As my main man Jim Shella notes, the first time Baron Hill arrived on most Hoosiers' radar screens was during his ultimately unsuccessful Senate campaign in which he famously walked the length of the state, ending his journey with a dip in Lake Michigan.
Great stuff.
Well, get ready for Baron's Walk-a-Thon, part deux:
Baron Hill announced today that he will spend the August recess talking to voters while walking through the 9th District. Hill will walk with volunteers, community leaders and small business owners as he travels throughout Southern Indiana. Hill will start his walk this Monday in Seymour as he heads towards Columbus.
"One of the most important things a Member of Congress can do is get in touch with voters," Hill said. "The great thing about this walk is that it will let me walk through communities and neighborhoods and talk to voters about what is happening in Southern Indiana and what we can do to help."
Hill will be walking through the district almost every day during the recess in order to meet face to face with as many voters as possible. Hill will walk hundreds of miles through each of the 20 counties in the Ninth District. Voters can track his progress on Hill's campaign Facebook and Twitter accounts (http://facebook.com/hoosiersforhill and http://twitter.com/Baron_Hill).
I love this strategy. Not only does it get Baron out and about during the August recess, but it also exposes an inconvenient truth about the Young campaign: Theodore knows more about Hamilton County than he does Orange County.
As the back-and-forth continues over debate scheduling in the Ninth District race, this one-off comment from Republican candidate Todd Young caught my eye:
"I don't think there's ever been a press inquiry we haven't responded to, or a question we haven't responded to," Young said.
Wait...what?
A brief look at just one of the major issues in this campaign -- Social Security reform -- provides numerous examples of Young refusing to respond to requests for a policy position. To wit:
In a written response, Young (left) dismissed Hill's [Social Security] pledge challenge as a campaign tactic and said Hill has yet to formulate any new ideas to insure the program's solvency.
Hill has questioned why Young will not say whether he supports that plan.
Young's campaign manager, Ryan Burchfield, said Tuesday that The Roadmap for America's Future is under study by the campaign.
Todd Young has literally made perfecting the political non-answer the backbone of his campaign. The closest he has come to breaking out of his carefully-crafted Washington talking points is to say he's going to take a look at someone else's idea for how to "fix" Social Security.
I don't think I've made it any secret that Brian Sikma is one of my least favorite Hoosier Access contributers. I rarely -- if ever -- find anything he pens to be all that reasonable, based in fact, or more than a warmed-over amalgam of what national far-right commentators said a few weeks ago.
Lo and behold, nothing seems to have changed.
Yesterday, Sikma pronounced definitively that the Ninth District race can be summarized as such: "Hill Losing Ground" -- scary, right?
Let's take a look at the evidence presented, which was separated into two parts:
Money -- In this section, the logic seems to be that Young's narrow fundraising advantage in the last quarter equals victory. I can think over over a million reasons why that is wrong. (See, e.g., Baron Hill's cash on hand advantage.)
Couple this with the fact that name identification is key to this very, very expensive district, plus that Young has been completely MIA since the primary, and no rational person can see how the state of finances in this contest is anything other than a huge advantage to Hill.
Endorsements -- This section is even more absurd. I kid you not, this is the bottom line as presented by our smartly dressed boy wonder: Todd Young has been endorsed by his own party's campaign arm and Mike Pence, whereas Baron Hill only had Vice President Joe Biden come to town.
Uh, right.
It's worth noting that Young just recently made the NRCC list -- his inability to win the primary with more than 40% of the vote or coalesce support earlier made him a late, late addition. Plus, Young hasn't exactly endeared himself to the local press, what with his lack of reportable policy positions as of late. My prediction is that November brings a notable newspaper endorsement advantage to Hill.
(Of course, this isn't all Young's fault. Baron has been around these newspapers for his entire life; Todd has only been in the district a few years.)
Finally, as if the money advantage wasn't enough, Hill recently found out that he'll once again be on the receiving end of television air support from the DCCC. With resources tight for both parties, the D-trip wouldn't be committing this early unless they thought they could put this thing away by burying Young under his own stagnant silence.
Last we heard from our Carmel-based Republican friend, ol' Young was hiding out in some undisclosed location while his Washington consultants airdropped stale national talking points into Southern Indiana in hopes of diverting attention away from Todd's decidedly lackluster post-primary performance.
It appears the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In classic D.C. fashion, the Young campaign's response to Congressman Baron Hill's reasonable request for their policy position on Wall Street reform was to release a statement on the subject... DIVERT ATTENTION QUICKLY! BARACKOBAMAPELOSIOHMYGOD!
