Kirk takes heat from GOP for backing climate bill

As one of the eight Republicans who helped a controversial energy and climate-change bill narrowly clear the U.S. House last week, Mark Kirk continues to take heat from members of his own party for the vote.

Much of the backlash has been anonymous, coming from critics who habituate dailyherald.com, local political message boards and other Web sites. Using screen names like "Right," "Fedup57" and "Reaganlives," they've called the Highland Park lawmaker a traitor to the GOP and the nation.

Other detractors -- including conservative broadcasters Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck -- signed their invectives.

"If you have a Republican voting for this kind of government, what is the point?" Beck said on his June 29 Fox News program as photos of Kirk and the seven other Republicans who supported the bill appeared on a mock "wanted" poster.

Kirk called the anger understandable. Through talk-radio interviews, conference telephone calls and virtual town-hall discussions, he's been trying to address the GOP faithful's complaints and explain his vote, which he based primarily on national-security concerns.

"I will answer every question until people are done," he said. "It's something I have to take very seriously and work through."

The political cauldron is bubbling as Kirk weighs whether to seek re-election in the 10th District next year or to run for the U.S. Senate or governor's office.

If the climate plan moves through the Senate and becomes law, Kirk's recent vote could prompt a bitter Republican primary battle for whatever seat he pursues in 2010.

"I think right now (Republicans) are angry," said Dan Venturi, chairman of Lake County's GOP organization. "This will be an issue front and center."

The anti-Kirk movement within the GOP has swelled at a time when many in the party have been hoping he'd campaign for higher office.

A moderate who's gained support from independents and Democrats because of his stances on the environment, stem-cell research and other issues, Kirk has held off Democratic opponents to win five terms in the House.

National GOP leaders, including Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, have spoken highly of a Kirk bid. Much of Kirk's attraction to GOP brass has been his willingness to support some Democratic plans, particularly on social issues and the environment. They believe that will allow him to attract independent and even Democratic voters in Chicago and the suburbs.

But the added attention also means staunch Republicans are noticing he occasionally diverges from the party line on crucial issues, such as abortion, stem-cell research and now the climate-change proposal.

The legislation calls for the nation's first limits on pollution linked to global warming and aims to create a new era of cleaner energy.

Republicans overwhelmingly opposed the measure, saying it would destroy jobs and increase energy costs. The White House and congressional Democrats argued the bill would create millions of "green jobs" and move the nation away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.

The proposal passed June 26 with a 219-212 vote. Forty-four Democrats voted against the plan, so Republicans were needed to save it.

Kirk was the only member of the GOP's Midwest delegation to vote for the bill. He told the Daily Herald he backed the plan because he wants the U.S. to end its reliance on foreign oil, especially the fuel produced in unfriendly nations such as Iran.

"They are arming against us with money we send them," Kirk said. "We (must) defund the terrorists and the unstable regimes."

Kirk also said he discussed the proposal with officials from Midwest Generation, which operates a coal-burning power plant in Waukegan. To his surprise, they supported the legislation.

The energy- and building-code regulations included in the bill actually are less stringent than those already in place in Illinois, Kirk said.

As a result, the impact on 10th District residents wouldn't be that significant, he said.

GOP support for the plan also came from California, Delaware, New York, New Jersey and Washington, but to Republicans in the Chicago suburbs, the only "yes" that mattered was Kirk's.

GOP activist Nancy J. Thorner of Lake Bluff appeared on Beck's Fox News program June 29. She told Beck she was "astonished" Kirk voted for the legislation despite multiple calls to his office from Republican opponents of the plan.

Thorner's blog entry the next day carried the title "Betrayed by my Republican Congressman."

The vote also surprised Mettawa Trustee Larry Falbe, who writes about Lake County political happenings at his Team America's 10th District blog. A longtime and outspoken Kirk supporter, Falbe has spent several days writing about the vote, and his entries have prompted dozens of posts from angry readers who, like Thorner, feel double-crossed.

"As much as I respect and admire Mark, he did not telegraph very well which way he was going to go on this," Falbe said. "There wasn't a lot of buildup to let his constituents know where he stood on this."

Falbe acknowledged Kirk has bucked the GOP in the past. That's a political necessity: A hardline Republican couldn't win in the largely independent-thinking 10th District, which covers parts of Lake and Cook counties, Falbe said.

"He's the most conservative person we're going to get elected in the 10th District," Falbe said.

After speaking with Kirk about the legislation and hearing his explanation, the GOP's Venturi now feels better about the vote.

"I think he's still with us," Venturi said. "He's really looking at this as a national security bill. And maybe he's got the right vision on this, I don't know."

Antonietta Simonian, executive director of the Lake County Republican Federation, remains an ardent Kirk supporter. Accusations that Kirk is a traitor to the party are ludicrous, she said.

"Mark Kirk is an independent-thinking Republican," said Simonian, whose group is the local party's fundraising arm. "And if we had more independent-thinking Republicans, we'd have better solutions to today's problems. Nothing is ever black and white."

Daily Herald Staff Writer Joseph Ryan and Daily Herald wire services contributed to this report.