Posted: June 27, 2009

By Doug Ibendahl

 

It's finally official - Mark Kirk won't be running for any statewide office - because if he does, he's guaranteed to lose. Or maybe Kirk's finally going to come out of the closet and officially declare he's a Democrat - and a liberal one at that.

 

Kirk was one of only eight Republicans on Friday to vote "YES" on the "American Clean Energy and Security Act" - also known as "Cap-and-Trade." The full list of the Sellout Eight is here. Absent those Republican votes, the bill would have failed in the U.S. House. The measure passed in a narrow 219 to 212 vote. It now moves to the Senate.

 

Kirk was the only GOP Congressman from Illinois to vote for the economy killing bill.

 

It's estimated the new act would result in the closure of one in six U.S. refineries by 2020, while adding 77 cents a gallon to the price of gasoline at the pump.

 

Despite State GOP Chairman Andy McKenna's constant cheerleading for Mark Kirk, this has got to be the last straw for the guy - at least in our GOP. Kirk's Republican credentials were already tenuous at best.

 

The so-called "Cap-and-Trade" was such a bad bill - even 44 Democrats voted "NO" - and that included Democrat Bill Foster of the 14th Congressional District. The full House roll call is here.

 

The bill was already a monstrosity at 1,200 pages - but it then literally ballooned overnight to 1,500 pages, after 300 pages of amendments were added around 2 a.m. on Friday morning.

 

Republican Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana said the bill "amounts to the largest tax increase in American history under the guise of climate change."

 

Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer agrees the bill represents the largest tax increase in history - and says it's "so bad it's almost indescribable." He says passing such a measure - particularly during a recession - is "insane" and an "abomination."

 

Finally, while our State Chairman remains missing-in-action, our National GOP Chairman Michael Steele did try to provide some leadership. Here is the statement Steele issued on June 22nd:

 

"The so-called ‘cap and trade' plan proposed by President Obama and Congressional Democrats is nothing but a multi-billion dollar national energy tax on every American family, small business and family farm. Those hardest hit by this massive tax will be the poor and middle-class who are already struggling to make ends meet in today's recession. Americans want an energy plan that will lead to lower energy costs, more jobs, a cleaner environment and greater energy independence without a national energy tax that will tax our lights out."

 

The good news is the bill is so bad - it's very likely to fail in the Senate.

 

The other good news is we shouldn't have to endure any more fawning over Mark Kirk from our State GOP's leftwing/Log Cabin faction - at least not where a statewide bid is concerned. It seems pretty clear Kirk has decided to stay put in his Limousine Liberal corner of Illinois.

 

 

Doug Ibendahl is a Chicago Attorney and a former General Counsel of the Illinois Republican Party. He is Co-Founder of Republican Young Professionals (RYP).