Republicans want to say, they won't be able to talk about corruption or ethics issues or tie me in any way to Blagojevich or Rezko. I just take those off the table. I have no connections to them and I've been a leader in helping to fight against corruption.

This argument is quite reminiscent of the case made by Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. She incessantly warned that Barack Obama's connections to Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers and Jeramiah Wright would give the Republicans far too much ammunition in the general election. We all know how that turned out ...

Finally, late last week, Meister released his policy platform. You can read it below:

UPDATE (5:30 p.m.): Here's the full video of Jackson's WFLD appearance:

And here's the full video of Hoffman's ABC 7 video:

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this website, has endorsed Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

House Passes Health Care Bill With Help Of Illinois Dems

Adam Doster — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:49:39 -0800

The president's top domestic policy priority is one step closer to being made law. As you've read elsewhere, the full House passed its final health care reform bill late Saturday night by a slim 220-215 margin. Although 39 Democrats eventually voted against the bill, none of Democrats hailing from President Obama's home state -- including Reps. Melissa Bean and Bill Foster -- dissented.

While not perfect, the package approved by the House would dramatically improve the lives of millions of Americans. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 36 million people currently uninsured would gain access to health care. The bill, which includes an employer mandate and a "level-playing field" public option, is also deficit neutral over the next 10 years and would impose a whole host of important consumer protections.

Unfortunately, House leadership had to strike a Faustian bargain to gain the support of conservative pro-life Democrats, including Reps. Dan Lipinski and Jerry Costello. Included in the legislation was an amendment introduced by Rep. Bart Stupack (D-Michigan) limiting elective abortion coverage from both private and public insurers on the health insurance exchanges. Lipinski, who made clear this summer that he "strongly opposed any bill that's going to have public funding for abortion," even spoke in favor of the amendment on the floor minutes before the vote took place, earning praise from the Family Research Council for his efforts.

What Lipinski forgot to mention was that House tri-committee bill does not threaten the Hyde Amendment, which forbids Medicaid from using any federal money to pay for an abortion procedure. And in practical terms, it will have a devastating effect on working women. Ezra Klein explains:

If this amendment passes, it will mean that virtually all women with insurance through the exchange who find themselves in the unwanted and unexpected position of needing to terminate a pregnancy will not have coverage for the procedure. Abortion coverage will not be outlawed in this country. It will simply be tiered, reserved for those rich enough to afford insurance themselves or lucky enough to receive [it] from their employers.

From the House floor, Rep. Jan Schakowsky called the Stupack amendment a "back door way of overturning Roe v. Wade" and "an insult to millions of women." Here's an excerpt from her statement:

“This health reform bill is about improving access to care, not further restricting a woman’s right to choose. Our bill is about lowering health care costs for millions of women and their families, not further marginalizing women by forcing them to pay more for their care. This amendment is a back door way of overturning Roe v. Wade; it is a disservice and insult to millions of women throughout our country.

In his own floor speech, Rep. Mike Quigley echoed that sentiment:

QUIGLEY: But this amendment disrupts that sense of equality. This amendment says only women who can afford insurance deserve access to reproductive health care. This amendment says that women who need a little help paying for health care have to surrender their right to privacy. This amendment will serve only to hurt low-income women and restrict their ability to access reproductive health care, even with their own money.

Joining Lipinski and Costello in backing the Stupack amendment, though, was Rep. Mark Kirk, a candidate who has earned endorsements from Planned Parenthood in several elections because of his pro-choice voting record. Kati Phillips, spokesperson for Alexi Giannoulias, offered this assessment of the Republican Senate candidate's latest flip-flop:

"Mark Kirk proved tonight he will abandon all of his principles to curry favor with right wingers like Sarah Palin. He flip-flopped on the Clean Energy bill because the right wing demanded it, and now he has abandoned his once pro-choice voting record to take private insurance coverage away from women. Mark Kirk has sold his soul in the pursuit of Sarah Palin's endorsement."

Democratic Senate contender Cheryle Jackson chimed in, as well:

Mark Kirk says he is pro-choice but Halloween has come and gone and now that mask has been stripped away and we see him for what he is – an anti-choice, right-wing extremist who panders to Sarah Palin and turns his back on the women of Illinois. The final health care bill must provide access to reproductive health services for all women and girls, whether or not they are poor and receive government subsidized care. We cannot allow income to determine who gets care and services, and who does not.

