CHICAGO - In a contortion that would make any Washington politician proud, Congressman Mark Kirk today came out against the Wall Street bailout that he fought for in 2008.

CHICAGO -  As with Republican Senator Bob Bennett of Utah, the anti-incumbent wave  is on the brink of taking its next victim this morning as incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska faces the more than likely loss to a conservative challenger from the right.  Congressman Mark Kirk, a 10-year incumbent Washington insider, has tried and failed repeatedly to curry favor with the conservative base in Illinois, and is now facing a legitimate challenge from the right with Libertarian candidate Mike Labno officially on the Illinois ballot.  

Congressman Mark Kirk: A 'Pig at the Trough' of Wall Street : video

Mark Kirk has taken the most Wall Street donations of any Senate candidate and was labeled a "pig at the trough" by MarketWatch.

CHICAGO - Earlier this month, Republican Congressman Mark Kirk was called a "pig at the trough" of the securities industry by MarketWatch, part of the Wall Street Journal news group, for taking in over $826,000 in campaign contributions this cycle alone from an industry determined to halt meaningful reform in its tracks.  That amount is more than all but one Member of Congress, and the most of anyone who opposed reform. 

CHICAGO - While the rest of the political universe wonders if anything Congressman Mark Kirk says is true, the corporate special interests that nearly wrecked our economy knew all along that they could count on Kirk - and he delivered. In a staggering vote against meaningful Wall Street reform, Congressman Kirk demonstrated yet again that he is bought and paid for by Wall Street - and that is no embellishment. Over his decade in Congress, Kirk has raised more money from Wall Street than any other source.

"After a decade of supporting economic policies that allowed unfettered Wall Street greed to run amok and nearly destroyed our economy, Congressman Mark Kirk had a chance today to make amends and do the right thing. Instead, he showed once again that he is bought and paid for by the same special interests who nearly bankrupted the country and led an assault on the middle class. We already know we can't trust anything Congressman Kirk says, and his vote against reform shows we can't trust what he does, either."

Today, families and small business owners gathered in the streets of Chicago to rally in support of Wall Street reform. Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias marched in the rally and spoke about the urgent need to overcome obstruction and get reform passed.

He grabbed a bullhorn and spoke out. Here is video of Alexi's speech at the event:

"Kirk's Standard" (Ad) : video

Mark Kirk has accepted thousands from corporations that have been accused or found liable for fraud.