# 2016 Illinois Senate Race: Who takes on vulnerable Mark Kirk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 15, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706 "2014-11-15T17:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/41 "2015-03-30T17:44:38Z")
I’m going to assume (I don’t know why, except his history) that his global warming reversal was posturing so the Republicans don’t kick him out. That he doesn’t sincerely believe global warming isn’t happening. Still, that’s enough for a weak supporter like me, who voted for him last time, to go Duckworth. Oh, Mark… ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/42 "2015-04-02T22:59:42Z")
Kirk has been all over the place . Recently he’s said he’s against the Indiana religion law., will vote for Lynch, but compared the Iran deal to Nazi appeasement ---
**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/43 "2015-04-03T00:34:27Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Kirk has been all over the place . Recently he’s said he’s against the Indiana religion law., will vote for Lynch, but compared the Iran deal to Nazi appeasement Strange, isn’t it. At least he’s not like Durbin who once compared the US Military to Nazis. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/44 "2015-04-03T01:27:31Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Kirk has been all over the place . Recently he’s said he’s against the Indiana religion law., will vote for Lynch, but compared the Iran deal to Nazi appeasement I don’t know about his opinions on Lynch (but nearly everyone says she’s qualified) but the other two aren’t much of a surprise. Kirk is a hawk opposed to cutting any sort of deal with Iran – or Syria or Russia or whoever. On the other hand, Kirk said after his stroke that he had something of an epiphany that life was too short to spend it stopping people from getting married or having equal rights. So his statements there are consistent. I’ll definitely vote for Duckworth over him and I have criticism enough about him but those statements don’t seem like he’s being fake or trying to stake some moderate ground before the election. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/45 "2015-04-03T02:38:00Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Kirk has been all over the place . Recently he’s said he’s against the Indiana religion law., will vote for Lynch, but compared the Iran deal to Nazi appeasement He’s onto 'em. They only want the Bomb so they can get away with annexing the Persian-majority areas of the Sudetenland. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/46 "2015-04-03T03:03:07Z")
If Kirk took a liberal position on Iran he wouldn’t even be a Democrat. Democrats that actually support letting Iran continue to enrich are a pretty rare breed in the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/47 "2015-04-03T03:28:12Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If Kirk took a liberal position on Iran he wouldn’t even be a Democrat. Democrats that actually support letting Iran continue to enrich are a pretty rare breed in the Senate. Who supports that, so described? But any reasonable pol could support [the Iran deal](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=753386). ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/48 "2015-04-03T03:57:58Z")
Which allows Iran to continue enrichment. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/49 "2015-04-03T10:15:22Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Which allows Iran to continue enrichment. Not of the types that could actually result in nuclear weapons material – and there will be ongoing inspections to verify the conditions of the deal. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/50 "2015-04-03T10:18:06Z")
It’s still one hell of a concession even if that’s true. We’ve acknowledged that nations have a right to enrich uranium, NPT be damned. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/51 "2015-04-03T10:26:07Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It’s still one hell of a concession even if that’s true. We’ve acknowledged that nations have a right to enrich uranium, NPT be damned. Nations have the right, [per the NPT](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Non-Proliferation_of_Nuclear_Weapons#Third_pillar:_peaceful_use_of_nuclear_energy), to enrich uranium for peaceful energy purposes. This is a different type of enrichment than what is required for weapons. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/52 "2015-04-03T10:37:19Z")
As your cite points out, it’s a bit of a loophole that undermines anti-proliferation efforts, not to mention the US’s official interpretation of the treaty does not recognize a right to enrichment. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/53 "2015-04-03T10:48:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > As your cite points out, it’s a bit of a loophole that undermines anti-proliferation efforts, not to mention the US’s official interpretation of the treaty does not recognize a right to enrichment. It can be for the first part, but the framework requires ongoing inspections to prevent the “bad” enrichment that can result in weapons material. As to the US’s interpretation, you’ll need to provide a specific cite that they don’t recognize the right to enrich for peaceful energy purposes. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/54 "2015-04-03T10:58:49Z")
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/11/24/kerry-on-iran-we-do-not-recognize-a-right-to-enrich/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/11/24/kerry-on-iran-we-do-not-recognize-a-right-to-enrich/) > [@](#): > > Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the temporary nuclear deal with Iran isn’t a tacit agreement allowing the country to enrich some uranium without pursuing a nuclear bomb. > > Kerry was responding to comments from Iran’s foreign minister and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani saying that the deal amounted to a recognition of Iran’s right to enrich. > > “There is no inherent right to enrich,” Kerry said on ABC’s “This Week.” “And everywhere in this particular agreement it states that they could only do that by mutual agreement, and nothing is agreed on until everything is agreed on.” > > Kerry added: “We do not recognize a right to enrich.” In any case, this isn’t really the thread for a long discussion. I just wanted to point out that Mark Kirk’s position on Iran doesn’t put him “all over the place” ideologically. It sits in pretty comfortably with his other moderate Republican positions on the issues. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/55 "2015-04-03T12:02:05Z")
Excellent idea to take the Iran stuff to its own thread. Back to Duckworth vs Kirk! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/56 "2015-04-03T14:12:35Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Excellent idea to take the Iran stuff to its own thread. > > Back to Duckworth vs Kirk! And, there’s no need to start such a thread, [it’s already going](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=753386). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/57 "2015-04-03T15:02:13Z")
Is Duckworth a big enough name in Illinois (I know she is nationally) to clear the field? If she’s in, is she pretty much definitely the nominee? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/58 "2015-04-03T15:31:20Z")
I think so. I don’t know if she’ll run unopposed but the state party apparatus will definitely be in her court and pressuring contenders to step aside gracefully. Illinois is a prime target to flip this cycle and Duckworth is considered the best bet to do it. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/59 "2015-04-03T16:32:09Z")
I’m pretty sure Duckworth won’t draw a major opponent. This is definitely a prime Democratic pick up target. Rauner is unpopular right now and who knows if there will be charges against Schock? There’s not much room for a moderate Republican and winning Chicago and the suburbs is enough for a Duckworth victory. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706/60 "2015-06-11T20:14:38Z")
So, Sen. Kirk referred to Sen. Graham as a bro with no ho. The kinda of talk I’d expect from a college frat guy, not a sitting senator. It won’t be a big story, but this won’t help him with moderate swing voters. > **[Kirk's re-election bid complicated by controversial statements](https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/eric-zorn/ct-mark-kirk-graham-met-0612-20150611-story.html)** > > Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk's recent "bro with no ho" comment about Sen. Lindsey Graham is the latest in a string of controversial statements he has made. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2016-illinois-senate-race-who-takes-on-vulnerable-mark-kirk/704706.md?page=4)