Mark Kirk Burns the Midnight Oil

This one is too preposterous to ignore. 10th District Congressman Mark Kirk, presumably burning the midnight oil before the Cap & Trade Energy Bill, takes a break to tell us he is reading every page of the (900+ pages) Bill. To ensure that everyone knows, he makes a video and posts it on his YouTube Channel.

So, um, what's that about? Your LakeCountyEye ventures to guess that Kirk had already decided to vote for the Bill. (Which, the next day, he in fact did.) And anticipating a negative reaction from the Right, put out this hasty video. He tells us he read every page of the Stimulus Bill and voted against it. This supposedly is to establish his conservative credentials. Then he shows us how he is reading every page of the Energy Bill -- presumably to demonstrate his vote the next day would reflect the merits of the bill, and not some political calculation on his part. Your LakeCountyEye would expect nothing less from the Congressman who owns the copyright to the phrase thoughtful, independent leadership ©!

Kirk was right about one thing, his Aye-vote did not sit well with his Republican base (which even the Capitol Fax Blog noticed). Peering into the magic crystal ball, your LakeCountyEye sees quite clearly that Kirk will not be running for Illinois Senate. Nor will Kirk be running for Illinois Governor. One doesn't become a nominee to a statewide office by pee-oh-ing your base.

The magic crystal ball indicates, further, that while Kirk will be running for re-election in District 10, he is not worried about a primary challenge from the Right. Even though the Energy Bill is not popular with the Republican Base, it is popular in the left-of-center 10th Congressional District. So an Aye-vote on the Energy Bill should be expected to help Kirk with general election voters, not with primary voters.

The take-home of all this is, Kirk is playing already to win in the general election. Which means he is taking the threat of his Democratic opponent much more seriously than the threat of a primary challenge from an opponent on the Right.