Thank You Mark Kirk For a Gutsy Vote

Buried deep below the headlines about the passing of The Gloved One was news of the passage Friday by the House of Representatives of what many are calling "The Most Important Environmental Bill in History."

Back in April I suggested on these pages that the most important, and in fact only, truly important Earth Day tip for saving the planet was to request a yes vote from your congressman on the forthcoming climate bill.

My article was persuasive enough (to me at least) that for once I took my own advice. I e-mailed my rep, Mark Kirk. Then I e-mailed him again. Then I called his office. Then I asked my Facebook friends to do so. Then I sent a postcard. And last Tuesday I went to a public meeting at the local reform temple in Deerfield, hosted by Repower America, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Environmental Law and Policy Center. It was a fun and interesting meeting, although Kirk passed up the opportunity to attend or send a staffer.

In the days leading up to the vote, Mark Kirk was one of the most closely watched and heavily lobbied representatives. As nearly every House Republican was lining up against the bill, Kirk was non-committal. Mark Kirk has built a reputation as an articulate, if not always effective, advocate for environmental causes. He's made protection and cleanup of the Great Lakes a top priority, and bucked party leadership by voting against oil drilling in the Arctic. But while environmentalists are pleased to have a sympathetic voice within the Republican caucus in Congress, they are also disappointed that Kirk's firm grasp of the issues and good intentions have rarely been persuasive to his Republican colleagues. His environmental interests, sincere as they may be, too often took a backseat to his desire to be a loyal soldier in the party during the George W. Bush years.

Kirk's blend of environmentalism and fiscal conservatism plays well in Illinois' 10th congressional district, which covers much of the northern suburbs in Cook and Lake Counties. Kirk has been elected and re-elected to five terms, and won in 2008 with 53% of the vote, in a district where just 38% of the voters that day backed the Republican candidate for President.

But while voters in his district are solidly in support of green jobs and action on climate change, Kirk's gaze is now expanding to the rest of Illinois. Kirk is expected to seek a statewide office in 2010, although he has yet to reveal if he will be running for Governor or for the U.S. Senate. As he studied the political map of Illinois, it surely must have been tempting for Kirk to try to pick up some votes in coal country downstate by grandstanding against the climate bill. On the other hand, a vote for the bill would mean a lot of explaining to do, not just to coal country voters, but to campaign donors, party leaders, and party activists, many of whom were calling the bill economically catastrophic, if not treasonous.

The organizers of the Deerfield meeting reported that Kirk had been firmly non-committal just days before the vote. On Friday morning, all predictions were for a razor close vote, but still no word on which way Kirk was leaning. A brief clip that Kirk posted on YouTube was not encouraging, as it seemed to be inoculating him against criticism for a no vote, by emphasizing that the bill was long and complicated.

I'm pleased to report that the bill passed, by a vote of 219 to 212, with Mark Kirk one of just eight House Republicans to vote in support. (Bill Foster, representing parts of DeKalb, Kane and other counties west of Chicago, was the only Democrat in the Illinois delegation to vote against.) Kirk was the only Republican from the Midwest to vote for the bill, and in fact, the only Republican from a state not on the east or west coast.

After the vote, Kirk posted his reasoning on his blog, and e-mailed the message to those who had contacted him. As usual, Kirk's explanation is thoughtful and detailed. He emphasizes his support for energy independence, and downplays the climate change aspects of the bill.

Pleased and a little surprised by his vote, I joined Kirk's Facebook fan page to leave a thank you message, and got an eyeful of the crapstorm [click the "Just Fans" tab] that has been unleashed upon him.

Page after page of furious right wing rants and threats. The most polite messages merely inform him that his political career is now over, and that the person will be contributing to and canvassing for Kirk's primary opponent. The others call him a traitor, an idiot, and the scum of the earth. These people really don't like this bill.

Browsing these comments is scary but also instructive. You see what the kind of abuse Kirk brought upon himself with his vote, and you also get a glimpse of some of the arguments that we are certain to be hearing again as the bill works its way through the Senate. (NEWSFLASH: the actual bill language of legislation is often long and boring and hard to understand.) Be forewarned if you try to read these comments: the Lincoln-Douglas debates they ain't.

If the unhinged comments on Kirk's page are not outrageous enough for your taste, take a look at another Facebook page, called RECYCLE the RINO's--- **Republicans In Name Only**

Putting Kirk and the seven other yes-voting Republicans on a Wanted poster, the group pledges to ""** LET THEM FEEL & KNOW OUR WRATH **"" [emphasis in original]. These people are merciless. They won't even cut Mary Bono Mack any slack, even though she was once married to Sonny Bono.

While browsing that freakshow, be sure to check out the profile photo of one fan who goes by the name Ryte Wynger, a sad and crazy looking girl, shown posing with a favorite handgun, looking troubled by her country's recent lurches toward energy independence and sustainability.

Nutty Facebook backlash aside, allow me take this rare opportunity to toss some kudos across the aisle and salute a genuine show of political courage and standing up for "country first." We don't know yet what office Mark Kirk will be running for in 2010, or who he will be running against. But when you see his ads next year touting him as an independent-minded moderate capable of working across party lines, you'll know that he isn't just blowing smoke. Thank you Congressman Kirk for casting an important and gutsy vote.

Now let's get busy e-mailing those Senators.

Comments

[clearwaterclearmind]

so what? kirk is the punk who wants to give 25 year sentences to first time offenders for possession of "strong" marijuana.

[jsgaetano]

Once Mark Kirk went to China to spew his anti-American conservative rhetoric, he lost any credibility to represent anybody in America.

