Mark Kirk likes to pretend that he's a moderate.  But the fact is, he's no moderate -- he's voted with George Bush 90% of the time.  By comparison, the ultra conservative Peter Roskam has voted with George Bush 90% of the time.

At least Roskam is honest.  Mark Kirk doesn't have Roskam's integrity.  Despite being the chosen candidate for the Club for Growth, Kirk has long pretended that he was "independent" and a political moderate.  Kirk obviously thinks that his constituents are stupid.

The Club for Growth, according to its own website, "has become a power broker of sorts with the conservative movement," and "has become a force in congressional elections, taking aim at moderate Republicans."

So it came as no surprise when the Neo-Con independent group, Freedom's Watch, invaded the IL-10's airwaves in support of Mark Kirk.  While Kirk may try to represent himself as an independent or political moderate, inside the Beltway, his friends know that they can count on him.  Just as they can count on ultra-conservative Peter Roskam.

There's more...

Freedom's Watch has at least two robo calls out attacking Kay Hagan, one color glossy mailer attacking Kay Hagan and at least one television ad attacking Kay Hagan and about the only kernel of truth that can be found in any of them is when they state who funded the calls, mailers and ad.  Of course, even that doesn't disclose the full truth since Freedom's Watch is funded in large part by Sheldon Aldelson, a gambling mogul who has padded his fortune developing massive gambling resorts in China.  

"While Elizabeth Dole surely welcomes this group's intervention on behalf of her flailing campaign, North Carolinians would be distressed to know that Sheldon Adelson makes his billions off of investments in China, a country that benefits greatly from trade deals while workers here pay the price," Hagan Campaign Communications Director Colleen Flanagan said. "Adelson directly lobbied members of Congress, including disgraced Representative Tom Delay, on behalf of Chinese politicians and opened one of the largest casinos in the world in Macao. With those billions he's funded Freedom's Watch, whose staff is largely made up of former Bush White House staffers."

There's more...

BACKGROUND.
Todd Beeton, whose work I've come to respect immensely here on MyDD, has another great piece running at the top of this blog (as I post this diary) entitled: "McCain: Obama To Blame For High Gas Prices."

THE REALITY:  THE McCAIN CAMPAIGN IS NOW VIOLATING A SLEW OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS.
Regrettably, for all intents and purposes, this particular McCain ad "flight" represents a slap in the face to every law-abiding individual that's ever run for office in this country (regardless of party affiliation).

You see, as even a ten-year-old would would interpret the current campaign finance laws in the U.S., what the McCain camp is now doing, as far as their advertising is concerned,  is illegal.

There's more...

"The only thing new in the world is the history we don't know."

--President Harry Truman

BACKGROUND
About a week ago, I penned a couple of back-to-back diaries entitled: "2008's Grand Masters of GOP Dirty Tricks", and "A Preview Of GOP GE Tactics: Brutal Racism Ahead?" Please take a look at these if you haven't read them already, if for no other reason than the fact that they contain more than ample links to support everything I'm stating in this diary.

In those previous diaries, I reviewed how well-versed the folks running the 2008 GOP and 501(c)4-based neoconservative media strategies were at dirty tricks, general skullduggery and skirting the law (and sometimes breaking the law and then being jailed for their nefarious actions, too). However, what I've learned over the past few days is that there's actually a documented history of deep contempt over GOP campaign and election abuses, spanning many years, specifically between David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign manager, and the very folks running the show for the GOP this year.  It's quite a story...

There's more...

So, I'm in the process of posting my diary on Booman and Joe Klein, getting it right on Israel and Iran, and I see that Chimpy just declared a national emergency with regard to North Korea. SEE: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080626-4.html. I guess if you throw enough shit up on the wall, eventually, some of it will stick. Hopefully, not.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that the current existence and risk of the proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. I further find that, as we deal with that threat through multilateral diplomacy, it is necessary to continue certain restrictions with respect to North Korea that would otherwise be lifted pursuant to a forthcoming proclamation that will terminate the exercise of authorities under the Trading With the Enemy Act (50 U.S.C. App. 1 et seq.) (TWEA) with respect to North Korea.

There's more...