From the issues page of 9th CD challenger Todd Young's website:No, that's not a typo. He doesn't mention the program even once.
For what it's worth, he also refused to comment on a recent newspaper story that made mention of his YouTube gaffe. (Can you call something a gaffe if the person continues to say it over and over again?)
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.
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.
The Hill reports that a recently leaked survey conducted by perennial Republican candidate Mike Sodrel shows that while he has created some distance between himself and his GOP opponents, he still trails Congressman Baron Hill in the Fightin' Ninth.
Former Rep. Mike Sodrel (R-Ind.) trails Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) by just one point, 43-42, according to a poll conducted for Sodrel's campaign.
The Wilson Research Strategies poll also shows Sodrel in solid position in his May 4 primary with attorney Todd Young and activist Travis Hankins. Sodrel's name recognition from four previous campaigns in the district has spurred him to a 46-19 lead over Hankins. Young, who is a member of the NRCC's Young Guns program, is in third, at 13 percent.
Aside from the fact that this is a Sodrel internal, the poll was from roughly three-weeks ago. I'm curious to see how things look after the primary -- until then, these polls are more about fundraising than predicting.
The more and more I think about the Jim Shella story I linked to below regarding the NRCC's use of pseudo-robocalls in Indiana -- and their subsequent refusal to stop -- the more and more I think that the Republican challengers in the affected districts owe it to their potential constituents to condemn the NRCC's tactics.
To recap, all three major political parties in Indiana signed a "treaty" months ago pledging to not use automated phone calls in the upcoming election cycle.
Not only is the legality of robocalling in question right now, but at the end of the day, people hate these calls. The treaty was widely seen as a win-win for both the political organizations and ordinary Hoosiers.
Clearly, though, the NRCC didn't get the memo. And when Attorney General Greg Zoeller pointed it out, they gave Hoosiers the political equivalent of a middle finger.
All of which leads me to a simple question: Will any of these candidates step forward to condemn the NRCC's flagrant disregard for what Hoosiers want?
I'm a little late to this particular party, but for those of you who missed the big development of the weekend, here's the skinny:
"My focus has been, and will remain, on fulfilling my job as the congressman from Southern Indiana and continuing to address the most pressing issues our nation and great state face, like deficit reduction, health care reform, energy independence and entitlement spending," Hill said in a statement.
Republicans, meanwhile, promised to give Hill a stiff challenge in the congressional race.
Hill's decision and endorsement likely clears the path for Ellsworth to get the Senate nomination, which will be decided after the primary by the Indiana Democratic Party's 32-member central committee.
Congressman Hill is in a strong position as he pursues reelection, and his two potential challengers have yet to do, well, much of anything to articulate why they'd like to replace him.
For what it's worth, Mike Sodrel appears to be more interested in selling books than anything else, and Todd Young doesn't even have the political chops necessary to see that folding on his debate challenge with Sodrel is just the latest in a long line of bad decisions.
Remember when Ninth District Republican candidates Mike "Fifth Time's A Charm" Sodrel and Todd "I Swear Carmel Is Southern Indiana" Young pledged to debate one another every week until the primary election?
"I can assure you, when I am in D.C., I will not forget I represent people like you," Young said as the room exploded with cheers.
Young ended the night by challenging Sodrel to weekly debates until the primary elections. Sodrel quickly accepted. Details are still being worked out.
Sodrel said he was not sure about Young's experience, but he pointed out that he was loyal to President Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment.
"Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican."
That was nearly a month ago.
Since then, details have been few and far between on these supposed debates. Anyone hearing anything out there? Who is afraid of whom?
Carmel-based Republican Todd Young hasn't exactly been having the best time as of late. His lackluster fundraising and anemic support resurrected a repeatedly beaten dead horse in Mike Sodrel, and since then it's been one thing after another for the guy.
But as they say, the only thing worse than non-legal troubles is, well, legal troubles. And troubles he seems to have.
That call, apparently received somewhere in Southern Indiana, isn't just poorly executed -- it's possibly illegal.
You see, litigation has been ongoing for four years now as to whether political calls fall under the statewide ban on robo-calls passed in 1988. Rather than wait for a final judgment on this point, all three political parties in Indiana agreed to not use the questionable tactics in the upcoming cycle.
As you can hear above, Young apparently get the memo.