Get him out of office, and he can go talk his trash on Fox.

[pakaal]

Wow, one of only eight members to vote against his party. I'm sure we'll be hearing from Limbaugh or O'Reilly on Rep. Kirk soon enough. Who knows, he might get really lucky and have Palin accuse him of "desecrating" Congress.

[WinterParkMom]

Just because a republican voted for a major climate change bill, which incidentally was watered down, doesn't mean a thing. It seems more politically motivated than anything else. And the comments on facebook? Those are the kinds of people the gop courts. Those are the people they count on during an election, because for all the vitriol they may spew, they will still fall on their sword and vote the party line.

So don't feel sorry for him, these are the people the gop encourages to be exactly the way they are.

[ebgill]

Mark Kirk was simply calculating for his own career possibilities. He wants to run for Senator and calculated that in Illinois he'd need a better environmental record. Even if he stays in the district, he needs environmental chops to win again. He almost lost in 2006 because he lost his Sierra Club and LCV endorsements. It seems like he has challenges from the right, but his latest opponent is very weak and even the republicans in Illinois generally don't go as far to the right as this guy. Kirk has no serious opposition from the right, so Kirk's vote was not at all gutsy, it was calculating.

[joeperc]

Let's not get carried away! When it comes to economic/financial issues Kirk is VERY conservative. I've been to more than one town hall meeting and gotten many emails where he trashes "government-run" health care and convinces his audience of supporters that their healthcare will be administered by workers at the DMV.

His district runs along the wealthy northshore suburbs along Lake Michigan so he couldn't survive if he wasn't "green" and in favor of keeping the Great Lakes clean. That's a no-brainer.

Still he voted for all of Bush's economic policies, budgets & war-funding complete with give-aways to all the Repub's favorite corporations.

He's a major CORPORATIST in a socially moderate body, but he even voted for the Terry Schiavo bill when push came to shove and the GOP leadership came calling.

He'll oppose EFCA for sure as well. We in the 10th district are ready for a dem!

[headtrip honey]

Did you miss these sentences?

"Kirk's blend of environmentalism and fiscal conservatism plays well in Illinois' 10th congressional district"

and

"His environmental interests, sincere as they may be, too often took a backseat to his desire to be a loyal soldier in the party during the George W. Bush years."

So....the only one getting carried away is you.

[lafrance]

This pretty much highlights why the republicans are being so stubborn and obstructionist and fighting Obama on everything. They are afraid for their lives and probably their family's as well.
The rightwing base is violent and scary to start with. Stir in some of the stuff Faux and Limbaugh peddle to them daily and you get some very unhinged people stalking around with loaded guns.
Republicans have to keep these lunatics happy because when they do what they feel is for the good of the country - well just look at what is being written to this congressman.

[SD Indy]

Mark Kirk is one of the very FEW Republicans I would ever vote for in a Presidential Campaign. I've said it on several other threads and will say it again. If the Republicans were able to get someone like Mark Kirk through a primary campaign, he would have my vote in the general election. The only problem I see, is the Christian Taliban would never allow him to get through the primaries.

[poomplet]

Kirk is VERY liberal (read "moderate", "sane") when compared to other republicans. The impression that he went along w/Bush on everything is false; he went along with war funding because he cares DEEPLY about the troops & making sure they have/had everything they needed.

Kirk is the only GOP politician EVER to get a 100% rating by PlannedParenthood.

Not only did he vote for the min. wage hike, he led the charge to strip the "Del Monte Loophole" & apply it to territories like Guam & Samoa.

He LED the Stem Cell bill thru the House in 2005.

He's fought for veteran aid & funding at every step.

He served w/honor and is STILL a naval reservist, completing a tour of Afghanistan in Jan '09 (the first time a US congressman has served in an area of danger since WWII).

Kirk was one of two Republicans to vote against an amendment to the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights that allowed the people to carry guns in the National Park System.

And...as this post says..he was one of only EIGHT republicans to vote for the Clean Energy Act

Pro-choice, pro-veteran/defense, pro-science, pro-environment, pro-sane gun laws, pro labor/worker....Democrats better look out, 'cause if the GOP ever swings over to these platforms on a wider scale (admittedly, not likely), LOTS of 'new-Dems' are gonna flock to candidates like Kirk.

More likely, the GOP will drum him out & he'll become a valued, moderate Dem.

[luckynewman13]

Democrats better look out indeed, it looks like this guy is more of a Dem than many of the Washington jerks listed as such.

[joeperc]

whoa wait a minute!! Kirk is NOT pro-worker/labor. When it comes to economic/financial issues he is VERY conservative. I've been to more than one town hall meeting and gotten many emails where he trashes "government-run" health care and convinces his audience of supporters that their healthcare will be administered by workers at the DMV.

His district runs along the wealthy northshore suburbs on Lake Michigan so he couldn't survive if he wasn't "green" and in favor of keeping the Great Lakes clean. That's a no-brainer.

Still he voted for all of Bush's economic policies, budgets & war-funding complete with give-aways to all the Repub's favorite corporations.

He's a major CORPORATIST in a socially moderate body, but he even voted for the Terry Schiavo bill when push came to shove and the GOP leadership came calling.

[Kathryn Maver]

I, too, am a part of Mark Kirk's constituency, and I agree that his vote on this issue was gutsy for him. While I am a lifelong Democrat, I have developed respect for Mr. Kirk when it comes to his environmental stances. He does pretty well--for a Republican. So, in the unlikely event you're reading this:

Thanks, Mark.