Pavich earns endorsement

Written by: Martin Flowers on Oct 16, 2006 11:41 AM EDT

Linked to groups: iilinois federation of college democrats

Peoria Journal-Star Editorial
Friday, October 13, 2006
If voters in the 11th Congressional District believe in holding politicians accountable for their promises, they won't re-elect Republican incumbent Jerry Weller, who got swept into Congress with the legendary Contract With America class of 1994.
Instead, they should vote for Democrat John Pavich, says the 30-year-old attorney from Beecher. Weller and others who signed the contract that launched the historic GOP takeover of the House have not kept their end of the bargain, Pavich says. They haven't returned fiscal discipline to Capitol Hill - see record deficits - haven't restored ethics to government - see Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney, Mark Foley, etc. - haven't imposed term limits - see Weller seeking his seventh term. Meanwhile, the GOP Congress has allowed itself to be steamrolled by the executive branch into little more than a rubber stamp.
Pavich is no slouch. He left the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served as a counterintelligence officer in the Balkans, to come back home and run for Congress because "it's a difficult place to work if you don't have a whole lot of faith in your commander in chief." He says the Bush administration politicized intelligence, to the detriment of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. He does not favor a timetable for withdrawal, but would support redeployment within the region to force Iraqis to govern themselves. He generally endorses the Patriot Act as a tool to fight the war, but says the White House should go through the FISA court for warrantless wiretap authority.
Pavich believes the middle class is not participating enough in the nation's economic growth. One reason is health care. He likes the medical delivery system modeled by the Veterans Administration and says Uncle Sam should exploit the purchasing power of millions of Americans to negotiate better drug prices under Medicare. Energy policy, in addition to incentivizing alternative fuels, should concentrate on conservation.
Weller, 49, of Morris, says his sponsorship of legislation to eliminate the marriage penalty in the tax code is his greatest accomplishment, in addition to his efforts to help redevelop the Joliet Arsenal.
He sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, which gives him unique access to Uncle Sam's purse strings. A frequent refrain of his is, "I obtained funds for . . ." He essentially defines his job as helping fulfill the wishes of his constituents - a fire truck in one town, a biodiesel plant in another. While he acknowledges the need "to make some hard choices" on the budget, he's hard-pressed to name a single specific spending cut he'd champion. "I'm proud of every one of my earmarks," he says. On foreign policy, he marches in lockstep with the White House.
Weller's voting record on trade and agricultural issues generally reflects his district. But what the nation needs now are leaders who can say no, when warranted - to the president, to moneyed special interests, to constituents who want it all, just without paying for it.
John Pavich is an impressive candidate, he has a point about the GOP class of '94, and he is endorsed.

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Location: all of illinois, IL 60115