Congressman Mark Kirk came to talk to my consumer class out of the blue today. I wish I had some record of this to share with you all out there, but I have only what I remember, so bear with me.
Congressman Kirk made it a point to separate himself from his party, first and foremost. He outlined for us the various groups (Planned Parenthood, various environmental groups, etc.) that backed him, despite being a member of the Republican Party. Answering one student's question, he also outlined what measures he voted on to limit governmental power over individual citizens.
Finally, after about twenty minutes of questions, someone finally asked a question about his thoughts on the recession and the bail-out. He said he voted in favor of the bail out, for fear that, and I quote directly, "I feared we might be facing another depression." These are strong words from a congressman, even if he was speaking to a high school class. It seems in perilous times even the authority can get caught up in the crisis and become atypically scared. It was the only time during his discussion with us that he seemed to be unsure of himself, and it was telling of how much the financial crisis affected him as a congressman.
2 comments:
That's really cool that you were able to pick up on that insecurity. It proves how huge this bailout issue was and how uneasy it has made seemingly every political figure. By the way, I love the irony in your picture.
I think it's almost scary to our country that authority figures are in fear of a depression; leaders such as Mark Kirk are willing to vote yes for such a controversial topic for fear of a depression. These votes, and the supprt for them, are really influencial in times so close to any election, muchless this history breaking one.
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