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Congressman Chris Shays was back in Connecticut this weekend, following last week’s vote on the massive economic bailout bill.  WNPR’s Diane Orson caught up with him at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport and filed this report.

Congressman Shays at an ALS walkathon in Westport: Photo by Diane Orson"My name is Chris Shays and I just have to tell you I wouldn’t miss not being here"

Shays almost did miss an important weekend in the campaign season as he and lawmakers in Washington scrambled to gain enough votes for the economic bailout bill to pass. Once it did, Shays returned home to a packed schedule. He met with voters at Saturday’s walkathon for victims of the disease known as ALS .   

"Have a good walk guys..hey do I get a high five?  All right."

Shays is locked in a tough re-election bid with Democratic opponent, Jim Himes.  Trumbull resident John Hax says Shays is one of the few elected officials  not afraid to do the right thing.

"To me there’s no alternative to buying up those mortgages. And no real excuse for not having the courage to sign a bill to do it. But we have an awful lot of congressmen, especially Republican congressmen in this country who are about to lose their jobs in a month."

Voter John Hax with Congressman Chris Shays: Photo by Diane OrsonIn the car on the way to the next event Shays says he believes the bailout was necessary to  save the economy from grinding to a dead stop. But he also thinks it’ll take awhile for things to improve.

"We’re going to see things get worse before  they get  better.  So the general public is going to look at this and say hey it didn’t do any good.  So the challenge for those of us who voted for this bill is to make sure people understand why."

Despite the economic crisis at home, Shays remains a staunch supporter of the Iraq war..and insists this is not the time to pull out.

"Should we give up on Iraq when we are close to seeing victory? It would be the most foolish thing we could possibly do.  Iraq is in the center of where most of the imported oil and natural gas comes from."

Shay has served ten and a half terms in Congress and is the only Republican member of the House in New England.

Listen Tuesday at 9AM for conversation with 4th District Democratic challenger Jim Himes on Where We Live.