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www.heraldtimesonline.com
Ninth District U.S. Rep. Todd Young and his election opponent, Democrat Shelli Yoder, offer clear differences to voters considering whom to support Nov. 6, and not just in gender and hair color. This is not an endorsement, in which we would suggest which one we believe would be the best choice; but rather, some reflections from editorial board interviews with each candidate in the last couple of weeks. Specific differences and one point of agreement emerged.
Consider how they framed the top issues they’ve been hearing from constituents.
Young said he’s hearing about the economy and jobs, “and what do you intend to do to add them?” Yoder said she’s hearing about wages more than jobs, and how people who are working — often more than one job — are worried about paying their bills.
Young also stressed health care inflation as a top concern.
Yoder also said the deficit is very much on people’s minds.
Young has voted nearly three dozen times to repeal the Affordable Care Act — “Obamacare,” if you prefer. He said Republicans have not been specific enough with “a replace option,” and he came armed with a list of ideas that he believes would better help the nation lower health care costs and expand accessibility to care.
Among his points were allowing health insurance to be purchased across state lines, reforming medical malpractice insurance, expanding the availability of medical savings accounts to push preventive care and supporting ways to make Medicare and Medicaid sustainable, including the Ryan Plan for Medicare reform that would include a system of premium-support payments — vouchers, if you prefer.
Yoder supports almost all of the health care act, and named several people she has met who have benefited from it. She offered contact information for further verification. Many elements of the plan “stick up for families,” and she strongly supports and believes it should be left virtually intact to see what it does for the American people before dismantling it would ever be considered. She believes it will benefit a vast majority of them in caring for themselves and their families.
She did say she agrees with those, including Young, who would repeal the 2.3 percent tax on medical devices. She said that tax would have too heavy an impact on the medical device industry that is so important to her district. She added her support for the $1 million grant, announced this week, to expand training for medical device manufacturing.
On the deficit, Yoder said she would favor both spending cuts (in entitlement programs and other programs that are no longer vital, she said) and raising revenues through, among other things, eliminating Bush tax cuts on incomes over $250,000 and adding a tax bracket for those making more than $1 million.
As a member of the House Budget Committee, Young has stressed setting spending priorities and making reductions when possible. He favors tax reform as well to do away with “too many narrowly defined deductions.”
There are many more clear differences between the two, and voters should inform themselves before they vote. Reader chats with each of them can be found on HeraldTimesOnline.com, and their campaign websites also have extensive position statements on a full range of issues.
Teachers vs. NFL refs
Yoder pointed out how two labor-related issues over the last few weeks have suggested some misplaced priorities.
In offering her support for teachers, she said she was struck that striking teachers in Chicago were generally blasted and told to get back to work, while in the NFL referee labor issue, league officials were generally seen as the bad guys and were told to get the referees back to work.
While one was a strike and the other a lock-out, the point is worth noting — the sanctity of NFL football was laid at the steps of management, while teachers were on the receiving end of much anger, and their managers were given a pass. ]]>
Democrat Shelli Yoder is running a grassroots campaign for Indiana’s Ninth Congressional District seat against freshman Republican incumbent Todd Young.
The former Miss Indiana is a first-time candidate who won a competitive five-way Democratic primary earlier this year. Since then she has been traveling across the broad souther Indiana district meeting as many constituents as possible. ]]>
September 26, 2012
Contact: Cary Stemle
502-523-3763
Email: [email protected]
Shelli Yoder, 9th District Congressional candidate, today sharply criticized incumbent Todd Young and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for their failure to pass the farm bill, which the U.S. Senate passed earlier this year.
“Passing the farm bill should have been a simple accomplishment,” Yoder said. “But there is an extreme contingent in the House, and it includes Todd Young, that blocked the bill for ideological purposes. Instead of meeting their most basic obligations, the House adjourned so members could go home to campaign for reelection. It was the earliest adjournment date in several decades. Given the important issues left on the table, that is disgraceful, and voters deserve an explanation from Todd Young.”
