Kirk Denies He's Going Right With Palin Request

- By Warner Todd Huston

Mark Kirk is denying that he's trying to angle rightward in the run up to the GOP primary next year with his recent reaching out to Governor Sarah Palin to secure her endorsement for his candidacy.

"I think I am who I am. I am a social moderate, fiscal conservative. But this is a big race and we are building a broad coalition and it will be, for a Republican candidacy, a center-right coalition, but for me, I haven't changed my views."

This is, of course, rather interesting. Kirk is reaching out to conservatives by courting one of their idols in Sarah Palin, yet is also claiming he hasn't changed his views. It makes one wonder just why a conservative would want to vote for him if he isn't even interested in paying lipservice to their causes?

In essence, Kirk is saying vote for me... and I'll ignore all you stand for. After all Kirk's record is more often center left than center right.

Kirk is rated poorly by the National Right to Life Committee and nearly 100% by abortion supporters. The NRA has awarded him a grade of "D." The American Conservative Union rates him at 40% for 2007 and 48% for 2008. On jobs the CATO Institute gives him an even 50%, saying his record is mixed. And in one of his stronger areas -- on taxes -- Kirk is rated only at 58% by the National Taxpayers Union. As you can see, these hot button, conservative issues put him mostly in the center left category, not center right.

So, it is amusing that Kirk is claiming to be seeking the vote of that "center right coalition" yet also says he won't change his positions in order to attract their support!

Who exactly is Kirk trying to kid? He'd elicit more respect for himself if he just said that he'll support the center right position a little less than half the time but that any Democrat won't even be that weighted to the right. Let's be honest here. Mark Kirk is a center left candidate, not a center right one.

But, for sure his Democrat opponent is a left/far left candidate. Kirk will be on the side of conservatives more so than the Democrat, but he is positively no center right guy. It's just that simple.

In the end, there really is no reason at all for Sarah Palin to endorse Mark Kirk before the primary. Maybe, to be a good party member, she'll endorse him after the primaries (assuming he can defeat conservative Patrick Hughes) when there is no conservative choice. But before the primary there is no reason at all for a conservative minded person to support Mark Kirk.

-WTH