Posted: 10/25/06
ECM EDITORIAL BOARD: Amy Klobuchar is best choice for U.S. Senate
We believe Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar should be the next U.S. senator from Minnesota.
She is an impressive candidate, and would be an effective senator.
While there are many important issues in the race, the war in Iraq seems to trump all others. We think Klobuchar offers a better approach than her opponents, U.S. Rep. Mark Kennedy and Robert Fitzgerald.
Klobuchar favors the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, though not all at once. She has suggested the U.S. bring home a 'significant number' of troops this year. She has said she would like to see a significant withdrawal by the end of this year, but she has softened that position now as the year quickly wanes. She no longer sees that position as realistic.
She thinks the Bush administration's handling of the war has been a policy fiasco.
It appears Minnesotans in general are losing confidence in the president's ability to fight the war in Iraq and bring it to a successful conclusion. We, too, are becoming weary of the administration's approach.
We believe we need to send a senator to Washington who will represent this state and ask tough questions like a prosecutor does.
Klobuchar shows promise as a voice of reason and hope for a measured and responsible solution to the problem.
We feel Kennedy is too closely aligned with the current administration when it comes to the war.
It's hard, however, not to admire Kennedy for the strength of his convictions, even if we disagree. Kennedy, a certified public accountant and three-term Republican congressman, believes that Iraq is a central front in the war on terrorism and that it is critical for America to prevail. He has said that his focus is on adapting to win, not setting an artificial troop withdrawal timeline.
Fitzgerald, the Independence Party candidate, supports an immediate withdrawal from Iraq.
On other issues, Klobuchar favors moving toward universal health care. She also shows an interest in tackling some energy and environmental issues. She talks of the need for a ãManhattan-styleä initiative to develop the use of alternative fuels Ê- alluding to the massive national effort that produced atom bombs during WWII - as well as increasing the mileage per gallon standards for new cars.
In short, Klobuchar is bright, unafraid and has a background that convinces us she will take on the tough issues.
She is our choice for U.S. senator.
-- An opinion of the ECM Editorial Board. ECM Publishers, Inc. publishes 20 community weekly newspapers.
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