Aside from the abortion measure, Kirk threw his lot in with the Republican leadership's bare-bones reform plan, which was promptly defeated 258-176. It's no surprise why; the CBO estimated that the Democratic plan covers 12 times as many uninsured people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican bill. Rep. Tim Johnson must have been the only Republican member to read the report, as the Urbana lawmaker was the lone member on his side of the aisle to vote against the substitute bill. He also sided with the Democrats on a motion to recommit vote intended to derail the legislation entirely.

The focus now turns to the Senate, where Sen. Dick Durbin says the going will get tough. Formal debate should begin after Thanksgiving.

Friday Videos: "Kirk Going Rogue ... On Himself," Hamos' First Ad

Josh Kalven — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:45:50 -0800

There are two new campaign ads out this afternoon.

First up, Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias' campaign has a new web video slamming GOP frontrunner Mark Kirk for seeking Sarah Palin's support:

On a related note, the Sun-Times editorial board criticized the North Shore Republican this morning in a piece headlined "Moving right might cost Kirk election."

Next is 10th Congressional District candidate Julie Hamos, who released her first TV spot today. Health care is the theme. "Let's not let this moment in history pass us by," she says about the prospect of reform. Watch it:

Speaking of health care, United Power for Action and Justice and the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law have published a new video featuring two physicians explaining why they believe reform is necessary. Watch it:

IL-SEN: Kirk Goes Hunting For A Palin Endorsement (UPDATED w/Giannoulias, Hoffman Responses)

Adam Doster — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:11:49 -0800

Last fall, GOP Rep. Mark Kirk wasn't sure that Sarah Palin had the proper qualifications to serve as vice president. But apparently he thinks she has what it takes to help him wrap up his U.S. Senate primary bid.

According to the Washington Post's Chris Cilliza, Kirk recently penned a memo to Republican bigwig Fred Malek soliciting a formal endorsement from the former Alaska governor when she swings through Chicago to appear on Oprah Winfrey's television show:

After noting that Palin will be in Chicago later this month to appear on "Oprah", Kirk writes that "the Chicago media will focus on one key issue: Does Gov[ernor] Palin oppose Congressman Mark Kirk's bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?"

Kirk goes on to write that he is hoping for something "quick and decisive" from Palin about the race, perhaps to the effect of: "Voters in Illinois have a key opportunity to take Barack Obama's Senate seat. Congressman Kirk is the lead candidate to do that."

The Chicago media's sole focus will be on whether Palin "oppose[s] Congressman Mark Kirk's bid to take the Obama Senate seat for the Republicans?" Really?

The only explanation for this bizarre memo is that Kirk is genuinely worried that some conservative challenger might undercut his campaign before it gets off the ground, even though no one who fits that profile has yet emerged. But is pursuing Palin's support really worth it? After all, she is pretty darn unpopular outside the hardcore conservative base.

Moreover, his efforts to secure her endorsement represent yet another flip-flop. Indeed, Kirk initially praised John McCain's selection of a running mate last September, only to change his mind when it became clear that she was dragging down the Republican ticket, telling the Tribune editorial board that he would have picked someone else as a running mate. Now we've come full circle.

UPDATE (2:47 p.m.): Here's a response from Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias:

Mark Kirk begging for Sarah Palin's endorsement makes it clear that he'll seek any endorsement, take up any policy position, and attempt any political maneuver that he thinks will get him more votes. At the very best, this is shameless political pandering. At worst, it's further proof that Mark Kirk lacks the political courage to make the tough decisions to move our nation forward.

UPDATE II (5:15 p.m.): Below is a response from Democratic Senate candidate David Hoffman:

What does Mark Kirk really believe? Last year he correctly called the addition of Sarah Palin to the McCain ticket a mistake. This year, when faced with a conservative primary challenge he is seeking her endorsement. Kirk has again revealed his true colors: No principles, no standards, whatever it takes to win. Palin is out of touch with the values of the people of Illinois. Today, Mark Kirk reminds us all that he is too.

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this website, has endorsed Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

IL-SEN: Kirk Hits Radio Waves With Health Care Ad

Adam Doster — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:37:49 -0700

North Shore Republican Rep. Mark Kirk has hit the airwaves with a new radio spot bashing the Democrats' health care reform effort. The Plum Line's Greg Sergeant nabbed the audio and has posted it online. Click on the video to hear the U.S. Senate candidate's message:

"Democrats in Washington want to put the government in charge of your health care. But Congressman Mark Kirk is fighting back. He's leading to effort to stop the government takeover. He offered the Republican alternative: lawsuit reform, no government interference with your doctor, the right to buy coverage from any state in the union, and no cuts to Medicare. Illinois needs a U.S. Senator like Mark Kirk who will stand up for seniors."

