May 31, 2004

Kirk Uses Public Money to Elude Voters

Mark Kirk (R – 10th District IL) used public money to send an estimated quarter-million dollars worth of mail to promote two different images of himself to older and younger voters in the upcoming election. Senior citizens received a mailing wherein Kirk said his top priorities were “protecting retirement nest eggs, upgrading veteran’s health care and modernizing Medicare.” At the same time, younger voters got a mailing that never mentioned any of these issues. The younger-voters’ mailing talked of Kirk’s concern with children, the environment, and drugs -- issues that were altogether absent from the older-voters’ mailing. Both mailings contained full-color pictures of Kirk.

“People don’t trust politicians who use campaign funds to tell different stories to different groups of voters, and for good reason. But it is outrageous to use public money in such a manipulative way,” said Lee Goodman, Kirk’s Democratic opponent in the November election. “Why doesn’t Kirk want older voters to know his views on the environment and education? Is he afraid to tell younger voters he supports Bush’s prescription drug cards? I don’t think either group would want him in office if they knew of his duplicity.”

Back to Index of News Releases