Walberg vs. Schauer

John Gizzi's Races of the Week profiles the Walberg v. Schauer race. (One error: Kalamazoo is not in the 7th district.)

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Michigan’s 7th District
Walberg vs. Schauer

Freshman Rep. Tim Walberg belongs to the exclusive fraternity of members of Congress who got there by unseating an incumbent of their own party. Two years ago, then-Rep. Joe Schwarz had irked many of his fellow Republicans in Michigan 7th District (Battle Creek-Kalamazoo) with his overall moderate voting record (lifetime American Conservative Union rating: 59%). Stalwart conservative Walberg, minister and former state legislator, hit this hard. Uniting both cultural and economic conservatives, Walberg defeated Schwarz for renomination by 53% to 47%.

The blood-letting from that Walberg-Schwarz primary two years ago has never really healed. Coupled with the fact that the 7th District has become a large bedroom community for Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, that the election of a Republican to Congress in the fall is no longer a slam dunk.

At 57, Tim Walberg has never trimmed his conservative sails, so it is no surprise that his opponent is about the most fearsome “800-pound gorilla” that Democrats and Big Labor could find: Mark Schauer, minority leader of the state senate.

“And you just name the issue and we disagree on it — any issue,” says Walberg. Walberg proudly opposed any tax increases or new taxes and has been leading the charge among House Republicans to make permanent the tax cuts of ’01 and ’03. And Schauer? In Walberg’s words, “My opponent has come up with creative ways for government to get more of our money. He supported [in the state senate] a bill to put a 20-cent per gallon tax on bottled water!”

While Schauer follows the lead of Barack Obama in opposing drilling offshore and in the Arctic Natural Wildlife Reserve (ANWR), Walberg backs both. Moreover, the Michigan man has been a key “mover and shaker” behind the “No More Excuses” legislation, which lays down a variety of proposals and guidelines for a more productive U.S. energy policy for a generation. So far, Walberg has collected 149 signatures out of a needed 218 on a discharge petition to get “No More Excuses” out of committee.

Along with offering creative conservative legislation to deal with pressing issues, Walberg is unabashedly pro-life. Schauer follows his party’s national platform on the issue and is strongly pro-abortion.

So Tim Walberg once again faces a stiff fight and the battle lines are drawn clearly. His fellow conservatives need to realize that when someone is forthright with his issue stands, the opposition is always going to be well-funded and hard-hitting — and that’s why Tim Walberg so badly needs their help.

Walberg for Congress, 317 West Washington Ave., Jackson, Mich. 49201; 517-962-4913; Walbergforcongress.com