Like his machinations regarding cap-and-trade, this is certainly some red meat for the skeptical conservative base. And for those of you who have followed our coverage of Kirk's health care criticisms, there's nothing new in here. He claims the Democratic package represents a "government takeover" of health care, when employer-based coverage will actually increase under each of the current proposals floating around Congress. Meanwhile, savings from malpractice reform would be small and the president has called on lawmakers to include some measures in their bills. Without adequate federal regulation, something Kirk never discusses, opening up interstate insurance pools could lead insurance companies to move their operations to states withthe most lax laws, making the individual market even more ruthless than it is now. And the AARP has consistently rebutted his claim the Medicare would be cut. In fact, they contend that healthcare reform will "strengthen the financial status of the Medicare program."

If Kirk has any hope of winning statewide, he's going to have to take a different angle. Voters in Illinois do not trust the Republican Party on health care. And they do trust the president,who has made health care his first priority. In late August, only 33 percent of Illinoisans disapproved of his job performance. Conveniently, Kirk doesn't mention Barack Obama's name once. His eventual Democratic challenger won't let him off the hook so easily.

IL-SEN: Giannoulias Draws "Stark Contrast" With Kirk On Economic Policy

Adam Doster — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:45:54 -0700

Painting what he described as a "stark contrast" between his platform and the policies endorsed by Republican Senate frontrunner Mark Kirk, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias rolled out the first section of a five-part economic plan (titled "Future Works America") before reporters this morning. "Mark Kirk and the failed politics of the past got us into this economic mess," he said. "I have a plan to lead us to a more promising future."

Standing beside a new homeowner in Chicago's North Center neighborhood, Giannoulias called for a one-year extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit (which was included in the stimulus bill Kirk voted against) and a one-year payroll tax holiday on the first $20,000 of income for individuals making less than $75,000. (Th eSenate is expected to pass the homebuyers credit this week, although the extension would only last eight months.) He also wants to create a tax credit for small businesses with less than 50 employees, available for one year to companies that add workers to their payroll. To pay for the mini-recovery package, the treasurer would work to close corporate loopholes that benefit companies who ship jobs overseas. Watch him layout the expected benefits of the plan:

Giannoulias was not very specific about which reforms to the tax code he would target, something the White House is already looking into, but he emphasized that his total package would be short-term and deficit neutral.

As longtime readers might remember, Kirk has repeatedly voted against the first-time tax credit despite the fact that he benefits handsomely from a homeowners property tax credit here in Illinois. Indeed, in 2007, Kirk paid only $785 in property taxes on his Highland Park home. Without the credit, he would have paid $8,385.

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council,which sponsors this website, has endorsed Alexi Giannoulias in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

Kirk Falsely Claims "ACORN Founded SEIU In Chicago"

Adam Doster — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:12:51 -0700

The United States is currently suffering through a devastating recession, conducting two wars, and struggling under both a broken health care system and an aging energy economy. So what does Rep. Mark Kirk want to make a key issue in the 2010 Senate race? The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). During an appearance on WLS Radio's Don Wade and Roma this morning, the North Shore Republican took the opportunity to dredge up the embattled organization and spread a false claim about its connection to SEIU (whose Illinois state council sponsors this website). Listen (full audio here):

Internal mp3

KIRK: Remember, in Chicagoland, ACORN founded SEIU in Chicago and they are intimately linked.

Time for a quick history lesson...

SEIU Local 1, Chicagoland's biggest union and the first SEIU local in the country, was initially founded by seven janitors unions in 1921. It was officially chartered by the AFL (and subsequently changed its name to Service Employees International Union) in 1968. The first ACORN chapter was established in Little Rock, Arkansas two years later.

It is true that SEIU Local 880, launched in 1983, was established with the assistance of ACORN Chicago. It says so on the union's website. But that relationship (and the Chicago ACORN chapter itself) dissolved two years ago when local leaders Denise Dixon and Madeline Talbott complained publicly that ACORN's then-national leader, Wade Rathke, was mismanaging the organization. He was later caught embezzling money and was forced to step down after concealing the crime. Dixon and Talbott went on to form the group Action Now, whose good works we have covered extensively.

