Mark Kirk Seat Empty At State Of The Union Address

WASHINGTON -- A Democratic senator who planned to sit with a Republican for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address says he will keep the seat empty in honor of his ailing colleague.

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk suffered a stroke this past weekend and underwent surgery Sunday night. He is in intensive care at a Chicago hospital and doctors say he could lose full use of his left arm and experience facial paralysis.

In a statement, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said the two were planning to sit together for Tuesday night's speech in a show of bipartisanship. Instead, Manchin will keep the seat empty in Kirk's honor.

Manchin called Kirk the kind of leader who will reach across the aisle to put country first.

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Comments

[kndtloeser]

07:04 PM on 01/26/2012

Pleased to see this mutual respect across party lines.

[Paul Conrad]

01:33 PM on 01/25/2012

Empty chair kept for empty suit.

[ConservativeChampion]

11:52 PM on 01/24/2012

Get well soon Senator. Your a good man.

[Bude]

06:25 PM on 01/24/2012

I take back what I said earlier about Kirk. I'm not sorry for him and his family, I'm sorry for us. If this had happened to 99% of HP readers, it would bankrupt them. Kirk on the other hand, has the finest health care for life that money can buy, provided by American taxpayers. One would think that Kirk would want the same thing for us, but sadly, he doesn't. If he isn't able to return to the senate, he will have Social Security, disability, and a full pension, also provided by us. Why don't we deserve at least the same consideration?

[wgoin]

04:28 PM on 01/24/2012

Why does this so quickly turn political? A human being has been hit by a terrible medical situation. His prognosis is in question and we should put politics aside to just for a minute see him as a man. I am not a fan of his and never voted for him but I wish him a complete recovery - as optimistic as that sounds. Strokes can change a person's life forever. We can only hope his residual damage is minor. Get well soon Senator Kirk.

[NOV42008]

09:31 AM on 01/25/2012

I want to agree with you, but when the President said this about 14 million other americans, Kirk said F.ck them, it will cost too much. If Kirk paid his own hospital bill then he deserve a "get well soon", an early recovery to keep down the cost, but since he doesn't pay for it, he will be there for as long and beyond the required stay as the doctors can to take our money. Send him home and have his ex-wife take care of him.

[SeattleNick]

02:46 PM on 01/24/2012

I hope the senator fully recovers. If it is prolonged I would urge him to follow Mrs. Gifford's lead and resign.

[rj2860]

02:44 PM on 01/24/2012

I am from Illinois, so Mark Kirk is one of my Senators and I wish him well. But just like with Rep. Giffords...IF he can't return to full time normal duties, within 12 weeks, as the junior Senator from Illinois he will need to resign. The rest of us (non-government employees) who happen to work for a company that has 50+ employees would only get 12 weeks of FMLA after which we would loose job protection and we could (would) be terminated. Senator Kirk needs to use any and all vacation/sick/pto time during his recovery period and if he has/qualifies for short/long term disabilty he can collect that, otherwise he may be stuck with social security disability.

There is no reason whatsoever for Sen. Kirk to get any more time to recover from his injuries/illness than what an average working person might get...12 weeks Senator Kirk, good luck.

[RSKaz]

02:44 PM on 01/24/2012

Notice the Democrats are not calling for Kirk's "immediate" resignation as the Republicans did to Gabrielle Giffords.

[DeanAdams]

02:20 PM on 01/24/2012

I hope the Senator has access to good quality healthcare and isn't bankrupted by the cost of his treatment.

[SeattleNick]

02:44 PM on 01/24/2012

Don't worry he does and it is socialized healthcare. You and I pay his salary.

[schnauzergirl]

03:01 PM on 01/24/2012

You don't really understand what socialized actually means do you? Neither his doctors nor the hospital providing service to the Senator are owened or operated by the government and the plan he usues for insurance is through his employer, just like the rest of us. The fact that he "works' for the government, still doesn't make it socialized medicine. The VA or the medical systems used by the miltary where all doctors, nurses and service providers and facilities ARE owned by the government technically qualifies as socialized medicine.

Now, the fact that he gets access to total cadillac plans at a much lower cost than the rest of us is a huge issue, but it's not "socilaized"