TERRE HAUTE — Union-affiliated political activists have been walking door-to-door across Terre Haute the past few days attempting to garner support for President Barack Obama’s proposed budget and to put pressure on Hoosier lawmakers.
About a half-dozen members of Working America, a group affiliated with the AFL-CIO, arrived in Terre Haute on Friday and were still canvassing the city Monday. They urged people to write letters to 8th District Congressman Brad Ellsworth or Sen. Evan Bayh, both seen as possible no-votes on the Obama multitrillion-dollar budget.
“We have a lot of confidence in both [Ellsworth and Bayh],” said Dan O’Malley, assistant director of Working America, which sent seven professional canvassers — mostly from Ohio — to Terre Haute on behalf of the Obama budget. Both lawmakers have “been outstanding for working family issues.”
Earlier this month, Bayh wrote an op-ed article published in the Wall Street Journal questioning the spending in the Obama plan.
He also organized a group of 16 Senate Democrats to call for less spending in the proposed budget, the Senate version of which totals around $3.5 trillion.
Republican opponents of the plan say it spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.
The Obama budget “could create a lot more jobs here in our area,” O’Malley told Elizabeth Erwin, 22, and Regina Engle, 21, Indiana State University students who came to the door of a home on South 10th Street where two Working America representatives were canvassing Monday afternoon. “We are an organization that works to save jobs,” he told the ISU students.
Erwin and Engle both took information and blank paper from O’Malley and agreed to write letters to Sen. Bayh urging him to back the Obama budget. They were not going to write to Ellsworth because both women are from Plainfield, not part of Ellsworth’s district.
“I’m having an issue trying to find a job,” Erwin said, explaining her support for the Obama budget. The president’s plan will provide more money for businesses, which, in turn, will encourage them to hire more, she said. “It will just overall help everybody.”
The letters collected by Working America will either be mailed or hand-delivered to Ellsworth and Bayh, O’Malley said. A vote on the budget could come in a matter of days, he said.
Since Friday, Working America canvassers had collected more than 500 letters directed to Ellsworth and up to 800 for Bayh, O’Malley said. They also have worked to collect letters in Bloomington directed to Rep. Baron Hill. The left-of-center group MoveOn.org lists Hill as one of the Democrats in the House of Representatives who may vote against the Obama budget.
“This bill really hits to the heart of what our organization is all about,” O’Malley said of the Obama spending plan. The president’s plan is a “really ambitious agenda” for health care reform, renewable energy and creating jobs, he said.
O’Malley said most people he has spoken with while going door-to-door seem well-informed about the Obama budget and only rarely express any concern about its cost. “We really don’t get that response,” he said.
The letters being written are not pre-printed but are actually written by the residents, O’Malley said. Many people are experiencing bankruptcy from medical bills or having other financial problems, he said. “These are real letters that come from the heart … That’s what these letters are all about.”
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Seeking support for Obama's budget: Group goes door-to-door to put pressure on Indiana lawmakers
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Montford Point Marine
In 1943, 19-year-old Ezell Odom was on the sandy beach of a tiny South Pacific island about 7,000 miles from his parent’s home in Terre Haute.
-
K-9 officer Shadow honored as a hero
A Terre Haute K-9 officer injured in the line of duty has been honored as a hero by the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association.
-
Freezin’ for a Reason
Hundreds lined up outside Hulman Center amid frigid air to participate in a warm-hearted cause.
-
Even as law, right-to-work dominates crackerbarrel
The flames of the right-to-work debate were gone, but the coals still seemed to smolder.
-
Vigo School Board to give OK on bonds for DeVaney project
The Vigo County School Board will meet at 6 p.m. Monday in the administration building, 686 Wabash Ave.
-
Bridging the gap to ‘forever’
They can be taken from their homes by strangers for reasons they may not understand, with no possessions other than the clothes they are wearing.
-
Students showcase keen problem-solving skills at Rose-Hulman
For the 16th straight year, Honey Creek Middle School students came out on top in the Wabash Valley MATHCOUNTS competition at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
-
Ivy Tech to celebrate Black History Month
Ivy Tech Community College will celebrate Black History Month with a series of events at its campuses statewide.
