Hello. My name is John Bottorff. I am currently the Democratic Chairman of Dubois County in Indiana, and I'm running for Congress as a Progressive Challenger in the Democratic Primary for Indiana’s 9th Congressional District (IN-09). This seat is currently held by Blue Dog Democrat Baron Hill, who is the Co-Chair for Policy in the Blue Dog Coalition.
Taking down a Top Blue Dog in the middle of the heartland will tell them loud and clear –if you’re a member of the Blue Dog Coalition anywhere, you’re an endangered species in the Democratic Party everywhere. There is a reason we have Primary Elections, you know, we should use them.
Nearly half of the members of the Blue Dog Coalition voted with Republicans against the most recent healthcare bill, so being among their ranks is almost as good as joining the GOP. Let's elect people who reflect our President’s fresh ideas to Congress and replace these do-nothing, obstructionist, conservative Blue Dogs. In order for us to make progress, we must change the type of Democrats we elect. The tradition in the Democratic Party is to promote progress, and that is a responsibility I will take seriously every day that I serve in the United States House of Representatives.
As a leader of this Conservative Democrat Coalition in Congress (he’s the Co-Chair for Policy), Blue Dog Baron and his buddies have been given credit for gutting the Public Option from the Healthcare Reform Bill. When someone tells you in the district that they want healthcare for all, but then goes to DC and does something like this, well, that’s just not honest.
Healthcare reform should have been passed 15 months ago – this manufactured delay has only added insult to injury. When Congress bailed out the big banks with a trillion dollars, that decision took only days. In our current Congress, corporate banks are too big to fail, but the Public Option is dead on arrival and it was the Blue Dogs that put the toe tag on it.
The American people are suffering every additional day that our new President’s agenda is imperiled by the ‘chorus of cynics’ who have ‘only grown more louder and more disciplined’. As a County Chairman in the Democratic Party, I can tell you better than polls that all this in-fighting and back-and-forth bickering has taken a real toll on our Party too. In 2008, we made promises to the American people, among them publically provided healthcare for all, and we need to deliver. If we say ‘yes we can’, then we had better get it done.
While they held up healthcare for all Americans, Blue Dog Baron raked in about $200,000.00 (Congress just got a raise). I guess they were not in a rush because they already have a big paycheck and publically provided healthcare. As for what the rest of us get, it was Baron’s Blue Dog buddies who helped gut the Public Option, and that’s a mistake. While I support the healthcare reform bill, what we’re getting at the end of the day is a mandate, not a Public Option, and that is not what Americans had hoped to see changed.
There is a broken trust in our government today, and many of our Democratic elected officials have sworn allegiance to this Blue Dog Coalition, which promotes policy that helps moneyed special interests and hurts millions of Americans. This time it was to placate the insurance industry and pharmaceutical companies, but next time, what special interest will they serve to the detriment of the common good? It is time to send them a message.
Blue Dog Baron lost the General election in 2004 and became a high-priced lobbyist (also what his former Chief of Staff left to do too). Then, in 2006, we helped get him re-elected to public office, believing that he had tamed his arrogant and conservative ways. However, the last four years have shown us that is not the case, and he is once again part of the problem in our broken government. I guess that’s what happens when you elect a lobbyist instead of a citizen representative.
I have listened to citizens around our district and my progressive friends around the country. We all agree on these three things:
1.) if your neighbor is sick, they should be able to see a doctor;
2.) there is a crisis of unemployment and corporate recklessness in America that only the government can fix;
3.) when lobbyists work, our government doesn’t.
I have promised them and I promise you that as a Congressman, I will continue to seek healthcare justice in America and focus like a laser on creating jobs in our communities. I pledge never to become a lobbyist after I serve in Congress, and during my term, anyone who works in the 9th District Congressional office will have to sign an agreement stating they will not either, or they will not work in that office while I am there.
When I’m in Congress, my commitment will be to vote in the interests of dedicated, hard-working Hoosiers. When I tell you I’m going to do something, you can trust me to do it. Like my father taught me, your word is your bond.
I want to hear your ideas for progress in our nation. I have heard the ideas offered by Blue Dog Baron and his buddies for long enough. Southern Indiana deserves better, and Americans need a government worthy of their trust. As far as the broken trust in government, here in Indiana’s 9th Congressional District that is considered a pre-existing condition.
Thank you for supporting me in this most critical campaign to send a message to the Blue Dogs in the May 4th Democratic Primary. You can help me strike at the heart of the Blue Dog leadership. Lets shake them up and put them on notice.
Thank you for all that you do,
John Bottorff for Congress (IN-09)
Democratic Party Chairman, Dubois County, Indiana
UPDATE: Just realized that I didn't include links:
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