Republican Mark Kirk is vying for Barack Obama's Illinois Senate seat. But he's got a little bit of an honesty problem. So far, he's been caught out lying about his teaching career, his military career, his sexuality and that's just the beginning.
Mike Lux looks at Kirk's chances:
In my view, the race for Obama's old Senate seat is the most important race in the country for progressives. Kirk has been proven to be a serial liar about his biography, and a staunch supporter of the big banks and corporate America, but with his moderate social issue views, if he becomes an incumbent he will be tough to beat in the future even in a Democratic state like Illinois.
Alexi Giannoulias, on the other hand, is a crusading reformer who has staked his campaign on taking on big money and big business, and has pledged to form a Senate progressive caucus if he wins the race. He has lost a lot of money by turning down corporate lobbyist contributions, though, and Kirk has a $3 million edge, and the Chamber of Commerce is running attacks ads for him. Every dollar we can swing toward Alexi in this race right now is critical. The symbolism of winning this race and the stakes for the future only adds to its importance.
Those deep pockets of the Chamber of Commerce can easily erase the memory of Kirknocchio's honesty problem in the minds of the less engaged voter. And that's a dangerous thing. I admire Giannoulias' stance refusing corporate lobbyist money, but that puts the burden on us to support this progressive candidate.
