WASHINGTON (AP) – Some Illinois congressional races are a battleground over the Iraq war issue even while candidates appear to want it off voters’ radar.
A review by The Associated Press found voters who want to use campaign or House Web sites to check candidates’ views, can sometimes find the war not even among issues the sites focus on.
Republican Congressman Mark Kirk has shown virtually no interest in bringing it up, although each of his potential Democratic challengers do.
Kirk is a former House International Relations Committee general counsel, State Department aide and Persian Gulf War veteran. And he serves as a Naval Reserve commander in the Pentagon’s war room.
Kirk and his spokesman didn’t respond to messages left by The Associated Press over the past month seeking comment.
Response from Seals:
Congressional candidate Dan Seals (IL-10) condemned Kirk's lack of accountability on the war in Iraq, saying that his priorities were out of line with the 10th district. "The war in Iraq is one of the top issues I hear about from voters across the 10th district," Seals said. "Yet, time after time, Mark Kirk has shown that he is more interested in playing political games than addressing the serious issues facing our country." Kirk has not only avoided discussing his position on the war in Iraq, but he has also failed to ask the tough questions of the Bush administration. In May 2007, the Chicago Tribune reported that Kirk visited the White House to "deliver what one participant called a 'strong signal' about the electoral dangers that 'war fatigue and war weariness' pose for Republicans in 2008." "When Mark Kirk had a chance to sit down with President Bush to discuss the war in Iraq, he didn't urge the President to change course. He simply told the President that the war was hurting his re- election chances," Seals said. "Now, Kirk's failure to answer the tough questions about his failed leadership on the war is another sign that we need change in Washington."
What’s amusing is that some are trying to sell Kirk as some principled statesman. The thing is–you have to speak to be such a thing.
Mark Kirk stood up before Congress on October 9, 2002 to express his support for the invasion of Iraq using many facts that have since been proven untrue including the true status and identity of one of the Iraqi informers. At his 2002, debate with Hank Perritt, Mark Kirk claimed insider knowledge and that he knew there were WMD in Iraq. The first time Mark Kirk spoke to his consitutents about Iraq was in Ocober 2007. He made it clear he was not interested in discussing the matter, only conveying that he would not change his stay the course position and that he’s prepared to use fear of another 9/11 attack to gain support. I would call this the opposite of leadership defined. This is someone out for personal gain.