The 6th Congressional District rarely produces a significant contest, but 2010 is the exception.

Challenging veteran Congressman Howard Coble, a Republican, is an energetic and younger Democrat, Sam Turner. Both men have something to offer voters, but our endorsement goes to Howard Coble.

In personal interviews, we learned that both men have found points of agreement with the tea party movement. This was more than a little ironic for two men from opposing parties with widely differing political vision.

Coble says he believes in the tea party's basic platform of limited government and limited spending, but his longevity - he is seeking his 14th term - means that he cannot win tea party approval from a movement that's down on incumbents. On the other hand, Turner has signed the tea party's limited term agreement but can't win endorsement because of his views on things like health care and financial deregulation.

Opponent Is a Newcomer

Sam Turner definitely falls into the category of Washington outsider despite his job as a commercial airline pilot based in the nation's capital. He has never held public elected office and has no interest in the federal government other than concern to represent the people.

Refreshingly open and honest, Turner wants corporate and union money kept out of politics and says the country simply does not have the wherewithal to stay in Afghanistan long enough to turn that country into our type of democracy. If the government is broken, he says it's because corporations have taken over.

The philosophy of this Salisbury resident is appealing, as is his background as an Air Force pilot flying missions into Bahrain, Kuwait, Mogadishu and Bosnia.

But from a practical standpoint, we back Howard Coble because of his fiscal conservatism and his courage in following his conscience rather than the party line. After all, he is the congressman who had the fortitude to tell former President George W. Bush, face-to-face in the presidential limousine, that he had made a serious mistake when he ordered the invasion of Iraq without an adequate post-entry strategy.

Still Plenty of Energy

Coble voted to send troops into Iraq and still believes that Saddam Hussein had the capability to produce weapons of mass destruction. But he sticks to his belief that the decision to invade that country lacked sound planning principles.

When it comes to fiscal conservatism, there may not be another Congress member who can match him. Coble has declined to accept a congressional pension and annually returns to the U.S. Treasury unspent funds allocated to operate his office.

Thirty years separate their ages. But Coble, at 79, can hold his own with anyone half his age when it comes to energy. Surely no other member of Congress attends more pig-pickings, parades, rallies, Eagle Scout ceremonies, luncheons, forums and fundraisers than Howard Coble. He is easily approached and a true man of the people.

In the future, our endorsement may go to Turner or another candidate of quality, but for now The Pilot supports the tried and true: Howard Coble.