Candidates take aim at big spending
All five candidates vying for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat soon to be vacated by Sen. Evan Bayh came to campus on the attack against President Obama’s policies in front of students, faculty, staff and the general public on Monday.
“The next senator from Indiana, and we hope it is one of us [five], is going to have to deal with some difficult, difficult issues. First of all, the fiscal crisis of this country is still here,” former U.S. Sen. Dan Coats said. “There may have been a few pinpricks of light at the end of the tunnel but we still have some very, very tough decisions in order to address our deficit, in order to address our debt, in order to address our drastic spending. I think you have heard from all five of us that we take this very, very seriously.”
Businessman Don Bates Jr., tea party activist Richard Behney, Coats, former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler and state Sen. Marlin Stutzman, R-Howe, faced questions from a panel of former and current editors of The Franklin, about the deficit, the military and President Barack Obama’s pending Supreme Court nomination to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
The debate, which was sponsored by the Pulliam School of Journalism, was moderated by its director, John Krull and was broadcast live on the college’s radio station 89.5 FM WFCI. Krull serves as one of the advisers to The Franklin.
Coats is the only one of the five candidates who has won a statewide election. He was appointed to the Senate to replace Dan Quayle when Quayle became George H.W. Bush’s vice president in 1988. He then won a special election two years later and was re-elected to a full six-year term in 1992. He chose not to seek re-election in 1998 – when Bayh won his first of two terms.
The primary marks the first political race on any level for both Bates and Behney. While running against Coats and Hostettler and their Washington experience, they both spun that as a positive.
Bates and Behney, considered long shots in the primary which takes place on May 4, made the most of their time in front of the microphone, especially when asked about climate control and health care.
“Global warming is a hoax,” said Bates, who later said that it was “designed to destroy the American economy.”
“I was saying global warming was a hoax before it was cool,” Behney agreed.
Behney pledged to be “heaven-bent” on overturning the health care reform, while Bates said it was the first step to socialism. Behney also declared he would only confirm Supreme Court justices who publicly stated they were pro-life and accused Americans of creating “a culture of death.”
Coats and Hostettler tried to distance themselves from the current Washington atmosphere. Both said they never intended to get back into public office when they left Congress, but were worried about the direction of the country.
“This will probably be the most important election of your life, unfortunately,” Hostettler told the audience.
All five candidates identified the national deficit as a major problem facing not only the current generation but the future.
Coats said, “We can’t afford new programs. No matter how desirable they may sound, we cannot keep running this country into debt.”
The Indiana law that requires the state Legislature to pass a balanced budget every year should be used as a standard, Stutzman and Coats said.
Although Behney gained political notoriety as the organizer of the Indianapolis tea party rally, all five candidates agreed that those who support such grassroots movements will be part of the future of the Republican Party.
“The tea party movement is mainly composed of disenfranchised Republicans who were disappointed with us when we lost our way,” Bates said.
The winner of the primary will likely face current U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., who represents the state’s 8th district, in November’s general election. State Democratic Party officials will choose the party’s candidate because no one officially entered the primary. Bayh’s withdrawal came too close to the filing deadline for any other candidate to get on the ballot.
Staff Writer Tim Grimes contributed to this report
- john krull
- Don Bates Jr.
- Richard Behney
- John Hostettler
- Dan Coats
- Marlin Stutzman
- Pulliam School of Journalism
- Republican Senate Debate
