26 Comments - John Bambenek - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:05 pm: “We’ve sufficiently covered why someone shouldn’t vote for your opponent. Why should voters vote FOR you?” This race is not between Alexi and Kirk, it’s between Not-Alexi and Not-Kirk. - DRB - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:06 pm: Mark - why did you lie about your military service? Alexi - why did you lie about your banking activities? - Moving to Oklahoma - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:09 pm: Mark - Are you out of step with the Republican Party platform, based off your votes for Cap and Trade, Abortion issues, and 2nd amendment rights? Alexi - Name one issue that you differ from the president on and would be willing to take a stand against. - Downstate weed chewing hick - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:10 pm: When Alexi says he “ended pay to play in the treasurer’s office”, which of his precedessors is he accusing of engaging in pay to play? - Skeeter - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:10 pm: For Kirk: How do you justify six votes giving yourself a raise? Do you think that Congress has performed well enough the past 12 years that members deserve raises? For Alexi: Do you believe that the filibuster should exist? If you are elected but the GOP controls the Senate, is that a tool that you would use under any circumstance? - VoterUSA - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:10 pm: To both of them: What do you like about your opponent?.. Also Alexi is on hardball today. - Davey Boy Smithe - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:18 pm: Alexi, you tout saving jobs at Hartmarx, how come you haven’t been able to save other jobs? Mark, how come in 9 years in Congress you’ve never gotten a bill passed? (I think that’s a correct statement, let me know if it’s not.) - the Patriot - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:29 pm: Alexi: Did it concern you at all that the President asked you to arrange a meeting with a union boss to discuss the Senate Seat for which you are running rather then just pick up the phone and call him directly. Kirk: Will you be filing a lawsuit against Herman Melville for using your life story for the basis of his novel? Both: will either of you commit campaign funds to pay for people who vote for you to take a shower the day after the election. (no matter who wins, we are all gonna feel a bit greasey when this one is over, just sayin). - ANON - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:31 pm: Mr. Treasurer, you’re feelings aside, what really happened in Miami? Congressmen, without mentioning your opponent, tell us what your campaign is about - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:35 pm: To both candidates: What type of Senator are you planning on being … Illinois first, unless its national security, or national interest first, regardless of how it affect Illinois? Explain. - 47th Ward - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:37 pm: Rep. Kirk, you were a prominent supporter of the US invasion of Iraq. Given that Iraq did not attack the US, that no WMDs were found, and that countless lives were lost at a cost nearing a trillion US dollars, do you regret your vote for war? Knowing what we know now, would you have voted differently on the Iraq War? Treasurer Giannoulias: If you are elected to this seat in November, you’ll very likely be assigned to a desk on the Senate floor currently held by Roland Burris, and Barack Obama before him. Other Senators who have had this particular desk include: Paul Simon, Paul Wellstone, Howard Baker, Robert F. Kennedy, Robert Taft and Henry Cabot Lodge, among others. What makes you believe you are qualified to serve in the footsteps of men like these? What experience have you gathered in your 34 years that can compare with the work of these men who sat at this desk on the floor of the United State Senate? - Cool Hand Luke - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:45 pm: If you are unsuccessful in your quest to be elected to Congress, what have you chosen for your future career path? If you could go back to when you officially announced your plans to run for Congress, what single thing do you wish that you had done differently when you first began your election campaign? - siriusly - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:52 pm: Cong. Kirk - if elected your colleague from IL will be Durbin, and it is likely the GOP will be in the minority. What can you tell voters who are concerned that you won’t be able to work with the other party? Mr. Treasurer - If elected it is possible that now or at any time in the 6 year term you would be working with a GOP majority in the Senate or a new GOP president in 2 years. What evidence can you give to voters to show that you aren’t so partisan that you will work with the other party? - bored now - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 1:56 pm: mark kirk: name one whipped bill that you voted against your leadership without their express permission allowing you to do so. alexi giannoulias: why won’t you explain to the voters that both the federal reserve and the u.s. attorney general encourage banks to bring the money of organized crime into the banking system so that they can track it and prosecute them for illegal behavior? - Monstrum - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 2:02 pm: For both of them - As