Somehow, I thought it was appropriate to copy this photo off Ellen's Blog.
Kirk hasn't given his acceptance speech as far as I know, but I had to leave the party early to relieve my babysitter.
I won't deny that when I snuck into the Kirk war room, there were some tense moments.
But, the important thing is that, collectively, the 10th District chose person over party, and recognized that Mark Kirk is a fabulous Congressman who deserved our support.
Kirk Wins. Seals admits defeat, for the second time. 'Nuf 'Sed.
We'll have more on the local Lake County races tomorrow. But I would be remiss if I did not give a big shout-out to my college buddy Dan Duffy, who CRUSHED Bill "the liar" Gentes, as well as Keith Gray and Dan Sugrue, who ran great campaigns against entrenched Democrats, and also our victorious county-wide officials, Circuit Court Clerk Sally Coffelt and State's Attorney Michael Waller. All our GOP state reps also won, and although we lost a few county board seats, we are well-positioned for 2010. The Obama wave only strikes once.
But for now, as far as the 10th District goes, let's just leave it with: Lauren Beth Gash is 0-for-5.
I watched Obama's speech and I admit I liked the line about how he's going to be everybody's president. But, given all the promises he made, he's going to have to deliver an awful lot or risk being accused of overselling himself. He's going to be our president, so rather than act like Ellen, who believes that if Bush said black, it must by definition be white, I'm willing to give Barack a shot. But, I will tell you that I'm concerned about his economic policies and time will tell whether he can lead the nation out of the current financial crisis.
Frankly, some people predicted, and I agree, that what may have needed to happen for the Republican party is for the nation to repudiate 8 years of George Bush, and to start over. Fine. Now the Dems have to produce. And in the first election after a change in administration, the opposing party almost always has a comeback. So, not only does the GOP have that bounce to look forward to in 2010, closer to home we also have Governor Blagojevich and his issues, and we'll just see what the political landscape will bring in the next cycle.
Stay tuned, and thanks for being with us.
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12 comments:
Rep. Kirk gave a wonderful speech. Ellen, the pup and the rest of the Dems need to understand the voters of the Tenth believe in Mark Kirk and should accept he was elected to his fifth term. Mark earned this election...best wishes to him and Kimberly
We have a gutter governor, we have a house republican caucus that's been defeated and we have a long list of appropriators that have quit.
I say Mark takes putnam's job and takes over ranking member on defense.
Congratulations to Mark Kirk!
As frustrated as I am with the re-election of Mark Kirk, any sadness I had has been overlooked by the incredible joy of seeing one of Illinois own become the Next President of the United States. Just as Palin was not ready to be VP, it is abundantely clear now that no matter how much help, spin, and any other issue related things Dan Seals could have used to sell himself as a candidate we complete failures. It's hard as a Democrat to vote for a man you don't believe is qualified, but would rather have then someone who is deceptive of how "moderate" they are. My hope is that the 10th wakes up and sees that we have a real, qualified, intelligent Democrat (Jay Footlik) at our feet. Hopefully, he can turn this around in 2010, because to lose this election in a year where Democrats everywhere changed norms is simply embarassing. Hats off to TA and everyone at the Kirk campaign, but know that the 10th Dems are quite ready to be silenced. In any case, President Obama faces a tougher slate of tasks then any man to take the office since FDR, hopefully his demeanor and sense of purpose will inspire all Americans to rise up from the court jester of the world and take our rightful seat as Hegemon
I understand the state of inebriation obamaphiles must be in at the moment and I hope you enjoy it because Illinois Democrats have been pretty misreble at doing things other than win elections. Please stay off the road, enough people are dying in chicago already because of your party's inability to stop crime.
Tonight for all intents and purposes ended the meaning and significance of the 10th dems. Bush is gone, Mark is here to stay-unless he runs statewide, and your party blows at governing.
Jay as has been pointed out here is a lobbyist now in d.c. which is a death sentence as a credential.
I look forward to this blog now focusing on gutting the state party and growing our grassroots rather than discourse related to nutwomen.
Amen to your comments Anon 4 and I take offense to your comments Anon 3 claiming Mark is a deceptive moderate. I am trying to figure out what a pro-choice, anti-gun, pro-environment, pro-stem cell Republican is if they are not a moderate.
You basically just insulted the intelligence of 55% of the 10th District who for the fourth time re-elected Kirk to serve in Congress.
If anything, the Republican Party as a whole should be looking to the Kirk campaign on how to win in a Democratic landslide.
Kirk is now in a position to lead the re-branding of his party both nationally and in this state. The Republican Party is a mess in Illinois and Kirk is the only one who can fix it. Time to step up and take responsibility for a state party in desperate need of leadership.We will back you 100%.
Thank you, northside sox fan. Mark Kirk IS the moderate we can all be proud of in so many ways. The 10th Dems under the leadership of a very angry, hostile, mean spirited loser like Lauren Beth Gash is finished, over, done, put a fork in her and in it together with that disgusting catwoman. What they and the DCCC threw at Mark Kirk didn't stick. Voters in this district are hardly stupid. They can appreciate what Mark Kirk not only says, but what he does. No amount of their sleezy, underhanded, vicious attacks will unseat him. Get over it. And get rid of Lauren, Ellen Beth, Dan, and all the losers who think they can manipulate this district. It's not for sale. I am offended ath the commentor who thinks that Mark Kirk is not who everyone KNOWS he is. Every single newspaper endorsed him because they KNOW the truth. Let's enjoy this wonderful new day. And let's bid a strong and permanent farewell to Gash/trash, Gill/shrill and that entire group of nutjobs who really thought they had the upper hand. They don't. They never will. Now go away and play elsewhere. And Dan, why not get out and get a job, run for congress in the 9th where you belong.
My money is on Obama giving Seals some no-work federal job somewhere. He'll do just fine, as will many other Dems that Obama will reward. Seals may be undeserving even among Dems, but they'll take care of him, don't worry your little heads about it.
Dan Seals is now re-umemployed. Footlik, Mr. 18%, can try but Kirk just kicked Seals ass by a larger margin than last time, even after $6m in DCCC/Union money.
Tenth Dems? 0-5 showing Lauren Beth Gash is a total loser.
As someone who volunteered for the Seals campaign, it is sad to see Dan lose like this. I will admit, however, that Dan's attempts to tie Kirk to Bush proved futile. If this election's results say anything, it is that Kirk has established an image of "thoughtful, independent leadership" within the tenth district. His ability to win beyond the Bush years and into the Obama years shows that he will have a comfortable hold on the seat in the future, unless the Democrats can get a real heavyweight to run.
I really do wish that Dan had won this election. But, if the tenth must be represented by a Republican, I am at least glad that it is a Republican who remains moderate on some issues, and not an ideological zealot. Congratulations to Mark Kirk. Perhaps we will win his seat the next time around.
Anon 7:51- that's big of you, and it's never easy to lose. I worked hard for many candidates over the years who have lost, and I always believed they were better, but life doesn't always work out that way. But, believe me, there is always another campaign.
I have to ask you, though, what did you like about Seals that you don't like about Kirk? Maybe you should give him a chance, if you weren't poisoned by the Seals commercials. They reason they didn't work is because they weren't true. Kirk is the real deal. Give it a try, it won't hurt, I promise.
This morning,as we were driving to work, I joked to my wife that I thought gas would have dropped at least a buck and a half just on the news of obama winning. That got me thinking - gasprices aren't quite there, but they are getting back to the level they were when Mark took office. I'm thinking maybe if Dan goes away for good they'll get back below $2!
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