Biggert sees cause for Republican optimism

ST. PAUL - Some Illinois Republican incumbents are bracing themselves, charting plans to survive a Nov. 4 vote featuring an Illinois Democrat running for president.

But U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, a Hinsdale Republican, is taking an optimistic view.

"I think the mood is much, much more positive the last two months," Biggert said of morale among her state Republican colleagues.

Biggert is not attending her party's national convention here this week. She is staying home in the 13th Congressional District, taking in Naperville's annual Last Fling, an end-of-summer festival; spending time with constituents; and touring a local agency's housing services for people with disabilities.

She is hardly the only suburban Republican to skip the convention. U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, of Ogle County near Rockford, is among those taking a pass on a week of conventioneering.

That may be, in part, a measure of how seriously Republican incumbents view the challenge facing them in November with Barack Obama heading the Democratic ticket. Biggert is being challenged by Democrat Scott Harper, of Lockport.

"I think that I can accomplish more here (in her district), listening to concerns that voters have than I could by being at the convention with all the rah-rah," Biggert said.

Hurricane Gustav's assault on the Gulf Coast has mostly hushed the rah-rah factor of the GOP convention even for those in attendance, but Republicans gathered here nonetheless are intently focused on bolstering their chances in what many figures to be a tough election for the party.

Biggert, for one, said Republicans are gaining traction among voters on key issues, including energy policy. She thinks, for instance, that American voters side with Republicans and not Democrats in proposals to increase domestic oil production through offshore drilling.

"Nancy Pelosi should let us have an up-or-down vote," Biggert said, "but I think she's afraid that if it came up to a vote, it'd pass."

Biggert acknowledged that Democrats hope to win by utilizing President Bush's low approval numbers.

"They think that all they have to do is say, 'I'm not a Republican; I'm for change.' That worked two years ago," Biggert said. "But people are ready for a serious look at the candidates. They want more than just the sound bite. They want people who have experience. They want to make the right changes."