We're thinking that Joe Walsh can come down off the ledge. (You'll recall that Joe Walsh proclaimed that Senator Mark Kirk 'announced' that he was no longer a Republican' a few weeks back).
Why? Well...because according to the Illinois Review, Senator Mark Kirk is saying that he's supporting the full Republican ticket. That seems to jive with what Jim Oberweis has been saying all along.
Much ado about nothing, right?
Here's how IR covers it. Notice the use of 'belatedly':
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk has belatedly agreed to support fellow Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis.
In a brief statement on Tuesday, Kirk told Michael Calhoun of the Illinois Radio Network “I will be campaigning for Jim Oberweis.”
A month ago Kirk said he would not campaign for Oberweis, in order to protect his working relationship with Durbin. The announcement angered many Republicans and alienated conservatives who have been suspicious of Kirk's close relationship with Durbin.
To us there's a difference between supporting/campaigning 'for' someone vs. 'against' someone else. We're expecting that you'll see Senator Mark Kirk supporting the entire ticket, but not going out there and blasting Senator Durbin. Which...if I were Jim Oberweis, I'd be happy with. Mark Kirk isn't the attack dog needed in this case, in our eyes.
Back to Walsh...we're hoping that between his NYC gig and this news, he'll back off going after Kirk here. Mark Kirk - and now Bruce Rauner - are leading the ILGOP. They're the path forward.
