Rep. Martin Sabo, DFL, and his opponent Jack Uldrich, who is endorsed by both the Republican and Reform parties, approach politics from remarkably similar positions. In keeping with the 5th District’s historically liberal base, both candidates support abortion rights, protecting student loan programs, cutting defense spending and cleaning up the environment. The primary differences seem to be political experience and support of a balanced budget amendment. Considering his proven abilities as an effective politician, we advocate returning Sabo to Congress.
Sabo deserves credit for standing up to the 104th Congress. On issues such as the minimum wage and corporate responsibility, Sabo proved his loyalty to issues in a hostile environment. Sabo offered strong opposition to House speaker Newt Gingrich’s extremism and after 18 years of service, recalling Sabo in this election would send the wrong message to Washington.
Uldrich has focused his campaign on reducing the deficit and balancing the federal budget. His frank discussion of the problems with Medicare and Social Security and his willingness to propose difficult solutions should be lauded as courageous politics. However, Uldrich’s critiques of his opponent’s position on the budget seem a bit overboard. During his tenure in congress, Sabo has been extremely active in trying to balance the budget and reduce the deficit. Uldrich is a strong proponent of the balanced budget amendment, but Sabo’s belief that the deficit is a political rather than constitutional issue and should be addressed through political willpower seems to be a more reasoned approach.