A couple of weeks ago Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) was saying crazy racist, birther-esque things in a debate with Democratic challenger Tammy Duckworth. Here’s a refresh:
Duckworth said “my family has served this nation in uniform going back to the Revolution. I’m a Daughter of the American Revolution. I’ve bled for this nation.” Kirk’s response was “I forgot that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.” While Duckworth’s mother is Thai, her father was, yes, a white person whose family had been in the U.S. since the Revolution.
Here’s the video of that moment.
And here’s Sen. Mark Kirk this past Friday at the last debate with Rep. Duckworth, trying to do that bigot’s backpedal.
Making a final pitch to keep his U.S. Senate seat, Republican Mark Kirk kicked off a debate with Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth by again apologizing for mocking her immigrant background and her family's military service. He later added "I am absolutely not a racist."
This won’t save Sen. Mark Kirk tomorrow when he become “former Senator Mark Kirk.” Here’s the problem. When push comes to shove, and Kirk is under duress, he’s shown that he’s willing to use baseless racist and unAmerican sentiments to attempt to win an argument. This is a worthless characteristic in a lawmaker.