On the Issues

Principled Leadership to End Partisan Politics

Washington, D.C. has become a place where influence often matters more than ideals and loyalty to party is more apparent than loyalty to principle. Congress has become a place where connections mean more than conscience and personal interests trump the national interest. We must change Congress and replace partisan politics with principled leadership. -more-

Government Accountability

We witness a government that believes it is accountable to no one. We have a government that in many respects has become a business to profit the few at the expense of the many, where special interests with fat wallets take precedence over the needs of the people, and political power matters more than fiscal responsibility. -more-

Stronger National Security

As terrorist threats have become more global, and as our government has squandered both domestic and worldwide reservoirs of goodwill following 9/11, a gap has widened in our national security. Our national security is at risk, and we can and must close the gap with a strong military, sound strategies to defeat terrorists, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and control loose nukes. -more-

A New Course in Iraq

America is a strong nation, and we are a strong people. We are not timid. We can handle the challenges, and we can handle the truth. Our government led America into war in Iraq through deceit and kept our troops in a foreign civil war without a plan. It’s time to face our best interests honestly in Iraq, and redeploy our troops out of harms way safely and responsibly. -more-

Excellence in Education

We must commit as a nation to remain the world’s pre-eminent source of excellence at every level of education, from pre-school through college. We must be the best in teaching, student achievement, research and innovation. Now, more than ever, education is the key to opportunity for every child and indeed for the future of our nation. -more-

Affordable, Quality Health Care

The greatest nation on earth should be the healthiest nation, but we are not. We should have health care that is affordable to all, but we do not. We should insist that medical decisions must be made by medical professionals rather than insurance companies, but they are not. It’s time to put aside blame and excuses. America needs a better health care system, and we need it now. -more-

New Energy Solutions

Gasoline prices are out of control. More than our standard of living is at risk. Our national security is at the mercy of unstable and hostile foreign regimes who control much of the world’s petroleum. We are at least three decades late in developing the production and distribution systems that are needed for ethanol and other fuels from crops, other biomass sources, wind power, solar power and other alternatives to petroleum. We are vulnerable to serious economic disruptions both as individuals and families and as a nation. Indiana can be a significant part of the solution. Congress must act. -more-

Care For Our Veterans

America’s soldiers represent the best of our character as a nation. They defend us at home and abroad. They serve as the shield and spear of our democracy. They deserve the gratitude of their country and we must strive to ensure that the care they receive when they return home reflects the steep costs they paid while they were away. We must never again allow our troops to be left without adequate medical care and the benefits they were promised. Any failure to respect our commitment to our veterans is a national shame. -more-

Revive Economic Opportunity

America was founded and built upon the industry of its people. We are a nation of innovation and private enterprise, of learning and discovery. A nation that has created the engines of modern industry and technology, that fills the granaries of the world, and finances the innovations of tomorrow. And yet America’s prosperity increasingly becoming available to fewer and fewer Americans, and out of reach for many families in our long-cherished middle class. Unless we act as a nation, our children and grandchildren will have less opportunity for success than current generations – a terrible disservice to ourselves and to America’s future. -more-

Protect Individual, Constitutional Rights

We are a nation established by freedom and democracy, ruled by law, and protected by our Constitution. America has become that rarest of places in the world: a land of freedom, equality, and opportunity. We are, as Abraham Lincoln dramatically asserted to Congress, “…the last best hope of earth.” Yet some political leaders claim that the government may take our homes and businesses to benefit more favored private interests; that freedom and security can no longer coexist; that torture and terror exercised at our behest are useful tools. They would sacrifice individual rights and the rule of law that has created our strength as a nation and that has inspired peoples throughout the world. To accept such a choice would destroy our character as a nation. We can be both strong and right, both principled and powerful. In fact, we must be. -more-