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Kirk, Giannoulias Illinois Senate Debate: Focus on Character

1 year ago

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The Illinois Senate rivals, Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, fought over old ground in an intense and acrimonious third and final debate on Wednesday night with character issues dominating the encounter.

The battle for the Illinois seat once held by President Obama is one of the biggest races in the nation. Giannoulias and Kirk have been deadlocked in the polls for weeks and millions of dollars in campaign ads -- many of them overwhelmingly negative -- have flooded Illinois television.

But with less than a week before Election Day, Giannoulias, in a move to end on a high note and possibly lock in some undecided and independents, announced that he would only run positive ads and said that he has yanked negative spots funded by his campaign. Giannoulias said that Kirk was only running negative spots, though Kirk's team after the debate said it still had a positive ad in their rotation.

"I've decided for the rest of the campaign to go positive," Giannoulias said. Still, negative ads aimed at Kirk are running throughout the state, funded by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

A good deal of the televised debate was spent going over loans to crime figures when Giannoulias was a loan officer at his family's bank, and Kirk's exaggerations about his record as an officer in the Navy reserves in which he has served 21 years.

Giannoulias was pressed, as he has been in the two previous debates, about what he knew about the background of crime figures Broadway Bank made loans to. Giannoulias said that "running a business is not a straight line and mistakes are made" and inevitably you "wish you did not do business with" certain people.

Kirk was asked about a series of statements that have dogged his campaign since Memorial Day. The moderator cited three examples -- about a boating accident on Lake Michigan, a claim about a military award he did not earn (it went to his unit), and whether a plane he was on over Iraq was ever shot at.

Kirk did not address those issues directly, but hit Giannoulias for not having "served a day in uniform in his life." Turning to himself he said, "Did I make mistakes and learn a painful lesson? I did," a response Kirk has made before.

One of the more heated exchanges came when the candidates were asked if President Obama's stimulus program averted an economic depression.

Kirk, who represents the state's 10th Congressional District, voted against the stimulus, one of Obama's key initiatives. In his view, "most people would credit the TARP legislation with stopping the emergency," a reference to the Troubled Asset Relief Program passed during former President George W. Bush's watch at the end of 2008 to address the fiscal meltdown.

Kirk criticized Giannoulias on the issue, saying he "admitted he would have supported TARP as well" and pressed him to say "yes or no" on the program. Giannoulias was not clear at his first stab at an answer about his support of TARP -- he suggested he did not, then said he did.

Kirk replied, "This is the sort of immaturity of my opponent. In the end, a member of Congress is presented with a yes or no vote on always an imperfect package. He wants to have it both ways. It was difficult to get an answer out of him now. But in the end, you have to cast a tough vote as I did and I voted in favor of it and it didn't take 30 seconds to figure out how."

Giannoulias shot back, "If Congressman Kirk is accusing me of flip-flopping, that would be the most remarkable irony in the history of Illinois politics," citing "cap-and-trade" climate legislation as an example.

The bill to limit carbon dioxide emissions passed in the House in June 2009 on a 219-212 vote, with Kirk casting a crucial supportive vote. Later, when Kirk was running for the Senate and under attack from Republicans for the cap-and-trade vote, he changed his position.

During this back-and-forth exchange, Giannoulias and Kirk talked over each other. That prompted Kirk to look over at the moderator, WTTW's Phil Ponce, and ask, "You want to moderate this?"

Lynn Sweet reports at Politics Daily on the second Illinois Senate debate
Lynn Sweet reports at Politics Daily on the first Illinois Senate debate

Filed Under: 2010 Elections

Tagged: 2010 Elections, 2010 Senate Elections, 2010 Senate Races, Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois Elections, Illinois Senate Race, Mark Kirk

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polishparalt

As an Illinois resident, I wish we had a binding "None of the Above" choice on the ballot. These guys both have questionable pasts and backgrounds. Neither of them deserve the Senate. Kirk lied about his military record, Giannoulias wrecked his family bank and the Illinois 529 Program. Some choice for the Senate........better to leave the seat vacant, after all that's what Obama did most of the time in the Senate anyway.....a "present" or "no vote." Can't wait to move in the near future!

October 28 2010 at 8:04 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to polishparalt's comment

wlr523

obama & his buddy have done enough damage

October 28 2010 at 11:36 AM Report abuse Permalink +4 rate up rate down Reply

homeroid2

Ginnoulais would better serve Illinois as a waiter in Greek Town but double check your bill since this so called treasure can not add.Failed family bank and Illinois college funds plus Obama knows his personalty along with Tony Reztko,

October 28 2010 at 7:52 AM Report abuse Permalink +5 rate up rate down Reply

Anna

If you have no control or say in the ads the DSCC is running, then you have no right belonging to an organization (the Senate), that you are trying to join. So Alexi's attempt to distance himself from the Negative Campaigning to be ingratiated to the next Senator from Illinois is disingenous. Here is a number both can focus on: 15 Million - number of unemployed in the 9.6% Unemployment number 2.5 Million - Number who have stopped looking for work - the 99ers. 9.0 Million - the number who are working part time with no benefits, 27.0 Million - the number who are not gainfully employed - or 17.1% of the population. So when you say the rate of job loss has stabilized, when you have nothing to loose, by definition, there is no change. Perhaps after the election, we should all read how to lie with statistics, so we can all call out such dishonest window dressed numbers that our government and the BLS has been feeding the public for years. Wall Street knows better, it is time Main Street Catches up and stops swalling the crap certain government agencies like the BLS feed as "bellweathers" of the Economy. I fully agree with the President that Lack of Regulation was the Bush Administrations' fault from 2002 onwards, that drove us into the ditch. The Bad Job Killing Economic Policies started January 2010. Which is 100% the Democrats' Fault.

October 28 2010 at 4:56 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply

NKW

Without question, Kirk is the better man for the job. Illinois deserves someone who is a cut above Illinois "past and present history." TIme for change, yes, Illinois. You can do better. Kirk has my vote.

October 28 2010 at 1:52 AM Report abuse Permalink +7 rate up rate down Reply