July 13, 2004

Kirk Urges Race-Based Strategy to Defeat Obama

Here is what Mark Kirk had to say about the possibility of Mike Ditka running against Barack Obama, as reported in The Hill, a D.C. newsletter about politics, on July 8, 2004:

"'If Ditka ran, Democrats would claim to vote for Obama and then secretly vote for Ditka,' said Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) 'It would immediately put Chicago in play.' Kirk said Ditka could campaign with his former players in minority areas, like Chicago's South Side, that other Republican candidates could not previously touch."

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