Over the past few months, you have heard two very different visions for the direction of our country and our state.
My opponent Dave Crooks, a liberal career politician, has failed to offer any solutions for our country’s problems. Instead, I have focused on my record and have offered a positive plan for what I believe will bring more jobs to Indiana, address the skyrocketing cost of healthcare, and protect and strengthen Medicare.
The economy under President Obama has grown at an anemic rate. We’ve had chronically high unemployment, record deficits, and the federal government has crushed our nation’s job creators — small businesses.
President Obama has taken the credit for hardworking entrepreneurs and innovators by telling businesses owners “You didn’t build that” while my opponent calls him “My guy Obama.” Serving as a rubber stamp to the President’s failed policies will not grow the economy. Instead, we need to foster the real engine of economic growth — free enterprise.
To get the economy working again, we need to reign in reckless federal spending, repeal Obamacare, put an end to unnecessary federal regulation, and reform our tax code.
We can also grow the economy by opening our markets to the 95 percent of the world’s consumers that live outside of the United States. I support common sense reforms that will send American made products to overseas markets, not American jobs. If American companies can compete on a level playing field, we will out-perform and out-produce our foreign competitors.
For instance, Free Trade Agreements, that I supported, have allowed Toyota in Princeton, to export Sienna minivans to South Korea. These are Hoosier made products, being sent to foreign markets, and creating more jobs and prosperity here in Indiana.
Dave Crooks has an isolationist view of the economy that is stuck-in-the-past and will put American companies at a disadvantage in the global economy. These policies might be good political talking points, but they have failed in the past and will continue to leave workers in the United States behind.
As hardworking families are struggling through this weak economy, the ever-increasing cost of healthcare has become burdensome. The President’s healthcare law has failed to address this fundamental problem and I firmly believe it needs to be repealed and replaced with common sense, patient-centered reforms.
My opponent’s position on Obamacare is much different, even though he has attempted to have it both ways on this issue.
Dave Crooks won’t vote to repeal Obamacare if elected, even though it steals $716 billion from Medicare, leading to benefit reductions for current seniors. Additionally, Obamacare appoints a panel of 15 unelected bureaucrats in charge of further cuts to Medicare. Putting the government in charge of healthcare is not the solution. As a heart surgeon for more than 15 years, I know that the patient-doctor relationship is sacred and I intend to keep it that way.
As a surgeon, I also understand how important Medicare is to seniors and how critical it is to preserve and protect this vital program. The plan that I support ensures that current seniors, like my mom and dad, keep Medicare as it is now, and future seniors, like Kathryn and me, are able to choose an insurance plan that fits their needs, including traditional Medicare. In no way have I voted to end the Medicare guarantee nor have I done anything to force low and middle income seniors to pay more for their benefits. The independent, non-partisan and Pulitzer Prize winning fact checkers at Politifact agree with me and have called these attacks on my record the “Lie of 2011” and the Wall Street Journal went as far as to call them a “myth.”
You won’t hear that from Dave Crooks because his plan is to do nothing and continue down the current path that will lead Medicare into bankruptcy by 2024. If we want to provide future seniors the Medicare guarantee, we cannot allow the system to continue on a path to insolvency as my opponent would have it.
Let me be clear, the only people in Washington, D.C. who have cut Medicare are President Obama and Dave Crooks’ liberal allies that support Obamacare.
During my first term in Congress, I have personally worked in a bipartisan manner to pass key legislation that will improve Indiana’s infrastructure, address drug shortages, push back on regulation on the coal industry, and provide better employment opportunities for our nation’s veterans. I am proud of my record and the way I have represented the 8th District.
It has been an honor to serve you and I will continue working hard to represent you in Congress to address the problems our nation faces. I ask for your vote and support on Nov. 6.
Dr. Larry Bucshon is a former heart surgeon serving his first term in the United State House of Representatives. He currently lives in Newburgh with his wife Kathryn of 21 years and four kids.
Flashpoint
FLASHPOINT: Working for bipartisanship
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FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.
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FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my children. Every parent has felt that instant, apprehensive rush when their child plays too close to the street or falls down while playing soccer and it is our responsibility as parents to implement every safety mechanism we can muster to protect our kids.
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FLASHPOINT: Lessons from the legacy media — get it right, first
Enough mistakes and maybe we’ll learn: When in doubt, leave it out.
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FLASHPOINT: Hoosiers got steady hand in recent session
As the General Assembly began its work last November, as Speaker of the House, I pledged a renewed spirit of bipartisanship with legislators working together to solve our state’s most pressing challenges. As this year’s legislative session concludes, representatives from throughout the state — Republican and Democrat — have joined together to address those issues at the forefront of Hoosier minds: maintaining our state’s fiscal integrity, spurring job creation and expanding education opportunities for every Hoosier family.
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FLASHPOINT: Time has arrived for overhaul of TV news
Former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes gave an address in 1992 in which he claimed television news was too superficial and too focused on visuals.
