Contest for 5th District U.S. House is repeat of 2004 race

ALBERT SPENCER For the most part, the Nov. 4 race for the 5th U.S. Congressional District will be a repeat of what voters saw in 2004 when incumbent John Spratt squared off against Limestone College professor Albert Spencer.

But while the names on the ballot may be similar from the race just four years ago — with the notable inclusion of third party candidate Frank Waggoner of the Constitutional Party — both major party candidates agree the times are much different today.

Whoever is elected will go into the next session of Congress with a national economy still in the grips of an economic malaise and big differences of opinion between the aisles on how to fix the problem.

Spratt, 65, a Democrat from York, who was first elected in 1982, is seeking a 14th term.

Spencer, 64, a Republican from Gaffney, a Limestone College professor who has spent the last 30 years as a teacher and coach, is making his second run for elected office.

During their last matchup, Spencer garnered a respectable 37 percent of the vote despite a grass roots campaign and modest budget.

JOHN SPRATT Spratt, who was in Gaffney on Tuesday, currently serves as chairman of the powerful U.S. House Committee on the Budget, is the second-ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, and serves in a number of caucasus that have direct bearing on Upstate businesses.

He counts among his greatest accomplishments the 1997 Balance Budget Amendment that actually led to a surplus in the U.S. Budget in 1998.

By comparison, the next president and Congress will have to deal with a budget that's more than $700 billion in the red at the same time the economy is struggling.

Fixing these problems won't be easy, Spratt conceded.

"Economists are concerned (the economic slump) can be long and deep instead of short and shallow," he said.

For supporters of a balanced budget, like himself, the trick becomes finding a long-term way to get the national budget in check while coming up with short-term solutions to fix the economy.

"You need a multi-year plan," he said, "not a year-by-year plan."

Such a plan would include caps on discretionary spending, limiting increases in entitlement spending when there are no new sources of revenue to pay for them, and mandating that taxes can't be cut without concurrent reductions in spending.

In the immediate term, Spratt says he can continue to help the 5th District in several ways: By targeting government investments in infrastructure like the development of broadband communication in rural areas of the 5th District to help foster economic development; in advocating for the industries of the 5th District through national tax policy or grants for innovation; and in continuing to promote new business in his district.

If nationwide polls and predictions hold true Nov. 4, re-election for Spratt would place him within a U.S. Government with a comfortable Democratic majority in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate as well as a Democrat in the White House. That would give the Democratic Party great ability to press policies which have been bogged down by partisan differences.

"If you want to get something done, this will facilitate getting something done," he said of being in a majority positions. But such a situation doesn't mean a blank check, however.

The Democratic Party covers a wide spectrum of issues and opinions, he said. "None of this will be a slam dunk by any means."

And expectations of change and progress would be high, as would the pressure to see that it happens.

Spencer said he's been spending his campaign time making himself available to constituents in the 5th District, listening to their concerns. Somewhere along the way, he argues, Washington politicians have forgotten that government is supposed to be "by, of and for" the people. "For me, with career politicians, people who serve multiple terms forget their constituents more than they should and look more at party interests and Washington interests."

While he differs with Spratt in a number of policy areas that typically separate Democrat and Republican candidates, like on fiscal issues such as tax policy, Spratt is also a proponent of term limits.

"If we keep getting the same old, same old, it's like a dog chasing its tail," he said.

To critics of term limits who say it takes a few years for a new politician to learn the ins and outs of Washington, Spencer says: "If it's going to take them that long, they shouldn't have been elected initially. They should be ready from the get go."

The two candidates differ on the recent decision of Washington lawmakers to approve a bailout/rescue for Wall Street.

While he said it was a difficult decision, Spratt said he couldn't afford not to support the bailout package due to the likely effects of a bad credit market on 5th District businesses and consumers, which could impact everyone from manufacturers and farms to auto sales lots.

And though he was unhappy the bailout package ended up with additional unrelated measures — as added by the U.S. Senate - he was pleased the bailout package does not simply hand out money but rather allows the U.S. Government to essentially become a shareholder that can recoup its investments.

"I would rather buy ownership than give money as a grant and get nothing in return," Spratt said.

Spencer, meanwhile, said he would not have supported the bailout.

"It's hard for me as a taxpayer and a teacher to reconcile rewarding all the irresponsibility and other self-thinking interest that was taking place (on Wall Street)," Spencer said.

Both men are supporters of the military with military experience, Spratt as a member of the U.S. Army and Spencer as a recruiter for the U.S. Army Reserves.

Spratt doesn't support any precipitous withdrawal from the Middle East and says he'd like to see U.S. troops turn over responsibility to Iraqi forces, which have been making strides, in a measured way.

He defers to the assessment of top military commanders who say more troops will be needed in Afghanistan to complete the mission there. Those troops can be rotated in as transfers of responsibility occur in Iraq.

Spencer says the U.S. has to remain vigilant to the threat of terrorism and, while not privy to intelligence assessments, fears terrorist leaders aren't isolated to the mountain areas of Afghanistan. He supports finishing the job that was started there. "I do agree with John McCain," he said of the Republican presidential candidate. "Winning is not an option. It's the only thing."

Spratt and Spencer recently debated on South Carolina public television. Those who missed the debate can see it online in a streaming video posted at www.scetv.org.

Both candidates also have Web sites detailing their campaigns and positions.

Spratt's can be found at: www.johnsprattforcongress.com.

Spencer's can be found at: www.spencer4congress.com.