Making the whole situation even more sticky is the fact that the Attorney General of this fine state -- who would be heading up any enforcement of the law against Todd -- is a big-time Young for Congress campaign supporter. As my good friend Scott Fluhr notes:
It will be interesting to see what comes of this, as Zoeller is not only one of the statewide elected officials to endorse Todd Young, but someone that has done more fundraisers for him and done more to help his campaign than virtually anyone else that isn't related to his wife (and thus Dan Quayle).
Former Republican congressman Mike Sodrel was supposed to hit the road and wind his way through 20 southern Indiana counties on Thursday, initiating his fifth Congressional campaign with the target being U.S. Rep. Baron Hill.
That's right, Millionaire Mike is back, and he's not taking the resounding electoral "no" he was handed in 2008 for an answer.
While pundits salivate over the spectacle of a fifth match-up against Congressman Baron Hill -- the good congressional representative has only registered one loss during the tough 2004 cycle -- it's worth noting that due to Hill's popularity and tireless work ethic, the real fun in this district may take place in the Republican primary.
In one corner we have the self-funding, mother-trucking behemoth that is Mike Sodrel, a man who has drifted more and more out of the mainstream as his desperate attempts have progressed from year to year. In th other, Carmelite Todd Young, a guy who despite racking up some early endorsements should view Sodrel's entry as a resounding dismissal of his candidacy by the GOP establishment.
The News and Tribune published a puff-piece a few days ago that took a look at the fledgling candidacy of Todd "I know Dan Quayle" Young, the political neophyte from Carmel Bloomington, Indiana who has pledged to run in the Ninth District next year.
The interesting thing about the interview isn't what Young says, as much as it is what he doesn't say. Namely, anything at all. Here's a sampling:
"There's no silver bullet to turn things around," he said. "But there are some common sense steps we can take."
Sounds great! Like what, Todd? The national debt, you say?
"Essentially our standards of living will go down," Young said. "We have to pay it off or it just gets passed on."
Continuing to add to the national debt will result in higher taxes which Young is opposed to. Debt is not just a financial dilemma - it's a moral issue to Young.
"We are better people than to borrow from our kids," he said.
Hm. Good point. So what are you planning to do about it?
National security is a top concern, though he wants to hear testimony before Congress from military leadership before stating his opinion on what America should do about Afghanistan.
At some point, Young believes definitive action will have to be taken to keep Iran from possessing nuclear weapons, but he said the situation hasn't escalated to that point yet.
Wait, what happened to the debt issue? Your plan to bring down the debt is military action in Iran? That doesn't seem to make much sen...
Americans should be free to shop for insurance across state lines, all businesses should be treated to the same tax breaks and medical liability reform needs to be pushed, Young said.
A combination of the three would bring more people under the health coverage umbrella, he said. But Young added the working poor could still not afford health coverage even with the plan he suggests, so Americans should accept the government will have to subsidize benefits for some, he said.
Wait, what about Iran and those nuclear weapons? And you're for subsidizing benefits? Now let me get this straight...
Young believes by touting fresh ideas and declaring his candidacy early, he'll be a formidable opponent for Hill next November.
...and, fin.
I'll give Todd some props, especially as the lowly law student I am -- he sure can spot some issues! The problem, of course, is when it comes to providing anything close to an answer to the problems facing the Ninth District, our humble Hoosier State, or the nation as a whole.
And lest you think the article left out Todd's slam-bang plans, a quick jaunt over to his faux-Obama website reveals an issue page that highlights little, and provides leadership on even less. This, for example, is the entirety of Todd's "plan" to solve not only the ballooning national debt, but any and all problems associated with the U.S. Constitution:
Make Congress deliberate before it acts. Congress will have to slow down. This means that Congress will give more careful consideration to how it spends your hard-earned tax dollars.
Empower citizens to participate. Bills will shrink, be less complicated, and contain fewer subjects, so that We the People can actually read them, too.
Stop the corrupt tit-for-tat Washington politics. Fewer bad proposals will be passed due to "log-rolling."
Restore transparency and integrity to spending. No more secret clauses or pork-barrel earmarks will be inserted into bills at the last moment.
Want a short answer for why next year may not be the year of a watershed Republican Reawakening? Take a look at 9th Congressional District GOP hopeful Todd Young, who has spent the last few months spinning his wheels amidst lackluster fundraising and mixed-up messaging.
