No reason to remove Dold

Two weeks ago, 10th District Democrats voted in a primary to decide who would challenge Republican incumbent Robert Dold. Brad Schneider, an engineer and businessman from Deerfield, won the Democratic Primary with 47 percent of the vote, 8 percent above the runner-up, Ilya Sheyman.

Redistricting as a result of the last census has turned the formerly mostly-Republican district into a Democratic-leaning one. According to Roll Call, Dold is one of the top 10 Republican congressmen likely to be unseated this year at the polls. This is partly why four new faces in the political world all jumped on the chance to unseat Dold.

Congressman Dold is a self-described fiscal conservative and social moderate. He has shown a pro-life outlook with reservations, an emphasis on clean-energy, and even a willingness to close loopholes in gun-control law. More importantly, he is a freshman in Congress, having gotten the job in 2010. Before that, he worked in his family’s small business. Organizations like 10th Dems suggesting that relatively new and moderate Congressmen like Dold are the source of Congressional gridlock are not thinking clearly.

It speaks to the polarization that has happened in Congress in recent years, and the destructive view that any Democrat is better than any Republican, or vice versa.

I have volunteered for and worked in the Brad Schneider campaign and attended a Democratic primary debate. In a couple of weeks, I will be attending and participating in a campaign event organized by Robert Dold. Both candidates came to speak at my high-school, and as far as I can tell, both are sane, qualified responsible people. Frankly, I’m happy to have either one serve me and my district in Congress. But I genuinely believe that removing a new qualified and relatively moderated incumbent on the basis of party is a poor decision.

Alexander Montero

Mundelein