Just after Dan Burton's campaign decided to run an ad featuring Ohioan actors posing as real Hoosiers, his campaign got a little more help from out of state.
The Iowa-based American Future Fund - who has made a lot of noise over the past few months - popped in to drop this bizarre ad on the Hoosier state:
As primary challenger John McGoff's campaign put it, "The AAF [sic] is known for their salacious and knee-breaking advertising campaigns." That's stating the case a bit mildly. According to the Iowa Independent, AFF's legal counsel is Ben Ginsberg - the same Ben Ginsberg who was forced to resign from the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 when it came out he was serving as the legal advisor to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. And AFF's media strategist is Larry McCarthy, who produced the infamous "Willie Horton" ad in 1988.
You may remember that AFF targeted Rep. Baron Hill with a TV ad last fall, then targeted Hill along with fellow Congressman Brad Ellsworth in print ads over health insurance reform. While I couldn't find a good fact check of the ad they ran against Hill, the nonpartisan Factcheck.org wrote that AFF's last ad against the Affordable Care Act "mixes bits of recycled images and false claims with new falsehoods".
AFF apparently broke a lot of golden eggs to make and air this commercial. Burton primary challenger Luke Messer repeatedly complained the amount was "over $100,000", and the Star reported that AFF spent more than $200,000 supporting Burton, including $171,500 on television. And as the Star reported, "It's unclear why the group is getting involved in the primary." AFF is no stranger to large expenditures - they dropped over $600,000 into Scott Brown's Senate race in Massachusetts. (They are also uncovered as the organizers of a massive online attack on Martha Coakley in a new study by two Wellesley University professors.) As a 501c(4), AFF does not have to disclose their donors. But their 2008 form 990 (amended) showed they took in almost $7.5 million and spent more than $4.5 million on advertising, despite having no paid staff. (PDF link)
Despite this kind of advertising, Burton went on to defeat Messer and McGoff in the 5th District's GOP primary. Meanwhile, actual Democrat Dr. Nasser Hanna lost to "Conservative American Democrat" Tim Crawford in the Democratic primary (a result puzzled over by both Michael Wallack and Chris Worden). And so my old neighborhood in the 5th District is lost for another term, unless a strong independent candidate emerges.
Ok, it is New Year's Eve, and this long-time political junkie will take a stab at looking into the crystal ball for 2010. Nothing deep, just a few more-or-less educated guesses.
1. Evan Bayh will win in a cakewalk. He is the most conservative Democrat in the Senate. That actually makes him somewhat unpopular in the progressive/ liberal wing of the Democrat Party, but he is a heck of a lot better than some of the wackos mentioned to run against him.
2. Dan Burton will win the primary (IN-5) by a whisker, and lose in the general election, to GASP, a Democrat, a Dr. Nasser Hanna, a cancer doc at IU Med Center. Watch out for this one, possible 3-way race with Burton, Hanna, and a teabagger. I wish the republicans would replace Burton, but he will tear his party apart instead. Dr. Hanna is a well-spoken political novice, so his first real test is to see how well he does fundraising.
3. Secretary of State race will be between two Hamilton County residents, Republican Charlie White and Democrat Tom McKenna. This one is REAL important to both parties.
4. Demos will keep control of the State House of Reps, and Reps the Senate. No news there. Redistricting will be a war, winner is whoever wins Sec of State.
(As usual, I get all the credit, and all the blame. - promoted by Thomas)
[Update 12 June 2009, 7:30pm:] Despite my attempts to contact Rep. Burton's campaign staff by twitter and by leaving a comment at his blog, their post still blames Thomas for authorship of my previous piece. (They also deleted the comment I left on their site.)
Congressman Burton has spoken to this issue several times, not to mention opposing at least two of President Bush's largest spending programs (Medicare Part D and the No Child Left Behind Act). In addition, along with the Republican Study Committee that he founded, Dan pushed for a number of spending CUTS that were not supported by the Democrat Party.
First, I'd like to point out that Congressman Burton opposed the Medicare Part D act primarily because his pet provision, re-importation of drugs from Canada, was stripped from the bill. None of Burton's statements to the press from this time period talk about deficits or the national debt, although I did find one statement worrying that the prescription component could increase taxes.
Second, I'd like to know which one of the unfunded mandates of NCLB caused the debt flutters for Congressman Burton. A quick Lexis search showed no contemporaneous statements by Rep. Burton regarding the NCLB act - although he did vote against it - and the statements on his official website don't go back that far.
