16th District Congressional Candidates: Bringing Confidence back to Congress
By: Blake Long
Updated: November 5, 2012
In the race for the 16th congressional
district seat... Republican Adam Kinzinger is facing Democrat Wanda Rohl. A recent Wall Street Journal -- NBS News poll finds the approval rating for congress has tied an all-time low, while its disapproval rating has tied an all-time high.
We're asking the candidates why that is, and what they would do to re-establish confidence with the citizens they'll represent.
Adam Kinzinger:
"In Washington, look, I think both sides have got to retreat from their entrenched positions that they're in, have got to come together and say alright look there are some very big differences, there are some differences that are so big that we may never be able to bridge those gaps, but there are areas we can agree. We passed three trade agreements which enhance our export potential out of Illinois. We passed those in a bipartisan way. We passed a lot of energy and drilling bills in a bipartisan way out of this country and with my Manufacturing Competitiveness Act I've introduced that with a democrat. There's real bipartisanship that's occurring, we just need a little bit more of it, we need to actually get some stuff done and I think you'll see people begin to have their faith in the institution restored. "
Wanda Rohl:
"For me, that's one of the reasons why I decided to run is because you need to have a grown up in the room who's going to talk about the tough issues and you know, sometimes we have to compromise but they won't do that at all. So, for me, it's about going to Washington and just doing the hard work and sitting in a room and staying there until it gets done and not to be going there for my own self worth, my own career or anything like that. You know we have people who have become career politicians and that's a problem when they spend their days dialing for dollars and looking for big donors so they can spend more money, and not focused on doing their job. Just like trying to repeal healthcare 33 times, it's a waste, just do your job."
We're asking the candidates why that is, and what they would do to re-establish confidence with the citizens they'll represent.
Adam Kinzinger:
"In Washington, look, I think both sides have got to retreat from their entrenched positions that they're in, have got to come together and say alright look there are some very big differences, there are some differences that are so big that we may never be able to bridge those gaps, but there are areas we can agree. We passed three trade agreements which enhance our export potential out of Illinois. We passed those in a bipartisan way. We passed a lot of energy and drilling bills in a bipartisan way out of this country and with my Manufacturing Competitiveness Act I've introduced that with a democrat. There's real bipartisanship that's occurring, we just need a little bit more of it, we need to actually get some stuff done and I think you'll see people begin to have their faith in the institution restored. "
Wanda Rohl:
"For me, that's one of the reasons why I decided to run is because you need to have a grown up in the room who's going to talk about the tough issues and you know, sometimes we have to compromise but they won't do that at all. So, for me, it's about going to Washington and just doing the hard work and sitting in a room and staying there until it gets done and not to be going there for my own self worth, my own career or anything like that. You know we have people who have become career politicians and that's a problem when they spend their days dialing for dollars and looking for big donors so they can spend more money, and not focused on doing their job. Just like trying to repeal healthcare 33 times, it's a waste, just do your job."
