“Where does he stand on Iraq?” the Sun asks.

Is this just because the press just wants to make the campaign for Congressman in the Massachusetts 5th District about the war in Iraq?

Why isn’t a race in the 5th district going to be about economic development in Massachusetts? About the loss of local industry and agriculture? About the loss of manufacturing jobs, and the creation of a service economy that cannot sustain itself.

Do we need more restaurants in Lowell?

The Iraq war is a short term issue. It’ll be over in a couple years either no matter what comes of this election.

The cost of health care is of greater concern. The future source of energy to power our society, the need for alternative energy sources (which is a possible focus of growth in the district), the breakdown of the family structure, the lack of education standards comparable to the rest of the world, and the need to decentralize the nation’s food and energy supplies are all true issues to debate and discuss.

Of the six five democrats running for this position, I haven’t heard that any of them have actually served in the military (thus having direct knowledge of the situation from a military perspective).

We’ve had years of listening to Democrats cry “What about Iraq?”. Most of them were armchair warriors, just repeating the party talking points. Since this latest congress started, all they have focussed on is endless “congressional investigations” and “boards of inquiry” have have tried repeatedly to make it look like the current administration was corrupt– yet every inquiry had died with no findings. Every “big story” turned out to be another witch-hunt. Its all designed to make people look back during the 2008 election and think “just look at all the investigations.”

In this case of this election, I think the Lowell Sun is trying to focus the debate for this campaign in the wrong direction. Let the candidates drive the debate for now.. let’s see where it goes.

Of course, Ogonowski does need to start issueing some position papers and have some public meetings and campaign events to let the people get to know him.

From the Lowell Sun Political Column (4/29):

IS JIM OGONOWSKI the real deal for Republicans looking to break Massachusetts’ blue streak?

Of the man, we know only that he is a 28-year Air Force veteran and a Dracut farmer. Even less is known about the candidate’s politics.

But his last name will immediately propel Ogonowski to the tip of the tongue of voters in the 5th Congressional District. And for a political novice, that is a boon shared only by Democrat Niki Tsongas, wife of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Tsongas.

Ogonowski announced Tuesday, from a square in Dracut dedicated to his late brother John Ogonowski, that he would be running for Congress to replace Rep. Marty Meehan.

John Ogonowski was himself a Dracut farmer and the pilot of the American Airlines Flight 11 that was flown by terrorists into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

The national GOP has already started sniffing around this race. And their interest has undoubtedly left Merrimack Valley Republicans with visions of money, advertisements and big-name endorsements dancing in their heads.

But one big question remains. Where does he stand on Iraq?

Ogonowski, the candidate, plans to retire from the Air Force in May. He has refrained from commenting on the war until after he leaves the military.

But whether he decides to run away from President Bush’s policies or stick up for the administration could shape the direction of his candidacy.

The 5th District race is one of three federal special elections in the country, the others in Georgia and California.

It appears Ogonowski will have clear skies through the Republican primary, because ex-NFL star Fred Smerlas and Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan decided Thursday to bow out of this contest.

State GOP Brian Dodge said Ogonowski will not be a cookie-cutter Republican candidate.

The newcomer talked about national security, taxes and the environment on Tuesday, issues Dodge said Ogonowski is familiar with as an Air Force pilot and farmer.

OGONOWSKI’S CANDIDACY got a strong write-up in the April 24 Congressional Quarterly, under the headline “Brother of 9/11 Pilot Enters GOP bid for Meehan’s House Seat.”

The article’s undertone is that Republicans face a “daunting”challenge to reclaim the seat for the first time since 1972, noting Sen. John Kerry took 57 percent of the district’s vote in his race against George W. Bush in 2004.

But it also spares no quarter in mentioning that Ogonowski’s “personal history” — his brother’s death — will gain him attention he otherwise might not have received. Ogonowski said Tuesday his brother’s death weighed heavily in his decision to run.

The Tsongas candidacy was the subject of a CQ article several weeks ago.