But even if we pretend that Burton did choose to vote against these bills because of his concern for the debt, it doesn't explain his votes to increase the debt limit of the US, or his utter lack of dire predictions about the debt at the time.
His campaign blog entry closes with this:
Either way, its clear that if Republicans spent too much between 2001-2005, when they and Bush were in control, President Obama has set new records- making the Republicans look like "coupon-cutting grocery shoppers."
Avoiding responsibility & blaming your opponent for being worse - sounds more like a Washington insider than a real representative of Hoosiers.
(Another excellent, excellent post. - promoted by Thomas)
In a breathless post on his campaign blog, Dan Burton writes that "[w]e are in a situation right now to destroy the United States of America". Is it terrorism, of the domestic or international variety? Is it closing Guantanamo, or trying terror suspects? Is it abortion? Stem cells?
No, it's the national debt:
We are at a turning point in the United States history. We have the chance to turn towards the path to success or the road to failure. The United States forthcoming decisions regarding the recession will determine our future as a country. At this time, the American debt affects you as an individual, your family, your family yet-to-come, your town, your city, your state, and your nation.
I think his message is a little undercut by the President re-submitting PAYGO rules to the House, and singling out Hoosier Democrat Baron Hill for his consistent work on the subject.
Burton, however, hasn't exactly been a consistent crusader against deficits and the national debt. After seeing his blog post, I ran a few LexisNexis searches to see what warnings Rep. Burton had to offer about debts & deficits while Bush was President. I was genuinely surprised that I found nothing before the bailout packages last October. That's right, nothing - on PR Newswire, CQ Press Releases, the news wires, the major papers, and even conservative rags like the NY Post and Washington Times. I did find a few choice tidbits, though, about Burtons "evolving" attitude toward deficits and the national debt:
In 2004, Burton mocked Democrats who were pushing for fiscal responsibility in the face of Bush's $388 Billion spending bill. "There's nothing like a reformed lady of the evening," Burton said. [1] This bill was possible only because...
Also in 2004, Burton - along with all of his Hoosier GOP colleagues - voted to increase the federal debt limit at Bush's urging. (Hoosier Democrats, including Pete Visclosky, Baron Hill, and the late Julia Carson, all voted against the bill.) [2] In fact, during the first four years of the Bush administration - and on Burton's watch - the federal borrowing limit was increased by $2.23 Trillion. As the AP pointed out, that's "more than all the debt the country accumulated from its founding through 1986." [1]
In 2003, Burton supported Bush's $674 Billion stimulus bill, saying simply, "I support it>" Contrast that with Baron Hill's statement that "The president's budget, expected next month, must show how his stimulus plan fits within a long-term budget framework that does not plunge our nation deeper into debt." [3]
I also tried browsing old press releases and floor statements from Congressman Burton's official website - but these only start in November 2005, and aren't easy to navigate. Needless to say, I found little evidence of any zeal for reducing the debt or controlling deficits during the Bush administration.
Does Dan Burton bear all the responsibility for our national debt? Of course not. But his shrill warning cries of danger sound a little hollow once you look at his record.
To say that the Star rid themselves of subtlety over Dan Burton long ago would be a bit of an understatement. For over a year, they have made no mystery of their disdain for Indiana's longest serving congresscritter, and they pull no punches this morning in their assessment of the blossoming fight in the Fifth District.
Combine an undistinguished legislative resume with a record of self-serving, sometimes bizarre behavior that has drawn national negative press and cost the veteran lawmaker in terms of party favor and committee assignments. Antics such as the missed votes to play golf in 2007 and the "no" vote on a House ethics bill that passed 430-1 are now legend.
Fifth District voters deserve better. Yet, as Burton is quick to point out, they've chosen him 14 times. It has not hurt his cause that the district is among the nation's most heavily Republican, making the general election a virtual formality. It is the primary that matters, and the 70-year-old fixture has never been more vulnerable. His constituents have never had an array of choices like the one that is shaping up for 2010.
Should Burton stay in the race -- which by all accounts, he intends to do -- his chances improve with every new name who throws their hat into the increasingly crowded ring.
It's never too early to start pontificating on the next election cycle, especially if you make your money, uh, pontificating on the next election cycle. And thus, with little fanfare, the Cook Political Report released their initial race ratings for the 2010 cycle. Indiana is, at least at the moment, a real snoozer.
