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Sen. Mark Kirk's vote against immigration reform will cause him political damage
#1
06-12-2013, 11:41 AM
Senior Member
From Midwest
Joined in Aug 2008
641 posts
http://www.examiner.com/article/sen-...litical-damage
Quote:
In what can only be described as a politically tone-deaf vote, United States Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican from Illinois, voted "no" on a procedural vote to move forward with debate on "Senate Bill 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act." The bill is better known as "immigration reform." The vote yesterday on the U.S. Senate floor was 82-15 in favor of proceeding with debate and makes Sen. Mark Kirk's vote even more stunning. Sen. Mark Kirk has worked hard to position himself as a moderate Republican, but this vote changes the narrative about Sen. Mark Kirk as being a far-right extremist. Sen. Mark Kirk votes the same way as a far-right crazy like U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Tea Party Republican from Texas. In bipartisan show of support, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., both voted to advance the bill. I vote in favor of advancing debate on the bill, is not necessarily a vote for "immigration reform," as some of those voting for moving forward will ultimately vote against the bill. In a stinging statement, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) said that Mark Kirk is siding with the far-right wing of the Republican party. ICIRR said that they were "puzzled and outraged" by Senator Mark Kirk's vote. "His vote demonstrates how out of touch he is with his constituents, and may cause permanent damage between the Illinois Republican Party and Latino and immigrant voters. “What was he thinking?" said Lawrence Benito, ICIRR’s CEO. The vote is an indication that Senator Kirk is not interested in having a Senate debate about immigration reform. Instead, he chose to play politics with the "optics" on the border and side with the extremists in his party. By siding with the most extreme in his party, Senator Kirk shows how out of touch he is with Illinois business, women, faith, labor and community leaders." The ICIRR scoffs at Sen. Mark Kirk's reasoning for the vote as a concern with "border security." The ICIRR pointed to a Chicago Tribune editorial that “the bill already contains up to $6.5 billion more to lock down the border, even though illegal crossing are at their lowest levels in decades.” Yesterday, the Chicago Tribune urged Sen. Mark Kirk to step up and lead on immigration. ICIRR called on Senator Kirk to "demonstrate that he isn’t a puppet for the extreme factions of his party, but a leader who can think on his own accord." Michael Deheeger, the Director of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition, had urged prior to the voted that Sen, mark Kirk voted for advancing the "immigration reform" bill. Former Republican Governor Jim Edgar and John Rowe, Chairman Emeritus of Exelon Corporation and Co-Chair of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition have brought together top Illinois business leaders to release a letter urgently calling on both Illinois senators to support bi-partisan, comprehensive solutions to our broken immigration system. “Common sense immigration reform is economically sound, politically smart, morally right and more urgent than ever,” says Governor Jim Edgar. “I am looking to our two Illinois senators to take the lead on pushing forward bipartisan immigration legislation that protects both Illinois’ competitiveness and its communities.” “The economic and moral arguments are clear, the rubber has long hit the road and we need leadership from both our Senators on this issue now,” says John Rowe. “I hope dearly that they will hear the voice of business large and small and do what is right – I thank Senator Durbin for his leadership and hope that Senator Kirk will soon join him on the front lines in the push for common sense immigration reform.” Others joining the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition includes top Illinois CEOs and major trade associations including Lester Crown, Chairman, Henry Crown & Company; Ron Gidwitz, Partner, GCG Partners; Doug Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO; Greg Brown, Chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions; Sue Ling Gin, Founder and CEO, Flying Food Group LLC and Michael Sacks, CEO, Grosvenor Capital Management. The list also includes the leadership of major Illinois trade associations, including Doug Whitley, President and CEO, Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Sam Toia, President, Illinois Restaurant Association; and Mark Segal, CEO of The Habitat Company and Chair of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee. With overwhelming political support from the business community, the vote is difficult to understand. But Senator Mark Kirk was not there and there is little doubt that he will suffer permanent political damage from this vote. Kirk is destined to become suffer the fate of another former Illinois Republican Senator. Instead of Mark Kirk following in the footsteps of another great Republican Senator from Illinois, Former Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, Sen. Kirk has chosen the former Sen. Peter Fitzgerald's path to being a one-term Illinois Senator. Other voting against advancing debate on the bill in addition to Sen Mark Kirk and Sen. Ted Cruz are the following: Sens. John Barrasso (Wyo.), John Boozman (Ark.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), James Inhofe (Okla.), Mike Lee (Utah), James Risch (Idaho), Pat Roberts (Kan.), Tim Scott (S.C.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Richard Shelby (Ala.) and David Vitter (La.). Nice company Sen. Mark Kirk. Send John Presta an email and your story ideas or suggestions, [email protected]. John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African American studies, published by The Elevator Group, Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books. John has volunteered for many political campaigns. John is an unpaid volunteer and social media advisor at Robin Kelly for Congress. |
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