Who I am voting for November 7th and why, part 2

This is the second part of my series on who I am going to vote for and why...

3rd Congressional District.

Democratic Candidate, Tom Hayhurst. Tom Hayhurst is a Fort Wayne City Council member and a Doctor. Tom Hayhurst is a military veteran and has invested a lot of his time to improve the health care local veterans receive.

Republican Candidate, Mark Souder. Mark Souder is a Republican Congressman who was elected in 1994. Mark Souder is a social conservative who believes in large government.

There is no Libertarian candidate in this race due to a shameful law written in the Indiana Legislature that requires Libertarians to have more strict requirements for getting on the ballot then either Reps or Dems... The Libertarian candidate was disallowed by the Indiana Election Board. The Indiana Election Board seems to exist mainly to ensure that voters often only have two choices each election...

The ten main reasons I do not like Mark Souder (Not in any particular order):
1. He was a Conscientious Objector during the Vietnam War. He got C.O. status by being
opposed to violence. Mark Souder has changed his mind since the Vietnam Conflict ended...
He now thinks violence is good and he is a big proponent of sending our armed forces into
harms way. I am a military veteran and I have NO RESPECT for Mark Souder.
2. Mark Souder originally ran on a platform of changing the entrenched culture in Washington
DC. Now that Mark Souder is part of the entrenched Washington DC culture he now thinks
an entrenched Washington DC culture is good.
3. Mark Souder reneged on his promise to serve for only 12 years. This really sticks in my
craw. Mark Souder claims to be a Christian Conservative on one hand; but, he breaks his
own promises when it suits him. I feel that Mark Souder is a hypocrite.
4. Mark Souder started his time in Washington as a fiscal conservative. He was part of the
"Gang of 11." This is a group that formed to shrink the size of government. The longer Mark
has served in DC the more in favor of big government he has become.
5. Mark Souder has run a long series of negative attack ads against Tom Hayhurst on WOWO
since May of this year. Some of the ads have been very negative and I absolutely hate it
when someone in Mark Souder's position think he needs to go "negative" to win an election.
Mark Souder does not campaign like the "Christian" he claims to be.
6. Mark Souder refuses to cooperate with Project Vote Smart. He DID cooperate with Project
Vote Smart in 1994. Since he has been in office he has refused to fill out online surveys telling
his constituents where he stands. I hate that. Please check out the below link:
<http://www.vote-smart.org/npat.php?can_id=CNIP0687>
7. Mark Souder made a campaign promise to debate all comers when he was running for office
in 1994. He told everyone that he would be different. When William Larsen ran against
Mark Souder in the Republican primary Mark Souder cowered in Washington and refused to
debate Mr. Larsen. Promises seem to mean nothing to Mark Souder. I thought Christians
took promises seriously?
8. Mark Souder is a Big Government Republican today. I admit he is a social conservative;
however, he is not a fiscal conservative. Mark Souder continually votes to expand
government and he continually votes in favor of increasing regulations that businesses must
comply with.
9. Mark Souder ran on a platform of being a conservative. A conservative SHOULD believe in
the separation of powers between the Federal Government and the fifty states. Mark
Souder has a disturbing habit of voting to increase Federal powers and limit the powers of
the fifty states; including Indiana. Conservative Republicans used to favor abolishing The
entire Federal Department of Education. I favor abolishing the entire Federal Department
of Education myself. Mark Souder voted in favor of the big government "No Child Left
Behind Act." Mark Souder voted with the most liberal Democrats in Congress to pass this
terrible law.
10. Mark Souder voted in favor of the worst piece of legislation in recent history. This
legislation is the largest expansion of government since Lyndon Johnson was President.
Mark Souder joined the liberals in Congress to pass the Prescription Drug benefit program.
This program has created another massive unfunded Federal liability that our children and
grand children will have to pay for...

I will vote for Tom Hayhurst because:
1. He is NOT Mark Souder
2. I believe in term limits. I almost never vote for elected officials of any party who have been
in office for very long...
3. I have met both Mark Souder and Tom Hayhurst in person. Tom Hayhurst looked me in
the eye and Mark Souder give me a silly smirk.
4. Tom Hayhurst is a military veteran and Mark Souder was a C.O.
5. I think we need gridlock in our government. I would rather see the Dems and Reps fight
each other rather then pass laws that hurt my family and I.
6. Tom Hayhurst has a great reputation and we need new blood in Congress.
7. Tom Hayhurst told voters where he stands on issues at:
<http://www.vote-smart.org/npat.php?can_id=MIN61371#17>
8. Tom Hayhurst is running a clean campaign.
9. The Republican Party is now a big government Party just like the Democratic Party. Many
Republicans refuse to see it. I am hoping that if The Democrats can take Congress then
maybe the Republicans will realize that they lost this election because they have become a
large government Party and will be reformed by people like Mike Pence.
10. On a personal level I cannot respect Mark Souder anymore. Believe it or not, I have
supported Mark Souder in the distant past... I am embarrassed.

This was a long post because of my deep dislike for Mark Souder... This post is not objective since my dislike for Mark Souder runs so deep.

Mike Sylvester