IN-1 -- Solid D IN-2 -- Likely D IN-3 -- Likely R IN-4 -- Solid R IN-5 -- Solid R IN-6 -- Solid R IN-7 -- Solid D IN-8 -- Solid D IN-9 -- Likely D
The only real things of note here are that Brad Ellsworth is now recognized as beyond mere mortals in an Eighth District that he has quickly made his own, and Baron Hill has effectively consolidated his political strength in the historically tight Ninth District. Oh, and Mark Souder is a really, really lazy campaigner, but somehow keeps winning.
The one downside of having Google News feeds for just about everyone in the state is that I'm constantly receiving alerts for people around the world who share names with Indiana's political cadre. That's what I thought this story was at first, but I'm really, really thankful I clicked on it anyway. Apparently, the Fifth District's finest was at the forefront of a fight in the mid-90's to expose the governmental cover-up of UFO activity.
Steven Greer said. "So on April 9, 1997, at the Westin Hotel in Georgetown, I hosted a briefing for about 30 Congressional offices; different members of Congress came, people connected with the White House and the Vice-President's office came, Pentagon officials came. What was interesting was that Congressman Dan Burton came, who is famous and very powerful Chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, and he turned to my people and said, "Tell Dr. Greer I want everything he has on this, and that we want to pursue this." Well, of course we felt that this was very promising because if you understand how Congress works, a chairman of the committee can pretty much call for hearings and get hearings on something, so he started looking into it, but then his chief of staff and he started having some strange surveillance and were basically forced to back off.
Via the New York Times, here is what happens when change comes to the White House:
With enthusiastic support from President-elect Barack Obama, the House on Wednesday passed a bill to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program. President Bush twice had vetoed similar legislation.
Mr. Obama will probably be able to sign the bill within days of taking office on Tuesday. The Senate might take action within a week.
[...]
The bill, which would extend coverage to four million uninsured children, symbolizes the shift in priorities in Washington. The vote came five days after the House, defying a veto threat from Mr. Bush, passed two bills to combat sex discrimination by employers who pay women less than men doing the same or substantially similar work.
There were only two dissenting votes from within the Democratic Party. Republicans, meanwhile, concerned themselves with raising the tired red flags of yesteryear. Every Indiana Republican voted against the SCHIP expansion, and these two consecutive paragraphs from Maureen Groppe's story tell you everything you need to know about the wobbly leg they are trying to stand on.
"I wish my colleagues would think about the kids in the future as well as about today," said Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indianapolis. "You have to print this money. It's got to come from someplace and the kids will have to pay through the nose for the things we are doing today."
The bill would increase the federal tobacco tax by 61 cents a pack to help pay for 4 million more children to be covered by the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Apparently, Dan Burton didn't read the bill. That shouldn't surprise anyone.
Or maybe he just expects a lot of smokers in the next generation or two. Who knows.
Mike Pence was no better:
Rep. Mike Pence, R-Columbus, said the proposed expansion will "usher in a new era of socialized medicine in America."
And remember, this is the guy who is supposedly heading up the messaging department over at the GOP headquarters.
These scare tactics worked when the economy was roaring along, seemingly providing an endless supply of dot-com bubbles that we could all ride to financial salvation. But after eight years of hyper-conservative deregulation -- not to mention a foreign policy plan that hasn't exactly assisted with our domestic financial security -- the American people aren't nearly as scared by the specter of straw men as they are the prospect of not being able to put food on the table.
And these guys wonder why they got their arses handed to them in November?
Everyone's favorite Star columnist writes this morning on the prospects of another primary challenge to Dan Burton in the Fightin' Fifth District. While many -- including this humble blogger -- considered Dr. John McGoff's run this year as the first part of a two-step fight against ol' Danny, Tully throws out a few names being floated at this extremely early stage.
Few on the list of possible candidates will talk on the record at this point. But GOP insiders say several top names have expressed interest. They include Marion Mayor Wayne Seybold, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi, state Sen. Mike Delph of Carmel and former congressional candidate Brose McVey.
Some would run only if Burton retires.
[...]
The toughest challenge, though, likely would come from [Rep. Luke] Messer, a partner at Ice Miller who spent his legislative years pushing creative proposals to improve Indiana's high school dropout rate. Messer has a close relationship with top state Republican officials as well as rank-and-file types. Armed with one of the state's brightest political minds, and a clean reputation, he'd offer a compelling contrast to Burton.
And no, we aren't going to win this seat. There's probably an argument to be made that running against the joke that is Dan Burton is better than someone who might not be so, well, crazy. The democratic part of my brain (small 'd') says that beating this guy trumps all at this point.
