Another Republican Rep. Runs From Their Constituents

The latest coward is Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL). Iraqi war vet Josh Lansdale was denied admission to Kir's event, but he went after Kirk anyway. See how he answers Lansdale's question about Kirk's position on the war. Truly pathetic.

Rep. Mark Kirk The Moron (R-Of Course)

Republicans never cease to simultaneously amuse and scare me with their ridiculous antics. Congressman Mark Kirk of Illinois is the example for the moment. This shows the ignorance of said Congressman and how that lack of knowledge breeds outright stupidity. When talking about Mexico and the undocumented immigrants coming to the United States, it also makes him look like a xenophobic idiot.

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressman is pushing a not-so-quick fix in the debate over illegal immigrants from Mexico: free contraceptives.

"A slower rate of growth of Mexico's population would improve the economy of Mexico. It would also reduce the environmental pressure on Mexico's ecosystem. But a slower rate of growth would also reduce the long-term illegal immigration pressure on America's borders," reasoned Rep. Mark Kirk, who also supports stronger border security in the short-term.

In reality, fertility rates have plunged in Mexico since 1980, when an average couple would have five or more children. Now, the country's fertility rate has dropped to 2.5 children, compared to 2.1 for the United States, according to United Nations data.

So much for this London School of Economics grad (are you kidding me???) analyzing all the data before offering his 'wisdom'. Offering contraceptives to people is a good thing anywhere, but when the motive is to cut down on 'illegal immigration' the proposal smacks of racist xenophobia.

Thankfully Reuters includes a slice of reality for its readers in the third paragraph. If Kirk could take those massive blinders off his face he might be able to see that the flow of people into the United States has nothing to do with population and everything to do with economics. If there is more opportunity in Country A and you live in Country B where corruption and poverty is rampant, Country A might be a little more appealing.

Oh, not to let Reuters off the hook, but at the bottom of the little article they try to spin the story for Kirk. Their logic is that with his LSE degree, the proposal might be better accepted because its more fiscally prudent to ship condoms than build a big fence in the desert. Way to go Reuters, what would we do without that silver lining in the story.

Tempers Flare Between House Repubs And White House

My, my, how the tables have turned. It wasn't but a few years ago when Democrats would bicker while the mighty Republican rubber stamp machine ran wild. Now that Republican legislative priorities have shown they don't work and the war is increasingly draining our treasury and the blood of our brave soldiers, things are rapidly changing. Democrats are becoming more united against the war by the day and the Republicans keep showing signs of fracture. Today's event was quite the crack between House Republicans and the White House.

From The Hill:

Reps. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) attracted the ire of White House officials for allegedly speaking to reporters about a Tuesday meeting between Bush and centrist Republicans on the Iraq war. Details of the contentious meeting first emerged Wednesday evening and attracted Page 1 headlines yesterday.

Sources said that Dan Meyer, Bush’s liaison to the House, confronted LaHood while White House political strategist Karl Rove rebuked Kirk. It is unclear if LaHood or Kirk were the originial sources for the stories, but LaHood was quoted in one of the articles.

Regardless, LaHood and Meyer got into a shouting match as emotions ran high and voices were raised yesterday morning in the White House while lawmakers were waiting to meet with first lady Laura Bush, according to two legislators who witnessed the exchange.

That must have been some sight to see. Lockstep Republicans are officially a thing of the past. While Bush is staying the course, oblivious to the 2008 elections coming up quick, House Republicans who wish to keep their jobs into the 111th session are starting to speak up. Apparently the White House does not like to see their Congressional brethren declaring a bit of independence from their glorious leader. Expect much more of this peculiar behavior from Republicans as the next election looms larger on the horizon as does the strengthening Democratic majority.