Yoder cited the failure to pass the farm bill as another example of the House’s dysfunction. Current farm law, which extends the safety net for farmers and pays for food stamps, is scheduled to expire this coming Sunday, September 30, with no new law in place for the first time in memory.
Farm policy has traditionally been a bipartisan issue in Congress. The Senate passed the five-year farm bill with almost two-thirds of the chamber supporting it. A separate version passed the House Agriculture Committee in July with Republican and Democratic support. But House radicals threatened to kill it if it came to the floor for a vote because of the amounts budgeted for crop-insurance subsidies and food stamps.
When the farm bill expires, the old system will kick in, which means no federal participation for crop insurance and increased federal payments for commodities set to 1949 levels. This will significantly disrupt the market, with the most likely immediate impact on dairy payments. Conservation programs would also essentially be removed.
In addition, the lack of resolution on the farm bill also cancels disaster relief programs meant to address the summer drought. Farmers without crop insurance, including the dairy and livestock industries, which will be hit particularly hard, will suffer without targeted relief programs.
“By choosing loyalty to extreme ideology over his Hoosiers constituents, Todd Young has failed 9th District farmers,” Yoder said. “Certainty of federal policy is necessary for farmers to make their annual business plans this fall and to approach bankers for loans. They work year to year,” Yoder added. “The bill’s expiration this year will likely hurt the crop-insurance safety net for 9th District farmers because next year there will be pressure to cut the farm budget further.”
Yoder criticized Young for refusing to sign a discharge petition to bring the farm bill to the House floor for a vote. Yoder said the failure of the House to pass the bill is but one in a long line of examples of the current House’s refusal to do its job.
“Last week, the most partisan, least productive Congress in modern times adjourned without finishing important work—the people’s work—on the budget, taxes, and job creation,” said Yoder. As USA Today put it, “they leave an unsurpassed record of failure and unfinished business.”
Yoder pointed out that the House also refused to take up a bill passed by the Senate to revive the endangered U.S. Postal Service, which is on the verge of defaulting. The House’s failure to pass the postal reform bill leaves hardworking 9th District Postal employees facing unknown hardship and worry.
“Todd Young and his radical House colleagues have had two years to step up for the people, and now they must be held accountable for their failure,” Yoder said. “Mr. Young should be treated like any other employee who refuses to do his job—he should be fired.”
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LOUISVILLE, Ky (WHAS11) — It’s the debate over debates.
Ninth Congressional District incumbent Todd Young (R-IN) has agreed to two debates with Democrat challenger Shelli Yoder, but Yoder wants at least five more, if not her original proposal for 13 debates.
“We should be able to have a very positive town hall discussion in every single county,” Yoder explained, “so the constituents can hear their options.”
August 28, 2012
Contact: Cary Stemle
502-523-3763
Email: [email protected]
Shelli Yoder, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Indiana’s 9th District, today called on her opponent to get serious about debating.
Exactly one month ago — on July 28 — Yoder challenged Todd Young to join her for 13 town-hall debates, one in each county in the 9th District. After calling the challenge “political theater,” Young’s campaign has yet to commit to a single debate.
“People in the 9th District are wondering where their Congressman is, and how he stands on the issues that are most important to us,” Yoder said. “He chooses not to make himself available for these debates. Seniors are nervous about the Young/Ryan Plan to drastically cut and change Medicare, even Social Security. Parents are concerned about receiving affordable health care for their children. 9th District Hoosiers are struggling to pay their bills while Mr. Young supports tax cuts for the wealthy. He prioritizes Todd Akin’s radical social agenda over the needs of his constituents. These are the issues I’m asked about every day on the campaign trail, and people deserve to hear from Mr. Young, who claims to represent them.”
Yoder’s campaign has already accepted debate opportunities in Clark, Crawford, Harrison, Johnson, Monroe and Washington counties and would be open to further invitations.