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FLASHPOINT: Fiscal cliff, Obamacare have already raised taxes enough
Our history is rich with stories of people who have immigrated to the United States for a chance at the American Dream. The American Dream, in its truest form, is the opportunity to achieve success by working hard and playing by the rules; to make it on your own and to say, “I earned this.”
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FLASHPOINT: Expanding Medicaid coverage makes sense for Indiana
Since last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act effectively gave states the option to expand Medicaid, policymakers across the country have debated if and how to extend health programs to millions of uninsured Americans.
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FLASHPOINT: Improve public education, stop experimenting with it
In January, the four of us who serve as the Democrats on the House Education Committee outlined our hopes for the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly, particularly in joining with Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz to offer common sense solutions to improve the quality of education for our children. With the halfway point of this session past us, we remain optimistic that positive steps can be taken … but that optimism is tempered by the reality that education policies are being directed by a legislative majority that has a radically different agenda.
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Healthcare law anniversary no reason for celebration
March 23 marked three years since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law, yet this is not an anniversary that deserves celebration.
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FLASHPOINT: Defending state’s authority is attorney general’s obligation
The law of the land recognizes the authority of states to license marriage.
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FLASHPOINT: Stability key for state’s future
Hoosiers have the unique luxury of being the fiscal envy of the nation due to the sound fiscal policies of the last eight years.
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FLASHPOINT: House budget offers Medicaid solution for Indiana
This week, my U.S. House Budget Committee colleagues and I introduced a federal budget resolution for fiscal year 2014. Our budget is a responsible plan that stops spending money and balances in 10 years — largely through making key reforms to drivers of our debt like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
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FLASHPOINT: Problem gambling in Indiana: A new understanding of community concern
The week of March 3 was designated as National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
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FLASHPOINT: Eastern time in Indiana defies common sense
Nobody complains more than Hoosiers about changing their clocks. And there’s a valid reason — daylight-savings time in Indiana’s Eastern Time Zone is painful.
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Praying for civil resolution to debate over gun control
Guns are lively ammunition for passionate debate these days.
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FLASHPOINT: It’s not too late to expand health services
This week, state leaders euthanized the biggest, boldest Hoosier jobs proposal of the 2013 session of the Indiana General Assembly.
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FLASHPOINT: You can’t go back again — and that’s OK
Our progressive colleagues have been telling us for years that the 1950s were a horrid time.
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FLASHPOINT: The fierce urgency of now — nation needs to protect youth
The alcohol-fueled alleged serial rape of a 16-year-old Ohio girl by two of her similarly impaired classmates — not to mention the drunken videotaped commentary of others — points yet again to the imperative that adult America renews its commitment to address as a true national community those issues that most threaten the health, safety and forward development of youth.
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FLASHPOINT: A pastor speaks out against Sullivan’s ‘traditional prom’
I am a pastor in Sullivan, Ind., and I am outraged.
Recently, two young students applied to walk the Grand March together in the school prom in Sullivan. -
FLASHPOINT: 0wning firearms is a First Amendment exercise, too
Following the hysteria generated by gun prohibitionists in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, a nationwide rush on gun stores began as citizens bought semiautomatic modern sporting rifles, handguns and ammunition, in effect “making a political statement” about proposals to ban such firearms.
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FLASHPOINT: Maintaining the priority
Recently a newspaper article has been written about a change in the by-laws of the Indiana High School Athletic Association which speaks directly to attempted undue influence exerted upon students below the level of grade nine and their parents.
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FLASHPOINT: The fairness of marriage
What is the current Indiana law concerning marriage? Our state defines marriage in a singular way — between a man and a woman.
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FLASHPOINT: We ask state legislators to abide by their oath of office
All of us relish giving unsolicited advice to our elected representatives.
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FLASHPOINT: Mentoring is having major impact on public education
While managing local utility services, Mike Martin found a new way to energize his community, and students are starting to benefit.
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FLASHPOINT: Common Core standards should be common sense
Years ago, when state officials and education experts came together to create new model standards for schools, they probably never expected it to be controversial.
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FLASHPOINT: Milestone year for Rose-Hulman
The Rose-Hulman campus traditionally quiets down this time of year, yet for me I sense a renewed energy from the phenomenal year just closing.
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FLASHPOINT: ISU’s reasoning flawed in flight school planning
ISU and the taxpayers of Indiana and Vigo County are being led down a path of deception once again.
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FLASHPOINT: Incessant attacks on Christianity by the ACLU
It is obviously apparent that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is continuing its onslaught against religious freedom in the United States.
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FLASHPOINT: Americans deserve more value for their tax dollars
While traveling the 8th District and listening to fellow Hoosiers during my first term in Congress, I have reached the conclusion that many constituents do not believe they are getting value for the tax dollars that come out of their paychecks and are sent to Washington, D.C.
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