Posted by
Team Turk on Wednesday, October 25, 2006 4:15:11 PM
From the
Kansas City Star:
U.S. Rep Emanuel Cleaver and Jacob Turk, who are competing for the 5th Congressional District seat, differ in many ways.
They disagree over big issues, such as the war in Iraq and immigration.
Cleaver, a Democrat, has spent two decades in elected office while Turk, a Republican, has never run for political office.
Turk doesn’t support a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. He said that would prompt a bloody civil war killing millions. On his Web site, Turk said he respected America’s service personnel for defending Americans against people who want to kill and harm us.
Cleaver strongly opposes what he calls America’s “occupation” of Iraq.
“I think it’s clear now that when we have … people even high up in the Bush administration who advised against invading Iraq, it just corroborates my own view that this was one of the most monumentally wrong-headed decisions that we have made in history,” he said. “We have incited the Islamic world to the point where they actually see us as invading infidels.”
Cleaver and Turk also disagree on illegal immigration.
Cleaver said current immigration law was broken and needed to be fixed, but a priority should be helping Mexico improve its economy. This would keep many Mexican people from wanting to come to the United States without proper work documents.
He also advocated stronger enforcement against the hiring of illegal immigrants.
Turk said he supported building fences on the border as well as sending much more muscle to keep illegal immigrants from coming into the United States.
“You have workers all across the district who are concerned about illegal aliens taking jobs,” Turk said.
Cleaver said he wanted to be re-elected so he could continue working for more civility in government. He also said he had succeeded in working well with Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
Turk alleged that Cleaver’s dual role as congressman and senior pastor at St. James United Methodist Church prevented Cleaver from devoting the time necessary to represent his constituent’s interests.
Turk pointed to Cleaver’s low ranking for effectiveness in Congress by a nonpartisan private company that tracks legislators.