But neither ACORN Chicago or Action Now have been accused of any wrongdoing. Same goes for SEIU Local 880 (which last year joined forces with two other health care locals and formed SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana).

All these groups are guilty of is advocating tirelessly for the rights of workers and low-income Illinoisans. Kirk, on the other hand, continues to tarnish the reputations of hardworking people for supposed political gain.

Kirk And The Olympics

Josh Kalven — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:38:02 -0700

As Media Matters documented yesterday, "the conservative media have opened a new front from which to attack President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama's support of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics: smearing the city as unfit to host the Olympic Games, often by citing individual instances of violence." Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, have criticized the president for leaving Washington this week for Copenhagen. All of which led the Plum Line's Greg Sargent to contact GOP Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk to see where he stands on the bid. Here's the response his team received:

Kirk campaign aides told our reporter, Amanda Erickson, that they were uncertain of his position and would get back to us with an answer. They have yet to do so.

Kirk voted to secure the Olympics but hasn’t said where he stands on Obama’s trip abroad to make that happen, and the controversy surrounding Obama’s pitch, which the president makes this morning, would seem to put Kirk in a delicate spot.

I suppose it takes longer to reply when, like Kirk, you have to formulate two answers: one for the "narrow interests" of your congressional district and one for the statewide constituency you hope to represent in 2011.

Kirk's Northbrook Town Hall: Scaring Seniors And Sacrificing Starbucks

Angela Caputo — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:16:33 -0700

With health care reform gaining momentum on Capitol Hill, GOP Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk took another crack at "slowing things down" in his North Shore district yesterday morning. During a town hall event in Northbrook, the Republican Senate hopeful pushed many of the same dubious "alternative proposals" he put forth back in August-- tort reform, looser state insurance regulations, and expanded individual tax credits -- as part of his so-called "centrist approach" to reining in the skyrocketing cost of health insurance.

Speaking to a weekday crowd packed with senior citizens, Kirk continued to sow fears that the Democratic-favored reforms will "really hurt seniors." Specifically, he repeated the misleading claim that President Obama's proposal to reform the Medicare Advantage program could cost 200,000 elderly Americans their health care. As we've previously noted, there is no basis for the Republicans' fearmongering. The New York Times editorial board dug into the issue last weekend and came to the same conclusion, noting that "coverage for a vast majority of Medicare recipients, those in traditional Medicare, should actually improve under health care reform." And the Washington Post's Ezra Klein yesterday cited a new academic study which found that the proposed changes to Medicare Advantage would not have a significant effect on the benefits received.

Kirk's exaggerations aside, one notable moment came when a local self-employed constituent explained the situation in her household (her son has a benign heart murmur and her family pays $26,000 annually for insurance "that doesn't cover everything"). She went on to remind her fellow North Shore neighbors that "we all have the money to help pay for [health care reform]. Everyone in this room has the money. Give up one of your Starbucks." As you can see in the video below, the audience was none too pleased with that idea:

Ellen Beth Gill has more thoughts on the event.

Watching The Kirk Weathervane

Josh Kalven — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:30:02 -0700

At his health care townhall in Northbrook today, GOP Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk received an off-topic question regarding his support earlier this summer for the House climate bill (which would curb carbon emissions via a cap-and-trade system). In response, Kirk reiterated that he would vote to oppose the bill as a senator because, beyond the North Shore congressional district he currently represents, "we are overwhelmingly a manufacturing, agriculture and coal state." Watch it:

KIRK: Bottom line: When I worked with Midwest Generation -- by the way, just about everybody in here, you get your electrons from Midwest Generation in Waukegan -- it [cap-and-trade] costs $14 per year, per household. But when you look beyond the 10th Congressional District to the wider Illinois economy, we are overwhelmingly a manufacturing, agriculture and coal state. If I'm to be a senator, I need to be a strong advocate for all Illinois family incomes. And so I've announced, as senator, I would not support that legislation.

We've repeatedly noted why Kirk's current position contradicts his explanation back in July of his support for cap-and-trade. But beyond that, here's the question that reporters need to ask Kirk at this juncture: What other positions do you plan to abandon over the course of your U.S. Senate campaign in order to appeal to statewide Republican interests?

We'll have more health care-related coverage from Kirk's town hall tomorrow morning.