Make a decision for progress

Nov. 2, the New York Times' Richard Berke reported on the GOP's "intangible advantage" in the 2000 presidential race: "Republicans are far more energized about Gov. George W. Bush than Democrats are about Vice President Al Gore."\n"I wish Bon Jovi was running for president. Unfortunately, it is Gore," Josh Gresl, a 21-year-old Wisconsin Democrat, told the Times.\n"Republicans," Berke reported, "are united, enthusiastic and perhaps more likely to vote," and determined to win back the White House after eight years of Clinton-Gore. But Bush is drawing support from Independents and Democrats, who are peeling away from Gore as Election Day nears.\nWell, Election Day has come. And today I ask you to take time from your busy schedule to go vote! But I urge you to look at the Republican candidates running today: Bush for president, Rep. David McIntosh for governor of Indiana, Rep. John Hostettler for re-election to Congress and John Shean for state representative.\n• Vote for Bush and Dick Cheney. Bush is the strong new leader with America's values. After a season of cynicism, seven years of scandal and missed opportunities, Bush is the fresh, new, strong leader Americans want for their next president.\n• Vote for Hostettler. We can be proud of our Congressman. Hostettler has a proven record of integrity.\nFor 25 years, from 1969 to 1994, Democrats controlled Congress and expanded the welfare state. But in 1994, voters put Republicans in charge of Congress, and changed all that. Republicans went to work to reform the welfare system and to bring wasteful government spending under control. Now there is a balanced budget and a government surplus. The national debt is shrinking and five million welfare dependents have gone back to work. That's what a Republican Congress can do.\nAs a lifelong resident of Indiana, Hostettler, a father, knows how high taxes can hurt a family. As our Congressman, he built a reputation of standing up against higher taxes and cutting government waste.\nHostettler has always stood up for our communities. As our Congressman, he's protected our interests and fought to get our fair share of federal dollars. He led the fight to protect funding for Crane, to keep jobs in our district and fuel the economy.\n• Vote for McIntosh and Murray Clark. McIntosh has a vision for Indiana to successfully lead us into the new millennium.\nUnder McIntosh, Indiana will be a leader in education reform, in creating new high tech jobs and in establishing Indiana as a great place to live, raise a family and do business.\nMcIntosh will have accountability for schools, replace ISTEP with a standard test, end social promotion, stop lawsuits that prevent discipline in the classroom and reward excellence and results.\nUnder McIntosh, we can have more freedom, lower property taxes, protect against reassessment tax increases and eliminate the inventory tax, when we hold the line on spending.\nUnder McIntosh, our state police will be the best in the country.\nMcIntosh has a proven record in Congress, working hard for those values and keeping his promises. Gov. Frank O'Bannon hasn't kept his promises. In 1996, O'Bannon promised a 12 percent property tax cut as a key issue in his campaign. He broke that promise and hasn't delivered.\n• Vote for Shean, state representative of District 60. He will provide strong leadership and a vision for better education for our children, lower taxes for working families, economic prosperity by creating more jobs, and business opportunities for the people of District 60.\nThe winners of this year's elections will redistrict our electoral maps. If Republicans such as Shean win, we can look forward to a constitutional system of property taxes. If Democrats win, we can look forward to higher taxes across the board. If Shean wins, we can look forward to improved education and academic freedom. If Shean wins, we can look forward to an influx of business investment in Indiana -- better jobs, higher wages.\nThe Republican Party is the party of reform. Democrats are the party of big government. Big government is government that gets into your lives. It is government taking more of what you earn, and using your money to tell you what to do. The Republican Party wants to give power back to individuals like you. The Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln and the party of progress; it is the party of opportunity and the party of a free people.\nVote Republican today! Anything else would be a risky scheme!