The Indianapolis Star featured answers from the three Indiana US Senate candidates to a series of questions on the front of the Focus section on Sunday, October 3, 2004. CLICK HERE for the story on their website, or HERE for my backup. CLICK HERE for my personal favorite part of the deal, the caricature of the candidates that illustrated the print edition.
A few notes in response to my opponents' answers:
Note the essential non-responsiveness of both Bayh and Scott to this question: "How should the federal government reduce the budget deficit?" Neither one actually listed even one specific program they would be willing to cut.
In his first answer, Evan takes credit for having "assisted in creating and protecting thousands of jobs." How, exactly? Mostly, his website notes on economics and job creation seems to be bragging on the jobs he's helped create by getting government contracts for Indiana companies, and such related pork barrel type considerations.
Of course, he needs to factor in the jobs lost because of the tax money pulled out of the economy for his government projects.
Also, the protectionist policies that he's edging up to with the fair trade talk will badly HURT rather than help the economy.
As to political role models, boy did Evan make the most boring picks possible. What was it exactly that Evan got from Jefferson? I don't think TJ would see much in common with modern welfare state Democrats.
As to the Social Security question, what has the senator done in the last six years to stop the systematic looting of Social Security taxes by the Congress? Does he not bear culpability for the trillion dollars or so of Social Security surpluses that have been squandered by Congress since he's been there?
For his part, our Republican opponent supports the Medicare drug benefit just passed by his party and president. Moving to throw a huge new unfunded entitlement benefit on top of everything else pretty much destroys any credibility Mr Scott may have had on the topic of Social Security or entitlement reform.
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