anyone who ever has to interview for a REAL job knows, you must be prepared to answer this question: Tell me about your greatest weakness and how you will address it in this position you are seeking. - shore - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 2:21 pm: kirk -yes or no would you have voted for judge roberts, alito,thomas, scalia, bork, kagan, sotomayor? -yes or no, would you vote to ban gay marriage? -yes or no, was bush a better president than obama? -why did you lie about your military service? -yes or no would you support fiscal conservative social conservative jim demint for leader or fiscal liberal social conservative mitch mcconell for leader? -did you vote for alan keyes or barack obama? -John Porter voted for the brady bill, president obama has not supported it, do you? -yes or no-legalize gay marriage? alexi -yes or no, should michelle rhee be appointed chief of chicago public schools? -how is america safer if we leave afghanistan without finishing the mission? -what is the fafsa? -what is the states biggest export besides corruption? -why did your bank fail and not others? -what is the name of the prime minister of iraq/china/israel/uk/japan/pakistan? -obama says israel should stop settlements, do you agree? - wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 2:25 pm: Mr. Treasurer: If you really did not know you were doing business with prominent gangsters, what qualifies someone so uninformed, naive and with such a thin resume to serve as a U.S. Senator? Congressman: While volunteer teenagers, husbands, fathers, wives and mothers are being killed and disabled in two wars, do you feel any shame for your lies that sought to elevate yourself as some comic-book superhero for political gain? For both: The late, great, Sen. Paul Douglas of Illinois once said regarding the humbling nature of democracy and the Senate: “In my first term, I thought I could save the world; in my second term, I wanted to save the American economy; by my third, I hoped I could save the g-d Indiana Dunes.” Given that, what, very specifically, top, measurable task would you seek to accomplish as Senator? By the way, Congressman Kirk, then Ald. Douglas, a pointy-headed U of C economics professor, resigned his office and volunteered for the Marine Corps as a private at the age of 50. Fifty! He was struck by machine gun fire and permanently lost use of his left arm while evacuating wounded during the Battle of Okinawa. Just another Hyde Park bleeding heart liberal. - shore - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 2:34 pm: more kirk -who was the better commander in chief-bush or obama? -should parents in wilmette have to pay 5k/year for kindegarten or should the bush taxcuts expire and the money be given as aid to states? alexi -President Obama said dc was too partisan, if so, why doesn’t it need another moderate like mark kirk? -name 3 republicans you would work with and issues you would work with them on? both, which region of the state needs the most help right and which would you devote the most support towards? - Irish - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 3:06 pm: Kirk; Your voting record does show that you were able at times to break with your party and work across the aisle on certain bills. If elected will you return to that mode of operation or with the strong movement of segments of your party to the far right will you become totally partisan? Alexi; If elected, do you see yourself capable of working on an Illinois based agenda? Can you disassociate yourself from the Durbin/Pelosi group and think for yourself? - Pat Robertson - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 3:07 pm: Both — “Can you move your lips without telling a lie?” (If both silently shake their heads in response, we’ve really learned something.) - Worth It - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 4:22 pm: “Shore: what is the states biggest export besides corruption?” That one is easy…it’s jobs, right? - Vote Quimby! - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 4:33 pm: Gentlemen. In this era of politics in Illinois, can you tell the voters why (a) you inflate an already decent military background and/or (b) fail to take any responsibility for the collapse of a bank? - wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 4:41 pm: : ==”Shore: what is the states biggest export besides corruption?” That one is easy…it’s jobs, right?– Surprisingly enough, both of you guys are wrong. If you can convert that gas you emit, you might have something, though. http://trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports/states/tg_ian_002725.asp - Wensicia - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 4:46 pm: Will either one of you reach out to the other side to do what’s best for the American people, regardless of your party’s stand on any one issue? - wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 6:42 pm: –alexi giannoulias: why won’t you explain to the voters that both the federal reserve and the u.s. attorney general encourage banks to bring the money of organized crime into the banking system so that they can track it and prosecute them for illegal behavior?– I missed that one earlier. Again, with the laughing heart attack! - waitress practicing politics... - Tuesday, Oct 19, 10 @ 6:57 pm: What will either of you do to assist in efforts prevent and detect Medicaid fraud in Illinois? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.