Predictable differences

But it sometimes works the other way, with the candidate, in this case, Walberg, exposing the corporate political culture.

Among his significant campaign contributors are two notable hamburger chains: Wendy´s and White Castle. Both, through their PACs, are deeply tied to Republican candidates, most of them, like Walberg, Tea Party types. According to OpenSecret. org, Wendy´s PAC contributed $121,500 to federal ELECTION 2014 candidates in 2014, all of it to Republicans. White Castle gave $24,500 to candidates — 92 percent to Republicans.

Who´d have thought there was such a political edge to a burger and fries. There is nothing obvious in Walberg´s committee assignments (Education and the Work Force or Oversight and Government Reform) that would make him the darling of these hamburger helpers. Still, it´s something to think about. Consider how Chick-fil-A´s stance against equal rights affected its business.

Walberg, who lives in Tipton, is seeking reelection on his polished conservative credentials in a district that includes Eaton County. His reelection pitch to voters oozes with bipartisan this and bipartisan that, as if the American public, with its 13 percent approval rate for Congress, doesn´t recognize the two party-dysfunction that passes for governance. Walberg notes that he and Democrats passed an amendment to “cut spending to a wasteful Afghanistan Rebuilding Fund.” The United States, according to a report in The New York Times last week, has spent more than $100 billion on often-failed Afghan infrastructure projects.Walberg´s skepticism on more spending is one of his more reasonable positions.

He has also railed against “equitable sharing partnerships” abuses by police departments that allow and, in fact, encourage them to seize property on specious grounds and without due process. Walberg outlined the issue in a recent Washington Post op-ed article citing cases where victims’ money was presumed to be used for criminal purposes. Government confiscated the funds and fought to retain it but never filed criminal charges.

“In response to these abuses, I recently introduced the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, which would raise the level of proof of a substantial nexus to criminal activity that must be met before property can be seized,” Walberg wrote in the Post. The measure is unlikely to pass.

As for Walberg´s overall record, it reflects generic Republican Party issues. He wants a balanced budget agreement and what he refers to as “tax reform,” which is lower rates and a simple tax code. The pitch is a flatter, fairer system designed to stoke economic growth and job creation. What it really means is much lower tax payments for the rich, widening the already yawning income inequality gap. Trickle-down economics remains a bedrock of the Republican creed.

He wants the federal government to transfer power and resources to local schools and states because “because teachers, administrators, and local school boards know best how to educate students.”

It makes you wonder if he´s ever been to Detroit or Benton Harbor or even Lansing where “local” schools are in disarray.

Walberg is a proponent of smaller government, castigating the power of unnamed “bureaucrats” and placing his trust in the judgment of the “American People.” But, smaller government doesn´t apply to intrusion in people´s personal lives. He´s against same-sex marriage, which wants defined as the union of “one man and one woman.”

To date, and to his credit, Walberg has run a civil campaign without the overblown and often untruthful television advertising that so pollutes our elections.

Not so, his opponent. Truth squading by Bridge Magazine smacked Byrnes for a 30-second ad attacking Walberg for indulging in first-class travel, receiving inordinately high pay at taxpayer expense and accepting his congressional salary during the government shut down.

Said the Bridge report: “This is perhaps the most cynical ad of the election season, playing on grievances (such as congressional salaries and travel allowances) that have nothing to do with Walberg’s voting record, and which individual members have little power to change.”

Undeterred by such ethical nuance, Byrnes´ campaign continues to promote these misleading ads on its website, where she makes the case that Washington is broken and she wants to fix it.

One of Byrnes’ most populist pitches is that she wants to cut congressional pay by 10 percent, as if this is the way to attract really strong candidates to the job. Congress, despite our low opinion of those elected, is a challenging and expensive career. Isn´t it possible that if we paid more, we´d get better people to run for office?

Overall, it´s hard to find much not to like about Byrnes´ buffet of campaign promises. The Washtenaw county attorney and former Michigan legislator says, for example, that her first priority will be to “create good jobs to rebuild our middle class.”

Can´t argue with that.

She believes in manufacturing as the backbone of our economy, wants public-private partnerships to create jobs and wants to help small businesses with tax incentives and funding.

Byrnes is for universal pre-kindergarten, giving schools the resources they need to educated to a higher standard, and wants to make college more affordable. She promises to safeguard Social Security and fight against any attempts to turn Medicare into a voucher system. In Congress, she would work to eliminate waste and corporate tax loopholes, and ease the tax burden on middle class families.

Byrnes is angling for a seat on the House Agriculture Committee, where she can advance Michigan´s farm economy. She for women´s rights issues like equal pay.

And Byrnes is for better roads, promising to “work to get Michigan its fair share of federal transportation dollars, especially funding to address damaged roads and bridges.” This is a goal that has eluded a Michigan congressional delegation that included the powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, Dave Camp, and four other House and Senate committee leaders.

As of mid-October, the race for the 7th District seat is somewhat competitive. In the last filings (July) reported by OpenSecrets. org, Byrnes had raised $927,000; Walberg about $1.3 million. To date, there have been no independent tracking polls for the district that includes parts of Washtenaw County and all of Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee and Calhoun counties.

NOTE: Republicans have abandoned Terri Lynn Land´s Senate bid. The Hill reported on Tuesday that the National Republican Senatorial Committee has cut the remaining television spending in Michigan.