IL SEN: Dissuading Sarah
Posted: Thursday, November 05, 2009 2:00 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Democrats, Republicans, 2010
From NBC's Mark Murray
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is trying its best to squeeze every ounce out of the Mark Kirk-Sarah Palin story.
A quick recap: First, the Washington Post's Cillizza got his hands on Kirk's letter to Palin friend Fred Malek, inquiring if Palin might endorse the Illinois congressman in his Senate primary. Then, as we reported earlier today, one of Kirk's conservative primary opponents blasted this appeal to Palin, noting Kirk's vote for the cap-and-trade bill.
Now the DSCC has fired off this "memo" to Palin and Malek, which digs up unfavorable things Kirk had said about Palin:
To: Governor Sarah Palin
Cc: Congressman Mark Kirk
Cc: Fred Malek
From: Kathleen Strand, Senior Advisor to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Dear Governor Palin,
Yesterday, following the purge of a moderate Republican in upstate New York and the devastating special election in NY-23, it was revealed that Congressman Mark Kirk is actively seeking your endorsement of his candidacy in the U.S. Senate race in Illinois. However, Mark Kirk has not had kind words to say about you in the past. Faced with a difficult re-election race in 2008, Kirk told reporters he “would have picked someone else” for Vice-President and that frankly he “didn’t know whether you are qualified to be President.” Now that Kirk is facing a tough primary challenge from the anti-Washington, anti-establishment candidate Patrick Hughes, he is suddenly racing to embrace you. I’m not sure how familiar you are with Mark Kirk but he is a politician who has a history of putting politics above principals, something you surely look down upon. Whether the issue is cap and trade, extending unemployment benefits, or health care reform, Kirk has either flip-flopped, been AWOL, or motivated purely by politics. On the other hand, Patrick Hughes is comfortable in his own skin as an extreme right-winger. Unlike the pro-abortion Kirk, Hughes is firmly pro-life, anti-gay marriage, and pro-gun…sounds like your type of Republican. I know you are in Milwaukee tomorrow and will be in our great state of Illinois later this month, both would be a perfect setting to give your blessing to one of these two candidates. With so much at stake in the next election, everyone wants to know -- who will you endorse in our Senate race?
