Northbrook, Ill. – The Kirk for Senate campaign today called on Alexi Giannoulias to explain his decision to participate in a far left-wing conference that featured panels with Van Jones, marijuana legalization advocates and J-Street.Last week, Giannoulias announced on his Facebook page that he would be “leading the Illinois Caucus” at the Netroots Nation convention in Las Vegas.  The Netroots website showed Giannoulias confirmed to attend the conference’s candidate event as well.

“Alexi Giannoulias’ decision to root his campaign in the far-left should be a troubling signal to independent voters,” Kirk spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski said.  “Alexi Giannoulias claims to be mainstream but has no problem associating with 9/11 truthers like Van Jones and other left-wing radicals.  Alexi Giannoulias claims to stand with Israel but has no problem aligning his campaign with J-Street and its supporters.  The people of Illinois deserve a thoughtful, centrist leader not someone who panders to left-wing fringe groups.”

The conference agenda included a “conversation” with 9/11 “truther” Van Jones who resigned his post as “Green Jobs Czar” last year after news reports revealed he had signed a petition accusing former President Bush of allowing September 11^th to occur.  Columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote, “You can’t sign a petition demanding not one but four investigations of the charge that the Bush administration deliberately allowed Sept. 11, 2001 — i.e., collaborated in the worst massacre ever perpetrated on American soil — and be permitted in polite society, let alone have a high-level job in the White House.”