For the last few cycles, 4th District Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Crazytown) hasn't made much of an effort to really engage in what is generally considered to be the "campaign season." He wouldn't talk about the election, refused to debate his Democratic opponents, and he more or less pretended like the democratic process an inconvenience he didn't want to be bothered with.
Take this video from 2006. Buyer asserts that he won't debate the Democratic nominee, Dr. David Sanders, because he is a) mean and b) poor.
Ah, democracy in action never looked so pleasant.
Fast-forward to this year. Democratic candidate Nels Ackerson has seemingly taken Buyer's advice. He has raised a lot of money during the last few fundraising periods -- more than Buyer, in fact -- and has hit the streets with a message of change.
Rep. Buyer's response to all of this? Down-and-dirty from day one, apparently.
A recently approved House Bill amendment drafted by Congressman Steve Buyer (R-4th District) is drawing criticism from Buyer's Democratic challenger in the upcoming November election.
Nels Ackerson, a Zionsville attorney running against Buyer in the November election, accuses Buyer of grandstanding in an election year and maintains that the congressman "took the lead in proposing an unprecedented tax on veterans to pay for their healthcare."
Those claims come amidst a new press release from Buyer's office crediting the Congressman's amendment for an increase in healthcare and readiness of the nation's active and inactive troops.
[...]
"Mr. Buyer's cuts in veterans' health benefits have been painful and I don't begrudge a small step but we need to look at the whole package and so far that package has been dismal," Ackerson said. "He has a record of very substantial cuts to veterans' benefits over his years in Congress and he has occasionally come back to make some smaller increases in military benefits and this seems to follow that pattern."
Wait for it. Wait for it...
"It's a false and malicious statement," Buyer said. "There is no such thing as a tax on veterans' healthcare. This is a gentleman who got out of Purdue in 1967 and while his buddies went off to serve in Vietnam he served his time as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., so he does know how to spin things."
Ah, there's the rational political discourse we've heard so much about.
For what it's worth, Nels Ackerson volunteered for the Marine Corps but was not permitted to serve because he had two herniated discs.
To make matters worse, he also wasn't in Washington during Vietnam.
But hey, Steve Buyer has never let the facts get in the way before, so I don't know why he would start now.
You can learn more about Nels and donate to his campaign at his official website.
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