Mark Kirk has vowed to be in the vanguard of a Republican bulwark against President Barack Obama's spending and tax plans. At the same time, Illinois' newly elected senator says he will be a model of conciliation and compromise in an era of sharp partisan divide.
by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
(November 06, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) Mid-term poll is over in United States, with Republicans taking control of the Congress, while Democrats somehow managing to keep the majority in the Senate. At this moment, the most focused man in US media is Mark Steven Kirk [fifth term Republican Congressman from Mount Prospect, Illinois], who defeated the Democratic candidate in Illinois and has snatched the Senate seat, which was vacated by Barack Obama, when he became the President. Obama was never expecting such huge set-back in his own Illinois state, which left a strong signal for him that American voters are increasing becoming intolerant on various policies of the US President.
Meanwhile, Senator-elect Mark Kirk could be sworn in as the new Senator from Illinois in time for the session of Congress that's scheduled to begin after Thanksgiving.
The same court order that mandated the special election for the remainder of what had been the Obama term also required that state officials speed up the process of certifying the winner.
Dan White of the State Board of Elections says the board is set to meet on November 23 to certify Kirk's victory.
That same day, the Secretary of State's office will get signatures from Governor Pat Quinn and Secretary of State Jesse White on a document to be sent to Washington, formally notifying the U.S. Senate that the people of Illinois have elected Kirk.
Secretary of State Spokesman, Dave Druker told WLS-AM, "The idea would be to get it there as quickly as possible. The Senate is due back after Thanksgiving on the 29th, and they could make arrangements with the Vice President's office for the swearing in of Mr. Kirk."
Druker also points out that for an earlier session of Congress, planned for November 15 through November 19, Roland Burris would still represent Illinois. "Mr. Burris would continue to serve until Mr. Kirk is sworn in," he said.
Mark Kirk has vowed to be in the vanguard of a Republican bulwark against President Barack Obama's spending and tax plans. At the same time, Illinois' newly elected senator says he will be a model of conciliation and compromise in an era of sharp partisan divide.
Kirk's ability to reconcile those two very different agendas may come to define his political career and his ability to hold his new post in a state that remains strongly Democratic despite modest Republican gains in Tuesday's elections.
Kirk will now fill President Barack Obama's former Senate seat, which was the subject of controversy when former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was accused of trying to "sell" it in 2008.
Kirk described himself as a fiscal conservative, a social moderate and a national security hawk.
Senator-elect Mark Kirk began his career on the staff of his predecessor, Congressman John Porter. He later served in the World Bank, the State Department, the law firm of Baker & McKenzie, and the U.S. House International Relations Committee. Kirk, who holds the rank of Commander, is a Naval Reserve intelligence officer and has served during conflicts with Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, and Bosnia. He recently became the first House member to serve in an imminent danger zone since 1942 when he deployed as a reservist to Afghanistan in December, 2008. He completed his second deployment to Afghanistan in January.
On the other hand, defeated Democratic candidate in Illinois, Alexi Giannoulias is expected to me offered a job in White House under Obama’s administration, which President Barack Obama may offer him to broaden Giannoulias’ resume, perhaps with fresh public and private sector experience. Young, engaging, wealthy Alexia Giannoulias has an important ally in the White House [Obama]. What’s more, he has endured the stress and scrutiny of a rough-and-tumble political campaign.
R. Craig Sautter, professor of political science at DePaul University while commenting on Alexi Giannoulias said, “I think that he’s a big player in the Democratic Party. He’s a well-known name.”
He noted that Giannoulias has served just one term as treasurer and drew flak for the failure of his family’s Broadway Bank in a campaign that Sautter said was the most negative he has ever seen. But he believes the negativity will pass.
Kent Redfield, a University of Illinois-Springfield political science professor, said Giannoulias faced an uphill battle statewide because of that thin resume and Kirk's record of public service.
“He has to broaden the base beyond just kind of being pigeonholed as a Chicago politician,” said Redfield, who believes Giannoulias must stay in the spotlight if he expects to succeed in politics.
"There's a danger here. If you go away then people forget you." He said Giannoulias needs to create a record to run on, and pursue private sector positions rather than running for office again immediately. He said a position in Washington D.C. is a good route. “There are some options there but he really needs to have kind of a fresh start.”
Senator-elect Mark Kirk has served in Bangladesh caucus in US Congress as well as in several Congressional committees. He is an expert on South Asian and Bangladesh affairs. I know him for many years. To me, Mark Kirk is the champion defender of human rights. In his website, Mark Kirk wrote about me:
“Many readers of this Web site are familiar with the heroic actions of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. Shoaib is a Bangladeshi journalist who faces prosecution in his native country for his advocacy of an interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims, as well as articles he published critical of Islamic extremism. Under Bangladeshi law the crime he is charged with, sedition, is punishable by death.
“Dr. Richard Benkin of Mount Prospect, one of Shoaib’s biggest advocates, helped bring him to the United States this week. Yesterday, Shoaib attended the 10th District Israel Forum for High School students, and today we visited the American Jewish Committee – Chicago Chapter for a talk about the state of religious persecution in Bangladesh.
“Shoaib spoke of his imprisonment, torture and difficulties that he and his family have faced since he started speaking out against radical Islam and in favor of better relations between his country and Israel. His moving stories illustrated an all-too-common trend found in many of the world’s most impoverished nations. For example, in Bangladesh, as in many other countries, many madrasahs are being used as a breeding ground for extremism. Children are indoctrinated at a very early age to hate Jews and Israel, and some are even told that violent acts are to be encouraged against them. But moderates like Shoaib are helping to win over the “silent majority” that is opposed to the actions of a few.
“What impresses me most about Shoaib is his never-ending optimism. Despite all of his hardships, he has never once doubted his efforts to help bridge barriers between the Muslim world and Israel.
“Many attendees at the American Jewish Committee event asked Shoaib about what can be done to help him in his efforts. He said one of the most important things we can do is to spread the word about the oppression that occurs in Bangladesh and throughout the world.
“It was an honor to have Shoaib in the Chicago area and I hope the next time I see him he will be a free man. But as Shoaib said today, we hope that the charges against him will be dropped – not because of political pressure, but because Bangladesh decides to formally recognize Israel.”
In March 2007, Mark Kirk introduced a Resolution [HR 64] in my favor which was passed by 409-1 vote.
Senator-elect Mark Steven Kirk is my friend and brother. He also is a great friend of Bangladesh. He can play effective role in getting Free Trade Agreement for Bangladeshi textile products in the US market, which will benefit millions of workers in the readymade garment sector.
And of course, it has not become clear that Barack Obama has no special consideration for Bangladesh, especially when he did not include even a shuttle trip to Dhaka during his coming India trip. Democrats have also not shown any positive sign of passing the Free Trade Agreement in favor of Bangladesh. On the other hand, current government in Dhaka are committed in fighting Islamist militancy and religious extremism. Dhaka has very effectively taken several measures in stopping further spread of religious extremism or Jihadism in the country, through madrassas or other religious bases. Such policies of the current government in Bangladesh deserves all out support of the Capitol Hill as well as every peace-loving American citizen and politicians. Let us hope, Senator-elect Mark Kirk and the Republican party as well as Democrats will take Bangladesh as their most effective partner in combating terrorism and religious extremism.
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