Sylvia Smith had an article in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette on Sunday that discussed the three most competitive Indiana Congressional races (IN-02, IN-08, and IN-09) and the potential that those races may decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives. But she also discussed the race in IN-03 which is up in the Fort Wayne region where Dr. Tom Hayhurst is challenging incumbent Mark Souder.
Souder started going negative against Hayhurst early and often:
Souder began airing radio commercials immediately after the May primary and hasn’t let up. One, for instance, scoffs at Democratic opponent Tom Hayhurst for being rich, retired and interested in a full-time public service job.
In it, Souder says four Republican physicians were elected to Congress in 1994 to make changes in the federal approach to health care, not to “do some public service at the end of their medical careers.†He describes Hayhurst, as “a wealthy, retired doctor worth up to $15 million who thinks being a congressman for a few years would be interesting. But being a congressman, if you want to get things done, is hard work. It’s not something you retire into.â€
As one reader pointed out, “For a guy who has accomplished next to nothing in his 12 years of office this is really rich. For a guy who promised to leave office after 6 terms to go after someone “who thinks being a congressman for a few years would be interesting” is grotesque.”
I’d really like to see some poll numbers on the Hayhurst/Souder race. I’m just guessing, but my suspicion is that Souder isn’t as comfortably ahead as most of us would probably assume. Hayhurst is a credible opponent, Souder is flagrantly breaking promises, and the political winds are adverse to the GOP. Still, I’ve heard that IN-03 is the kind of place where a chimp with an “R” next to his name would probably beat out Jesus if he was running as a Democrat.
Not necessarily. Jill Long was a Democrat elected for two terms (I think) from what was then the 4th District (northeast Indiana). And of course, Ed Roush was a Democrat who represented the district for a number of years as well.
There has always been more than a whiff of sleaze about Souder. When he ran in 1994, he returned to Indiana after several years in Washington as a staffer or lobbyist, I don’t recall which, yet he ran as an “outsider” against incombent Jill Long. That was the year of the Gingrich revolution and Souder was elected. His knowledge of the Beltway was such that he was highly regarded as a senior figure by the newly elected conservatives.
The old 4th and the current 3rd differ in that the current 3rd has had heavily Republican parts Elkhart County and Kosciusko County added to it, and had more Democrat friendly territory to the south of Fort Wayne excised. The northern and western parts of the district lie outside of Fort Wayne’s media market and it is harder for those folks to get to know Rep. Souder as well as those of us who live in Allen County do.
I cannot stand Souder. You don’t even want to get me started. He’s done little to nothing for NE Indiana.
His radio ads are a disgrace. He should be utterly ashamed of himself…
Mike Sylvester
The latest ad is just as disgusting. Blasting Hayhurst as usual, not on the issues, but solely as a personal attack:
The ad is something about Hayhurst going into Grabill to be in the Grabill County Fair parade with an “invasion” of Hayhurst supporters going in with him.
It goes on about various routes into Grabill and invites the opposition to look at the various businesses in Grabill bearing the Souder name or run by Souders. The whole tone of the piece is dripping with Souder’s usual sarcasm and totally pompous attitude. One gets the impression that he is marking “his” territory. Rather Medieval in tone, the Lord of the Fiefdom has spoken!
And for some reason, I am on Comcast and cannot gain access to Souder’s campaign site, it is forbidden. Mind you, I have never publically spoken out about Souder before, so what’s up with that? I still don’t know what his views are re: the issues and what he has to say about Hayhurst’s stance on the issues. At least I know where Hayhurst stands on the issues.
I’ve lost any remaining respect I might have had for Mark Souder. I do have to thank him for deciding how I will vote, though; his smear ads full of vitriole and no substance sealed it for me. A pair of tickets to the Carmike theater and a Kewpie doll to the first person who guesses correctly how that will be.
That reminds me of a story a friend of mine told me, about the time she remarked about Souder when she was in Grabil. She was told that the reason they voted him into office was so that they wouldn’t have to put up with him locally.
Jill Long served out the remaining term when Dan Quayle was elected VP and Dan Coats was promoted from Quayle’s old job as Congressman into the Senate. Long ran against another Republican in the special election and defeated him, then defeated a radical right-wing minister named Rick Hawks in the next general election in 1992.
The biggest issue with the IN-3 campaign is that NO ONE is taking it seriously. I think that the 3rd is a LOT more moderate than anyone thinks it is – if someone could simply organize the moderates to stop being disgusted enough at the current issues to get up and do something about it during a mid-term election.
Someone mentioned on another site that a simple rubber stamp would be cheaper than sending Chocola back, if that’s all he’s going to do. I think the same of Souder.
Get everyone you know to the polls. Perhaps if the dems and moderates weren’t so apathetic in this district, the turnout would make a difference.