OH-16: Repository Endorses Kirk Schuring For Congress
Schuring Will Keep Regula's Style In D.C. 2008-10-05
In 36 years in the U.S. House, Ralph Regula has been, first, one of us. He has put people ahead of ideology and political party. His approach is rarer today in national politics than it once was, and the country has suffered as a result. That is why The Repository editorial board supports Kirk Schuring in the race to succeed Regula, who is retiring. We believe Schuring meets the "one of us" test and, like Regula, has shown a capacity for rising above partisanship.
Schuring, a Republican from Jackson Township, will face John Boccieri, a Democrat now living in Alliance, in the Nov. 4 election. We endorsed both candidates in their primary elections in March. Both are sitting state senators - Schuring for the 29th District in Stark County, Boccieri for the 33rd District representing a slice of eastern Stark County and centered on Youngstown.
In the General Assembly, Schuring has sought pragmatic solutions to thorny problems. Witness his presentation last year of a detailed proposal for state funding of public schools. He intended it as a discussion starter, and it may help shape the final plan.
Schuring showed his pragmatism last week in meeting with the editorial board. Asked about priorities for bringing federal dollars to the 16th Congressional District, he listed specific initiatives: finishing the state Route 30 widening and relocation, increasing air freight at the Akron-Canton Airport, improving rail capacity, ensuring that local colleges get research money in areas that drive regional growth.
Yet Schuring also bows to budget realities and to the imperatives of good governance. When asked about earmarks - where members of Congress lard local pork onto unrelated bills with no prior notice or public disclosure - Schuring said: "We live in a different day." His meaning? A nation with swelling budget deficits and a national financial crisis cannot afford earmarks. We agree.
Schuring is pragmatic, too, on ending the war in Iraq. He supports bringing our troops home after stability has been ensured and when our military leaders say the time is right.
Boccieri is a passionate, articulate voice on the war, the economy, health care and energy. But we're concerned that his proposals reflect more awareness of packaging a marketing message than of the 16th District itself. Asked about priorities for the district, he offered grand language about important issues - saving the middle class, reforming health care, delivering energy independence. But he suggested nothing specific. Nothing so tangible as air freight. And on earmarks, he declared simply: "I support earmarks" with transparency.
On the war, Boccieri said American troops must be brought home "safely, honorably and soon." Pressed to elaborate on the meaning of "soon," he said all troops should be withdrawn in six or seven months. As a major in the Air National Guard who has flown cargo planes into Iraq, Boccieri may have insights that escape Schuring and many of the rest of us. But six or seven months seems logistically impossible.
The most important difference between the candidates is on partisanship in Congress and conducting a campaign. In our view, the biggest change needed in Washington is about rising above the hyper-partisanship that prevents Congress from finding solutions to pressing problems.
Asked about that, Schuring touted his record of reaching out to Democrats and pledged more of the same. An example: He bucked his own party to oppose charter schools. Boccieri also noted how he has reached across party lines. But tellingly, we think, he first blamed the problems in Congress today on the ascent of Republicans to the majority in 1994. Blame as the first step in reaching out doesn't strike us as helpful.
Boccieri has benefited in this campaign far more than his opponent from the help of officially unaffiliated outsiders - "help" that we think has coarsened and cheapened the campaign. Take the direct mail pieces sent recently by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. They attack Schuring for voting for a pay raise for state legislators without disclosing that Schuring has declined the raise each year since and is paid less than any other state senator, including Boccieri. Asked about the mailers, Boccieri seemed unaware of them. He was, however, aware of a mailer sent recently by the Ohio Republican Party seeking to link him to disgraced former Attorney General Marc Dann. Cheap shots on both sides. To date, however, Boccieri is the bigger beneficiary by far.
Ralph Regula will leave a worthy legacy. On knowing the 16th District, on seeking real solutions, on reaching across the party divide to achieve results, Schuring is the better choice to succeed him.