What do we find on the front page of his website? A lengthy, error-ridden piece entitled "Todd Young's Statement on Accountability," wherein young Todd fails to say anything about the aforementioned concept of accountability. What he does do is repeat the half-truths that have come to characterize the fear-mongering coming from the Republican Party.
Health care reform bad! Rationing! Old people! It's a trap!
But what do we find when we go over to the "Issues" section of this Obama-esque web experience?
Economy and Jobs
Constitution
National Security
Notice something missing there? Like, you know, Todd Young's plan to do something about skyrocketing health care costs? Rationing seems like a great rhetorical tool until the millions of Americans without health insurance point out that they are being rationed by a system of medical coverage that denies care to those who due to preexisting condition or financial status can't afford to pay for insurance.
And hence the Republican dilemma: Todd Young and his friends are (arguably) achieving some level of success by stoking the fires of discontent, but when it comes to actually articulating their viewpoint, they inevitably defer to the tired talking points that for the last decade kept substantive reform off the table.
The result? It's hard to tell at this point. Next year will more than likely not be a great year for the majority, but the Republican wave of '94 was built on the back of a concerted, well-organized messaging campaign. The Todd Young's of the world aren't looking to make a contract with America -- they're just looking to complain about it.
A few days back, I noted on my twitter account that just about every incumbent GOP politician had endorsed Todd Young for the 9th District Congressional seat. This includes, according to Young:
I'm reminded (for better or worse) of Jon Costas and the AG race last year. All of the statewides were lined up in relatively short order for the chosen one; they endorsed, everyone else was supposed to follow.
Indianapolis picks, you see. That there are other declared candidates (and potential additional entries--such as Kerry Stemler of One Southern Indiana and ROCK fame--remain the subject of much buzz and rumor), but the statewides will pick for us and that will be that. We're not allowed to be left alone to hash it out in our own primary process. It's supposed to be a done deal long before that time ever comes.
Democratic Chairman Dan Parker has invited potential 2012 gubernatorial candidates to a meeting Saturday at the home of Bren Simon to discuss how to avoid a repeat of the 2008. Among those invited are 9th District Congressman Baron Hill and Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, considered to be the two likely front-runners.
There is no shortage of potential candidates for the 2012 gubernatorial race, including Bart Peterson, Roy Dominguez, Tom McDermott - and even Schellinger and Thompson haven't ruled out running again. Sautter goes on to argue that the Indiana Democratic Party's early selection of Schellinger as the preferred candidate for governor in 2008 is an example of the pre-existing internal divisions that lead to divisive primaries. Then he notes:
The manner in which party leaders and the losing candidates have conducted themselves since Creigh Deeds' upset victory in Virginia provides an instructive contrast to their Hoosier counterparts. At Deeds' victory press conference on the day after the primary, both McAuliffe and Moran enthusiastically pledged their support to Deeds, offering money and staff. Not only did Schellinger and Parker skip Long Thompson's victory press conference, Schellinger never did endorse her and instead met secretly with Daniels. Meanwhile, Parker quietly did everything possible to sabotage his own nominee's campaign against Daniels.
I know Thomas and others here may argue with that last bit. But it remains to be seen how divided Hoosier Dems are heading into 2010 and 2012. On one hand, the state gave its electoral votes to a Democratic President, and reps like Hill and Ellsworth cruised to easy victories. On the other hand, there is still some acrimony in the wake of the debacle that was the gubernatorial campaign, and with Pete Visclosky under investigation, there's plenty of opportunity for division.
I don't think a strong primary is a bad thing - Chris Bowers and Matt Stoller at OpenLeft have pretty much exhaustively documented how House and Senate challengers selected through a tough primary process are often better-positioned in the general election. But as Indiana showed in 2008, a primary isn't enough by itself. With Republicans holding all statewide offices, the Democrats can't afford to be divided. Whether you were a Schellinger or Thompson partisan - or whatever your side in the Myers/Orentlicher/Carson contest - the Virginia example is the one to follow.
Quinn said Mike Sodrel has said he will not be running against Hill again. Sodrel was not available for comment Monday evening.
It's about time.
Elsewhere, some conservative guy who looks a lot like Wayne Rooney is apparently throwing his hat into the non-existent ring.
"I know it is early to be talking about a political campaign, but it is not too early to be concerned about the dangerous levels of deficit spending now being recommended by Congress and the Obama administration," Young, a former policy adviser to Sen. Dick Lugar, said in a prepared statement.
One wonders where he has been the last eight years...
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