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Goode challenging Ellsworth in 8th District
(Washington Times-Herald (Washington, Indiana) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nov. 1--Voters in Indiana's 8th Congressional District will decide Tuesday if it should still be called "the bloody 8th" in the race between Democrat incumbent Brad Ellsworth and Republican challenger Greg Goode.
Ellsworth, from Evansville, is a former Vanderburgh County Sheriff seeking a second term after defeating long-term incumbent John Hostettler in the Democrat congressional sweep in 2006.
Goode, from Terre Haute, is a former congressional aide to Ed Pease and Brian Kerns and was the public and government affairs officer for Indiana State University.
The race for the seat could almost be one-sided, based on fundraising. Ellsworth collected $1.4 million in funds for the campaign, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. As of Oct. 15, he had $449,234 on hand. The on-hand amount is double what Goode raised during the entire year, $205,958, according to the center's data. He had $11,838 on hand as of the Federal Election Commission filing date.
Goode has tried to make up that gap by taking to the road at more than 80 fairs, parades and public events, building a grassroots campaign.
Ellsworth
As Election Day draws closer, Ellsworth said in a telephone interview this campaign, his first for re-election to Congress, felt similar to his 2006 campaign to unseat Hostettler.
"I guess the big difference in this campaign is the national parties are not running ads," Ellsworth said. "On both sides. They don't run positive stuff. They run negative stuff on whoever they are against."
Ellsworth said, although criticized on this point in a debate with Goode in early October, one of his proudest accomplishments this term has been helping constituents with federal problems. He said his office has resolved more than 3,600 cases on behalf of his constituents.
"On the larger level, I am proud of the things that we have filed and pushing for," Ellsworth said. "Closing loopholes. Holding contractors responsible for their federal taxes. Getting in there and doing their grunt work and saving people their money."
He is also proud of what the majority Democrats have done in Congress, from raising the minimum wage to ethics reform.
But Ellsworth said the challenges that face Congress in 2009, the economy, Iraq and Afghanistan, health care and immigration, will have to be done in a bipartisan manner. He said he will work with either Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain as president.
"The partisanship and the party politics are, as most people imagine, out of hand," Ellsworth said. "Both sides are going to have to work together and that's my pledge."
In the debate, Ellsworth was grilled on the economy, voting for a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. He defended the vote for the bailout then and said it was a tough vote to make.
"If I thought this was bailing out some CEOs on Wall Street, I would have never voted for it," Ellsworth said. "Doing nothing is worse than doing something."
One reason he voted for the bailout was to help local banks get credit from the larger banks that needed capital. He also does not want to see bad behavior rewarded.
"Predatory lending has to stop," Ellsworth said. "We also cannot give loans to those who can't afford them."
Although he does not initially support a national moratorium on foreclosures, he was also wary of a second stimulus check going to taxpayers, but was in favor of tax incentives for small businesses and creating jobs.
"Any time we can put more money into our taxpayers pockets, I like that," Ellsworth said. "What is going to stabilize our economy is when people think our country's economy is safe and secure. People think they are going to have a job tomorrow and they know business has increased in trade agreements and new business."
Ellsworth said he feels he and his staff have done a good job and he feels he "is right with the district."
"If I am ahead and I do win, I would like to think it is because we've done a satisfactory job for our people," Ellsworth said.
Goode
Goode has not had the windfall of cash that Ellsworth raised and spent in this campaign, but his numerous visits all across the 8th District at fairs, rallies, parades and other local events has helped get his message out to voters.
And that message is he is a conservative voice that has more in common with those in the district than Ellsworth.
"I'm just not happy with the direction this country is going and I was not happy in the decisions made by this Congress," Goode said.
Indiana's 8th District, one of the largest in the country geographically, was an opportunity to see and meet voters, Goode said. He feels he has overcome the hurdle of low name recognition.
"This district is bigger than some states, bigger than some countries," Goode said. "I knew that going into this race on name recognition alone, we would have a tough job to do."
Goode, in the debate and in interviews, challenged Ellsworth on voting for the $700 billion bailout package.
Goode said, "People are upset over the bailout bill.
"As I have said every day since the vote, I would have joined a Democrat congressman from Indiana named Baron Hill and I would have joined a Republican congressman from Indiana named Mike Pence and I would have voted against the bailout bill," Goode said. "I thought it was the wrong action. I thought it rewarded corporate greed and at the end of the day, I couldn't ask the American taxpayers to fork over almost $900 billion dollars -- $700 billion to go to Wall Street and $200 billion of what's called sweeteners to make the bill more palatable for Brad Ellsworth to support."
Goode is also skeptical of free trade agreements, treaties that he said make Americans lose jobs. He said taxes are another issue that has "ticked off the voters."
He is in guarded support of a second stimulus package, but wants to see a holiday on capital gains taxes, lower taxes for all and lower corporate income taxes as ways to help spur economic investment and help grow the economy.
Some of those issues Goode put forth in a plan called "A New Covenant for the Conservative Movement." The plan, Goode said, means "that voters will not have to hold their breath on every vote their congressman casts."
"They won't have to wonder whether their congressman will vote for very liberal politicians as opposed to the convictions and beliefs of the 8th Congressional District," Goode said.
One of the issues Goode has focused on for the district is infrastructure. He has said if elected, he would like to serve on the House Transportation Committee, a committee that Goode said would bring better roads to the 8th District.
Ellsworth said that the House Transportation Committee is more of a destination committee and freshman congressmen, himself included, are not asked to serve on the committee. Goode rebuked that assessment by saying his mentor, former Congressman Ed Pease, was asked to serve on the committee as a freshman in 1997 and Mike Sodrel in 2004.
"I think that's a perfect example of Brad Ellsworth's ignorance of the United States Congress," Goode said. "As I have traveled throughout this district, I hear from county councils and county commissioners and mayors that we have problems. We have bridges and roads and rail and airports that are in dire need of funding."
To see more of the Washington Times-Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.washtimesherald.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Washington Times-Herald, Ind.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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