-
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies
Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.
-
Giant welcome home for Steve
Terre Haute was suddenly home to thousands of cheering New York Giants fans Friday as residents welcomed Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford back home for a parade.
-
‘One for Terre Haute,’ Steve tells crowd at North
“This one was for Terre Haute,” native son Steve Weatherford proclaimed Friday as he shared his Super Bowl victory with the community that helped send him on the path to a world championship.
-
Hometown support vital to success, Weatherford says
Steve Weatherford said Friday he wouldn’t be celebrating a Giants’ Super Bowl victory if not for the support he’s received from his hometown, his parents and mentors in his life.
-
Craning for a rare glimpse
A visitor from the Far East has naturalists flying to Linton, hoping some good comes from one bird’s bad directions.
-
Vigo’s primary election filings complete
The slate is set for the May 8 primary election, with the race for three at-large seats on the Vigo County Council drawing the largest pool of candidates at the county level.
-
Documentary on electric vehicles plays Sunday at Rose
The rising popularity of electric vehicles and their impact on the world eco-system is the focus of a documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” being presented at 3 p.m. Sunday in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Hatfield Hall Theater.
-
Man gets 10-year sentence in battery case
A West Terre Haute man received a 10-year prison sentence Friday after pleading guilty to aggravated battery for beating a friend caught in bed with the man’s wife.
-
Asian hooded crane lands in Greene County wildlife area
Bird watchers are flocking to a southwestern Indiana wildlife area to try to catch a glimpse of a crane usually spotted only in Asia.
-
Slow drips: It’s maple syrup season in Indiana
More seasonal, colder temperatures will hit the Wabash Valley this weekend, which is ideal weather for maple syrup production, said Keith Ruble, superintendent of the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department.
However, Ruble voices concern that this year’s maple syrup season may be short.
-
Downtown restaurant celebrates expansion
The streets of Terre Haute were chilly Thursday night, but for the glow of hot pasta inside Louise’s Pizzeria and Cafe.
-
Contract signed for new Y
Papers are signed and the ink is in place for a new YMCA to operate in Terre Haute.
-
City to impose $30 release fee on towed vehicles
The Terre Haute City Council voted without opposition Thursday to impose a new $30 release fee on vehicles towed and impounded by the police as part of a criminal investigation.
-
Valley educators cautious on Indiana’s ‘No Child’ waiver
Indiana is one of 10 states to receive a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind requirements.
-
Driver dies after Illinois school bus crash
“Brace yourself. Brace yourself,” Fay Pickering shouted to her students just before the school bus she was driving crossed U.S. 40 and landed in a ditch Thursday morning.
-
Trial date set for former WTH police chief
A July 23 trial date has been set for a former police chief of West Terre Haute accused of theft.
-
Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty in federal court
A member of an Indianapolis motorcycle gang who delivered methamphetamine to a Terre Haute dealer has pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court.
-
July trial date set for mother charged with child neglect
A July 30 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute mother charged with neglecting and battering her toddler.
-
Business hosting SPPRAK fundraiser
Java Haute is hosting the latest fundraiser sponsored by SPPRAK — Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness.
-
Valley high school cooking competition under way today
Clabber Girl Corp. and Gordon Food Services will host the fourth-annual High School Chef Competition, beginning today through Saturday, and again Feb. 18, in the Culinary Classroom at Clabber Girl.
- UPDATE: Marshall, Ill., school bus driver involved in accident dies; cause appears to be cardiac-related
-
Terre Haute road name game
What used to be called U.S. 40 from the Wabash River west through West Terre Haute to Interstate 70 needs to be renamed and, probably, get new street addresses, a Vigo County planner recommends.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Androgynous Model Walks Runway As Man and Woman
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Latest Jason Wu Collection Shows Chinese Roots
ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Stars Show Support at AMFAR Charity Gala
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
The Muppets Are Oscars Bound!
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
BCBG Kicks Off NY Fashion Week
Lusetich: AT&T Rd. 3 recap
Whitney Houston's body is removed from hotel
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Absolute Lin-sanity
Madonna's Daughter Shaves Head
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
Toddler forced to run half-naked in snow
