Marathon Pundit: ILSen: Chicago Tribune endorses Doug Truax

Two days after trouncing political gadfly Jim Oberweis in what will probably be their only debate, the Truax campaign picks up more good news--the Chicago Tribune endorsed the political newcomer.

If the Republican Party is to outgrow its loss of stature in Illinois, it needs to recruit and promote candidates who are more like Truax. At 43 he's a West Point graduate, a former Army Ranger and captain, and majority owner of a small Oak Brook firm that helps employers address the costs of their health care, retirement and other benefits programs.

Truax projects confidence in what a growth-oriented federal agenda could accomplish: He stresses that without more vibrant economic activity, America won't solve chronic joblessness. He impresses us with smart ideas for rescuing entitlement programs, curbing federal tax loopholes, and empowering states to expand school choice: "I favor charter schools and maximum flexibility for parents and students to escape bad schools and a cycle of poverty." And as a health insurance consultant, Truax offers fresh and detailed proposals for accomplishing what Obamacare cannot: affordably providing good coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions.

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The two would, though, approach foreign affairs from different perspectives, and here Truax's background gives him a distinct edge. While Oberweis last month told our editorial board he was "fairly satisfied with the direction" of Obama administration policies, Truax had answered our election questionnaire many weeks earlier with a comment many Republicans will see as prescient after Russia's bold aggression in Ukraine:

"Our strong voice on the world stage is necessary — not to seek to become involved militarily, but to avert military involvement," he wrote. "(A)s someone who is trained in military history, I know the consequences of weakness on the world stage. ... I know that it tends to lead to instability and wars and that strength tends to lead to stability and peace."