Election season is nearly upon us, which means the time to dredge up year-old grudges and vote is near.
That’s right, folks, there’s an election Nov. 4. We’ve all been distracted by the will-she-won’t-she drama of Hillary Clinton 2016, but it’s time to pay attention to Congress for a second.
Every House representative from Indiana is up for re-election this term, including the ones who failed to vote to end the government shutdown in 2013: Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-2nd District; Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd District; Rep. Todd Rokita, R-4th District; Rep. Luke Messer, R-6th District; and Rep. Larry Buchson, R-8th District.
Rep. Susan Brooks, R-5th District, and Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District, originally voted for the shutdown but saw the error of their ways two weeks later.
Remember the shutdown? Sixteen days of park closures, Food and Drug Administration regulation delays, unreliable nutrition assistance, Head Start classroom closures and a worsened veteran disability claims backlog. These representatives had so much fun costing the American people billions of dollars, they just couldn’t stand to see it end!
The whole debacle was one of the many attempts by Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
Since the shutdown, major parts of the ACA have been enacted, ushering in the lowest uninsured rates on record in the United States.
Millions of newly insured Americans could lead to millions in increased productivity as wider access to preventive care reduces sick days and hospital bills.
For the doggedly “fiscally responsible” party, it seems most Indiana Republicans took an incredibly costly wrong turn when they opted to hold our ?government hostage back in 2013.
Walorski, Stutzman, Rokita, Messer and Buchson don’t want government to work, so let’s put them out of a job. (I told you I know how to hold a grudge.)
First, make sure you’re registered to vote.
Hoosiers have until Monday, Oct. 6, to register for the election in November. You can go to the county voter registration office or register online at Indianavoters.com.
Know where you’re registered. If it’s too far to get there on Election Day, you’ll need to vote absentee.
You can do this by mail or by visiting home the weeks leading up to the election. You can find more details about this process at IN.gov.
Next, figure out who the candidates are. Bloomington is in the 9th District, so registered Bloomington voters have a choice between incumbent Republican Todd Young or Democrat challenger Bill Bailey. For anyone registered in Indiana’s second, third, fourth, sixth or eighth districts, you have the chance to vote against the incumbent weirdos who opted to keep our government closed rather than stomaching a bill they didn’t like very much.
Do it. For me.
And even if you don’t have a government shutdown-sized chip on your shoulder like I do, find your way to the polls Nov. 4.
Even if it is just to spite me and my vendetta against your representative, voting matters, and you get an awesome ?sticker afterward.
casefarr@indiana.edu
