[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/06/30/art.stark.youtube.jpg caption="California Democrat Pete Stark had a spirited discussion at a recent town hall. "]
(CNN) - Rep. Pete Stark must like going viral, at least amongst his conservative detractors.
"Who are you going to kill today?" is how he solicited a question from a self-proclaimed Minuteman - the volunteer organization, which tries to prevent illegal crossings of the U.S. border - at a recent town hall meeting in Fremont, California. It went from there.
The questioner continued, seen on a video posted by The Golden Gate Minuteman on Youtube, questioning the California Democrat over what the government will do to "to seal our borders so that we're a solvent country again."
Stark's answer: "We can't get enough Minuteman armed. We'd like to get all the Minuteman armed so they could stop shooting the people here," Stark said.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/03/17/art.brown0317.gi.jpg caption="Sen. Scott Brown told a Boston radio station Wednesday he's concerned the president will use the oil spill to pass a national energy tax sending jobs overseas."]
Washington (CNN) - Before an Oval Office meeting with President Obama Wednesday afternoon, Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown told a Boston radio station he's concerned the president will use the oil spill to pass a national energy tax sending jobs overseas.
Brown spoke in the morning with WBUR, the Boston NPR affiliate, following the president's Tuesday night address to the nation about the ongoing oil spill.
"I wish he would spend more time focusing on how we are going to clean up the spill and how we are going to contain it," Brown said. "And less time trying to pass the blame … and also trying to push, I feel, a national energy tax that will ultimately drive jobs overseas. That seems to be where they're headed."
Brown and Obama are scheduled to sit down at 2:30 p.m. ET in the president's West Wing office. The meeting is closed to the press.
"I'm going to talk, I'm presuming, about his national energy tax idea, and I'm sure he'll bring up immigration, and then I'm going to try to focus on jobs and see what the plans are to try and get this economy moving again," Brown told WBUR.
(CNN) - In a timeline, the Kirk for Senate campaign states Rep. Kirk's comments during the Blagojevich controversy were consistent with his role as a congressman and permissible by military rules regardless of being on active duty.
They also say Department of Defense rules do allow for some civilian political activities - particularly while in civilian clothes and acting in a civilian capacity outside of military facilities. Kirk did not make any statements during deployments to Afghanistan, according to the campaign.
Related: Kirk violated military rules on partisan activity
Kirk campaign press secretary Kirsten Kukowski also released the following statement:
"These questions have been addressed by the campaign in the past and had there been any issues documented in Congressman Kirk's military record, the Department of Defense would not have issued a second waiver for his deployment to Afghanistan. The campaign has made all of the Congressman's military fitness reports available for review and no concerns were documented."
The statement continued:
"The reality is that voters will have a clear contrast on Election Day between someone who served honorably as a legislator and service member and someone who lost millions of dollars of other people's money due to his recklessness and incompetence. Putting all of the posturing aside, Alexi Giannoulias represents the very same brand of politics that led to corruption, waste, abuse, historic debt and 11-percent unemployment. Voters in Illinois want a change and will stand with Mark Kirk, a thoughtful, independent leader who has a track record of delivering for the state."
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/06/15/art.kirk.0315.youtube.jpg caption ="Rep. Mark Kirk was counseled by the military twice for violating rules that bar members of the armed services from partisan political activities. Kirk is running for President Obama's former Senate seat."]
Washington (CNN) – Republican Rep. Mark Kirk of Illinois was counseled by the military twice in the last two years for violating rules that bar members of the armed services from partisan political activities, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday.
Kirk is running for President Obama's former Senate seat. He recently apologized for mischaracterizing portions of his 21-year military career.
In December 2008, as then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich fought accusations that he tried to sell the Senate seat after Obama's election, Kirk "participated in video discussions in the media" while on active duty, according to a statement from Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. April Cunningham.
Recent Comments