“Last month, my opponent voted in favor of a Congressional recess because the Republican leadership said it was important for its members to get back to their districts to meet with constituents,” Yoder said. “Young has yet to hold a single town-hall meeting in the district.
“Two years ago, Mr. Young challenged Baron Hill to seven debates, yet now he seems to believe these debate opportunities are no longer of importance. I couldn’t disagree more. I call on Todd Young to leave the partying at the Republican National Convention in Florida and start working with our campaign to set dates and times for debates and town halls.
“What his campaign calls ‘hammering out details,’ I call ‘stalling’ and ‘wasting time.’ It’s been a month, and he’s been on recess much of it. I want to discuss the issues that are important to the people of the 9th District in front of as many people as possible. I want their concerns, and our answers, to be heard. I want them to know their options.”
As she campaigns for Congress, Yoder has focused on creating an economy that works for everyone and expanding job opportunities for all Hoosier families. Her 10-point jobs plan includes increasing worker training and funding for health research initiatives and investing in green technologies.
Yoder is running to unseat Todd Young in the general election on November 6, 2012. For more information on Yoder’s candidacy, please visit www.shelliyoderforcongress.com.
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August 23, 2012
Contact: Cary Stemle
502-523-3763
Email: [email protected]
As I traveled through the 9th District over the past few days, Hoosiers — men and women, of all political persuasions — have repeatedly shared their disgust over Todd Akin’s comments about “legitimate rape.” I am equally disgusted.
Does Todd Young’s silence suggest that he shares Congressman Akin’s outrageous views?
Todd Young and Todd Akin co-sponsored H.R. 3, which originally proposed a distinction between “rape” and “forcible rape.”
There is no distinction. Rape is by definition forcible.
Mr. Young must explain why he joined Mr. Akin in endorsing such language.
Regardless of Mr. Young’s explanation, this controversy reveals the failure of this Congress. Mr. Young and his allies have simply refused to tackle the critical issues of the day.
The 9th District needs more jobs. Our middle class shrinks by the day. College tuition and health care expenses are out of control. Yet members of Congress — men like Todd Akin and Todd Young — waste time and tax dollars pushing a narrow agenda.
The 9th District deserves better.
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August 11, 2012
Contact: Katie Carlson
812-340-2717
Email: [email protected]
Shelli Yoder, the 9th District Democratic congressional candidate, released the following statement today following Mitt Romney’s selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential nominee:
“Selecting Paul Ryan as the Republican vice-presidential nominee brings Indiana’s 9th District congressional race into the forefront. The strong commitment of Ryan’s supporters, including Todd Young, to end Medicare, the most efficiently operated health insurance in the country, and to replace it with a coupon program, is now on the table in the 9th District. Young, a faithful soldier of Mr. Ryan’s on the House Budget Committee and on the House floor, twice voted for Ryan’s plan to phase out Medicare. With Ryan as Vice President, Young would be a reliable rubber-stamp vote to privatize Medicare and further undermine our middle-class retirees.
“Under the Ryan/Young plan, Medicare would be replaced with a voucher system that gives insurance companies, not you and your doctor, final say over whether or not to pay for certain medical care, irrespective of its medical necessity. It would substantially increase the costs seniors pay for their care by thousands of dollars every year. The Ryan/Young plan would devastate 9th District seniors, ending the Medicare guarantee and shifting health-care costs to those who can often least afford them. The Ryan/Young plan is not reform – it is rationing.
“Beyond ending the guarantee of Medicare, the Ryan/Young plan hurts middle-class families in many other ways. For example, the plan encourages companies to ship jobs overseas instead of creating them here at home. It also hands more tax breaks to millionaires while cutting educational opportunities for students. Is this what we want? This Ryan/Young budget is the wrong approach to put our citizens back to work and to care for our seniors.
“The choice for Congress in Indiana’s 9th District could not be more clear. It’s a choice between a fighter and a voice for working and middle-class Hoosier families versus a partisan ideologue who will gamble on a radical budget plan that cripples the economic security of 9th District middle-class families and senior citizens.”
