An Opportunity to Meet Rob Andrews, Candidate for US Senate

[Sonia]

Got a chance to hear US Congressman Rob Andrews speak today in Hamilton Park. Congressman Andrews is running for the US Senate seat, now occupied by Senator Frank Lautenberg.

Must say I was impressed by the Congressman's insightful grasp of all the issues that were addressed by members of the audience, And his ideas for resolving some of the problems currently confronting our nation, issues that are important to us all, and impact our lifes, such as the economy, unemployment resulting from job out-sourcing, taxes, including imposing windfall profit taxes against oil corps, healthcare, as well as NJ and local issues. He has interesting ideas, and proposed solutions.

For more information about Congressman Andrews, please visit his website at:

http://www.robandrewsforchange.com/

His website says a lot. I found it helpful to read his bio, and scrapbook before meeting him, he's obviously transparent, has good family values, and a strong work ethic.

[Sonia]

Interesting article from the Star Ledger, offering more information about Congressman Andrews:

Andrews usually walks the party line, with an occasional step toward the center

Sunday, May 11, 2008
BY ROBERT COHEN
STAR-LEDGER WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Rob Andrews arrived on Capitol Hill 18 years ago at a relatively young age and full of ambition, but has repeatedly found his path to higher office blocked by state political power brokers.

No longer content to bide his time, the 50-year-old South Jersey congressman last month decided to give up his safe House seat and launch a June primary ch*****ge against 84-year-old Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg, the four-term incumbent to whom he had already pledged his support.

Lautenberg called it an act of "betrayal" but those who have followed Andrews' career say that after years of frustration waiting his turn, he made the political calculation that it was now or never to fulfill a long-held ambition.

"Several members of Congress and others in the state have aspired to running for the Senate, but Rob was the one with the courage to risk it all. He decided to seize the moment," said Michael Murphy, Andrews' campaign chairman and an opponent in the 1997 Democratic gubernatorial primary that both men lost.

Andrews has been traversing the state since his announcement, trying to make himself known to voters outside his South Jersey district. He talks about the issues -- high gas prices and the need for a renewable-energy policy; making college more affordable; the high cost of health care; and his plan to get out of Iraq, a war for which he was a vociferous advocate and now calls "a fiasco."

But Andrews' primary rationale for running is his contention that New Jersey needs an "energetic" senator and an end to "tired old politics" -- words that suggest the incumbent is not up to the job. Andrews also emphasizes it is time for change in Washington, although he has been a fixture in the capital for almost two decades laboring for most of his tenure under a Republican majority.

During his years representing a congressional district that includes parts of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties, Andrews has compiled a solid Democratic voting record while on occasion breaking ranks with his party to chart a more centrist course.

In a recent interview, he described himself as "a problem solver" and "a mainstream Democrat," shunning ideological labels.

"His politics are generally liberal and generally pro-worker, but he sometimes strays off in an another direction," said Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. "He is independent-minded enough that you can never be entirely sure where he will be coming from."

Eisenbrey cited Andrews' 1998 sponsorship of a bill that would have eliminated overtime pay for certain sales workers, a position opposed by organized labor. But Eisenbrey said Andrews later helped block a broader Bush administration attempt to weaken federal overtime wage rules.

Stuart Rothenberg, a Washington political analyst who taught at Bucknell University in the late 1970s when Andrews was an undergraduate, said the lawmaker struck him at the time "as rather precocious, one of the brighter students, quite articulate ... and very self-assured."

As a congressman, he said, Andrews has become a policy wonk who is interested in substance and willing to take chances.

"Rob likes the idea that he is at least a little unpredictable," said Rothenberg. "He looks for new ideas and approaches to problems, and that sometimes leads him down alleys that are good and that sometimes turn out to be blind alleys."

Overall, Andrews -- a lawyer and Camden County freeholder before coming to Congress -- gets high marks from organized labor, environmental and civil liberties groups, and low marks from the business community and conservative organizations.

He has opposed free trade agreements, and has backed abortion rights, gun control, gay rights, stem cell research, expansion of children's health insurance, mass transit funding including for Amtrak, and government negotiation of Medicare prescription drug prices. He has worked on pension reform, and early in the Bush administration helped pass the No Child Left Behind legislation.

When Republicans led by Newt Gingrich of Georgia took control of the House in 1994, Andrews supported the tough GOP welfare overhaul -- one of only eight members of his party to do so. He also voted against President Bill Clinton's budget in 1993 while promoting a Republican series of across-the-board spending cuts that many of his Democratic colleagues said would hurt the poor, the needy and urban areas.

More recently, he joined Republicans in voting for a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border; backed legislation sought by banks and credit card companies making it more difficult for people to erase their debts through bankruptcy; supported a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning; and voted for the estate-tax repeal.

Andrews has prided himself in providing responsive constituent service and staying connected to the state. Even with the hectic pace in Washington, Andrews commutes by train each day rather than maintain an apartment in the capital.

"He is very dedicated to public service and takes the ch*****ge of public affairs issues very seriously," said state Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic). "But one of the things that impresses me has been his ability to find a balance -- commuting by train every morning from Philadelphia and coming home at night so he can spend time with his family and be in New Jersey."