IL-SEN POLL: Race tied(ish), 45% of voters say Kirk not truthful; Green Party looms as factor

[jefferson_dem]

Kirk's military service controversy: 45% of voters say Kirk not truthful, PPP poll shows; Green Party looms as factor
By Lynn Sweeton June 15, 2010 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WASHINGTON-- GOP Illinois Senate nominee Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is taking a hit from disclosures he embellished his military record, the first polling since the controversy broke shows. A survey by Public Policy Polling shows the contest between Kirk and Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias in a deadlock with 45 percent polled saying that Kirk lied about his record. The poll also shows a new problem for Giannoulias: Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones could be a factor, draining votes from Giannoulias; he is getting 26 percent of the black vote, which usually is heavily Democratic.

Both Kirk and Giannoulias are now unpopular with voters. Kirk's favorability rating dived nine points in the poll of 552 Illinois voters taken from June 12th- 13th with a 4.2 percent margin of error.

If the election was today, who would you vote for?
31 Giannoulias
30 Kirk
14 Jones
24 Undecided

Do you think Mark Kirk has been truthful about
his military record?

10 Kirk yes
45 Kirk no
45 Unsure

How closely have you been following the
recent news about Mark Kirk's military record?
22 Very closely
35 Somewhat closely
43 Not very closely

Below, release from Public Policy Polling....

The upcoming Illinois Senatorial election could be close. Alexi Giannoulias has inched passed Republican opponent Mark Kirk. Voters prefer Giannoulias 31 to 30, in
comparison to April when Giannoulias was down 37-33. Still 24% of voters remain undecided.

<SNIP>

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/06/kirks_military_service_controv_2.html

[rfranklin]

1. The article says he is a (D) as well as an (R)

Which party is Kirk?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. Kirk's an (R)

[Raine1967]

4. He's a republican

Lynn Sweet and her editors got that wrong.

Nice catch!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kirk

[olefty]

6. This isn't going to be popular

But here goes. We could elect Giannoulias, but what if more dirt comes out on him, maybe getting a little dust on Obama. Then let's say the worst happens and Mark Jirk gets in, his views aren't that bad, he switches parties and badaboom, badabang we have a new Dem. senator that the repukes can't touch because they just got him elected.

[O is 44]

9. what proof do you have of this? I hate stupid hypotheticals.

[City Lights]

12. Why do you think Kirk might switch parties? nt

[Cha]

3. Here's a good wrap up of Kirk's Military Lies by Steve Benen~

"KIRK'S PROBLEMS GET A LITTLE WORSE.... Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk ran into trouble recently when a variety of claims about his military service -- in speeches, in correspondence, and in written materials -- were proven to be untrue. Making matters worse for the Illinois Republican, the story isn't quite done yet.

As of about a week ago, I think the list was up to eight separate incidents: Kirk (1) falsely claimed he served "in" Operation Iraqi Freedom; (2) falsely claimed to "command the war room in the Pentagon"; (3) falsely claimed to have won the U.S. Navy's Intelligence Officer of the Year award; (4) falsely claimed to have been shot at by the Iraqi Air Defense network; (5) falsely claimed to be a veteran of Desert Storm; (6) falsely claimed to be the only lawmaker to serve during Operation Iraqi Freedom; and (7) falsely claimed to have been shot at in Kosovo; and (8) falsely claimed to have been shot at in Kandahar.

This week, we have a new one for the list.

When Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk says he repeatedly deployed to Afghanistan with the Navy, he's referring to two-week training missions as part of his annual reservist requirements.

After acknowledging a series of misstatements that embellished his Navy service, Kirk is being challenged over his use of the military term "deployment," and this could be yet another opportunity for critics to parse his words in what has recently become a resume-bashing battle with Democratic Senate opponent Alexi Giannoulias.

Deployment can mean more than one thing in the military, but it is often used to describe service members going off to war for an extended time.

Navy Cmdr. Danny Hernandez said there is a difference between annual training and being deployed, which can sometimes last more than a year.

"I would think that would be (considered) two weeks of annual training," Hernandez, a Navy spokesman, said of Kirk's stints. "A deployment is a deployment and annual training is annual training."

The official response from the Kirk campaign is that the candidate's definition of "deploy" is different from that of the U.S. military. As political spinning goes, this needs some work.

Making matters slightly worse, the Pentagon said this week that Kirk "twice violated military policy by participating in political activities while on active duty -- once in 2008 and once in 2009."

Remember when Mark Kirk's selling point as a candidate was his military service?

For more on all of these controversies, Nitpicker is the guy to rely on. Indeed, it's worth emphasizing that he's broken many of these Kirk-related incidents that were later picked up by major outlets."

—Steve Benen 10:45 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (18)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_06/024259.php#1785715

[Robbins]

5. Illinois

I felt after all the lying Kirk has been caught In this race was a tossup.Giannoulias's problems are the trouble with his family's bank but Kirk's lying has given Giannoulias a chance.Kirk needs to be hit as a typical Republican even though he claims to be a
moderate.This Is Illinois and the race for Obama's seat.it needs to be pointed out Kirk has voted against everything Obama has
proposed save the 2009 Climate House bill.

[Politics_Guy25]

7. Green party-GOP hack spoilers once again

That party just needs to disappear.

[harkadog]

11. Maybe if the Democratic party adopted some progressive positions, they would disappear.

[Dr Morbius]

8. Kirk is ideologically aligned with Bush and Cheney, et al.

He's no moderate. Giannoulias has the family bank baggage but frankly that's his only baggage (Illinois is going through extreme financial crises these days but I don't think that's enough to hold Alexi back). I'm a lot more optimistic about his chances now that Kirk's inherent dishonestly has shown through.

[Robbins]

10. I agree

Calling Kirk a moderate Is a joke.During election years he calims to be one but Is a true mainstream voting Republican.Anyone who
votes against everything Obama proposes Is no moderate.Kirk being caught with all his lies on service record has started damage to
him.Obama needs to come home In the fall to remind voters of the real Kirk record.Giannoulias' trouble has been his family bank
baggage but even before all Kirk lies came out I though unlike some this race should be called a tossup.This race Is starting to
look slight lean Democratic.Just imagne the ads In the fall on Kirk's lies and pointing out he has voted against Stimulas Bill,
Health Care reform,and Fiancial Reform.While we know they will try to use the Giannoulias bak baggage to counter or start first.