It's old news here that Dan Lipinski will be drawing a primary challenger in Mark Pera, but I was reminded of it Wednesday when Bush vetoed the stem cell bill. Despite widespread, bi-partisan support in Congress, in the country as a whole, and from the scientific community, Bush decided against allowing the research. Aiding and abetting him was Dan Lipinski. Anyway, because of this I thought I'd look around again for more on Mark Pera and Dan Lipinksi. I ran across this article in The Hill. I've excerpted a couple of key points below.
Democrats upset by how Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) acquired his seat and what he’s done with it will give the second-termer another primary challenge in 2008... Lipinski won his seat in 2004 after his father, Rep. William Lipinski, decided not to run for reelection after having won the Democratic primary. In a move that has not sat well with some Democrats, the younger Lipinski, a political science professor in Tennessee who had not lived in the state for years, was nominated to replace his father with no opposition.
Daniel Lipinski’s detractors contend that he is out of sync with the district on social issues — he is socially conservative on issues such as abortion and stem cell research — and he has riled the liberal base with what it sees as his continued support for the Iraq war.
Lipinski recently voted against a bill that would have set a withdrawal deadline in Iraq and voted for the Iraq war supplemental. He was also one of 16 Democrats to vote against a bill expanding funding for embryonic stem cell research last week.
Pera and other anti-Lipinski forces contend the lawmaker’s voting record does not reflect a district that, while traditionally considered culturally conservative, is growing more liberal. The district voted nearly 60 percent for both Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Vice President Al Gore (D) in the last two presidential elections.
