Everytime you send out one of those press releases about Alexi not being on some board no one has ever heard of….
I think of this:
In December 2008, Commander Kirk, while on active duty, participated in video discussions in the media about the unfolding situation involving then-Governor Blagojevich of Illinois. Members of the Armed Forces on active duty may not participate in television discussions as an advocate for or against a partisan political party, candidate, or cause.
In July 2009, while on active duty in the Washington area, either Commander Kirk or a staff member posted a “twitter” to his Senate campaign web site that indicated he was on duty at the National Military Command Center. At the time, Commander Kirk was a candidate for the Senate. Candidates for political office may not participate in any campaign activities while on active duty. They may not update or revise their websites, and they must inform their campaign staff of the applicable restrictions.
Department of Defense Directive 1344.10, Political Activities by Members of the Armed Forces, addresses these matters.
Hitting the other guy on his resume which had a couple exaggerations that weren’t terribly meaningful is silly when you have created huge liabilities for yourself on the issue. All it does is remind the press that your story is much bigger.
Rich points out that Mark Kirk is full of it:
That’s just bunk, as the Pentagon’s statement confirms…
Commander Kirk was counseled about each of his violations after they occurred and signed a statement acknowledging the limitations on his ability to participate in campaign activities while on active duty. He was required to complete this acknowledgement before being allowed to begin active duty in December 2009.
In other words, Kirk was only able to obtain that waiver after he was “counseled” about his violations and signed a statement promising never to do it ever again.
Kirk is lying. While I’ve been busy I’ve been watching this story and thinking that Mark Kirk really blew a good advantage by not having his staff double check his memory. That would be a story, but one people could move past fairly easily. Busy guy remembers wrong and looks kind of dumb admitting it.
Now, he’s flat out lying and there’s no defense. After you have had time to set the record straight you continue to lie that you didn’t break any DOD regulations when there is a paper trail. That’s not just stupid, but reckless. Kirk got away with a lot running in IL-10 because people seemed to like him and he always had the Tribune to cover his ass. Now that he’s getting more attention, his thin skin is making this a fun meltdown to watch.
ArchPundit