In a series of Town Hall meetings Saturday September 29th, Congressman Mark Kirk,

R-10th presented his accomplishments, opinions and proposals in connection with his role as part of one of the most divided Congresses in U.S. history.

I was able to attend his presentation at a local parish Men’s Club in Wilmette on Saturday night, along with 25 other rather concerned neighbors for a lecture and question and answer session with the Congressman.

Kirk consistently mentioned his bipartisan progress on such issues as denying a previously approved British Petroleum building permit, providing Federal funding for special education programs in his district, and supporting the Iraq Study Group’s wind-down of the war

in Iraq.

As a reservist Navy flier, Kirk brought a first hand view of military affairs that gives him credibility on veterans issues, the draft, and the best way to support the troops. He was able to forcefully and believably answer some very tough questions on military affairs, and actually diffused the anger of some of those in attendance.

But….

Unfortunately, Kirk steadfastly refuses to take a hard stance on very many other issues. His stance on the BP Refinery is pure demagoguery, blaming people in “Indiana, Dallas, and London” for their enthusiasm in dumping pollutants in Lake Michigan, then quipping that “When Amoco Executives lived on the North Shore, they would never think of dumping in Lake Michigan”.

Well, Mark, Amoco (and many other industrial)executives have lived on the North Shore for 100 years now, and were certainly capable of making Lake Michigan the cesspool it was before 1980 or so. Kirk avoided the issue of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation district dumping 220 million gallons of raw sewage into the lake last month, filling about 25% of the basements in the neighborhood where he spoke. Avoided this unpleasant truth so he could blame municipalities in Michigan and Wisconsin for dumping.

Kirk presented a laundry list of earmarks and spending programs that he supports, regardless of a massive federal budget deficit, and despite the long history of such programs failing. He even identified a federalized special education program that has resulted in a congruent decrease in state spending for special ed, and no improvement in results. His solution? You’ll never guess.

The Feds should spend even more on local issues, including

ash tree removal in Wilmette (to a sort of hushed groan).

Kirk demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of economics and regulation in a rather tortured litany of methods to prevent import of Chinese goods into the U.S. He wants the FDA take a role in regulating Chinese production of goods for export. I agree that the FDA can succeed in preventing trade with China, much as it has in preventing U.S. manufacturing from having a competitive pharmaceutical market. I question, since this is one of the most uncontrolled industries in the U.S. from standpoint of cost, do we really need the expertise of the FDA to ruin manufacturing in this industry, one of the lowest cost providers of goods worldwide?

Kirk was playing to the audience–telling people what he thought they wanted to hear, rather than taking principled stances in

favor of spending restraint, individual decision making and

free markets. Kirk clearly forgot that he was speaking to a primarily Catholic audience in his statement that he supports earmarks for stem cell research in the name of science regardless of the opinions of the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation, that stem cells research is not a good research priority.

It was frankly tiresome to be told in effect that yet another set of earmarks is going to be the magic that fixes the deficit, ends partisan bickering and cleans up Lake Michigan—along with the idea that supporting Schip is going to reduce health care costs.

Mark Kirk, you obviously have some ability to take a tough stance on occasion. Your naval service to the country is commendable, but can you please stop trying to spend and regulate our way to prosperity?

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John Powers is president of The Chicago Daily Observer.