The Senate Republicans' most vulnerable member is running awfully hard away from his party, as he runs for reelection. Illinois' Mark Kirk is running furiously from his party, now that voters are actually paying attention in race against Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
Kirk is one of just two outliers in the Senate GOP Conference on whether the chamber should vote on Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court this year and has bent over backward to show he disagrees with his fellow Republicans. Aside from telling other Republicans to "man up" and vote on President Barack Obama's nominee, Kirk has circulated memos to Republicans touting Garland and boasted about a personal note from Obama thanking Kirk for advocating for his nominee.
Just this week, Kirk co-sponsored a criminal justice reform bill that would loosen some mandatory minimum sentences, despite complaints within the GOP that it would unwittingly release violent criminals early from prison. And he joined with five of the most liberal senators to urge the NBA to move its 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina, in response to the state's controversial new law that bans anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people. […]
"For me, it's just Mark Kirk being Mark Kirk, because I was always very independent of my party in the House, as well as in the Senate," Kirk, a former House member, said in an interview with Politico on Wednesday. "I think for Illinois, they want a thoughtful, independent voice and not just a party Xerox."
Until next year, that is. He'll be one of the obstructionist gang again, should he pull off a miracle and regain his seat. Because however hard is trying to not be a Republican now, he'll still be on a ballot with either Ted Cruz or Donald Trump at the top of it, in Illinois.
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