With Peter Roskam telling ABC Chicago 7s Linda Yu that he's thinking about running for U.S. Senate in 2010, we were reminded of a conversation we had last fall with him about running for another statewide office. So much has happened since September 2008 -- but his words then confirm he likes serving in DC and if a statewide bid were in the cards for his future, it makes perfect sense it would be for U.S. Senate, not governor. Review the 2008 IR interview HERE.
Named recently by The Hill as "The most up and coming member of Congress" and a new member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Yu asked Roskam about several issues, including Senator Roland Burris in this morning pre-recorded interview.
"Burris has betrayed trust," Roskam said. Then he pointed to Democrats' refusal to vote for a special election process. "It didn't have to be this way, they could have removed the power from Blageojvich," he said. "We now have one effective senator and one who's become a national punchline."
"The Democrats put their party before their state and their country," Roskam said. "I realize that's a harsh statement but we can do better than this."
If Burris doesn't resign, the process becomes miserable, the Wheaton congressman said. "Ultimately, this limps along and become very, very difficult."
About the U.S. Senate seat, Roskam said , "When a US Senate seat comes up, you take a long look ... Congressman Mark Kirk would be a very good Senator," he said. Roskam said a campaign would need to be put together by spring, in order to get around the state. It wasn't clear which year he meant -- 2009 or 2010...
We'll look for a video of the interview for our downstate readers. In our opinion, this morning's interview shows why Peter Roskam is an up and coming national conservative leader and gives us hope for the Republican Party's future.
He's right on and says difficult things in his normal, congenial and most importantly, confidant and bold manner.
