Cravaack deserves second term
Two years ago, Minnesota’s 8th District delivered one of the largest surprises in the nation, when Republican Chip Cravaack upset 18-term DFL incumbent Jim Oberstar. Now voters must decide if Cravaack will be a one-and-done Congressman or if he is worthy of a second term.
While Cravaack ran his 2010 campaign on a shoestring budget and Oberstar did not realize his vulnerability until it was too late, this year the race has been targeted nationally, meaning both candidates are well funded and that outside money has made the campaign nastier than it needs to be.
For most voters, the choice will be easy. Go through the national agendas of both major parties and you will discover that both Cravaack and his DFL opponent, former Congressman Rick Nolan support most of their party’s positions. Cravaack is more concerned about the national debt, Nolan is more supportive of the Affordable Care Act, Cravaack is more opposed to reducing military spending, etc.
If you lean DFL, believe that most of the nation’s current troubles can be traced back to the Bush administration or that, under the circumstances, the nation is doing about as well as can be expected but is slowly regaining its footing, then Nolan deserves your support. He has already served three terms in the Congress, albeit in the 1970s in a primarily agricultural district, while the newly redistricted 8th District has not only Twin Cities metro concerns to deal with but timber, mining and shipping issues as well. Nolan knows how Washington works, and his ramp up time would be short.
On the other hand, if you lean GOP, believe the nation is on the wrong track or think that federal spending and regulation need to be reined in, then Cravaack is your guy. He has been more visible throughout the district than Oberstar was during the latter part of his career, and he has tackled tough issues like the PolyMet mining permit process — which has been stymied for eight years — in an effort to create jobs on the economically needy Iron Range.
The ECM Editorial Board interviewed both Cravaack and Nolan, and thinks highly of both candidates, but gives a narrow nod to Cravaack.
We recognize that everyone is frustrated by the slowness of the economic recovery. What we like about Cravaack’s approach is that he sees the need for tax reform, but isn’t willing to raise tax revenue overall in the process. He wants a “simpler, flatter, fairer” tax code, created by closing loopholes. He believes that lowering the corporate tax rate would create incentives for companies who have sent jobs overseas to bring those jobs home.
Make no mistake, Nolan is no slouch when it comes to economic development issues. As a founder, chairman and past president of the Minnesota World Trade Center Corporation, Nolan helped local businesses learn how to export to other nations. Unlike Cravaack’s carrot approach of lower corporate taxes, however, Nolan wants to use the stick of higher tariffs. While tariffs were widely used by governments a century ago, the global economy has been created by gradually lowering them. Tariffs tend to protect some businesses and industries, but drive up costs for all U.S. consumers and make it more likely our businesses won’t make the changes needed to stay ahead of global competitors.
Just as important, we believe that Cravaack’s constituent outreach efforts have been extraordinary and few members of Congress in the nation have worked as hard to remain in touch with the voters. Policy matters, but so does effort. Cravaack deserves another term.
Editor’s note: This editorial is a product of the the ECM Editorial Board. The Mille Lacs County Times is part of ECM Publishers, Inc.
What a shock! ECM supports a Republican! Stop the presses! Chippie boy lied his way to a narrow victory last time and promptly did all the things he found so reprehensible about Oberstar. Chippie attacks medicare and social security by endorsing the Ryan Plan. That alone should give you pause.
Just remember, we, the poor and middle class, would be devastated by the loss of the mortgage interest deduction. Well to do (rich) people will not allow their loopholes to be closed without the average people losing their MAJOR tax deduction. Think twice before you let the sound bites sway your good common sense thinking.
Think a little deeper!
The Democrates Reed and Dodd told Fannie and Freddie that every Tom, Dick and Sussie should own a house regardless of their ability or past efforts to pay. So with that, rotten credit and no money down regulations changed, the banks and housing industry ran with it. You know the rest of the story.
There is no way they are going to get rid of the mortgage deduction that easy. The real estate market would tank and pull the economy down even deeper. There wouldn’t many reason to buy a house.! Just remember it’s those low qualifying people that first started loosing their homes and it mushroomed. Why do we keep rewarding people for making bad choices and allowing them to walk away from their debt, scott free, with very few consiquences? So you can’t get a loan in 3 years, that goes buy super fast and do you think those people saved any money in those 3 years in their Moms basement? But yet those same people can now get a Rurul Developement loan no money down. Sure underwriting is harder but it’s almost harder for conservative people, which saved and still have assets to get financing to buy a house and stimulate the ecomomy. People should not be able to walk away from their debt scott free and many times get a closing bonus of thousands for doing a short sale, which does exactly that.
I don’t want, which sounds like a retired guy that has been fiddle fart’n around his home town, Rerunning for government. That is not a good reason just so we have a Dem fighting a freshman Republican. That little ditty that some people put together, “Where’s Cravaack” are you kiddy me! He’s in Washington were he’s suppose to be! If he was’t you’d bitch about that too. Thank goodness we have someone that really wants this job.
Chip Cravaack has only had 2 years to get this system going in the right direction. He has a well rounded background of Military, Union, laid off, stay at home Dad, and lucky enough to have a successful wife. He has been around our district more than any other representative in decades. His past commitments have taught him how to be away from his family and fight to leave No Man behind. He had fire in his belly to run for office from nothing and I feel he still has that fire. He is committed and I hope he has your vote.