Ackerson Issues Debate Challenge
Press Release – Nels Ackerson Issues Debate Challenge to Steve Buyer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 6, 2008
ZIONSVILLE, Ind. – Nels Ackerson believes that voters in the 4th district have a right to know how their representative stands on the issues that affect their lives. Sixteen year incumbent Steve Buyer believes he can continue to avoid any debates, having recently declined to respond to yet another invitation to participate in a debate. The most recent invitation is the sixth request that the Buyer Campaign has ignored or refused to schedule.
In response Nels Ackerson has issued a broad challenge: He wants to debate Steve Buyer in each of the twelve counties in the 4th District. “Steve Buyer is choosing to play Washington spin games to avoid facing the people and discussing the facts of his voting record,” said Ackerson. “We have constituents regularly calling us and we have accepted every invitation to debate. We have agreed to just about any format, any date, and any location. But Steve Buyer refuses to commit to any specific public debates. I think it’s time he offered the people of this district more than photo ops. Steve Buyer has five weeks of vacation away from Washington this August that could be used to meet with constituents for debates.”
The organizations that have offered to host debates and are awaiting confirmation from Steve Buyer include:
- WILO Frankfort
- Frankfort Chamber of Commerce
- Frankfort Times
- The Purdue University Student Government
- Veterans of Foreign Wars, Crawfordsville
- Hendricks County Farm Bureau
- Disabled American Veterans, Lafayette
Issuing his broad challenge, Ackerson noted that accountability and communication are fundamental to democracy, and that voters have a right to a representative who is willing to listen to them and to keep them informed of what he’s been doing in Washington. “There are a lot of conflicting stories about his record, particularly on veterans’ benefits. There are a lot of questions about the facts. Given his record on the declining economy, the 16 year absence of any cohesive energy policy, and his proposed veterans’ tax, I think it’s critical that we discuss the issues with our constituents.”