In a statement, Young labeled the federal stimulus package as a dangerous waste of money.
"The stimulus didn't fuel the recovery. It didn't create jobs. And it didn't curb unemployment," said Young, who is running against Hill and Libertarian candidate Greg Knott for Indiana's 9th District U.S. House seat.
[...]
Young credited state government - which is headed by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels - for implementing a low tax, small government agenda.
Just so we're clear, the position of the Todd Young campaign is that the national economic collapse that began while George W. Bush was president is Barack Obama's fault, and especially Baron Hill's fault. But that same economic collapse that began in earnest here in Indiana under Governor Mitch Daniels is somehow a badge of honor for the Guv and his crew.
In other news, down is now up, and two plus two does in fact equal five.
Yet again, this is the problem with taking talking points from Washington and trying to run a Southern Indiana campaign -- things just don't add up once you start trying to apply their national viewpoints to one specific corner of the Hoosier State.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Libertarian candidate responded to Hill's request for a debate on financial reform. As with the conversation about Social Security, Todd Young and his top-dollar consultants are staying silent.
Another hard hitting release out of the Baron Hill camp, wherein the Good Congressman calls on his opponent* to come clean with their position on the recent passage of landmark financial regulation legislation. To wit:
"I voted against the banking bailout - twice," Hill said. "I was proud to support this legislation because it will prevent future bailouts while also reigning in Wall Street."
Hill made the challenge as Republicans in Washington stated their desire to see the reform bill repealed. Minority leader John Boehner made such a statement last week and the bill passed with little bipartisan support.
* Note: I say "opponent" above because Libertarian candidate Greg Knott appears to be the only alternative to Hill who is willing to go on the record with a policy position about anything. Until Carmel-native Todd Young comes out from hiding under the desks of his Washington consultants, I don't think he's really earned a spot in the debate.
Over the weekend, Maureen Groppe penned a piece for the Star taking a look at the fundraising races taking place across Indiana in competitive congressional contests. Her take can be summarized as such:
Democrats have the cash advantage in each of the three House districts in Indiana that Republicans hope to seize this fall.
But the gap could narrow, and cash isn't always enough when you're facing powerful political headwinds.
The article cites the election of now-Reps. Baron Hill and Joe Donnelly in 2006 despite being outspent by their respective opponents.
What's important to note, though, is that at least in the case of Hill, he didn't need to spend as much because his name identification was already very high throughout the district -- he had, after all, already been elected in the Fightin' Ninth before.
And that's the biggest problem facing our Carmel-based friend Todd Young: it costs a lot of money to boost name recognition in Southern Indiana. There's a reason the GOP ran a guy named "Millionaire Mike" for all of those years.
In some ways, though, the Todd Young campaign strategy may see this as a feature, not a bug. Anti-establishment year or not, this part of the state is much more likely to support 'Generic Republican' this year than they are a Carmel native who has only lived in the district -- and Bloomington, at that -- for a few years.
Oh, Theodore. All of those Hamilton County Republican Party meetings appear to have muddled your head.
To recap, Ninth-District-by-way-of-the-Fifth-District Republican challenger Todd Young has been in hot water as of late over his (complete lack of a) stance on Social Security. And after weeks of bad press, he's had enough -- enter Obama bashing, stage far-right.
In a telephone interview from his New Albany campaign office at 3122 Blackiston Mill Road, Young said Hill needed to explain his [federal stimulus funding] vote with the jobless rate in Indiana still hovering around 10 percent.
"I predict this is the last thing [Hill] is going to want to talk about, but it's the big issue that voters care about," Young said.
The issue with this line of attack, of course, is that Baron Hill is more than willing to talk about the jobs that federal funds have created in the Ninth District. He even has -- gasp! -- facts.
Daniel Altman, communications director for the Hill campaign, responded to Young's remarks by saying cities and towns across the 9th District including Georgetown, Seymour, Jeffersonville and Marengo are benefiting from the stimulus.
The new wastewater treatment facility being constructed for Georgetown was spurred by stimulus dollars.
"Todd Young needs to check his facts," Altman wrote in an e-mail.
Young's problem is simple: he's running a national narrative campaign in a local narrative race. He has air-dropped press releases from Washington, consultants from Virginia, and a stale message that sounds like it was written for GENERIC REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE X, not a Southern Indiana campaign.
For the same reason that the Ninth District cares about what Social Security means for them, they care about the job situation at home first and foremost. Maybe if Young had a few more years under his belt actually living in Southern Indiana, he'd know that by now.
