Nels is ready and willing to debate Steve Buyer, but Steve Buyer isn’t so sure. In this Frankfort Times article, the 16-year incumbent makes it clear that he’s far from eager to meet his challenger in public:
Halfway home.
The Times’ joint effort to sponsor a debate within Clinton County between U.S. Congressman Steve Buyer (R IN-4) and his Democratic challenger, Nels Ackerson, has one of the candidates ready to participate.
“I am in favor of multiple debates and I know the people are in favor of multiple debates,” said Ackerson, during a break from touring the Clinton County and 4-H Fair on Thursday. “There are too many important issues to just allow people to send out press releases and tell their own story.
“That’s important, but it’s also important to be submitting to questions, and going back-and-forth with persons having differing views.”
Buyer, however, has yet to commit to participating in a debate within Clinton County, an area solely represented in U.S. Congress by the eight-term incumbent.
The Times sent a letter to Buyer’s Monticello office in June, requesting his participation in a debate.
After no answer, an e-mail was sent on Wednesday, and a phone call made on Thursday to Buyer’s Communication Director, Anjulen Anderson.
“As the Congressman thinks the invitation for a debate is worthy of consideration, the Congressman has always discussed debates amongst the campaigns in the fall,” Anderson wrote in an e-mail response to a Times’ request to speak to Buyer about a possible debate.
Nels made the front page of today’s Lafayette Journal and Courier with a great story about his campaign efforts. Check it out!
Steve Buyer is the first to admit that having a cash advantage is one of the most important elements in a campaign.
But according to first quarter financial filings on www.opensecrets.org, the challenger to the eight-term U.S. congressman representing Indiana’s 4th District is raising money faster.
Through April 16, Buyer had raised $301,129 — compared to $308,602 raised by Democrat Nels Ackerson, a lawyer who hails from Boone County.
“I’ll still be able to maintain a three-to-one cash advantage to him” in the total election cycle, Buyer said.
But Ackerson, who campaigned Thursday in Lafayette, continues raising funds and putting in long days on the campaign trail. He plans to defeat Buyer in November.
“I don’t underestimate the challenge,” Ackerson said, referring to Buyer’s years in office.
“But (the race) is not just about incumbency but being well-known. I’ve been working hard for a year and I have a lot more to do.”
After speaking at a Rotary meeting Thursday morning, Ackerson visited a downtown coffee shop to shake hands and pass out campaign literature. He’s canvassing the district to talk about issues and build name recognition.
Ackerson hopes to capitalize on a growing attitude he says voters have to reform government and eliminate partisanship. He’s counting on support from the “independent-thinking” residents in the 4th District — which includes Tippecanoe County and spans a section of west-central Indiana.
You won’t want to miss this article in the Bedford Times-Mail about Nels hitting the campaign trail, listening to and chatting with Fourth District residents in Lawrence County:
WILLIAMS — Chirping crickets provided background music as Nels Ackerson, standing in front of an assortment of fishing tackle, addressed a small but attentive gathering of citizens Tuesday morning at White River Bait & Tackle.
Ackerson, candidate for Indiana’s 4th Congressional District seat, was casting for votes. How many the Zionsville Democrat lands is yet to be determined, but he clearly garnered a few nibbles of interest.
During several stops throughout the county, he detailed the differences between him and incumbent Steve Buyer.
The most obvious, he claimed, is on the issue of veteran benefits.
“Our government has simply dishonored a sacred contract with our veterans,” Ackerson said. “There is no difference in this election greater between me and Steve Buyer than on that issue.
“He claims to be supporting our veterans. He claims to be supporting our troops. But he led the effort to reduce veteran benefits.
“I look forward to the day I can stand with him in a debate and he tries to justify that decision.”
Asked if any debates have been scheduled, Ackerson said, “I’ve offered several invitations. He has yet to accept one.
This July 4th marks the 232nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, an unprecedented document that heralded a bold new vision for a young country. But more than just the foundation for this nation, its ideas inspired the world.
Today, as we celebrate the freedoms conceived long ago and safeguarded for two hundred years, we would do well to remember the last clause of that declaration. Determined to succeed against overwhelming odds, our founders dedicated all that they had to this new nation, declaring, “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Our founders understood that leadership is not simply sending an army to war. It is committing a nation to war. The same principle holds true today. Our men and women in uniform are again at war. They have sacrificed willingly and they serve nobly. But our government has declined to engage the nation. In efforts to avoid acknowledging the costs of war, our government has even refused to honor commitments to our veterans when they return.
Too many elected representatives followed meekly or looked the other way as our government denied the need to match the needs of veterans with adequate provisions. Steve Buyer, the incumbent congressman from this district, served as Chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee and is now its ranking member. He has been in one of the best positions in Congress to stand up for our veterans. But instead, he aggressively led the effort to cut veterans benefits, even proposing an unprecedented tax on veterans to pay for access to their Veterans Administration healthcare.
That is not all. In a false hope that the war would be won at little cost, our government failed to provide adequate body armor and IED-armored vehicles until thousands of troops were unnecessarily wounded and hundreds were killed. Ill-considered budget cuts and lack of congressional oversight led to the 2006 Walter Reed scandal. Just last month, a new low was reached with the revelation of Veterans Administration testing of experimental drugs on veterans without informed consent or the mention of life-threatening side effects.
Almost seven years and more than 4,000 lives and trillions of dollars into this war, let us on this 4th of July, determine to right some of the wrongs that have been done. We cannot un-ring the bell that led us to where we are in Iraq and Afghanistan. But we dare not stay the course of dishonoring our commitments to our veterans.
We in this generation should be committed to match our founders’ pledge. We should commit of our fortunes and our sacred honor to fulfill our sacred contract with those who have already committed their lives in our service.
