Joe Donnelly: supported and attacked; all before June 1st

Written by: Dustin Blythe on Jun 5, 2006 6:21 PM EDT

There is an old adage in politics: the earlier your opponent starts attacking, the more desperate they must be. I do not know much, but May 31st seems pretty early in the campaign season to issue an attack ad. Nevertheless, that is precisely what Chris Chocola did. The televison ad cited vague comments from the Kokomo Tribune and Elkhart Truth that claimed Joe Donnelly would immediately raise taxes upon election to Congress. This attack ad makes more sense when taken in context with the story on MSNBC's website earlier in May on Karl Rove's proposed strategy to combat low approval ratings for the Republican controlled Congress. Rove planned to appeal to the conservative base's greatest fears by portraying a Democratic controlled Congress as one consumed with investigations and impeachment proceedings, a rollback of the President's tax cuts and a hasty withdrawal from Iraq. As a matter of fact, Chocola reportedly stated on May 2nd (the night both he and Joe Donnelly won their primary races) that "Joe Donnelly would raise taxes and raise the white flag [in Iraq]). While it is some comfort to see that Chris Chocola continues to be a predictable rubberstamp of Bush and Rove, it also is a sad reminder that he is hopelessly out of touch and more reliant on direction from D.C. than ever.

On a more positive note, on May 31st former Rep. Tim Roemer came to Mishawaka to throw his support behind Joe Donnelly and aid his campaign with a fundraiser. Roemer was warmly received and roused the audience with a stunning indictment of the Bush administration's failures to this point, ending with a call for a change in Washington (specifically Indiana's 2nd district representative). As a member of the 9/11 commission, Roemer was uniquely qualified to comment on the continuing failure of the government to address the national security shortcomings pointed out in the 9/11 commission report. As Roemer said, to be this unprepared almost five years after 9/11 is unexcusable. Add to this the government's failure to respond adequately to the Katrina disaster and you have a picture of a government that cannot sufficiently protect it's citizens. The situation after Katrina was so bleak that Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world, offered $50,000 to the United States to aid in disaster relief. Is this what the United States has been reduced to? We can do better, and will, with more people like Joe Donnelly serving in Congress.

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Location: South Bend/Mishawaka, IN 46601