Who should I vote for in the 2008 Indiana 3rd District House of Representatives Race?
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Mike Montagano (D) is running his campaign to represent Indiana's 3rd District under the banner of "Using Hoosier Values to Deliver Real Change". I'm not sure if Indiana politicians can pull the same heartstrings with a lot of "Hoosier" talk the same way a Texas politician can down here with any talk of "Texas pride" or the Alamo, but, if they can, then Montagano is doing the right thing. He's a pro-life Democrat who upholds the 2nd Amendment. He's calling for a $100 billion tax cut to middle class and an end to the tax policies of the Bush administration. He is a supporter of health care for children, low income families, and small businesses. He strongly supports any legislation to improve the medical coverage and economic and educational opportunities of veterans, and he is adamantly supportive of clean energy initiatives. He claims he has "earned a reputation as a straight-shooter working with Indiana icons Joe Kernan and Tim Roemer" (an Indiana governor and Representative.) At least, as a pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment Democrat, the race between Montagano and Republican Mark Souder. Side: Mike Montagano
Well, even though Montagano's social agenda is rather conservative, the democratic candidate says that if elected, he wants to push for greater funding for renewable energy and green energy in Indiana and increased federal health care benefits for children. First and foremost, we need a comprehensive energy policy and that needs to change from what we've seen over the past 14 years. We need to bring good jobs, green jobs back to this area and revitalize the economy in the third district. Interview with Montagano
Side: Mike Montagano
Two weeks ago at the unofficial beginning of the campaign season, incumbent Souder released a series of ads and press releases attacking his democratic challenger and inferring Montagano's incompetence and confusion. Souder made a statement in response to Montagano's position as a conservative Democrat that the young challenger is "just confused" as to where his party affiliations lie. Montagano has not made any derogatory or debasing remarks about Souder in response, and says that he expects this is just "politics as usual" for the Congressman. Souder attacks Montagano
Side: Mark Souder
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The Travel Equity Act (H.R. 6287) is a piece of bipartisan legislature, which Souder introduced to Congress in June with Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) that would give veterans the same mileage reimbursement for travel as federal employees-50.5 cents a mile. Souder: “Federal bureaucrats shouldn’t receive a greater mileage reimbursement rate than the men and women in uniform who have served our nation so bravely. Especially at a time of record-high gas prices, our veterans deserve more from us. I’m delighted to work with my Hoosier colleague, Brad Ellsworth, on this important issue.” Currently, only veterans claiming service-connected disabilities can claireimbursementnt for travel. H.R. 6287 looks to include all veterans, disregarding current service disabilities requirements. This means that all army veterans would be able to travel to the Department of Veteran Affairs in order to receive medical treatment without having to worry about mileage. Side: Mark Souder
Despite the uproar from his constituency, Souder still maintains that his support of Bush's bailout plan is justifiable as a means to ending the current financial crisis. The revised version of the plan, which includes a series of budget cuts for struggling businesses already rejected by the House in the previous version of the legislation, is meant to bailout investors who "bought risky mortgages" in an unstable market. Though this may seem like a series of risky financial mistakes for which said investors should pay, Souder insists that the amount lost is too great to be salvaged by individuals and that the government must step in to stop serious financial ruin. Does this seem fair? If, as Souder says, those investors who make their money through taking risks and business speculation are indeed responsible for increasing the economic plight of the US, should middle-income Americans have to foot their bill for $700 billion? Side: Mark Souder
Souder has a slight edge in fund raising in this race, much more PAC contributions but Montagano has spent less so has more cash on hand to spend going forward, as of their last filed reports. Side: Mark Souder
In accordance with party opinion, Souder has voted on several issues to open up ANWR and Gulf coast oil reserves, but doesn't really focus on finding a future plan for renewable. It is not his prime directive when searching for an answer to soaring energy costs. Souder:Perhaps our biggest problem is the growing trend of nations (Venezuela, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, for example) themselves owning their own oil reserves and controlling all extraction and refining operations. Indeed, in 2006, 65 percent of all oil reserves worldwide are controlled by state-owned oil companies, compared to only one percent in 1960. It is these government-owned enterprises that are most likely to manipulate our markets. One such piece of legislation that Souder supports is the Main Street USA Energy Security Act which focuses entirely on exploratory drilling and clean coal initiatives. Side: Mark Souder
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