Someone needs to tell Carmel-based Republican challenger Todd Young that less may in fact be more, but there are limits to everything. And when the long-shot Ninth District congressional candidates -- some of whom aren't even on the ballot -- start to earn more ink than you on a critical topic on the campaign trail, perhaps it's time to come out of hiding.
"He apparently has decided that his best strategy on Social Security is to simply say nothing," Hill said. "The voters of the 9th Congressional District deserve better. They deserve a congressman that will be up front with them instead of ducking questions."
Those words sparked a series of responses from Hill's opponents. All four candidates battling for Indiana's 9th District seat spoke with The Tribune in phone interviews Tuesday.
Libertarian candidate Greg Knott said Social Security is not what Hill described, but he also said it's not a Ponzi scheme.
"I don't think Social Security fits that definition," Knott said. "It is a rip-off."
"That's an irresponsible statement," Hill said of Young's remarks in a phone interview. "To say that is the same old political rhetoric. It scares senior citizens."
Notice what happened there. The story leads off with Congressman Hill stating his position on Social Security, segues to his Libertarian opponent... and then back to Hill, for lack of anything from Todd Young.
But hey, getting upstaged by a Libertarian challenger isn't the worst thing in the world. They're principled and all.
Wait, what? A write-in candidate?
Write-in candidate Jerry Lucas of Jennings County agrees with Young's decription of Social Security as a Ponzi scheme.
[...]
Lucas says steps must be taken to ensure those who are filing for Social Security claims are entitled to them.
"We're going to have to clean it out," Lucas said. "There's no such thing as solvent Social Security. It has become a cash hole."
...
And the response from the Young "campaign" was limited to this:
"Right now we're looking at the Paul Ryan plan," Burchfield said. "The thing that Todd wants to have done is verification that the plan's numbers can make Social Security solvent. If we can verify that they are good numbers and that the last-ditch effort to make this plan work is raising taxes, then he (Young) could sign on.
Well, that and some boilerplate references to tax increases and liberalism.
This is getting ugly, folks. What do you call amateur hour when it lasts for weeks?
Congressman Baron Hill is still on the offensive, pressuring this Carmel-based opponent to own up to his position -- any position at this point would do -- on Social Security. Hill held a press conference yesterday where he dismissed Republican efforts to privatize the program:
The 9th District Democrat is responding to a proposal from Republican Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin that would allow workers to invest their Social Security taxes through individual accounts.
During a stop in New Albany, Hill said the plan is too risky and he's signed a pledge that he won't support it. He has also been calling on his Republican opponent in the November election, Todd Young, to do the same.
"It does need to be fixed," Hill said. "There are some unfunded liabailities. But it's not a Ponzi scheme like my opponent has said. Social Security is a sacred trust between the federal government and senior citizens. It should not be trivialized as a Ponzi scheme."
Todd Young, for his part, released yet another trivial written release knocking Baron Hill for -- get this -- not having a position on Social Security reform.
When it comes to the success or failure of a political campaign, there's casual ineptitude when it comes to managing an effort, and then there's professional idiocy.
Ninth District Republican challenger (and Carmel native) Todd Young is no amateur, folks.
As if coming out vaguely in favor of privatizing Social Security wasn't bad enough, Young followed that train wreck by calling Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and dismissing its role for hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers.
But wait, there's more!
In the aftermath of all this, Young has proceeded to completely ignore any and all requests to clarify his position on the subject. Nada. Zilch. The ol' goose egg.
All of which has provided Congressman Baron Hill the opening he needed to reveal the complete lack of substance behind Young's country-club-Republican-meets-Tea-Party bid for office. Via Dan Suddeath in the News and Tribune, the latest:
Democrat and incumbent Rep. Baron Hill criticized Republican challenger Todd Young on Wednesday for not signing a pledge to protect Social Security from privatization - a move that Hill made last month.
"My opponent's lack of comment is disturbing," Hill said. "He apparently has decided that his best strategy on Social Security is to simply say nothing."
Hill again brought up a video posted on the website www.youtube.com last month where Young refers to Social Security as "a Ponzi scheme" while addressing a crowd of supporters at a town hall meeting.
"Republicans in Washington have declared war on Social Security," Hill said. "Given the fact that my opponent was recently endorsed by D.C. Republicans and his statement that Social Security is a 'Ponzi scheme,' he seems to have the exact same agenda."
For any other campaign, this sort of story would probably be the last straw that spurred an otherwise sleepy operation into action. Not Todd Young, though -- policy positions are for those libruls out in Washington!
While he didn't mention his view on Social Security, Young responded to Hill's statement by questioning his allegiance to President Barack Obama.
Via Dan Suddeath of the News and Tribune, a glimpse at why the politically tumultuous passage of health care reform should (and I believe will) provide dividends for Democrats for years to come.
