Morning Digest: A desperate Mark Kirk stokes anti-refugee xenophobia in rancid new attack ad

Leading Off:

● IL-Sen: Leave it to Mark Kirk to pick up right where David Vitter left off. In a revolting new ad, the endangered Illinois Republican is stoking the exact same xenophobic hatred that his colleague from Louisiana desperately tried to foment in a last-ditch effort to save his failing campaign for governor.

Narrator: ISIS disguised as Syrian refugees attacked Paris. Next target: the U.S. But Tammy Duckworth still wants to bring 200,000 Syrian refugees to America, even though the FBI says they cannot be safely screened. Duckworth supports 20 times more refugees than the president.

Duckworth: I signed on for 200,000 refugees.

Narrator: Mark Kirk opposes more Syrian refugees until it can be done safely. For your family's safety, who do you trust?

Politico's Kevin Robillard says Kirk's buy is for $185,000—small potatoes in a big state like Illinois—but you won't be surprised to learn that the ad is only appearing on Fox News. Evidently Kirk feels that hating on refugees is best saved for firing up the conservative base. Duckworth, his likely Democratic opponent, agrees, because she hasn't backed down one bit, releasing a statement that likens Kirk to Donald Trump and smashes him for appealing to "fear and the lowest common denominator." If there is any justice in this world, Kirk will meet the same fate as Vitter.