[September 05, 2008]

EDITORIAL: Burkee for Congress: Jim Burkee is a principled conservative who would square well with the views of this right-leaning district. The...

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 5--Jim Sensenbrenner has the support of the party apparatus in the 5th Congressional District. He consistently earns high ratings from taxpayer rights groups and conservative organizations. He has a strong sense of constituent service. He's tough. He's outspoken.

But Sensenbrenner too often has been a roadblock in Congress, even to the point of splitting his own party over illegal immigration because he couldn't find it in himself to compromise.

Jim Burkee, whom we recommend in Tuesday's Republican primary, is a 40-year-old history professor at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon with no political experience. A downside, yes, especially as he would be replacing a veteran with plenty of clout on Capitol Hill. But Burkee is thoughtful, committed and principled. He has sent signals that he can work with the opposition, which will be necessary when Congress reconvenes in January. And he is running on traditional Republican values.

Take, for instance, taxes and spending. Burkee is a fiscal hawk who worries, as many people do, that the nation is spending itself into a budget black hole. "I grew up a Reagan Republican," he says, noting his enthusiasm for the smaller-government message of the 1994 "Contract with America."

What ensued? Under the Republican majority of the Bush years, the federal government grew -- and at a faster rate than during the Johnson administration.

And taxes? "I'm all for tax cuts," he says, though he feels they should follow spending cuts, not the reverse. Of the Bush tax cuts: "We have not had our taxes cut. . . . Tax cuts that aren't accompanied by spending cuts are not tax cuts; they are deferred taxes."

Burkee also has talked of a "comprehensive" approach to energy rather than the sort of grandstanding of many who simply call for drilling for oil. Such pragmatism actually might get Republican ideas passed into law and should have appeal to all but the most hardened partisans.

Burkee also favors what he refers to as "balanced trade," which might be a third way between protectionism and a no-holds-barred approach. But it's a concern if it leaves Burkee open to the protectionist sentiment that is building in Congress.

Sensenbrenner, though solidly conservative, did little to advance Republican priorities while entrusted with the powerful chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee. Instead, he alienated an entire voting bloc -- Latinos -- with his dogmatism on the immigration issue.

His extreme stance on illegal immigration helped inflame the public, split his party and poisoned the atmosphere in Congress for reform. Sensenbrenner authored an enforcement-only measure that would have made felons of undocumented immigrants, split up families and built a 700-mile border fence.

Like President Bush's sensible approach, Burkee favors comprehensive reform that increases legal immigration, seeks to protect families and deports those with criminal records.

Burkee favors other ideas that will sound good to Republicans: Do not take money from special interests and limit members of Congress to three two-year terms.

Is it naïve to believe a freshman legislator can replace an old pro such as Sensenbrenner? Perhaps. But Burkee offers fresh thinking on a variety of issues and argues convincingly that the Republicans -- and Sensenbrenner -- have lost their way.

In our view, of course, Sensenbrenner has been wrong on numerous issues -- Real ID, aspects of the USA Patriot Act, giving the administration a virtual pass on oversight.

But our support for Burkee has more to do with the strength of his ideas than with our past disagreements with the incumbent. We see Burkee in the mold of Rep. Paul Ryan, the Janesville Republican, who has creatively and sensibly represented Wisconsin's 1st District. Burkee is the better candidate.

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com.

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