Americans denied health coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions have a new avenue for obtaining insurance.
Through the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has established a transitional plan that will last until 2014, when insurance companies will be prohibited from excluding adults with pre-existing conditions. The federal health care reform package earmarked $5 billion for the measure, known as the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, or PCIP.
To qualify, a person must have been uninsured for at least six months and been denied coverage due to a health condition. Only U.S. citizens or those residing in the country legally can apply for the plan.
Although national political prognosticators were quick to signal doom and gloom for moderate Democrats in contested districts in the immediate aftermath of the health care votes, I think it's worth noting that for Indiana Democrats, the "selling" of this reform package consists mainly of explaining what the bill does (or doesn't) do for Hoosiers.
And for someone like Congressman Baron Hill, who represents an area of the state with tens of thousands of uninsured families, announcements like these go a long way to showing why his vote was the right vote.
Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., voted in favor of the health care reform package in Congress and lauded the "quick deployment" of the PCIP.
"This is welcome news to so many Southern Indiana residents who have been unfairly unable to secure affordable coverage because they have a pre-existing condition," he said.
Hill's opponent, Carmel-native Todd Young, didn't offer a comment for the story, presumably because he doesn't actually have anything to offer to the discussion. He certainly can't say he opposes offering health insurance to Southern Indiana, and he definitely hasn't shown an interest in sharing any unique ideas of his own.
So, for now, the guy sits in silence, wondering what he's going to do in November if shouting "Repeal!" at the top of his lungs over and over again doesn't prove to be the political goldmine he once thought it was.
Everyone's favorite Vice President just recently concluded his remarks in Jeffersonville on behalf of Congressman Baron Hill, and reports indicate it was a big success for all parties involved. From the Courier-Journalstory:
Biden praised Hill for being a no-nonsense political leader who focuses on controlling budget deficits while supporting the creation of jobs.
As for the economic problems the nation is facing, Biden said, "I can promise you that it's going to be OK. Indiana is coming back. The nation is coming back, and Baron Hill is going back" to Washington.
Biden spoke for about 20 minutes before some 200 people who attended the fundraiser. Hill also spoke to the gathering, along with Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville.
Hill's opponent, Todd Young of Carmel fame, was supposedly outside the event protesting with Tea Partiers. Methinks his frustration may stem more from the fact that his own national party won't give him the time of day after his lackluster sub-40% primary showing.
Last we heard, recent Carmel transplant Todd Young was running around trashing Social Security and fumbling through roundabout explanations for how he was sort-of for privatizing the program unless you asked him directly if he was, in which case he totally wasn't.
Confused? You're not alone.
Luckily for the Ninth District, Congressman Baron Hill doesn't mince words when it comes to Social Security, and he released a statement earlier today blasting his opponent for refusing to come clean about where he stands on this critical issue.
"The most recent comments from my opponent are simply outrageous," Hill said. "Social Security is a promise that we have made to seniors and we must honor. I have always fought to protect Social Security and will continue to do so in the future. My opponent's recent comments have shown his disdain for Social Security and his desire to cut benefits that millions of Americans rely on."
Young made his comments last Tuesday night and they appeared on YouTube last week. Since his statement has become public, Young has refused further comment. "Hoosiers deserve to know where their elected officials stand, particularly on issues as important as Social Security," Hill said.
"The fact that my opponent will not sign a pledge to protect Social Security from privatization tells me that he wants to see it privatized, but refuses to state his beliefs publicly. If he wants to engage in something as risky as betting Social Security benefits on the mood of Wall Street, he should at least respect the voters of Southern Indiana enough to tell them."
Hard hitting stuff, and in many ways it puts Young in the first of what will likely be many awkward positions as he seeks to placate his Tea Party activist base without alienating the vast majority of common sense constituents in Southern Indiana.
On the heels of Congressman Baron Hill vocalizing his support for maintaining and protecting Social Security -- including an opposition to privatization -- Republican candidate (and Carmel native) Todd Young has been spotted at a recent Tea Party event advocating for... well, I'm not really sure what he's advocating for.
But he certainly doesn't seem particularly supportive of the Social Security program.
Now, let's be clear -- Todd Young is incredibly incoherent and unclear in this clip as to what the hell he actually thinks about Social Security. He's vaguely against privatization, but he also thinks it's necessary, and he also wants to transfer federal powers (see: Social Security) to the states, but he also wants to preserve solvency.
It's a convoluted, chaotic jumble of half-assed talking points and weird ideological stances.
And that's really the point.
