Archives
Meister: Transfer Detainees to Thomson
November 16, 2009
Jacob Meister, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, issued the following statement:
I was in Rock Island Thursday night when Governor Quinn alluded to pending news about Thomson Correctional Facility. The audience’s response was cautiously optimistic. Promises had been made before.
Thomson was always intended to be an economic engine for the Northwest part of Illinois. But political dysfunction left it practically vacant. We have a chance to employ hundreds of people north of the Quad Cities – people who have been waiting years for this prison to be something more than a broken promise.
I am in favor of the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay. I believe that the use of Thomson is a win-win for Illinoisans and Americans alike. With the purchase by the federal government, the prison could potentially generate jobs on the same scale as a military base.
It is simple, Illinoisans care about jobs. It is fortunate for Democrats that every time Mark Kirk opens his mouth another moderate heads in a direction opposite of him. Kirk’s stance against the transfer to Thomson, a month after he voted in step with Democrats to transfer the detainees, is nonsensical. Is Mark Kirk against creating jobs?
Kirk’s letter to President Obama is nothing short of a fear-monger in step with the failed Bush policies of using fear to circumvent real issues. This behavior is typical of radical Republicans using fear and scare tactics. Tactics that put us in a recession. Bush’s ignorance of domestic issues left the economy and job creation by the wayside, and Mark Kirk was there with the former president lock, step, and barrel.
Now the administration has a chance to correct the situation at Guantanamo Bay, and honor the Supreme Court’s ruling, basic human rights and international law, as well as create jobs. Instead of applauding this effort and the opportunity to re-establish credibility and respect with the rest of the world, Kirk sells out Illinoisans’ economic needs for more of the same rhetoric.