Now that we have all had a chance to recover from the election madness and have begun to return to normal it is easy to forget about some of the candidates who lost their races recently. I am writing this diary today to ask for you all to consider diverting your attention to an urgent matter which needs our attention from this fine community at Blue Indiana.
Mary Etta Ruley was the Democratic nominee for Congress from the 5th District of Indiana and lost her race against Dan Burton despite obtaining 36% of the vote, a record in that particular race where previous candidates would register percentages of the vote measured in the teens and twenties. She was largely self funded in her campaign due to a lack of support from the state party and DCCC who ignored repeated requests for assistance and was at a severe financial disadvantage in the campaign.
As a result, her campaign has incurred a debt load which must be cleared before her campaign can be officially ended by FEC regulations. I am asking you all to please help Mary Etta Ruley clear her campaign debt by making a donation via ActBlue today and to pass this along to as many people as you can to help her. Mary Etta fought a good fight and is in need of her fellow Hoosier Democrats' help to erase the debts incurred fighting the evil Dan Burton.
It is important for Hoosier Dems to take care of their own in situations such as this. Mary Etta took no special interest contributions and the funds she did raise came from direct appeals to supporters, small events and donations made by everyday folks like yourself.
The pundits and insiders wrote her candidacy off despite the fact she received the endorsement of the Indianapolis Star in her bid to unseat Burton because she proved the viability of her candidacy when she appeared before the Editorial Board of the Star. Had she been able to fund advertising to put her name and her experience out to the voters of the 5th District we could have been represented by an experienced economist and former Congressional staffer.
Please click through now to make a donation via ActBlue to help retire Mary Etta's debt. On behalf of Mary Etta Ruley, thank you for your generosity and have a happy Thanksgiving holiday.
Democratic candidate for Congress Mary Etta Ruley will hold her second and final Virtual Town Hall this Sunday evening, November 2nd at 6pm from her campaign website at MaryEttaRuley.com. Last Sunday Mary Etta had a great experience taking calls from listeners from Blue Indiana and so as a second chance for those who missed the first time we decided to hold a second one on her main campaign site this Sunday evening to give you all another chance to speak with her about her campaign against Dan Burton.
You can listen to the previous town hall using the player below as well as on her profile at BlogTalkRadio, accessible via the button below. Bookmark that page for Sunday night as it is where you can tune in to hear the show live at 6pm EDT. More information is available on BlogTalkRadio and on her website. We hope to hear from you Sunday night and will speak with you then!
Welcome to the Virtual Town Hall with Mary Etta Ruley, Democratic candidate for Congress from the Indiana 5th Congressional District. Mary Etta is facing off with notorious Republican Representative Dan Burton on November 4th and has come here to Blue Indiana to drum up support for her campaign to replace one of the most embarassing representatives in the nation and our state.
To listen to the podcast on Blog Talk Radio click the play button below or click on the Blog Talk Radio logo to visit her profile where you can listen in with host Christopher Brown, candidate for Hamilton County Council At Large. We want to thank Thomas Cook for allowing us to use Blue Indiana for this town hall and special thanks to Christopher Brown for hosting the show.
The Friends of Mary Etta Ruley for Congress is pleased to announce a Virtual Town Hall will take place with Democratic candidate Mary Etta Ruley this Sunday here on Blue Indiana. The event will take place via Blog Talk Radio live at 5pm EDT and will be moderated by a host TBA and will feature your questions, live and uncensored direct to the candidate who aims to replace the obnoxious Dan Burton in the Indiana 5th Congressional District.
Mary Etta has been walking the district that stretches from the northern suburbs of Indy to the outskirts of Ft. Wayne through the center of the state since spring and has made great headway coming into the general election despite a significant fundraising gap. Dan Burton has misrepresented this district for 26 years and even the Indianapolis Star has recognized the viability of Ruley by honoring her with their endorsement for this election in CD05.
Speaking of viability, how would you like to replace Golfin' Danny Burton with a trained, seasoned economist who has worked as a Congressional staffer to the former representative J. Edward Roush from her northern Indiana district and worked side by side with Alan Greenspan and Milton Friedman on the President's Commission on An All Volunteer Military in the 70s? Folks in her district are impressed with her when they have a chance to learn more about her background as an economist and small business owner and are excited at the chance to rid themselves of Danny Boy and gain a representative who they can be proud of.
Join us this Sunday evening at 5pm EDT here on Blue Indiana to leave your questions in comments or participate by calling into the Blog Talk Radio system to direct your questions to Mary Etta live during the streaming audio broadcast.
