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After reviewing current congressional members from the state of Illinois, I felt Jefferson Smith was most similar to Mark Kirk, as they are both Republican and have strong feelings about how government should be conducted.  They both had a past in government before coming in to the United States Congress as well. They also both had very strange and unusual introductions to the Congress, as Mark Kirk was elected through a special process and Jefferson Smith was more or less appointed into the Senate. They also both made a point to fight the corruption within the government, Kirk has in the past, and Smith did in this movie.

https://www.kirk.senate.gov/

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Kirk, who represented Chicago's northern suburbs for a decade in the House before his 2010 Senate win, has always spoken bluntly. His illness has done little to change that.

"It does seem to me that it's a lot of bored congressmen and women who want to put their names out to run for the Senate," Kirk said of the Democrats considering challenging him. They include Reps. Bill Foster, Cheri Bustos and Tammy Duckworth.

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A Kirk-Duckworth matchup would feature a rare sight in which the two major-party nominees are disabled and rely on wheelchairs. Duckworth has a compelling story of personal triumph herself: She became a double amputee after a helicopter she was co-piloting during the Iraq War in 2004 was hit by rocket fire.

"If there was a debate between me and Tammy, we would have to make sure that it is ADA compatible," Kirk deadpanned.

Duckworth, who just returned from maternity leave after giving birth to a daughter, said in an interview she's doing her "due diligence" in weighing a potential run. She took issue with Kirk's "pretty inflammatory remarks," citing comments he made recently questioning the science of global warming and proposing that "coffins" be placed outside Democratic offices if a terrorist attack occurred during a funding stalemate at the Department of Homeland Security. (Kirk has walked back both statements.)

"Those are not really responsible things to say for a senator," Duckworth said. Asked about Kirk's citing his recovery as a chief selling point for his reelection, Duckworth said: "I think the focus should always be on the issues that are facing this nation and that the Senate is facing."

Other Illinois Democrats made similar cases.

"Everybody has their story. That's one for Mark," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky when asked about the political ramifications of Kirk's recovery. "But I think all of them have a compelling story. It's certainly a story for him, not necessarily the winning story."

Walsh, the conservative Republican, called Duckworth a "sympathy candidate" and said Kirk needs to show GOP voters he's more than that.

Kirk spent a year in intensive recovery at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago after his stroke. In January 2013, he walked up the 45 steps of the Capitol in a symbolic show of his return to Congress. Late last month he made a similar gesture, climbing 10 stories of the John Hancock Center in Chicago with members of a group he created, "Kirk's Battle Buddies," to help others with disabilities. The senator has also been pushing legislation to help stroke victims recover.

As he rebounds from his illness, it remains to be seen whether Kirk can effectively barnstorm the state. He's looking to enlist allies from both parties to help - his close Senate friend, West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, to showcase his bipartisan bona fides, and Illinois' newly elected Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, to help him raise money.

Rauner's election and other GOP wins in the state last year show the Democratic Party is "much, much weaker than it used to be," Kirk asserted. He said many moderate voters in the state aren't impressed with the performance of their native son in the White House.

"There's a growing feeling that the president was not fully competent in what he was doing," Kirk said, attacking the health care law as well as the president's handling of foreign affairs.

The president's national security council, said Kirk, a defense hawk, "seems a little bit like an insane clown posse - not able to run anything."

The 2016 election environment is bound to be much tougher sledding for Kirk than his 2010 race. Kirk benefited that year from a Republican-friendly midterm terrain; a corrupt outgoing Democratic governor, Rod Blagojevich; and a shaky performance by his Democratic opponent, Alexi Giannoulias. Even then, Kirk won by less than 2 percentage points.

So far, one point of contention in the 2016 Senate race is Kirk's relationship with Durbin. When Durbin ran for reelection last year against Republican Jim Oberweis, Kirk came under pressure from conservatives to publicly back Oberweis. Eventually Kirk did back him.

That is now playing both ways in his race. Walsh said GOP primary voters have not forgotten Kirk's reluctance to do more to help Oberweis, a perennial candidate. And Durbin said he hasn't forgotten, either. Durbin would never endorse Kirk, but it's an open question how hard the state's senior senator will work to defeat him.

He cited their "good" relationship and Kirk's "amazing story." But Durbin declined to say how much he'd do for the eventual Democratic nominee or whether he'd try to clear the Democratic field for one candidate, allowing that person to preserve his or her strength to take on Kirk.

"He did not stay neutral. He supported my Republican opponent, and I will probably do the same," Durbin said of Kirk. "But the extent of my involvement remains to be seen; that will be decided at a later date."

Kirk said he backed Oberweis so voters wouldn't think the "fix was in." He claimed he wanted voters to have a "full-fledged choice" on the November ballot. Kirk even suggested he did little to help his fellow Republican.

"I just hope," Kirk said of Durbin, "he would return the favor I did for him."

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In November 2010, Mark Kirk pulled one of biggest political upsets of the year, winning a Senate seat as a Republican in the home state of President Barack Obama. Two years later, the 52-year-old senator was lying in a hospital bed, thinking about the end of his life. His hands tingled.

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After watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in class, many thoughts came to my mind regarding unanswered questions in this film. I would imagine that Jefferson Smith was a Republican, and would be today, because he felt very strongly about this country and the character from the book the movie was based on was a strong Republican. I feel he would still be a republican today because the Republican ideals he represented during his time in Congress would still align him primarily with the ideals of the Republican party today. I also would imagine he continued on in Congress because the people liked him and he had passion for improving this country.

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All in all I enjoyed this movie and felt I actually learned quite a bit about the Congress and how it functions.  Seeing Jefferson Smith propose his idea for the boys camp and follow through with it to the end was very entertaining and did show some good and relevant rules regarding Congress.  The movie also shows how the legislative branch of government during this time period, and possibly still today, was corrupt and how it could have possibly been corrupted.  The movie was interesting but I was not very satisfied with the ending. They should have made sure he was okay, followed up on the romantic aspect and shown where his career in Congress went.

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I truly feel the burning of the flag in spite is wrong and should not be done. However, I also believe in freedom of expression, no matter how someone may chose to express himself. The burning of the flag brings no physical harm to anyone and thus should not be considered unconstitutional.

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Hearing the Declaration read allowed added emphasis to certain parts, and put emotion behind words I have read many times.

My favorite part of the Declaration is the middle of the last paragraph when it is stated that, "...these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved...". This is my favorite part because it is when it is said that we will have Independence, and it is deserved.

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Hearing a real life tie in to the VMI case was very interesting to me. I had imagined the case in my head. As a believer in equal rights and opportunity for everyone, it made me feel happy to see these two woman excel in a very male lead society. All in all I enjoyed the broadcast and hearing about their lives.

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1. In Government, I expect to learn more about how our country functions from day to day, and have a better understanding of the governmental system.
2. In this class, I expect to learn more about the government and d so in a forward thinking way that involves the use of technology and a creative classroom.