Kirk voted present due to bill's flaws
It seems the local supporters of Democratic congressional candidate, Dan Seals, cannot resist distorting Congressman Mark Kirk's voting record.
In a recent letter to the Daily Herald, Seals supporter Gregory Mykos claims Kirk is "walking in lock step" with President Bush" because Kirk and many of his House colleagues voted "present" on a recent bill related to funding the war in Iraq.
Why did Kirk and his colleagues vote "present?" The answer is simple. The legislation was badly flawed.
To make matters worse, Speaker Nancy Pelosi submitted the bill, did not allow any committee hearings, did not allow any amendments and demanded a vote on the bill.
The bill was loaded with pork-barrel spending and had a timetable for the withdrawal of our troops.
In good conscience, Kirk was not going to vote for a bill that was flimsy, flawed, loaded with excessive pork-barrel spending and was not reviewed in committee hearings. That just makes good sense.
Instead, Kirk has been a leader on the bi-partisan legislation recently passed out of the Senate that addresses many of the same issues in a much better way.
Kirk has made it very clear he supports a steady troop withdrawal of one brigade a month.
As an active member of our military, Kirk wants to make sure we withdraw our troops from Iraq in a manner which will ensure we never have to return to that country again.
The 10th District has been very well served by Congressman Mark Kirk's leadership. It takes real courage to stick to one's convictions in an election year. This is exactly what Kirk has done on this issue.
Renee Thaler
Northbrook