Even at Moment of Triumph, Kirk Thinking of Shoaib

By Dr. Richard L. Benkin reports from Suburban Chicago

Republican Congressman Mark Steven Kirk was carried to another victory by his constituents despite a general trend to elect Democrats, especially in his state of Illinois.  Although ecstatic at the continued support he received, Kirk emphasized to his crowd of supporters that after a day of thanking the voters, it will be “back to work.”  One of the items at the top of the four-term Congressman’s agenda is his continued support for Weekly Blitz editor and publisher Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, falsely accused of Sedition, Treason, and Blasphemy.

At one point during the celebration, Kirk working the crowd of supporters got hold of a cell phone and spoke with Shoaib in Bangladesh.  The Weekly Blitz editor had said that his family had been praying for a Kirk victory.  Kirk replied that having been re-elected he plans to continue working unrelentingly to get the charges against Shoaib dropped—charges that several Bangladeshi government officials have admitted are false.  “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” has been a familiar Kirk refrain with reference to the Choudhury case.  Having said that, Kirk then held out the phone and yelled into it, “And I want everybody in Bangladesh to hear that”; a reference to the Bangladeshi government’s penchant for listening in on Choudhury’s calls.

The Congressman’s wife, Kimberly Vertolli-Kirk, also remarked on her husband’s efforts for Shoaib.  When told that he had saved the Bangladeshi journalist’s life, she responded that “Now he can continue working to save him.”

The shift from Republican to Democratic control of the Congress is not expected to weaken Kirk or slow down the effort to support Shoaib.  Several commentators have noted that Kirk emerged from the election as “the strongest Republican in Illinois” (the fourth largest in the United States); if not in the entire country.  Moreover, Kirk and his staff have been successful over the past several weeks in recruiting members of Congress from both parties to sign on to his efforts on behalf of Shoaib.

When Kirk saw this reporter at the election night celebration, he clasped his had warmly and said, “Richard!  I’m so glad you’re here [tonight] and not in Bangladesh.”

 “Perhaps we can go there together,” I replied.

Congressman Kirk just smiled.