With exception for some occasional mild jabs mainly from State Rep Mike Murphy, the multitude of candidates seeking the 5th CD GOP primary election have directed their combined attacks towards incumbent Congressman Dan Burton. Until now.

Today, former 7th CD candidate Brose McVey sent an email to his supporters bashing an opponent. However Congressman Burton was NOT mentioned. Instead, the email was directed at career lawyer, legislator and lobbyist and favorite son of the Downtown Indianapolis crowd, Luke Messer.

Luke Messer has made fundraising his core mission, priority and area of emphasis…

[M]ore money from big business executives and special interest groups in Indianapolis and use it to purchase television ads and junk mail … If this District was looking for a professional fundraiser, Messer would be our man!

OUCH!!! As the late Billy Mays would say, BUT WAIT!! THERE’S MORE!!

[O]ne of his most recent contributions was from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a special interest [and very Dem - Ed.] labor union, representing local and state government employees.

Interesting. AFSCME is deeply entrenched in the Dem party, along with SEIU. So why would a congressional candidate who claims to be “the conservative candidate” taking money from a Dem labor union?

Of course Brose doesn’t have clean hands in his vendetta against fundraising, as a large amount of the money raised in his 2002 bid to unseat the late Julia Carson came from outside the district and Indiana. Let’s look at Brose McVey’s out of state contributors for this election cycle, shall we?

• HANON, STEPHEN R BRENTWOOD TN 37027 03/31/2009
• ASHFORD, JOHN ALEXANDRIA VA 22314 06/12/2009
• QUAYLE, DAN PARADISE VALLEY AZ 85253 09/17/2009
• FISHER, STEVEN WASHINGTON DC 20015 05/07/2009
• LOUDY, ELIZABETH MS ALEXANDRIA VA 22312 06/30/2009
• SIDMAN, LAWRENCE BETHESDA MD 20817 06/29/2009
• OSBORN, JOHN MR. DARIEN CT 06820 03/14/2009
• KOCH, ROBIN CHICAGO IL 60610 09/29/2009
• VROOM, JAY WASHINGTON DC 20005 09/23/2009
• CARLSON, MARC SAN CLEMENTE CA 92673 12/15/2009
• MCGOVERN, JOSEPH & SUSAN NORTH ARLINGTON NJ 07031 12/07/2009
• SMITH, MARGARET LEXINGTON KY 40508 03/21/2009

These coming weeks will be interesting to watch the challengers start a feeding frenzy against each other.

(…and to those who are curious, Messer’s campaign and his blogger/chauffeur are already on damage control – you can read it at their usual spot)

9-12-2009

This is a last ditch effort for our Representatives to hear that we do not want this bill to pass.  I am talking to you Rep. Baron (this is my town hall and you won’t tell me how to run my congressional office) Hill (IN-9), Rep. Joe (I love my Union supporters and Sen. Evan Bayh) Donnelly (IN-2) and Rep. Brad (I have stayed silent on the issue and look weak in my own party) Ellsworth (IN-8)!  We know you voted for the Slaughter rule and I hope you all are packing your bags because you are done come election time!

I am talking to you Donnelly, Ellsworth and Baron!

I will update with more info as I receive it.

You can read the full story here on who voted for this!

Here is the full list!

Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania.
• John Barrow, Georgia.
• John Boccieri, Ohio.
• Allen Boyd, Florida.
• Leonard Boswell, Iowa.
• Joe Donnelly, Indiana.
• Brad Ellsworth, Indiana.
• Baron Hill, Indiana.
• Marcy Kaptur, Ohio.
• Dan Maffei, New York.
• Jim Marshall, Georgia.
• Jim Matheson, Utah.
• Michael McMahon, New York.
• Betsy Markey, Colorado.
• Patrick Murphy, Pennsylvania.
• Earl Pomeroy, North Dakota.
• Nick Rahall, West Virginia.
• Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania.
• Carol Shea Porter, New Hampshire.
• Ike Skelton, Missouri.
• Zach Space, Ohio.
• John Spratt, South Carolina.
• Charlie Wilson, Ohio.

You guys might as well start packing your D.C. offices and condos right now. Because I have a feeling you won’t have a job in November!

Even Congressman Burton agrees with that last statement!

Click here to view the embedded video.

From the Howey Report

Ellsworth appears to be wavering, not only to just HPI, but to a number of Democrats we talked to during all the St. Patrick’s Day events yesterday. The Ellsworth office/campaign no longer returns calls just seeking his current status. We heard this over and over from Democrats who hope he succeeds: that Ellsworth may be in over his head with the Senate run. He doesn’t have the astute political operatives and braintrust surrounding him, unlike Hill and Donnelly. He struggles making tough decisions and the one coming up this weekend will be the toughest of his career.

Rep. Ellsworth looks weak right now by staying silent on this Health Care issue as well as not responding to calls to Howey. Rep. Ellsworth are you going to be on the House Floor this weekend to vote yes or no or are you going to be hiding in some posh D.C. club hiding from reality?

Part 1 – Health Care Reform

Watch part two, which covers foreign policy, here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Garnering Your Tax Return for Health Insurance?

By Rep. Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD

March 17, 2010

Submitted exclusively to Hoosier Access

As April 15 approaches, millions of Americans will receive tax refunds.  Some will use the excess money they paid to Uncle Sam to go on vacation.  Some will use it to pay off credit card bills, and some will save it for a rainy day.

However, if the Senate health-care overhaul passes, the Internal Revenue Service could garner those tax refunds if individuals fail to purchase bureaucrat-approved health insurance.  That’s what the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, told the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee yesterday after I questioned her.  I serve as the lead Republican on the Subcommittee.

I was a heart surgeon for nearly 20 years, and during that time, I ran a small business, my medical practice.  As health insurance costs soared, I struggled to provide insurance to my employees, so I know the difficulties Americans face firsthand.  However, the Senate health-care overhaul simply makes things worse both for families and small businesses.

The Senate overhaul increases health costs according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the official scorekeeper for Congress.  The bill raises taxes, and it raids Medicare, which so many of our seniors depend upon, to fund a new mandate.  That’s why the American people so resoundingly reject President Obama’s health-care plan in poll after poll.

As a doctor, I know government, business and individuals must work to lower health costs.  In September, I outlined several bi-partisan, commonsense solutions to bring down health-care costs when I gave the Republican address following the President.  Then, I suggested:

all individuals should have access to coverage, regardless of preexisting conditions;

individuals, small businesses and other groups should be able to join together to get health insurance at lower prices, the same way large businesses and labor unions do;

we can provide assistance to those who still cannot access a doctor;

and, insurers should be able to offer incentives for wellness care and prevention.

Unfortunately, the Senate health overhaul focuses on where we disagree, including garnering tax returns from people who fail to purchase government-approved health insurance.  If the President and Speaker Pelosi are truly interested in working together and lowering health costs, they should scrap the current bill like the American people want.

Keep that in mind when you get your tax return this year.  It might not be around in the future.

Rep. Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD represents Southwest Louisiana in Congress and serves on the House Ways and Means Committee.  He was one of only three doctors to attend President Obama’s Blair House Health Care Summit earlier this year.

He’s just visiting, after all. The lobbyists have paid for him to take lots of trips and play lots of golf.