Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk has a long and revolting history of saying racist stuff, but somehow he managed to top himself at a debate Thursday night with his Democratic opponent, double-amputee Iraq veteran Tammy Duckworth:
Duckworth: "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. But I still want to be there in the Senate when the drums of war sound, because people are quick to sound the drums of war, and I want to be there to say, 'This is what it costs—this is what you're asking us to do.' And if that's the case, I'll go. Families like mine are the ones that bleed first. But let's make sure the American people understand what we are engaging in, and let's hold our allies accountable, because we can't do it all."
Kirk: "I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington."
This is just sick. Fortunately, in all likelihood, we won't have to put up with Kirk much longer. Polls show Duckworth with a wide lead and Hillary Clinton with an even bigger one. What's more, major outside groups on both sides continue to ignore this contest, meaning they strongly suspect Kirk's political career is not long for this world.
We were planning to make this move even before this latest garbage came out of Kirk's mouth, but that just cements it for us: We're changing our rating on this race from Lean Democratic to Likely Democratic, and it’s even on the cusp of being safely in Team Blue’s hands. Our only slight hesitation is that polling has been infrequent, and that Kirk is an incumbent who’s managed to avoid scandal (at least, the types that don’t involve saying racist crap). But we may yet move this race again, and if we do, it’ll be another column over to the left.