As some are aware, I am Sherri Welsh and I write as the Congressional Candidates Wife of
Barry Welsh, Indiana's 6th Democratic Congressional Candidate. (try saying that 10x in a row!)
I am writing for a couple of reasons, one of which is the ASTOUNDING amount of money that Rep. Mike Pence has spent on this election! While we have raised an "insignificant amount" to some, it has challenged us to make sure we are as wise as possible in our discernment of what to spend the money on. Well not we really it's really Barry but I digress, my point is that out of the last week, Barry, and all others have been featured in Parade magazine 10/22/2006 (see email below).
----- Original Message -----
From: Your Candidates-Your Health
To: barry@barrywelsh.org
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2006 3:55 PM
Subject: Your Candidates-Your Health Featured in PARADE
Dear Mr. Welsh,
Thank you for responding to the Your Candidates-Your Health Voter Guide questionnaire. You have provided your constituents with very valuable information they can use on Election Day.
PARADE magazine featured the Your Candidates-Your Health Voter Guide in their October 22 issue. Additionally, PARADE is featuring an article with a link to the voter guide at http://www.parade.com/.... Visit PARADE's Web site to see the coverage of the voter education initiative launched by Research! America and the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation.
We've also been able to take advantage of any and all press attendance at any of the events, meet & greets, dinners, etc. that are willing (surprisingly a lot). We've been putting Barry's radio spots on all the stations in almost all the radio markets in the district. Depending on the FM station and its market, the radio buys for 60 ads go for $5 to $25 dollars an ad. We are running them 4x a day, every day until election day, so far people are really noticing the ads especially since Barry will start airing a very controversial ad that "happens" to be running during Hannity & and Savage radio shows on some of the talk radio stations. This will undoubtedly cause a "stir" however it will bring much needed attention and name recognition to Barry and his campaign. They aren't negative ads but truthful ads. We've also been getting a lot of hits from the AARP dontvote.com campaign, it's caused a LOT of people to check Barry out and his website.
We've been getting inundated with all the interest in the TV stations that have Barry's candidacy listed, in all the TV markets within the district, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Dayton, Ft. Wayne, and Louisville. Barry's interview with one TV station out of Dayton has been running in segments nightly during the nightly news. Here are the stations that the campaign is on. WOWO-AM,WKHK FM,WIFE AM, WQLK FM, WHON AM, WMDH FM, WLBC FM, WERK FM,WHTI AM, WHTY AM, WURK FM, WHBU AM,WXFN AM, and WKKG FM. 14 stations, 4 times a day every day until the elections for just over 7,000 dollars. If it works everyone in the country will want Barry running THEIR campaigns. This is an opportunity for your supportto increase the coverage with more stations or more rotations per existing station. We are on stations that program everything from Christian to ESPN to Country and Classic Rock, we are reaching out to the middle of Indiana's two political parties.
Barry has been one of the first Feingold Finalists and is one of the participating campaigns interviewed and covered by the Crashing the States project (YEA Dante, AJ and Gary!!!) One of the really big draws has been the use of video clips that we have on our website produced by one of Barry's supporters, that after we saw it for the first time, Barry said that "heck I'd vote for me too after seeing that clip". Check it out it's on the front page of Barry's website. Also, Barry's been viewed quite a bit as some of his speeches are on YouTube. We've had Barry on any kind of Radio talk show no matter how big or small and it's been interesting to see the Republicans seem embarrassed that Pence is nowhere to be seen except in a few exclusive fundraisers within the district. This brings me to the topic of ASTOUNDING spending, 1.3 MILLION dollars; yes those are green backs and actual US currency. While we have raised a much smaller amount, at least we have been using it strategically and with great care in order to make this race a REAL race. So far, Pence has been finally campaigning and it started this weekend, I would call that either incredibly stupid or incredibly arrogant. I say this because when you just START to campaign 2 weeks before Election Day and you've already spent 1.3 Million dollars and are campaigning for more? I would say that is not the action of a responsible congressperson.
We've included a DRAFT of a news release written and to be released by our Communications Director Ben R. (okay before you get your knickers in a twist remember this is a draft and the headers and spelling and grammar haven't been checked yet - it's content only and the pictures are will be in the press release of Barry attending today's events) that we will put out tonight that is a commentary on the race so far.
Welsh Has Questions for Mike Pence, Since He Missed Another Candidates' Forum
About a dozen Democratic, Republican and Libertarian candidates for office participated in a Public Forum held at Indiana University East, in Richmond, Indiana, Tuesday afternoon. Barry Welsh, Democratic candidate for Congress, was present but his opponent, Representative Mike Pence, was not. Ken Paust, Republican candidate for County Commission arriving late at the Forum with other local Republicans candidates noted, "We just left Mike at the fund raiser."
Barry Welsh, who is seeking to replace Mr. Pence as representative for Indiana's Sixth District, noted, "This shows where Mike Pence's interests lie. Even though he was in Richmond, he still couldn't be bothered to face the voters."
Barry Welsh says, "It is time for Mr. Pence to answer some questions. I look forward to our debate on October 30 at 6 p.m. at the North Side elementary School in Muncie."
Here are some of the questions I have for Mr. Pence:
Do you continue to call Dennis Hastert "a man of integrity" and support him continuing as Speaker of the House, even though he admits his office knew about, but did nothing to stop, Mark Foley's predatory behavior with House pages for at least a year? Isn't this part of the Republican culture of corruption associated with names like DeLay, Abramoff, Ney, Cunningham . . . .?
