Just over one week away from the May 4th primaries in Indiana, the two high-profile races being watched in Southern Indiana are the Republican U.S. Senate primary and the Republican primary in the 9th Congressional District.

In the 9th, Republicans Mike Sodrel and Todd Young are sniping at each other, and the Courier-Journal's Lesley Stedman Weidenbener writes of a push-poll in the race which also includes Travis Hankins.

Sodrel says Young is making "outrageous claims" and misleading voters about  the amount of "earmarks" Sodrel secured during his one term in Congress.  Young clarifies the number in a response, then suggests that Sodrel is behind the push polling which includes the accusation that Young, a Marine and Navy veteran, has misrepresented the total number of years he served in the military.  Young says " I would ask that you do the same with your pollster," (to clarify mischaracterizations,) "and we'll move on with no hard feelings."

In the absence of any credible independent polling in the primary race, I have to draw my inferences from the actions of the campaigns.  It seems that Sodrel is treating Young as a threat, though Sodrel has automatic name recognition throughout the district having faced Baron Hill in the previous four general elections.

Todd Young Deceiving Voters about Sodrel's Record

 Jeffersonville, IN - In recent television advertisements and e-mails, Todd Young, Republican candidate for Indiana's 9th District Congressional Seat, has taken a page out of the "Typical Politician" handbook by misleading voters about the facts. Young's ads and e-mails mislead voters to believe that Mike Sodrel increased the number of earmarks to all time highs, but the facts just don't support Mr. Young's outrageous claims.

Two separate conservative watchdog groups show evidence that during Mike Sodrel's term he and the Republican Congress actually reduced the number of earmarks and "pork barrel projects." In fact, in the FY2007 budget, Mike Sodrel voted in favor of reduced pork projects by seventy-three percent! Those two groups are Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) and the Heritage Foundation. Don't just take our word for it; search for the FY2006 and FY2007 budgets for yourselves on either website (www.cagw.org or www.heritage.org). You can also visit our website and click "The Truth" to see documentation.

Mike Sodrel has pledged to keep Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment to "not speak ill of fellow Republicans." We believe that Mr. Reagan would have added a 12th Commandment, "Thou shalt not lie about fellow Republicans' voting records or any others for that matter." Mr. Young was asked to revisit facts but just made excuses and walked away. It is, moreover, Young's ignorance of the budgetary process or consciously misleading voters about the facts, which has led to these erroneous statements. Regardless, it is disappointing.

CAGW keeps a watchful eye on careless "pork barrel" projects. They recognized Mike Sodrel as "Friendly" to the taxpayer for his efforts in the FY2007 budget. In fact, Mr. Sodrel authored and garnered support for an amendment that carved $25 million out of the budget for the Federal Boxing Commission. Then-Congressman Mike Sodrel said, "If the Boxing world wants a commission, they should fund it themselves. Certainly the taxpayer should not be burdened with a $25 million tax bill."

In addition to CAGW's (www.cagw.org) award to Mike Sodrel, the American Conservative Union (www.conservative.org) gave Mike Sodrel a lifetime rating of ninety percent for his watchful eye. National Journal (www.nationaljournal.com) ranked Mike Sodrel with the eleventh-most conservative voting record in the country and the most conservative of the Indiana delegation.  Americans for Tax Reform (www.atr.org) scored Mike at ninety-two percent. You don't need to take our word for it. "Trust but verify." Go see for yourself.

How could all of these respected "watchdog" groups get it wrong? They didn't. Unfortunately, Mr. Young has put his own ambitions in front of the truth. Tell Mr. Young the truth is what we want to hear. The voters deserve truthful ads from their Republican candidates, and they don't appreciate politicians like Todd Young misrepresenting facts.

  Young News Release

Dear Mike:
 
                I see that you are sending out letters to 9th District voters asserting that I am lying about your record in Congress.

Since my character is now at issue, I believe a response is in order.

You are correct that I was wrong when I publicly stated you had voted for almost 14,000 wasteful earmarks in 2005.

Please accept my sincere apology.  I had my volunteer staff go back and recheck all our research and they discovered that they had been a bit too overzealous in their initial analysis of your voting record.  The correct number of wasteful earmarks you voted for is 12,621 over your two years in Congress.               

          Again, I apologize for my exaggerated statement. I should have been more precise.
 
                You are also correct that I was wrong when I stated the deficit had gone up under your watch as a result of spending bills you voted for.  I misspoke.  I was referring to the national debt, which did indeed go up as a result of the spending bills you voted for.
 
                The Office of Management and Budget's official statement of revenues, expenditures and debt shows that $776.7 billion was added to the national debt during fiscal '06 and '07 - again as a direct result of the spending bills you voted for.

                Surely you would not dispute that our children and grandchildren will ultimately be forced to pay off that debt with their hard-earned tax dollars.

                These are the facts that I believe 9th Congressional District voters should consider as they weigh a decision on which of us might be better prepared to find ways to cut wasteful government spending and bring down the debt without massive tax increases.

                Finally, I have one favor to ask.  I have received several reports from people contacted by a telephone polling firm that you are using.  The pollsters are telling callers that I have lied about my military service - that I didn't really serve 10 years.

                Would you please inform your pollsters that they are wrong.  I served five years as a Marine Corps officer, four years as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy and one year as an enlisted sailor in the United State Navy. That's 10 years. That's not a lie.

                One thing I learned in the service is the importance of being honest.  In the heat of the battle, I made a couple of statements that could have been more accurate.  I have corrected the record.

                I would ask that you do the same with your pollster, and we'll move on with no hard feelings.

Sincerely,
Todd Young