By all accounts, his opponent, Jim Durkin from Westchester in suburban Cook County, is a solid member of the Illinois General Assembly. But he is ill-prepared for the complexities of congressional life. He has been a consistent supporter of President Bush's war policies, but that battle is largely past.

Durkin would go to Washington with almost no seniority should he win, leaving Illinois with hardly any clout in the Senate. Our junior senator, Peter Fitzgerald, has been there just short of four years. No matter what you think of seniority, it's the way things are done in Washington. Those low on the totem poll get what's left over, if that.

Durbin is currently a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and others that control money for all manner of transportation and other projects needed by Illinois for its economic recovery. His membership on the Intelligence Committee provides him with rare insight into global affairs.

Durkin claims he caught Durbin in an inconsistency for his vote for regime change in Iraq and then voting against giving President Bush's authority to wage war. But the early authorization contained no authority to wage war. Durbin favors collective action and diplomacy, along the lines of what is being advocated by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Even President Bush now says Saddam Hussein could stay in power if he surrenders his weapons of mass destruction.

Though it is crucial to be supportive in national emergencies, it is dangerous when Congress becomes a mouthpiece to the administration. Checks and balances purposely set the stage for debates on public policy to make sure all sides of an issue are examined. Durbin is following this vital trail.

For the most part, the two candidates follow the traditional ideological bases of the two parties, conservative thought among Republicans, liberal among Democrats, a series of arguments that has been waged thousands of years, going back to the Roman Senate. Just substitute grain distribution among the poor in Rome for prescription drugs and food stamps.

What Durbin brings to the Senate is a kind of pragmatism that allows him to look to the common good, as when he voted for the North American Free Trade Act and opening trade to China against the wishes of organized labor. Those acts helped him win the unprecedented endorsement of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce.

Further, Durbin is in favor of ending the trade embargo with Cuba. He correctly points out that the embargo has not worked and that the best way to introduce democracy and free market reforms to Cuba is to expose them to American goods and services. Cuba could be a key market for Illinois farmers. Durkin, on the other hand, believes the embargo should not be lifted.

Clearly, Durbin is the best choice.

Publication: Decatur Herald & Review
Date: 10/28/02
Author: Editorial

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