The News Tribune's endorsement of Chip Cravaack for the 8th Congressional District was based on flimsy and shallow reasoning.
While I have disagreed with many of U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar's votes, he has consistently been an articulate and effective advocate for his district.
Yet, the reactionary right would condemn him and his party for economic woes that most informed sources agree owe very little to current policies, blindly railing against public spending as if we had learned nothing from the fiscal conservatism that prolonged the Great Depression for a decade. There is indeed, per Cravaack, no free lunch, but we must define our priorities.
Cravaack puts health insurance in the "no free lunch" category, opining that the uninsured should pay for their own health care. The depth of indifference to the plight of the unemployed and underinsured that this statement represented was simply staggering. Cravaack has been repeating the same, tired, old myths that for decades have protected the interests of the few against the many.
We've been well-served by Oberstar, who has conducted a principled campaign for progressive and balanced policies in Washington while protecting local interests. We would be foolish to throw him out now.
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Karen Updegraff
Brimson
