Sen. Kirk to 1.3 million losing unemployment insurance: "Get lost"

My Senator Mark Kirk (Rep. IL) took time off from ginning up new Middle East warfare, this time against Iran, to make one of his most heartless and hurtful votes Tuesday. He voted with 31 other Republican Senators to deny extending unemployment insurance benefits to 1.3 million folks whose unemployment insurance ran out December 28. Fortunately, six decent and principled GOP Senators voted with all 54 Democratic Senators to prevent Scrooge like Republicans from filibustering the Senate bill to re-instate those benefits, badly needed by those who lost them, and badly needed by the economy as a whole. How so? Consider that the December 28 cutoff costs our economy $400 million dollars weekly. Consider that extended denial of these benefits will cost roughly a quarter of a million jobs shed because of reduced consumer demand. Consider that each dollar of unemployment insurance generates $1.55 in new economic activity in the first year.
 
Sadly, Senator Kirk considered none of that. He's voted trillions for our criminal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since October, 2001, with nary a peep of criticism of the criminality that has caused millions of needless deaths, injured and homeless there, and hundreds of thousands of dead and damaged GI's here in the US. But he joined with most Republicans in demanding no extension of unemployment insurance unless paid for by further cuts in the social safety net. That is a perfect storm of bad governance.  
 
Good 'ol Illinois Senator Kirk's vote to filibuster won him the distinction of being the Senator with the highest state unemployment rate that voted to prevent this badly needed bill from moving forward. Fortunately, Kirk's vote was in a losing cause. Here is the list of the Senators voting to filibuster with the highest unemployment rates:
 
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) 8.7%

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)8.3%

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)8.3%

Sen. Mitch McConnell R-Ky.) 8.2%

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) 8.2%

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) 8.1%

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)8.1% 

You may call them Tea Party Senators. I call them the un-Magnificent Seven. Senator Kirk, from a state with 8.7% unemployed, is the most un-magnificent of them all.