Fresh from her endorsement by the Indianapolis Star yesterday, CD05 candidate for Congress Mary Etta Ruley will be speaking at this evening's Shelby County Jefferson Jackson Dinner and will be attending the Hancock County JJ Dinner meet and greet beforehand as well. Tonight's events are a great opportunity to meet her in person and I encourage you all to try to make it out to these events!
Back by popular demand, I bring you this quarter's congressional fundraising totals from across the state.
Incumbent
Total Q3 Fundraising
Cash on Hand
Challenger
Total Q3 Fundraising
Cash on Hand
IN-1
Rep. Pete Visclosky
$63,335.00
$1,123,798.49
---
---
---
IN-2
Rep. Joe Donnelly
$142,887.86
$559,233.97
Luke Puckett
$53,708.39
$17,509.71
IN-3
Rep. Mark Souder
$216,987.38
$451,756.49
Mike Montagano
$152,485.49
$31,255.90
IN-4
Rep. Steve Buyer
$270,674.86
$806,324.83
Nels Ackerson
$128,782.53
$100,632.78
IN-5
Rep. Dan Burton
$199,774.70
$359,866.96
Mary Etta Ruley
TBA
TBA
IN-6
Rep. Mike Pence
$142,557.48
$417,601.56
Barry Welsh
$3,233.21
$9,380.03
IN-7
Rep. Andre Carson
$245,415.79
$186,951.99
Gabrielle Campo
$20,720
$11,836
IN-8
Rep. Brad Ellsworth
$267,651.31
$735,413.07
Greg Goode
$48,802.93
$43,860.25
IN-9
Rep. Baron Hill
$206,928.26
$684,909.30
Mike Sodrel
$177,387.86
$263,642.79
There's really nothing but good news for us in these numbers. Here are a few things of note:
The first thing you should notice is the absolutely piss-poor job the formerly-celebrated GOP challengers have done this cycle. Greg Goode and Luke Puckett (when he bothers to file reports) can't raise a dime to save their political lives, which were likely dead before those contests even started.
Congressman Baron Hill continues to kick ass in the 9th District, and Mike Sodrel posts another lackluster set of figures that will undoubtedly dishearten Republicans who were depending on Millionaire Mike to sustain his own effort. Keep fighting until the finish on this one, folks, but things are looking great right now.
Mike Montagano gave us another impressive effort in the 3rd District, and keep in mind when looking at his CoH number that he was able to spend out a lot more due to the dedicated funds he'll be receiving from the DCCC. We're right where we need to be in this contest.
Although the CoH figure will be a huge hurdle in the final weeks, kudos to Nels Ackerson in the 4th for outperforming any and all expectations for a Democrat in this decidedly difficult district. Great stuff.
Mary Etta Ruley relaunched her website today in a final push for votes in the tangle with Dan Burton for control of the Indiana 5th District Congressional seat. Mary Etta has been canvassing the district person to person and has been working hard to convince the voters of the reddest district in Indiana (some say the entire country) to turn this district blue and help get rid of the noxious Dan Burton, a man who barely survived a primary challenge by Dr. John McGoff back in May.
With voter sentiment very sour on Danny Boy, Mary Etta has been running a grassroots campaign effort that has been finding supporters from all over the district and anti-Burton allies from all over the state. She hopes to take advantage of the Obama Effect and it is looking like Obama coattails will be rather long in the district's population centers in Hamilton County, Kokomo, Marion, Gas City and Greenfield.
We need your help though, and we need it ASAP. We are in need of funds to push her message to voters via cable TV ads and direct mailings, yard signs and more. Please visit our new website at MaryEttaRuley.com where you can donate via ActBlue, sign up to volunteer, order yard signs and get updates directly from Mary Etta herself.
"I am pleased to be running for Congress to provide the voters of the 5th District something they have not had for 26 years - effective representation. I plan to restore integrity to the office and will serve the interests of the people from my district well in Washington" said Ruley.
Stop by today and help us out in any way you can. We need volunteers to help Mary Etta walk the district over the next few weeks and most of all we need your help financially.
Back by popular demand, here's your handy chart based on the latest campaign finance filings for our congressional contests.
