Candidates in My District: Congress

Thanks to the recent Ohio court decision on the Libertarian Party, we now have three candidates on the ballot for Congress. I can't remember seeing three candidates for anything but a judge...and I feel good about seeing it now. Choices, options, dialogue. That's what democracy is all about...the more hats in the ring, the better (up to a point, I suppose...but that point is so far down the road I'm not thinking about it yet).

I hope this new level of choice isn't a flash in the pan.

Anyhow, the three people who want to go to Washington to represent us in the 12th Ohio district are:

• David Robinson (D)
• Pat Tiberi (R)
• Steven R. Linnabary (L)

Congress is an important job, since taxes originate from it. It's also where a lot of the actual business of government happens...if you look in the Constitution and read between the lines a little bit, the Senate is more of a vetting process to put the breaks on a boistorous lower house (and BOY have we seen that in the past two years!).

Pat Tiberi is the incumbant this year, has been since 2001. We'll use these years in office to evaluate him, via the voting record listing over at Project Vote Smart. I was actually quite surprized to see there wasn't much in the voting record I disagreed with. Yes, he leans right...but he IS a Republican, and that's to be expected. Three things that jumped out at me as being good: He's been consistently against oil exploration in the US; for alternative energy incentives (as long as they don't come with a stick against big business); and voted against this most recent farm bill. A three things I didn't like so much? A series of pro-life votes; against foreign aid to fight AIDS, malaria, and TB; has voted against every measure so far to alleviate home owner angst.

David Robinson is the Democratic challenger. He's a well-educated man from the Columbus area, with a seminary MA and a PhD in theology and philosophy. His most recent claim to fame, and the reason he got interested in politics, is his work with the Climate Project with Al Gore. I find it facinating a man with a seminary degree represents the Democratic Party...it's not the typical MO for the day and age. No prior government experience, just a passion to get involved and help bring a breath of fresh air to Congress.

I'd love to tell you more about the Libertarian candidate, Steve Linnabary. However, I can't seem to find anything about him. He's a Columbus area native who went to college in Lexington, KY. The website from his Clerk of Courts run (I'm not sure when that was) is up, and is far more functioning than the site for his current Congressional run (which I had to find in a roundabout fashion). I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of someone representing me who can't get any of his links to work. I appreciate the "I'm not a part of this madness" sentiment, but this doesn't excuse one from the basics of campaigning...namely making it easy for the voters to access information about you.

As for my personal choice? I'm not sure yet. I was pleasantly surprized by Tiberi's voting record...even though he's been along for the entire Bush ride. One could argue the fact he survived the GOP slaughter of '06 means something as well. Though...if I'm serious about change...Robinson certainly represents that. I'll need to deliberate longer.