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Dem Giannoulias Pounces On GOPer Kirk For Bad-Mouthing America To China
Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who is now running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris in the 2010 election, is now pouncing on GOP Congressman Mark Kirk -- who has been mulling whether to run for Senate himself -- for having openly told the Chinese government not to trust America's budget numbers.
Giannoulias released this statement:
"In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Mark Kirk is essentially telling China, which holds more U.S. debt than any nation on earth, not to trust the American government, and by extension, the American people. This puts the full faith and credit of the United States at risk and threatens to permanently wreak havoc on the credit markets that are essential to our recovery and our economic future."Congressman Kirk's reckless actions demonstrate a terrible lapse in judgment and should be immediately retracted," said Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.
Kirk is not an official candidate at this time, and Giannoulias has yet to actually nail down his own nomination. But a Dem is clearly taking an early opportunity to keep this story alive and attack a potential rival.
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Josh
Matt
Eric
Brian
Good. The more coverage of this inane behavior, the better.
June 11, 2009 2:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm from Illinois and as bad as Blago left this state, the GOP is still in utter chaos. I think the U.S. senate seat remains a Dem.
June 11, 2009 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
More of this, please. Soon.
Really - where are the Democratic Party's spokespeople? Why do they cede the public sphere to the Republicans?
Call pressers every time some Republican nutbag (redundant, I know) speaks to more than three people. And please hire someone to come up with catchy, "sticky" lines to sprinkle liberally through the presser. Trust me on this, it's useful.
June 11, 2009 2:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, come on! If we started calling a press conference on every thing some little known nutter said, we'd look just like the republicans who issue press releases when Obama takes a plane to NYC--petty and out of ideas!
We have HUGE issues to take the repugs down with like healthcare and the economy. There's no need to start huge fights with a nobody like Kirk. Stockpile these things and hit him with them in his next campaign. They'll still have some resonance if we don't overexpose them now.
June 11, 2009 2:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you.
June 11, 2009 6:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
BFD. So Mark Kirk talks about the worthlessness of budget forecasts to the Chinese with the American public listening in. Hardly any different from saying the same thing to the American public with the Chinese listening in. Do you really think the Chinese need this guy to clue them into the realities of economic prognostication?
Sure, it's worth a guffaw because of the hypocrisy element. But that's been standard GOOPer operating procedure since forever. Yawn...
June 11, 2009 2:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is a BFD...it's Kirk's "macaca moment" -- like the racial slur by George Allen caught on video during the 2006 Virginia Senate race (he lost to Webb after that). Kirk has to be really dumb to give such a golden video moment to the Democracts' campaign reels.
It's also a BFD because Secretary Geithner was laughed at in China when he told them that China's assets were safe with the US on June 1. On May 22 Kirk had told the Chinese not to trust anything the US says when he was there on taxpayer money.
June 11, 2009 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Do you really think the Chinese need this guy to clue them into the realities of economic prognostication?
hah! I guess another question might be: is Kirk so delusional about his own influence that he thinks the Chinese would actually take him seriously?
June 11, 2009 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Trying to undermine the US dollar with our biggest foreign creditor isn't the act of a responsible citizen, let alone public servant. The sooner this clown is out of US politics the better.
June 11, 2009 4:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, but can we make it stick to him? I missed the local news last night -- any mention at all? (I seriously doubt it.) This DB is my actual Congressman!
Maybe the Giannoulias comment will get the issue on the air.
I searched the Daily Herald web site and the last thing they have on Kirk was a note last Saturday on his divorce.
I will write them an e-mail letter to the editor this evening.
-- ARG
June 11, 2009 4:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'd write LTEs to the Trib and the Sun Times while you're at it.
June 11, 2009 7:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Come To Our Open Town Hall Meeting This Saturday:
Proposals for Health Care Reform To Be Discussed
Dear Friends,
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 13, I will host an open town hall meeting at the Wilmette Village Hall. We will talk about key congressional issues, including efforts to improve health care, such as lowering costs, increasing choice and providing more peace of mind in these tough economic times.
Of course, we also will discuss any other issues like bringing more jobs and new businesses to the suburbs.
Sincerely,
Mark Kirk
Member of Congress
June 11, 2009 8:01 PM | Reply | Permalink