Tossup: the Fall of Mark Kirk

This story got me thinking. Fact: Peter Roskam "votes with Bush over 90% of the time. Fact: he votes in favor of tax breaks for Big Oil. Fact: he voted against veterans benefits."

So what's the difference between Mark Kirk and Peter Roskam?

Image, of course. In politics, image is everything. Voters are supposed to ignore the wizard behind the curtain.

Mark Kirk says that he's a moderate, but he has the same voting record (in this regard) as Peter Roskam. Mark Kirk says that he's independent, but he has the same loyalty towards the president and his party as Peter Roskam.

Peter Roskam will tell you that he's a conservative. At least he's honest about it. But that's probably because Roskam has stronger ties to his district than Mark Kirk. Roskam represents what he believes his district wants. Kirk pretends to.

The fact that both Mark Kirk and Peter Roskam have voted with George Bush 90% of the time shows how much they are creatures of the body they serve. Mark Kirk's so-called independence comes in votes on bills that don't matter. It's like they are both dogs tied to the same pole (the Republican party). Sure, Mark Kirk likes to play over in a different corner than Peter Roskam -- and maybe even bark at different passers-by -- but they are both tied to the same pole. And they are both loyal to the same party.

When George Bush needed their votes, they were there. When the Republican leadership required their votes, they were there. Peter Roskam has the integrity to tell you that he's a loyal Republican and a conservative to boot. Mark Kirk likes to pretend that he's not. But the facts inform us to the contrary.

Mark Kirk likes to pretend that he's an effective legislator while the reality is that he's not. Think about it. What has Kirk *really* done? Kirk's big strategy is to pretend that he accomplishes things, to take credit whenever he can (have you heard that Kirk is responsible for preventing BP for dumping pollutants into Lake Michigan -- except that it's not true.) Kirk obviously believes his constituents are idiots.

The Mark Kirk is an effective legislator meme shows Kirk's utter contempt for the truth. Roll Call, a newspaper that focuses on coverage of Capitol Hill, publishes what it calls unabashedly Power Rankings. These annual rankings have long demonstrated Kirk's relative ineffectiveness in Congress. If you look at the list, Kirk (257) is right behind Dennis Kucinich (256), in the bottom half of the list. But despite the fact that Roskam was elected six years after Mark Kirk, he's only 16 places below Kirk.

Rep. Kucinich (D-OH 10th) 256 13.73
Rep. Kirk (R-IL 10th) 257 13.70
Rep. Smith (D-WA 9th) 258 13.69
Rep. Napolitano (D-CA 38th) 259 13.66
Rep. Jones (R-NC 3rd) 260 13.61
Rep. Feeney (R-FL 24th) 261 13.59
Rep. Etheridge (D-NC 2nd) 262 13.58
Rep. Brown-Waite (R-FL 5th) 263 13.56
Rep. Johnson (D-TX 30th) 264 13.56
Rep. Mica (R-FL 7th) 265 13.52
Rep. Sutton (D-OH 13th) 266 13.49
Rep. Davis (D-IL 7th) 267 13.42
Rep. Saxton (R-NJ 3rd) 268 13.41
Rep. Reynolds (R-NY 26th) 269 13.40
Rep. Price (R-GA 6th) 270 13.37
Rep. Campbell (R-CA 48th) 271 13.26
Rep. Gerlach (R-PA 6th) 272 13.21
Rep. Pearce (R-NM 2nd) 273 13.09
Rep. Roskam (R-IL 6th) 274 13.00

The comparison is even more stark when you think about their relative performance in their respective "classes" (or year they first arrived in Congress). Mark Kirk is smack dap in the middle of his class, (what you'd call average), while Roskam is ranked as the highest (or most influential) Republican in his class.

You may remember that Mark Kirk had strong ties to Donald Rumsfeld and Dennis Hastert. Rumsfeld pretty much destroyed our military forces and Hastert is no longer in Congress. Mark Kirk remains, but as a rudderless Republican who is left with nothing but his loyalty to the Republican party. Despite claims to the contrary.

You can see the influence that Mark Kirk has over the party to which he is supremely loyal in the GOP Platform:

Faithful to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence, we assert the inherent dignity and sanctity of all human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution, and we endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children. We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life.

We have made progress. The Supreme Court has upheld prohibitions against the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion. States are now permitted to extend health-care coverage to children before birth. And the Born Alive Infants Protection Act has become law; this law ensures that infants who are born alive during an abortion receive all treatment and care that is provided to all newborn infants and are not neglected and left to die.

Mark Kirk and his supporters will observe that he opposes his party here (and, perhaps, others) but what matters is his votes. And, like Peter Roskam, he votes with his party 90% of the time.

90% of the time.

Kirk thinks his constituents are stupid and won't figure out that loyalty to party is more important that loyalty to district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sure, he'll be given the freedom to "vote his conscience" (or district) when the votes don't matter. But when push comes to shove, it is loyalty that is expected. And Mark Kirk delivers -- for the Republican Party.

Like John McCain and Sarah Palin, Mark Kirk doesn't seem to have a clue about the economic crisis that threatens us today. While Kirk hasn't said that he thinks the fundamentals of our economy are strong, he has "demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of economics." Without the haunting spectre of 9-11, what does Kirk stand for? Is he even relevant?

In the end, Mark Kirk is a vestage of the past. He's Donald Rumsfeld's "boy." But Rumsfeld has left the scene, and the president to which Kirk has been so loyal is about to join him. Kirk didn't have the guts to run against Dick Durbin (despite many in the party pushing him to do so), and he's made it clear that he's not a friend of the next president. So this election really is a test of whether or not the 10th Congressional District's voters are as dump as Kirk thinks they are.

Kirk has long tried to minimize the threat represented by Dan Seals, his Democratic opponent. But the respected Cook Political Report has listed this race as a tossup. The biggest reason is that the Obama ground game will not only boost Democratic turnout but the long association with Seals and Obama is much more potent with Barack at the top of the ticket. We can only imagine what Kirk's "shoot on sight" comment will do for black voter turnout.

So you can see why Mark Kirk is running scared. Mark Kirk is running with Sarah Palin and Dan Seals is running with Barack Obama. Kirk is certainly hoping that voters are as dumb as he thinks -- and that Obama doesn't have any coattails. Because, if he does, this is the district where it will matter.