GOP primary for Senate: Mark Kirk
Republicans have a unique opportunity in this year's election for the U.S. Senate - a chance to win in Illinois, a one-time bellwether state that has turned increasingly blue in recent years.
That should make the Feb. 2 primary selection fairly easy. Not only is Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park by far the most qualified in the GOP field, he would be the most formidable candidate Republicans could offer in the November general election. Put simply: Kirk could win; it is debatable whether any of the other five candidates could.
We strongly endorse Kirk for the Senate nomination, as we have in his five tough Congressional campaigns.
He describes himself accurately as "a fiscal conservative, social moderate and foreign policy hawk" and that combination reflects the viewpoint of the majority of the Illinois electorate. It's also the viewpoint that makes the most sense for the country.
But he is more than that. He's an intelligent, hardworking independent who strives to model bipartisan ethics in a system that is choking on its partisanship. In 10 years, he's become a leader among Republican moderates in the House, chairing their Tuesday Group get-togethers. Morton Kondracke, executive editor of Roll Call, described him well as "one of Congress' most effective moderates."
He has been a leader on Capitol Hill in rejecting the outrageous congressional practice of earmark spending and has fought for fiscal sanity in government spending.
As a Naval Reserve intelligence officer, Kirk has keen insights into the stakes in Afghanistan and the war on terror and an ability to articulate them that few other politicians can match.
As for those political assailants who ignore the record and try to smear Kirk as a Democrat in Republican clothing, consider this: If that were true, why have Democratic national officials worked so hard to try time and again to unseat him in the 10th Congressional District?
As for some Republican voters concerned enough about his social views to be tempted to prefer losing with a "true conservative" rather than winning with the more moderate Kirk, consider this: In the current health care debate, as one example among many issues, would it truly have made no difference if Kirk, rather than Roland Burris, had been Illinois' junior senator?
The ballot also includes Patrick Hughes of Hinsdale, former Harvey Alderman John Arrington, retired judge Don Lowery from downstate Golconda, and former school board member Kathleen Thomas of Springfield - well-intentioned candidates with conservative philosophies but lacking the weight of Kirk's credentials. It also includes one gadfly, Andy Martin of Chicago.
If Republicans want to win, Kirk is the obvious choice.