Journal Star endorses Fortenberry

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Rep. Jeff Fortenberry is the best choice this November to represent the 1st Congressional District.

Fortenberry, who started his political career on the Lincoln City Council, now has two terms of experience in the House of Representatives.

Perhaps the most significant issue that he has had to confront during that time is the Iraq War. He has proved to be a reliable supporter for the administration’s policies.

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Jeff Fortenberry (LJS file)

Jeff Fortenberry (LJS file)

It should be noted that Fortenberry did not arrive at his positions as an unthinking follower. A member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, Fortenberry has become increasingly astute on developments in the tumultuous Mideast.

We take it as a positive development that Fortenberry has urged talks with Iran in the context of a “legitimate national discussion.”

Iran, believed to be seeking nuclear weapons, plays a destabilizing role in the Mideast. The United States should use every avenue possible to steer Iran to a different course.

The Journal Star has not agreed with everything Fortenberry has done. In the last term, for example, we would have preferred to see him be a strong voice for reform of farm policy rather than going along with business as usual.

We applaud, though, his efforts to support and promote the local food movement. Last year, Fortenberry and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln sponsored a conference on “Local Food from Local Farms.” Fortenberry serves on a House agricultural subcommittee that focuses on specialty crops.

Fortenberry also has worked to provide support for sustainable energy policies. This summer he argued that the United States needs a “man on the moon” effort to achieve a sustainable energy policy.

His focus is on providing support for small entrepreneurs and rural communities. In the recently enacted farm bill, Fortenberry inserted an initiative that would provide support to rural communities seeking to become self-sufficient in energy production through the use of renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass, biofuels and biogas.

In his second term, Fortenberry has begun showing an occasional independent streak, parting with Republican colleagues last year, for example, to override President Bush’s veto of appropriations bills. The alternative, he said, is “quibbling and not dealing with in an urgent manner with serious issues.”

While in office, Fortenberry has held scores of town hall meetings with constituents.

Fortenberry has served his constituents with intelligence, hard work and civility. He will provide more of the same during a third term in the House of Representatives.