 While there were
no major fireworks in the televised debate between
the two major party candidates for President Barack Obama's old
Senate seat, they did lay out their policy differences on some
issues, including gay marriage and immigration.But the hourlong
debate always circled back to the issues of character that have
dominated the campaign and filled the airwaves with negative
commercials from both sides.
Kirk, a Naval Reserve officer who has admitted embellishing his
military record, said he has publicly taken responsibility for his
misstatements and corrected them. Kirk said it's the "ultimate
irony" that Giannoulias continues to criticize him yet has never
been in the military.
"You were back in the rear with the gear," said Kirk, a five-term
congressman from Chicago's northern suburbs.
Giannoulias, the Illinois state treasurer, insisted Kirk has not
fully answered all the questions about a chain of embellishments.
Kirk has claimed he won a prestigious military award, though it
was awarded to his entire unit, and said he served in the first Gulf
War and the invasion of Iraq when he didn't. He also said he served
in combat and that he came under fire while flying over Kosovo and
Iraq, but he later backtracked.
"Why with this record would you not tell the truth? Why would you
make all this stuff up? Congressman, it's a simple question: Where
you shot at or not?" Giannoulias pressed Kirk during the debate.
Kirk said Giannoulias was the one who hadn't taken responsibility
for his family's failed Chicago bank, where he worked as an
executive before being elected treasurer in 2006, and for losses in
a college savings fund in the treasurer's office.
"I'm not perfect, I made mistakes, but I owned them and corrected
them," Kirk said. "Meanwhile, my opponent, nothing is really his
fault."
Giannoulias defended his family's failed bank, which had loaned
money to criminals. He said he was proud of Broadway Bank, which
regulators shut down in April when it couldn't raise new capital.
Throughout the debate, Giannoulias repeatedly tied Kirk to Rove,
a political adviser to former President George W. Bush. Giannoulias
has been targeted in ads by Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies
and its affiliate, American Crossroads, a group launched under
Rove's direction.
"Congressman Kirk helped Karl Rove wreck the economy, and he's
repaying the favor by giving him millions of dollars in undisclosed
contributions," Giannoulias said.
Kirk said outside groups such as Rove's that are helping
candidates should disclose their donors.
"I think the key issue is disclosure. We need reform that has
every candidate or group seeking to influence elections disclose
their donors," Kirk said.
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Earlier this year the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the way for
corporations and unions to spend money in elections and has led to
many new groups being formed.
The candidates differed on political issues in the race,
including gay marriage. Giannoulias supports it while Kirk does not,
although he said he supports civil unions.
The candidates also differed on their stances on immigration
reform, namely the DREAM Act. The legislation, sponsored by Illinois
Sen. Dick Durbin for nearly a decade, would help grant U.S.
residency to immigrant youths who have been brought into the country
illegally by their parents. The legislation would require youths to
spend time in college or the military.
While Kirk did not answer definitively during the debate if he
would support such legislation, afterward he told reporters that he
would vote against the DREAM Act -- the first time he has publicly
said so. Kirk said he would focus on border security first.
"It's not the time for the DREAM Act right now," he said. "If it
came up, I'd vote no. First border control, then everything else."
Giannoulias said he would support the DREAM Act and comprehensive
immigration reform. He said current immigration laws separate
families.
Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones and Libertarian Mike Labno
were not included in the debate put on by Chicago's WLS-TV and the
League of Women Voters of Illinois.
[Associated Press;
By DEANNA BELLANDI and SOPHIA TAREEN]
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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