Differences Vast between Obey and Reid - Thank Goodness
From the Journal Sentinel
Differences vast between Obey and Reid
Race in 7th Congressional has plenty at stake
By DAN BENSON
Posted: Nov. 3, 2006
There are a lot of differences between 7th District U.S. Rep. David Obey (D-Wausau) and his Republican challenger, Nick Reid.
To start, Obey, 67, is older than Reid, 26, and has a 37-year head start in experience in elected office, having first been elected to the 7th District seat in 1969, 10 years before Reid was born.
For those and other reasons, not many political handicappers give Reid or Green Party candidate Mike Miles much chance of unseating Obey.
But the race for the state's largest congressional district, encompassing all or part of 20 counties in the northwest corner of the state, might be one of the nation's most significant if the Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives.
If that happens, Obey stands to retake the chairmanship of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which controls government spending.
It's not that first-time candidate Reid is completely without experience.
Reid, who grew up near Superior and says he decided to pursue a career in politics when he was 18 years old, graduated in 2001 with a degree in political science from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.
He joined the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., where he worked for three years as a congressional liaison. Then, for two years, until the end of 2005, Reid was press secretary for U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kansas).
Reid moved to Rice Lake from Washington last winter to run against Obey.
Reid, who defeated Jeff Tyberg in the GOP September primary, said it was Obey's record on attracting business to the district that motivated him to get involved in politics.
Reid said he sees economic development as a "crossover" issue that will draw Democrats and independent voters to vote for him.
Obey's campaign argues that the congressman is fighting to keep jobs in the state and nation by backing the so-called Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act.
Other differences on the issues between Reid and Obey include:
• Obey, along with other Democrats, has proposed that the U.S. begin withdrawing some troops from Iraq by the end of the year and redirect funds to improving security on trains, ports, subways and planes. Reid says he supports President Bush's strategy but agrees that a withdrawal of U.S. troops is inevitable; he says, however, that there shouldn't be a fixed timetable.
• Reid said he supports developing oil reserves in Alaska, unlike Obey.
• Reid opposes abortion and supports state and federal so-called marriage amendments, which would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Obey has described his voting record on abortion as being "mixed," having often voted against curbs on abortion rights. He voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and is on record as saying he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. But in July he voted against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, saying "the Constitution is supposed to be reserved largely for determining the process of government. It should not be filled up with unnecessary references to personal living arrangements."
Green Party candidate Miles is the third person on this year's ballot. It is Miles' second run at Obey; he challenged the incumbent in 2004.
That year, with no Republican on the ballot, Miles came in second, garnering 26,188 votes against Obey's 240,988 votes. Larry Oftedahl of the Constitution Party got 12,819 votes.
On his Web site, Miles all but concedes this race to Obey.
"The reality is that no one can beat Dave Obey," Miles writes. "Dave will have his seat until he retires."
Miles' platform favors an end to the war in Iraq, increased environmental safeguards, universal free education, free health care, less government.
Reid's financing is a drop in the bucket compared with Obey's. Miles' is even less.
According to Federal Elections Commission data, Obey's campaign had $962,743 on hand and had spent $774,815 through the end of September, compared with Reid's $23,602 and $138,256, respectively.
Miles, has not raised enough money to be required to file with the FEC.
Differences vast between Obey and Reid
Race in 7th Congressional has plenty at stake
By DAN BENSON
Posted: Nov. 3, 2006
There are a lot of differences between 7th District U.S. Rep. David Obey (D-Wausau) and his Republican challenger, Nick Reid.
To start, Obey, 67, is older than Reid, 26, and has a 37-year head start in experience in elected office, having first been elected to the 7th District seat in 1969, 10 years before Reid was born.
For those and other reasons, not many political handicappers give Reid or Green Party candidate Mike Miles much chance of unseating Obey.
But the race for the state's largest congressional district, encompassing all or part of 20 counties in the northwest corner of the state, might be one of the nation's most significant if the Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives.
If that happens, Obey stands to retake the chairmanship of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which controls government spending.
It's not that first-time candidate Reid is completely without experience.
Reid, who grew up near Superior and says he decided to pursue a career in politics when he was 18 years old, graduated in 2001 with a degree in political science from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.
He joined the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., where he worked for three years as a congressional liaison. Then, for two years, until the end of 2005, Reid was press secretary for U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun (R-Kansas).
Reid moved to Rice Lake from Washington last winter to run against Obey.
Reid, who defeated Jeff Tyberg in the GOP September primary, said it was Obey's record on attracting business to the district that motivated him to get involved in politics.
Reid said he sees economic development as a "crossover" issue that will draw Democrats and independent voters to vote for him.
Obey's campaign argues that the congressman is fighting to keep jobs in the state and nation by backing the so-called Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act.
Other differences on the issues between Reid and Obey include:
• Obey, along with other Democrats, has proposed that the U.S. begin withdrawing some troops from Iraq by the end of the year and redirect funds to improving security on trains, ports, subways and planes. Reid says he supports President Bush's strategy but agrees that a withdrawal of U.S. troops is inevitable; he says, however, that there shouldn't be a fixed timetable.
• Reid said he supports developing oil reserves in Alaska, unlike Obey.
• Reid opposes abortion and supports state and federal so-called marriage amendments, which would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Obey has described his voting record on abortion as being "mixed," having often voted against curbs on abortion rights. He voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and is on record as saying he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. But in July he voted against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, saying "the Constitution is supposed to be reserved largely for determining the process of government. It should not be filled up with unnecessary references to personal living arrangements."
Green Party candidate Miles is the third person on this year's ballot. It is Miles' second run at Obey; he challenged the incumbent in 2004.
That year, with no Republican on the ballot, Miles came in second, garnering 26,188 votes against Obey's 240,988 votes. Larry Oftedahl of the Constitution Party got 12,819 votes.
On his Web site, Miles all but concedes this race to Obey.
"The reality is that no one can beat Dave Obey," Miles writes. "Dave will have his seat until he retires."
Miles' platform favors an end to the war in Iraq, increased environmental safeguards, universal free education, free health care, less government.
Reid's financing is a drop in the bucket compared with Obey's. Miles' is even less.
According to Federal Elections Commission data, Obey's campaign had $962,743 on hand and had spent $774,815 through the end of September, compared with Reid's $23,602 and $138,256, respectively.
Miles, has not raised enough money to be required to file with the FEC.
posted by ObeyOut2006 at 1:24 PM
3 Comments:
I am hoping the people of Northwest Wisconsin will choose the right candidate in the polls tomorrow. Obey is not for these people. In his own words, "Nobody wants to move up here..." He is out of touch with this district, it's laughable.
If Nick Reid loses tomorrow, you can bet he'll be back in 2 years. This isn't over yet.
"Anonymous" sounds defeated and pitiful.
Fact: The quote attributed to Dave Obey ("Nobody wants to move up here...") is not documented anywhere else but here.
Fact: The citizens of this country have been lied to about Iraq.
Fact: The Republican controlled congress has given Bubba Bush a free pass, while running up a record deficit and working every two years to insure only one thing: their own re-election.
Fact: If we in the Republican Party could offer up ANYONE in the 7th District besides a fundamentalist right wing extremist who’s sole experience has been:
1. Working for the most conservative right wing extremist in the Senate
2. Working for the most conservative right wing extremist organization in the country (which, by the way, has long associations with Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, Jim and Tammi Faye Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart AND Ted Haggard)
and whose sole issues for running are the tired re-treaded “hot-button” issues of abortion and gay marriage that the Republicans have rolled out each of the last 6 years, we might have a shot.
But we just don’t GET it….
Listen to the debates to hear the quote.
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