Yoder’s key issues include creating jobs and expanding opportunities for all Hoosier families. Her 10-point jobs plan includes increasing worker training, funding health-research initiatives, and investing in manufacturing and green technologies. Yoder is running to unseat Todd Young in the general election on November 6, 2012. For more information, please go to www.shelliyoderforcongress.com.
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]]>July 31, 2012
Contact: Katie Carlson
812-340-2717
Email: [email protected]
Shelli Yoder, 9th District congressional candidate, today challenged her opponent Rep. Todd Young to a series of 13 town hall style debates to take place in each of the 13 counties in the district. Young, a 1st-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, had pushed hard for multiple debates in 2010 when he challenged incumbent Baron Hill, saying it was important to have “a respectful conversation about the issues in front of voters.”
“Our form of representative democracy relies upon a well-informed public to make rational choices about its future at election time,” Yoder said in a letter delivered to Young’s Bloomington office today. “That’s why candidate debates are so important. The people deserve them.”
Yoder wrote, “Congressional campaigns offer the best opportunity for average citizens to have some direct contact with their federal government.” Noting that at a time when “many voters are estranged from government,” Yoder said, “holding a town hall meeting in each of the 13 counties in our district is one of the best ways to reinvigorate our democracy and have direct contact with voters.”
Yoder noted that her request for town hall style debates mirrors Young’s stated debate preferences when he challenged Hill. “Since Mr. Young is already on record as saying the public deserves as many debates as possible and that they should be held in a town hall type format, there is no reason for him to reject my challenge.”
“I hope that you will demonstrate your belief and trust in our democracy and the right of the people to be informed about their election choices by accepting my 13 county town hall debate challenge,” Yoder wrote in her letter to Young. She noted that if the debates began in August there would be time to complete debates in all 13 counties before the November election.
Yoder’s key issues in her campaign from Congress are creating jobs and expanding opportunities for all Hoosier families. Her 10-point jobs plan includes increasing opportunities for worker training, funding her health research initiatives, and investing in green technologies. Yoder is running to unseat Todd Young in the general election on November 6, 2012. For more information on Yoder’s candidacy, please go to www.shelliyoderforcongress.com.
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]]>July 15, 2012
Contact: Katie Carlson
812-340-2717
Email: [email protected]
Shelli Yoder’s campaign for Congress in Indiana’s 9th District is being funded overwhelmingly by grassroots contributions. Since Yoder announced her campaign in early February, 83% of her 842 contributions have come from small donations of less than $200.
Yoder, whose grassroots campaign scored a surprisingly easy primary election victory against better-financed and favored candidates, is running for Congress to bring a fresh, new bi-partisan approach to implementing common-sense solutions to the nation’s problems. According to documents her campaign is filing with the Federal Election Commission, her campaign has raised a total of $133,490.88 since it began less than five months ago. The report will show a 2nd Quarter total of $93,213.297 raised with $73,001.05 on hand. Since winning the primary on May 8, Yoder has raised $81,513.67. Ninety percent of the total funds raised for her general election campaign have come from contributors in Indiana.
“We are proud the overwhelming majority of our donations have come from individual donors within the 9th District and the State of Indiana,” Yoder said. “We have a broad spectrum of local donors who are excited about this race, and feel the 9th district needs a stronger voice in Washington—someone who isn’t bound by special interests and partisan concerns.” Yoder added, “We may be outspent, just as we were in the primary. But our deep grassroots support coupled with the enthusiastic reception by 9th District voters will prevail.”
Yoder’s key issues in her campaign for Congress are creating jobs and expanding opportunity for all Hoosier families. Her jobs 10-point plan includes increasing opportunities for worker training, funding for health research initiatives, and investing in green technologies. Yoder is running to unseat Todd Young in the general election on November 6, 2012. For more information on Yoder’s candidacy, please go to www.shelliyoderforcongress.com.
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