When it comes to voting for congressional candidates in the Nov. 7 election, Lawrence County residents have easy choices to make.
If you think President Bush is doing a fine job managing the war on terror, controlling the cost of government and generally making America and its people more secure and prosperous, you can re-elect the incumbents.
But if you — like this newspaper — are horrified at the incompetent, arrogant and downright delusional behavior of the Bush administration, change is absolutely crucial.
As a result, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and U.S. Rep Melissa Hart have made it simple for us to issue editorial endorsements in their contests: Vote for the challengers, Robert Casey for Senate and Jason Altmire for the House of Representatives in the 4th District.
What do Casey and Altmire have going for them? In a word, they are Democrats. Usually, a party label is a minor factor when it comes to our candidate endorsements. But not this time around.
By any objective measure, the Bush administration has made a mess of things. And contrary to its claims, the world will be a far more dangerous place when this president’s term ends in two years. The administration has failed miserably to unify the world against Islamic radicals, undercut the efforts of Islamic moderates and stood by as the real threat of nuclear proliferation has mushroomed in North Korea.
Meanwhile, the administration’s true abilities were on display last year in the days leading up to — and following — Hurricane Katrina. And although the White House is now touting its economic success, its main claim to fame is a ballooning of the federal deficit.
It’s easy to boost the economy in the short term when you’re borrowing on future generations. What happens when the bill comes due? Despite some short-term success in trimming the deficit, the long-range figures are a looming disaster. And the Bush administration is doing nothing to address them.
But the administration is not alone in its manhandling of American domestic and foreign policy. A compliant, Republican-controlled Congress has gone along, with barely a peep of protest. A few principled Republicans have spoken out, remembering that theirs is supposed to be the party of limited government and fiscal prudence. But they have been overwhelmed by the latest fashion of self-professed conservatives, who have a no-holds-barred view on the size and power of government.
Remember the Terri Schiavo case, where Washington arrogantly intervened in a matter that was properly handled by Florida’s courts and legal system? Perhaps more than any other act, the pompous meddling in the Schiavo affair demonstrated how far these phony conservatives will go to impose their will upon others.
And Santorum and Hart have been at the forefront of these and other matters that embrace big government while refusing to question the Bush administration’s bungling. The most glaring and painful consequence is the war in Iraq, an unnecessary invasion that has bogged down America militarily and diplomatically. The deteriorating situation in that country will inevitably damage America even more in the coming months.
The two Democrats running against Santorum and Hart may not be dynamic visionaries, but they are intelligent individuals who can reasonably be counted upon to question the Bush administration’s inept handing of so many matters.
So our endorsements go to Robert Casey for U.S. Senate and Jason Altmire for the U.S. House of Representatives. America can’t afford the status quo.
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