GOP Senate Candidate Running Ad Against Obamacare — In Obama’s Home State
Here’s another indicator of the challenges of navigating GOP primary politics: The leading GOP Senate candidate in blue Illinois, Obama’s home state, is running an ad against Obamacare, attacking it in harsh terms as he fends off a challenge from his right.
GOP Rep Mark Kirk, who’s said to be the national GOP’s top choice for Senate in 2010, is out with a new radio spot — sent over by a source — presenting himself as a leading foe of Obama’s proposal for a health care “government takeover”:
Kirk’s tacking right on health care appears to reflect the fact that conservative activists have largely rallied behind a challenger from his right, developer Patrick Hughes.
Republicans reject the notion that Kirk’s health care stance is out of the mainstream. “Many Illinois families are justifiably concerned with the Pelosi-Reid government-run health care proposal,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Walsh emails. “The more citizens learn about the Democrats big government health care bills, the less they like and support it.”
But it seems striking that Kirk is denouncing the public option in such harsh terms in one of the bluest states in the country, and Dems are likely to jump on this as another sign of just how far to the right the GOP base has drifted.
This blog’s homepage is here. RSS feed here. Twitter feed here. Email me here.
Kirk is tying himself in knots trying to woe the Far Right Wing Nuts who dominate Illinois Republican Primaries.
Keep in mind, it was that crowd who imported Allen Keyes to be their nominee to run for the US Senate.
Can’t wait to see Newt, Palin, Pawlenty, Huckabee, etc. weigh in on this. The splitting of the GOP moves on.
I really love all this infighting in the Republican Party, it’s just fun to watch. I wonder how far right they will go to distance themselves from Bush while still trying to capture the hearts of Libertarians. It’s an interesting strategy.
Andy, don’t forget Forbes, Dick Armey and Fred Thompson.
Mr. Sargent:
“But it seems striking that Kirk is denouncing the public option in such harsh terms in one of the bluest states in the country, and Dems are likely to jump on this as another sign of just how far to the right the GOP base has drifted.”
This is one of the “bluest states in the country”, huh?
http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?f=0&fips=17&year=2008
Historically, Illinois seems to be a belweather:
http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/comparemaps.php?year=2008&fips=17&f=0&off=0&elect=0
As far as “how far to the right the GOP has drifted”, has it ever occurred to you that that subjective perception my be entirely a result of how far LEFT the Democrats have drifted?
In 10 months, the government now owns the Auto Industry, a large chunk of Wall Street, and is making a fair bid to own the Health Care industry to.
From a Bolshevik’s POV, a Menshevik is right-wing.
The Far Right Wingers have scared the daylights out of all their officials who are running in Priamaries. That is why you saw Grassely of Iowa, who is running for reelection in 2010, tacking further and further to the right.
Remember this bit of pandering to the fringe from Mark Kirk?
“TPM Election Central — Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), who is running for President Obama’s former Senate seat in 2010, just pulled off an amazing trick at a Republican event over the weekend: He said that he voted for the climate bill in the House, but would vote against it in the Senate — and got the crowd to switch from booing to cheering him. “Let me say briefly about cap and trade. I voted for it because it was in the narrow interest of my Congressional district. But as your representative,” Kirk said, then getting interrupted by booing. “As your representative, representing the entire state of Illinois, I would vote no on that bill coming …”
Funny you mention Forbes. I heard him say on Kudlow that the decline of the dollar has been going on since early on in the Bush admin. I wonder if Drudge knows that?
Dems are likely to jump on this as another sign of just how far to the right the GOP base has drifted.
And as I’ve read elsewhere, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. This is what happens when a political paradigm has had its run and is now worn out. They’re even writing off Newt Gingrich over his support of the GOP candidate (a moderate) in New York’s 23rd Congressional District.
“…the Pelosi-Reid government-run health care proposal.”
Haha. Good luck with that. By next year it’s going to clearly be Pres. Obama’s health care plan, and he won’t be able to try and pin it on the Congress. Good luck in the General Election with that.
Kirk is the same idiot who went to China and told Chinese Govt Officials not to believe our current government. There’s a word for that…..um, LOSER! I wonder how the Dems will frame this in their ready made campaign ads? Hm….
Liam – Good catch on kirk’s I was for it before I was against it moment. Shows how spineless the repug leadership has become in front of their rabid base. Didn’t this guy go to China immediately after inauguration and told them that their american iou’s weren’t worth the paper they were written ?
roxsteady – lol. mind meld ?
The splits are fun to watch.
I think it was here that someone mentioned how Cheney has backed Hutchinsen and Palin has backed Governor Hair.
It should be funny because both Palin and Cheney are so full of themselves it’ll be like watching two sheep running towards a cliff full speed seeing who will chicken out first.
oddjob:
“They’re even writing off Newt Gingrich over his support of the GOP candidate (a moderate) in New York’s 23rd Congressional District.”
Have you ever heard of a guy named Joe Lieberman? He was the Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate in 2000.
In 2006, nutroot moonbats threw him out of the Democratic Party.
And only a confused moonbat would term someone who is pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage and pro card-check,(and God knows as a “moderate” Republican.
Scozzafava is an extreme example of a RINO.
The burning question is:
Which will happen first;
“The Wasilla Hillbillies” will loot The Dallas Neimam Marcus;
Or:
Dead Eye Dick will shoot Kay in the face.
edit:
Neiman Marcus….
Notice the absence of reasoning in the village idiot’s question, as apples are offered as perfect examples of oranges.
Bilgey is a Dixiecrat who apparently believes the Party of Lincoln has always been the home of Dixiecrats.
oddjob:
“Bilgey is a Dixiecrat who apparently believes the Party of Lincoln has always been the home of Dixiecrats.”
Embarrassed that he had forgotten that Joe Lieberman was once a Democrat VP candidate, oddjob tries to impress us with his grasp of 19th century politics.
That’s VERY good, oddjob. I’m glad you can remember something.
Say…do you recall all that phlogiston about “Selection 2000″ and how Algore was REALLY the rightful President?
Why didn’t the Dems run him again in 2004?
If he really HAD beaten “W” the first time, wouldn’t you expect that he’d do a better job his second time around?
Instead you gave us John Kerry and the Breck Girl…and we on the Right had a pretty good laugh at that, too.
Bilgey,
We know that you are just an ignorant imbecile. No need for you to keep proving it to us, over and over.
Al Gore decided not to run again, but of course you are too much of an imbecile to grasp that simple fact.
Embarrassed that he had forgotten that Joe Lieberman was once a Democrat VP candidate, oddjob tries to impress us with his grasp of 19th century politics.
That’s VERY good, oddjob. I’m glad you can remember something.
Lieberman’s history isn’t relevant to the national GOP wingnut/fundy base rejecting the architect of the GOP majority.
As I said this morning in regarding a previous thread, the stupid is breathtaking, even for the village idiot.
(By the way, while it isn’t relevant, I’m not a Democrat.)
Why didn’t the Dems run him again in 2004?
He chose not to run, not that you’ve remembered that……..
We’re gonna drop this Kirk wingnut pinhead like a 200-pound sack of dog chow — politically speaking, of course.
Bank on it.
oddjob:
“Lieberman’s history isn’t relevant to the national GOP wingnut/fundy base rejecting the architect of the GOP majority.”
But Lincoln’s somehow is, eh?
No plumbing the deoths od the moonbat mentality,