My sense has been that Rep. Mark Kirk’s (R) exaggerations of his military service have been right on the borderline of real significance. But this sounds like a bigger deal. The Pentagon has twice had to caution him about not politicking when he’s on active duty. And before they let him go to Afghanistan they made him sign a statement acknowledging that he knew he had to avoid all political activity when he was there.
I think it’s fair to say that it’s probably hard for a sitting member of Congress to completely turn off the politics dial. But Kirk’s made his continued Navy Reserve service a centerpiece of his campaign. So it doesn’t seem too much to ask.