With the violence escalating in Iraq this October -- bringing the total U.S. troops dead to 2,787, and more than 21,000 U.S. troops wounded - and the situation in Iraq deteriorating, do you continue your repeated support President Bush's policy of "stay the course"?
As a recipient of $19,865 from Tom Delay's PAC, and a contributor to his defense fund, and as one who has held fundraisers at disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's restaurant and in his sky box at Wizards games, and as a stake holder in your family's oil business which went bankrupt while owing nearly $8.5 million dollars to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, why should we trust you to improve ethics in this Republican Congress?
Will join me in pledging to fix the Part D "donut hole" in the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan?
You took a lead in proposing "Operation Offset" to slash government social programs following Hurricane Katrina, and voted against increasing the minimum wage. Yet you voted to give tax benefits to the very wealthy and big oil corporations like Exxon. Do you believe that the government should be in the business of shifting wealth from working people to the most wealthy, even when it means creating the largest deficits in the history of the nation?
Pence has cancelled and often at the last minute at any engagement where Barry is or has been. He's even gone so far as a staffer call in the middle of an event and say "Well if there isn't 10, 000 people there then the crowd isn't worth going to the event". You can imagine the uproar from the community when this happened. To the credit of all organizations either Republican or Democratic leaning, they've ensured that both candidates were invited and went to great lengths to make sure the candidate had every opportunity to attend Candidate forums. I can tell you that it has been very telling to the people and press that Mr. Pence has been nowhere that it counts and that is with the people.
Oh yeah and guess what Mr. Pence's talking points are???? Job growth and the great economy the winning war in Iraq and the old favorites gay marriage and abortion rights. Well, let's face it when you campaign only the last two weeks in a campaign, you gotta talk about something, right???!!!! Here's his quote:
CONGRESSMAN MIKE PENCE: "AT THE END OF THE DAY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE WHETHER WE'LL REMAIN ON OFFENSE IN THE WAR ON TERROR, OR WHETHER WE'LL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE POLICIES THAT CREATED RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH AND JOBS HERE IN THE HOOSIER STATE, WHETHER WE'LL TAKE A STAND FOR THE SANCTITY OF LIFE AND THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE.
Don't even get me started on his fake news appearances, showing up at Camp Attebury with Cheney and saying how much he supports the troops, if so, the Veterans seem to think he's not doing so hot. He gets a C from IAVA. Julia Carson from Indiana 7th gets an A-.
Finally, let me tell you how being in a campaign makes me feel. I feel like a Pastor's wife in a small rural community, life is lived in a fishbowl; judgments are made on if you buy a bottle of wine (I am the only one that imbibes in our house) to have people over. People expect the best and the very most from me as a Pastors wife, I am expected to be at church every Sunday, Pneumonia or not. I am expected to live my life above and beyond reproach. This may seem a little harsh, but I will be honest and there are times I am really glad I live in a small town so that if I run out to walk the dogs in my sweats and no make up or have a REALLY bad hair day - they just think that the Pastor's wife is having a bad hair day. The scope has widened, as expected, during a Congressional campaign and the days that we would wander the streets in mismatching sweats (Barry does if I don't edit his wardrobe every once in a while) walking the dogs is more of a pain. The judgments are made based on whatever the observer sees, image, dress, poise, smile, what and how one speaks and yes BAD hair days. This all before a voter knows your issues or talking points and if they care. The fishbowl effect is not hard to do for me as long as I get to sleep in my bed at night and the work is rewarding. What I feel about being part of a Congressional campaign is a TREMENDOUS amount of pride both in my husband, the volunteers, and the people that have risked much to be part of our ever-increasing army of workers. I feel excitement and wonder as I have learned so much about our district, politics. One of the things I feel is that if you want to test how strong your marriage is; try being the spouse of a candidate in 19 counties, LOL. We've agreed not to fight over the dirty laundry or the dishes not done or the dust or vacuuming that badly needs to be done. The fact that every restaurant that serves take out within a 16-mile radius of our home knows the sound of my voice and who is ordering and what our favorites are and I miss home cooked meals. There have been times where I just wanted to chuck a frying pan at Barry's head when he jokes about me taking so long to get ready when having to be at an event at 5pm when I have left early from work, commuted 1 ½ hours, to either change or meet Barry at home in order to drive 3 hours to an event and not get home until midnight after I've been up for 20 hours. Well I haven't actually threatened the cast iron frying pan YET, but he makes me laugh and look at the whole picture rather than the itty-bitty detail. I've seen the very large numbers of people stand up and take up the campaign motto. We have people of all diversities, Gay/Lesbian, Ethnicity, Age, Economically challenged or wealthy cheer Barry on and that makes it worthwhile to know that it's worth it. It's all worth it when it comes down to it, we are in a position to see what people need and want and that makes us WANT to be of greater help and to encourage the best and brightest of our kids to achieve greater and better futures. In the most private of moments that Barry and I share, this is what is prevalent on his mind - he WANTS to be of greater help to this district because these are our people, they are us.
This is my diary and it isn't vetted thru the campaign and is my perspective of a Congressional Campaign from the inside out.
Last but not least, thank you for taking the time to read my diary and I welcome any and all comments.
Love,
Sherri