Mulling statewide run, Congressman Kirk meets Schaumburg Township Republicans
May 9, 2009 – U.S. Congressman Mark Steven Kirk, (R- 10th District) ventured out of his home district on Saturday to bring a message of GOP renewal to Schaumburg Township Republican Organization (STRO), while hinting broadly at a possible run for the U.S. Senate or Illinois governorship.
The event attracted a standing-room only crowd of nearly 100 people at the new STRO headquarters at the intersection of Nerge and Plum Grove Roads.
Now in his fifth term, Kirk is one of only two members of Congress serving as a Naval reservist. He began his brief remarks by describing his recent two-month tour in Afghanistan and the Allied Forces’ efforts to curb heroin production in the region.
“As the largest heroin –producing country in the world, Afghanistan poses a real threat to America, “ Kirk said. “The Afghan heroin crop is the purest available, which makes it more attractive to suburban children because it doesn’t require the use of needles. Users can snort or smoke the drug, just as they would cocaine or marijuana.”
Kirk also noted that “Tax Freedom Day” – the day when Americans start working for themselves instead of for the government -- is stretching farther into the year.
“In our grandparents’ day, Americans worked one month to pay for government services,” he said. “Now, with the Obama administration, we’re approaching the six-month mark.”
To highlight the point, Kirk provided a list of various taxes scheduled to increase automatically in 2010. These tax increases include:
- Elimination of the 10 percent tax bracket.
- 50 percent cut in child-care tax credit
- 20 percent cut in dependent care credit
- Capital gains tax jumps to 20 percent
- Alternative Minimum T ax increase hits 29 million families
- Marriage tax penalty is reapplied
- Death tax jumps to 56 percent
Regarding the death tax, Kirk said, “ We don’t want family-owned businesses to go away. Yet, how can survivors keep a business alive when they have to pay a 56 percent tax?”
Kirk zeroed in on the pervasive corruption in Illinois government.
“We used to be known as the ‘Land of Lincoln,’” he said. “Now, we’re laughingly referred to as the ‘Land of Blagoevich.’”
Asked about the future of the Republican Party, Kirk said, “If the Republican Party was a stock, I’d tell you to buy now.”