Incumbent
2Q Fundraising
Cash on Hand
Challenger
2Q Fundraising
Cash on Hand
IN-1
Rep. Pete Visclosky
$212,045.00
$1,585,193.21
---
---
---
IN-2
Rep. Joe Donnelly
$248,481.82
$993,045.67
Luke Puckett
TBA
TBA
IN-3
Rep. Mark Souder
$89,873.46
$323,339.38
Mike Montagano
$141,407.00
$351,701.69
IN-4
Rep. Steve Buyer
$182,269.08
$628,854.91
Nels Ackerson
$87,989.00
$177,536.88
IN-5
Rep. Dan Burton
$128,176.69
$336,537.54
Mary Etta Ruley
TBA
TBA
IN-6
Rep. Mike Pence
$231,772.01
$739,104.21
Barry Welsh
$3,878.61
$8,093.40
IN-7
Rep. Andre Carson
$434,765.31
$82,934.89
---
---
---
IN-8
Rep. Brad Ellsworth
$168,173.79
$779,312.64
Greg Goode
$24,651.37
$9,029.45
IN-9
Rep. Baron Hill
$294,587.47
$1,160,436.64
Mike Sodrel
$193,349.05
$379,358.76
A few things of note:
The big surprise is obviously the strong showing of Mike Montagano in CD 3. Rep. Mark Souder continues to disappoint in his ability to muster a respectable warchest, and with Montagano showing a $30k CoH advantage heading into the summer, this race looks increasingly likely to jump from the DCCC's "emerging races" list to the big time.
If there were any people left who thought the "Bloody 8th" would make a reappearance this year, Greg Goode's numbers should put that to rest rather quickly.
Speaking of disappointment, it looks like Millionaire Mike Sodrel is having a hard time finding support for his Bush-loving brand this year. He pledged to not dip into his personal finances this cycle, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen based on this performance.
I'm still waiting on Luke Puckett's numbers, who apparently didn't get his report turned in on time. I'll update the chart when I can give you those figures.
A national economy in shambles. Wars in (at least) two countries. Gas topping $4.00 a gallon. Drug prices through the roof. Foreclosures in record numbers.
So many problems, so little time, right?
But don't worry, because Rep. Dan Burton has stumbled in from the golf course long enough to help bring us this electoral gem.
U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution on May 22 to ban same-sex marriage, a result of the backlash by lawmakers upset with the California Supreme Court's recent ruling legalizing gay marriage.
Broun, a freshman Congressman from Augusta, announced his intent to introduce the legislation on May 20 and got 29 co-sponsors to join him in introducing the bill, named the Marriage Protection Amendment. Other Georgians who have signed on as co-sponsors are Republicans Lynn Westmoreland and John Linder.
[...]
Other co-sponsors of the bill, all Republicans, are: Reps. Tom Feeney of Florida; Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania; John Shimkus of Illinois; Tim Walberg, Peter Hoekstra and Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan; Brian Bilbray and Duncan Hunter of California; Dan Burton of Indiana; ...
Republicans: The party of priorities.
Misguided, politically motivated priorities, but priorities nonetheless.
Dr. Jonathan Walker and Edith Kenna write in this morning's Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on the disconnect between what President Bush and his cronies would like you to believe about the SCHIP bill currently before Congress (again), and what the reality of this program expansion would be. It's an excellent piece, and I recommend you read the whole thing, but to just give you a sampling of what we're talking about, here is a brief snippet:
The program will cost too much. At a time when President Bush has asked for an additional $200 billion for the Iraq war, this bill is asking for $7 billion a year in extra funding for uninsured children. Study after study shows that it is far more expensive if these children show up desperately ill in the emergency room because they had no insurance. You are going to pay for them either way - it is just that when kids are healthier, they do better in school, and it costs us less if they get the care they need before they get really sick.
It taxes Hoosiers unfairly. This bill is supported entirely by taxes on tobacco products, and Hoosiers smoke more than the rest of the nation. The problem of uninsured children, however, does not respect state lines. Besides, a recent study in the journal Public Health showed that increasing taxes on cigarettes reduces smoking prevalence and results in significant savings in medical care costs, so the tax pays for itself. The only loser is the tobacco industry, and it is time to stop putting the interests of that industry ahead of the needs of uninsured children.
And just a reminder: The SCHIP bill came back last week and was once again passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the House.
Still defending the President's politics over the health of children across the nation? The entire Indiana Republican delegation: Reps. Steve Buyer, Mark Souder, Mike Pence, and Dan Burton. (Steve Buyer didn't actually vote on the most recent version -- I'm not sure why -- but he has expressed time and time again that he stands with the President on this issue, so I include him here.)
Shame on them, and let's all hope that the Democratic challengers in these districts take every opportunity to remind their constituents that a vote for any of them is a vote against responsible health care options for children in this country.
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