For Congress in New
Jersey
STENDER RECEIVES NY
TIMES ENDORSEMENT
EDITORIAL, NYTimes on
the Web, October 22, 2006
During his six years in the House of
Representatives, Mike Ferguson, a Republican, has been a loyal supporter of the
Bush administration on most major issues.
Mr. Ferguson, whose Seventh District extends from his home in Union County west
through parts of Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon Counties, has backed
President Bush on the war in Iraq. He is enthusiastic about all the
administration’s tax cuts, says the president is right in his unwillingness to
spend federal funds for embryonic stem cell research and wants a constitutional
amendment to ban abortion even in cases of rape and incest. He condemns
Democrats for not suggesting ways to deal with the coming crisis in Social
Security funding but offers no suggestions of his own.
His Democratic opponent, Linda Stender, says she got into the race because she
opposed the war in Iraq and says the United States looks like a “big bully” in
world affairs. She says she would work to prevent further infringements on
a woman’s right to get an abortion, to obtain federal funding for stem cell
research, to force the administration to negotiate lower prices for the Medicare
drug program with pharmaceutical companies and to get out of Iraq by the end of
next year.
As to the tax cuts, she says she would support restoring the estate tax as long
as some protection remained for family owners of small businesses, and would
consider rolling back the reductions on the capital gains tax. On Social
Security, she says the income ceiling on payroll taxes will probably have to be
increased and the age of eligibility raised.
Mr. Ferguson, who is regarded as a backbencher in the House, has in the past
opposed some of the administration’s efforts to backtrack on environmental
protection, but he has shifted recently to a more compliant position. To
his credit, he continues to support gun controls.
Over all, however, we consider Ms. Stender, a member of the New Jersey Assembly
since 2002, as someone who would better stand up to the Bush administration for
the district’s best interests. She wins our endorsement.
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