Todd Young owes Southern Indiana a bit more of an explanation on what he actually thinks about Social Security. I don't know if this psychobabble works up in Carmel -- where Ponzi schemes are really the norm -- but methinks that the folks down along the River might want a little straight talk before November.
Kudos to the Ninth District's finest for coming out swinging on the issue of protecting Social Security from Todd Young privatization.
The country made a promise to its citizens, Hill said, so he intends to protect that promise to Hoosiers who rely on Social Security to provide basic needs such as prescription medications or rent.
"I am determined to ensure that Social Security retirement will be available for all those who pay into the fund. Because of this I pledge to protect Social Security by protecting it from privatization. We simply cannot subject the retirement of our seniors to the whims of the stock market," Hill said in a news release.
Obviously this isn't breaking news -- Hill has long been a staunch defender of Social Security and seniors in general -- but it does represent the opening salvo in a campaign that will likely see the good Congressman make a concerted effort to show how out-of-touch his Carmel-based opponent is with the values of Southern Indiana.
For those of you who haven't been made aware already, Vice President Joe Biden will be in the state in just a few weeks to raise some coin for Congressman Baron Hill. This may be one of your last opportunities to catch the top of the 2012 ticket for a year or so -- be sure to check it out if you have the financial wherewithal.
Hill, a Democrat representing Indiana's 9th District, is seeking re-election against Republican challenger Todd Young.
Hill campaign spokesman Daniel Altman said in an e-mail that Hill "raises the funds necessary to mount a successful campaign in Southern Indiana."
[...]
The luncheon is slated for 11:30 a.m. at Kye's, located at 500 Missouri Ave.
To find out how to RSVP, email the Hill campaign here. Reservations must be made by June 18 for security purposes.
I make no secret of my love for all things Ninth District, and that includes my main man Congressman Baron Hill. Via his wife Betty, the Fightin' Ninth's best campaign operation announced yesterday the launch of a new online home.
I don't often write emails like this, particularly since the birth of our first granddaughter who keeps me very busy, but this new site really reflects the Baron I know and have been married to for more than 35 years. The Baron I know, and hope you learn more about, is a dedicated family man, a lifelong resident of Southern Indiana, a man of deep religious conviction, a hard worker, and someone who is deeply committed to his work. He constantly tells me how fortunate he is to represent the fine folks of Southern Indiana in Congress, and certainly possesses the same passion for his work as he did the day he was elected.
Q: What do Mike Tyson, Hillary Clinton, Ron Paul, Neil Young, and Karl Rove all have in common with Todd Young, the Republican candidate in the Ninth Congressional District?
A: None of them have lived in Southern Indiana for any length of time.
Call me a cynic, but I doubt three years of living in Bloomington -- of all places -- can erase a lifetime of being a Carmel-ite in the eyes of Southern Indiana Hoosiers. You can support Seymour's own Congressman Baron Hill at www.HoosiersforHill.com.
Good news out of the Fightin' Ninth, where all-around good guy Baron Hill has turned in another strong showing with the latest FEC reporting cycle. Here are the nitty-gritty details:
Baron Hill (D) --
Raised: $233,687 Spent: $55,048 Cash on Hand: $908,293
Mike Sodrel (R) --
Raised: $177,302 Spent: $69,239 Cash on Hand: $109,818
Todd Young (R) --
Raised: $139,209 Spent: $177,588 Cash on Hand: $225,758
Sodrel is still running over $200k in debt, but doesn't appear all that worried about paying that amount down any time soon. I didn't include Travis Hankins on the grounds that who the hell is Travis Hankins?
Keep in mind that Young and Sodrel are both incredibly likely to end their primary battle with next-to-nothing in the bank. If that's the case, and Congressman Hill continues to enjoy success when it comes to filling his campaign coffers, look for the eventual Republican nominee to rely heavily on out-of-state groups to get their message out.
Indiana Congressman Baron Hill's office has reported to Capitol police receiving several threatening phone calls since he voted in favor of the federal health care overhaul. Hill spokeswoman Katie Moreau said Thursday she couldn't give details of the threats or specify how many such calls had been received. She said they were a small percentage of the mostly supportive calls to the Democratic Congressman since Sunday's House vote.
In addition to witnessing civil rights leader, John Lewis, being called the "N" word, Andre Carson has now been the direct target of disturbing actions.
Congressman Andre Carson's Indianapolis office, meanwhile, received a couple of troubling calls over the weekend that spokesman Justin Ohlemiller described as racially motivated. Carson is black.
I hope any lurkers here who lean right will denounce this sort of behavior whenever they hear of it. Someone is bound to be hurt if this continues unchallenged.
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