Is Kirk Dillard the New Dede Scozzafava?

Just when I thought that Dede Scozzafava had been vanquished to the outer reaches of the liberal fringes, up pops her specter in Illinois. Poor Illinois. Hasn’t its people suffered enough?

Kirk Dillard is one of a handful making a bid for the governor’s office. He’s a classic RINO, a man who decided to sell his soul and his voters in exchange for political relevancy during the 2008 election by way of joining the peanut gallery in lathering on praise for Obama.

Dillard took his adoration for a man who voted against allowing citizens to conceal carry (fine for retired police officers) and providing medical care for abortion survivors (the infants, not the women) by recording a campaign spot for him.

I assumed that anyone wanting to run on the GOP ticket would be doing so to offer voters a disparate choice, not to be liberal lite with an R by their name. Perhaps I assumed too much of Kirk Dillard.

I hear from tea partiers, various conservative groups constantly about taking action, effecting actual change. Here is a chance for those exact people to put their money and their time where their mouth is and scratch a RINO, another Dede Scozzafava off the Republican ticket. So many people are celebrating Scott Brown’s victory but don’t realize that in order for any of this to have amounted to any sort of worth, Brown’s victory needs to be replicated eleventy-fold across the country.

I remarked in July that this journey wouldn’t be easy, it’s not a task for pansies, it’s not a task for people who complain about the nanny state government but are content to warm their hands by another’s fire with nanny state activists. The privilege of a free society is that every man, woman, and child has the opportunity – and the obligation as a free people – to determine the trajectory of their country, of a political race. They have a chance to influence this race, and others.

Kirk Dillard is the epitome of what’s wrong with the Republican party. Writes Illinois Review:

KIRK DILLARD TALKS ABOUT ETHICS … WHEN NOT ASKING FOR FAVORS. The state launched another Ethics investigation, this time into politicians using clout to get subpar applicants into U of I. By his own count, Dillard wrote 7 such letters. He argues it is no big deal, he checks ACT scores before telling the school to “take a hard look” at an applicant. He should know there are people who are paid to do that – they work in Admissions.

[…]

KIRK DILLARD RAISED TAXES… BUT IS OPPOSED TO TAX HIKES. Just a year ago Dillard crossed his Republican colleagues and voted with Springfield Democrats to pass an RTA sales tax hike for suburban residents. Now he says he opposes tax increases. That’s a quick flip, even for Kirk.

[…]

After 20 years on the clock, it is hard to imagine Dillard convincing voters that he is the guy for the job – even if Barack does the commercials.

There is a Scott Brown in this race, but his name is a little more difficult to pronounce.

It’s Andrzejewski.

(Fun bonus question: Which came first: the Dillard or the Scozzafava?)