That’s Right Nate

There’s a Republican tidal wave growing to take back the Senate and this wave is going nationwide.  Nowhere is this seen as clearly as in a seat that the Democrats never thought they’d lose.   Former Notre Dame quarterback and astronaut Mark Kirk is poised to win President Obama’s former Senate seat in Illinois .

At a news conference today, Kirk who first gained prominence writing a series of hit songs for the band Jefferson Starship in the 1980s including We Built This City and Sarah, looked every bit the front runner.  “I have made mistakes concerning certain aspects of my accomplishments and experiences, and I apologize for those mistakes and I pledge to correct those errors,” Kirk said. “I am not perfect and was careless. I will do better and I will make sure this never happens again.”

Kirk, who designed the 46 defense for the 1986 Super Bowl Champion Bears, was unjustly attacked by the media after several claims he made about his background in the military and in education were shown to be false.   Kirk apologized with all the grace and aplomb that one would expect from the former Cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch and while he could not guarantee that he would not do it again, the former Starlight Express cast member did promise to apologize the next time it happens.

Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) shown here with two "Kirk Girls"

Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL) has been getting a lot of heat lately because of a web video that claimed,  “The Navy named Mark Intelligence Officer of the Year for his combat service in Kosovo.”

Obviously, such a false claim is inexcusable.  Kirk, whose Illinois Senate campaign has emphasized his service in the Navy Reserves, acknowledged last week that he did not receive the award, despite a claim in his official biography and his own statements in a 2002 House committee hearing.   I’d be a hypocrite if I called for anything less than Kirk’s ouster after making similar calls for Max Blumenthal to step down.   Such lies are inexcusable…if they’re lies.

Think about it.  You know who is probably a bad intelligence officer?  The spy who really was given the intelligence officer of the year award.  When you’re dealing with intelligence misinformation is the key.   Think about it, when have you ever heard anyone utter the line, “Oh 007, I saw you at the Spy of the Year Awards.  Most impressive Mr. Bond”?

A good intelligence officer or spy wouldn’t exactly publicize that they were an intelligence officer.   Maybe Mark Kirk really did win the war, but it’s being covered up because the government doesn’t want it leaking out so they took a front and made that person the official “intelligence officer of the year”.  I imagine that Mark Kirk then would have been given the real award at a separate ceremony.  Rather than criticizing Mark Kirk, maybe we should honor him for winning intelligence officer of the year and also for helping to cover it up to protect state secrets.