Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is a progressive Democrat running for the United States Senate against Republican Congressman Mark Kirk. We are the people behind his campaign, and we need your help to keep this seat blue. Learn more about Alexi and help us elect a fighter for us to the U.S. Senate. |
Update [2010-7-27 13:52:25 by Alexi for Illinois]:: Alexi himself has stopped by to share his thoughts on filibuster reform as we watch the DISCLOSE Act debate. Join the filibuster discussion here.
Hi all - Georgia here, Director of New Media for Alexi's Senate campaign. I had an amazing time at Netroots Nation this year hearing your thoughts about the race and discussing how we can organize for victory in November. Alexi led the Illinois caucus and we discussed the issues facing Illinois families and how we can get our country back on track.
While we were at Netroots Nation, Republican Mark Kirk was having a bad weekend.
Fresh on the heels of being caught in another embellishment, Mark Kirk is trying to change the subject. He's aiming his guns at this community and the entire netroots, attacking Alexi Giannoulias for attending Netroots Nation.
Here is the Republican press release:
Kirk Campaign Questions Giannoulias for Joining Far-Left Wing Conference Featuring Van Jones, Marijuana Legalization and J-Street Panels
Giannoulias addressed Netroots Nation in Las Vegas last week, was scheduled to attend Netroots Candidate Event as well
Northbrook, Ill. – The Kirk for Senate campaign today called on Alexi Giannoulias to explain his decision to participate in a far left-wing conference that featured panels with Van Jones, marijuana legalization advocates and J-Street.
Last week, Giannoulias announced on his Facebook page that he would be "leading the Illinois Caucus" at the Netroots Nation convention in Las Vegas. The Netroots website showed Giannoulias confirmed to attend the conference’s candidate event as well.
"Alexi Giannoulias’ decision to root his campaign in the far-left should be a troubling signal to independent voters," Kirk spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said. "Alexi Giannoulias claims to be mainstream but has no problem associating with 9/11 truthers like Van Jones and other left-wing radicals. Alexi Giannoulias claims to stand with Israel but has no problem aligning his campaign with J-Street and its supporters. The people of Illinois deserve a thoughtful, centrist leader not someone who panders to left-wing fringe groups."
The conference agenda included a "conversation" with 9/11 "truther" Van Jones who resigned his post as "Green Jobs Czar" last year after news reports revealed he had signed a petition accusing former President Bush of allowing September 11th to occur. Columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote, "You can't sign a petition demanding not one but four investigations of the charge that the Bush administration deliberately allowed Sept. 11, 2001 -- i.e., collaborated in the worst massacre ever perpetrated on American soil -- and be permitted in polite society, let alone have a high-level job in the White House."
Another panel, "Israel Palestine Caucus," was scheduled to be presented by J-Street staff members Isaac Luria and Amy Spitalnick. J-Street is a controversial group known for its harsh criticism of Israel. Earlier this year, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz said, "I reject J Street because it spends more time criticizing Israel than supporting it. They shouldn't call themselves pro-Israel."
A third panel, "Marijuana Policy and Politics," was scheduled to discuss how the left-wing can make marijuana legalization a mainstream political issue.
Congressman Mark Kirk is an established leader on the U.S.-Israel relationship and does not support the J-Street agenda. He is opposed to the legalization of marijuana and rejects 9/11 truthers as kooks. For 2009, the non-partisan Congressional Quarterly rated Kirk in the exact center of the House on presidential support.
That's a lot of words dedicated to slamming this community. More words, in fact, that Mark Kirk has dedicated to defending his vote AGAINST unemployment benefits. More words than he dedicated to defending his votes AGAINST Wall Street reform. And more words he has dedicated to explaining why he thought, after six straight months of job losses, that unemployment isn't "a big issue."
Kirk has taken more money from the financial sector than any other member of the House and he has four times as much cash on hand than Alexi because he's willing to take money from any corporate pocket.
Alexi has pledged not to take a dime from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists. Mark Kirk wouldn't attack Alexi's participation at NN10 if he wasn't afraid of what this community can do for this race.
Republicans know that the netroots have the power to defeat Mark Kirk, which is why they're attacking us with lies and smears.
Head on over to ActBlue and help us close Mark Kirk's corporate cash gap. If we can reach 1,000 supporters, I'll personally send a thank you note to Congressman Kirk thanking him for his press release this morning and for energizing this community to defeat him.
Can you chip in $5?
Head on over to ActBlue today.
If you can't donate now, sign up to volunteer.
alexiforillinois.com/volunteer
We need your help to keep this seat blue today.
Thanks!