The "Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq" is a well thought-out and carefully articulated proposal to disengage the U.S. military from the conflict and refocus on diplomatic and humanitarian efforts. The plan has the backing of over 50 candidates running against GOP House incumbents this year. But so far, only one Democratic congressional challenger in Illinois has endorsed it -- Bob Abboud, who is challenging 16th District Congressman Don Manzullo.
It's no surprise that Abboud is the first one on board. He's an ideas man. In our image-obsessed political environment, it's refreshing to see someone with his background make a run for the House.
Like Rep. Bill Foster in the 14th District, Abboud is a scientist. After a stint in the Navy he worked for the Argonne National Laboratory and Commonwealth Edison as a nuclear engineer. He left ComEd after 20 years to start his own successful research and development lab.
A cursory look at Abboud's website shows that he is applying a scientific approach to his platform. For nearly every policy issue, he has a clearly articulated plan replete with analysis and clearly defined proposals (sometimes even charts and graphs). While Abboud could turn off some voters if he dives into full-blown wonkiness, his ability to provide solid and often ambitious policy proposals is a welcome change at a time when many are looking for fresh ideas.
On Iraq, Abboud has endorsed the "Responsible Plan." To help small businesses, he has proposed a six-point policy that includes the creation of business owner bargaining cartels to lower the cost of employee health insurance. To confront the energy crisis, Abboud is pushing the creation of an American Power Authority, a new, infrastructure-oriented, public-private partnership dedicated to solving America's oil dependence and confront global warming.
It's not surprising that Abboud, running as an underdog in a Republican district, is not a traditional lefty. As an engineer, he is comfortable with nuclear energy in a way that might turn off some environmentalists. His law-and-order stance on immigration reform lacks any plan for how to address the millions of undocumented immigrants already in the country. And he is yet to spell out his proposed remedy to the health care crisis.
But agree or not with his stances, Abboud has demonstrated a willingness to put forward some ambitious proposals and discuss them with voters. He encourages people to call him or email him on his website. This race hasn't been receiving much coverage in the Illinois media or on the blogs, so we encourage you to take a look for yourselves.
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