Mark Kirk has claimed to be a moderate Republican who has represented himself as champion of the environment (did you know that all by himself “”Mark Kirk stood up to Big Oil when he stopped BP from polluting Lake Michigan?”), women’s right to choose and gay rights. These views have endeared him to the voters of the district, but it’s time to see beyond the smoke and mirrors. It’s no surprise the voters have bought Kirk’s stated agenda. So have various organizations including Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Human Rights Campaign. An impressive list to be sure, with one quality in common; in the last year each of them has pulled their endorsement in favor of Alexi Giannoulias. The loss of the backing of these organizations highlights the illusions of his campaign claims.

Planned Parenthood, after years of granting Kirk their endorsement, pulled their support in part of because of his vote for the Stupack-Pitts amendment which restricted a women’s ability to get an abortion under the recently passed healthcare bill. In awarding the endorsement to Giannoulias, Steve Trombley, President and CEO of Planned Illinois Action said, “We stand behind candidates who stand up for the women and families of Illinois,” and therefore selected Alexi Giannoulias over Mark Kirk. Things don’t look much better for him on his crucial environmental platform. He’s lost the endorsement of the Sierra Club and the League of Conservation voters. After several faux-pas including reversing his stance on cap and trade he’s lost much of his pro-environmental credibility. “One thing that has long troubled us about Mark Kirk is his long support for big oil companies,” Jack Darin, president of the Sierra Club Illinois said, “He sided with Dick Cheney and President Bush in renewing tax subsidies for big oil”. Kirk’s participation in the ‘Drill, Baby, Drill!’ chant in August, 2008 on the Senate floor, also lead to the decision, says Darin. If that weren’t enough he’s also had a crown jewel of his campaign damaged when the gay rights group the Human Rights Campaign pulled its endorsement of Kirk after he voted against repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell despite his claim of being pro-LGBT rights. Joe Solomonese, president of HRC said, “While many lawmakers stood on the right side of history in voting to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Rep. Kirk voted to maintain discrimination that hurts our national security.”

As he loses endorsements left and right from the organizations that support that issues he claims are an integral part of his identity, votes against the things he claims he backs, and employs creative resume edits one has to wonder, who is Mark Kirk?

http://www.alexiforillinois.com/blog/planned-parenthood-endorses-giannoulias

http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=5798&MediaType=1&Category=26

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/11/mark_kirk_kicked_by_abortions.html

Who Is Mark Kirk? is a post from Illinois Tenth Congressional District Democrats

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Friends,

Dan Seals is the only pro-choice candidate running for Congress in the 10^th Congressional district.  Republican Robert Dold of Kenilworth is NOT pro-choice.

Dold’s claim that he is pro-choice is disingenuous at best. Maybe Dold has his own private definition of “pro-choice,” but no legitimate pro-choice organization considers Dold pro-choice.

Planned Parenthood is one of the most respected pro-choice organizations in the country. They support pro-choice Republicans and Democrats (they even endorsed Mark Kirk when Kirk took pro-choice positions in previous elections). Dold has so little respect for Planned Parenthood that he chose not to fill out their questionnaire and he declined an invitation to be interviewed by the Planned Parenthood board. Would any genuine pro-choice candidate dis Planned Parenthood?

Dold is backed by the anti-choice Right to Life PAC because Dold opposes government assistance for women who cannot afford abortions, he supports the ban on late-term abortions, he supports parental involvement laws, and he supports the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (which requires that a script be read to women before an abortion). Dold also supported the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which would have resulted in women losing health benefits related to abortions that they have today. Yes, Dold did find the time to fill out the anti-choice Right to Life PAC questionnaire.
http://www.ifrl-pac.com/elections/2010/primary/endorsements/

Dold is also endorsed by the ultra right-wing Eagle Forum, led by Phyllis Schlafly (Schlafly gained infamy for her strident opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment).
http://www.eagleforum.org/election/endorse-2010.html

Read for yourself what Eagle Forum stands for:
http://www.eagleforum.org/misc/descript.html

Asked whether he would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned, Dold replied, “I think, right now, the way it works with the Supreme Court is that Roe v. Wade is precedent at this stage of the game and it would be tough to do so.  So, I just don’t think that is realistic at this stage.”
http://jeffberkowitz.blogspot.com/2009/12/getting-to-know-dold10th-cd-republican.html

Not realistic at this stage? What does that mean? Dold’s refusal to support Roe v. Wade speaks volumes.

Not realistic at this stage? The Supreme Court laid the groundwork for the repeal of Roe v. Wade in its discussion of precedent in Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee. Someone might want tell Mr. Dold that overturning Roe v. Wade is only one or two Supreme Court justices away from becoming very realistic.

Dold supports unreasonable restrictions on a women’s right to choose and cannot bring himself to support Roe v. Wade. Those are not pro-choice positions. No wonder that on April 7, 2010, the bi-partisan NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed Dan Seals.http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/election-pr/pr04082010_endorsements.html
http://dansealsforcongress.com/endorsements

No wonder that on February 25, 2010,  the bi-partisan Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs Committee (JACPAC) endorsed Dan Seals, citing his commitment to the strengthening the US-Israel relationship and his commitment to reproductive choice.
http://10thdistrictfordanseals.com/jacpac-joins-seals-campaign-in-il-10#more-2183
http://jta.org/news/article/2010/02/25/1010825/jacpac-backs-dem-in-kirks-old-seat

“We’ve known Dan Seals for years, and we believe that Seals is the only candidate in this race who will stand up not only for Israel, but for women’s rights and separation of church and state,” stated Marcia Balonick, Executive Director, JACPAC.

No wonder that Planned Parenthood endorsed Dan Seals on July 14, 2010. “Dan Seals will be a champion for women’s health issues in Congress, and PPIA will be working hard to ensure his victory this November,” said Planned Parenthood spokesperson Beth Kanter. Read the Planned Parenthood endorsement of Dan Seals here:
http://plannedparenthoodillinoisaction.blogspot.com/2010/07/pro-choice-credentials-questioned-in.html

Dold’s claim that he is pro-choice is an insult to the intelligence of every voter in this district. Vote for Dold if you want to, but don’t vote for him thinking that he’s pro-choice.

Dan Seals is the only pro-choice candidate for Congress in the 10^th district. That’s why he’s endorsed by Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and JACPAC over Robert Dold in the November election.

We can’t afford to lose this election. Please let me know if you would like to help the Seals campaign in any way, large or small, be it getting the message out, volunteering, or contributing money in any amount. Dan Seals will be an outstanding member of Congress. It’s up to us to make sure the rest of the district knows not only about Dan, but about his right-wing socially conservative challenger from Kenilworth.

Robert Dold is NOT pro-choice is a post from Illinois Tenth Congressional District Democrats

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