Published by the Indianapolis Star, December 15, 2009
To the Editor:
The news that John Hostettler is running for the U.S. Senate is an excellent development for Indiana voters. His entry into the race has changed the dynamics of the 2010 election. John Hostettler refuses to take special interest PAC money and refused a Congressional pension. The self-depreciating jokes he told at the 9th District Republican Christmas party showed that he has a quality too many politicians are lacking: humility.
With all due respect to the other candidates, Republicans never had a chance of defeating Evan Bayh. Even with an anti-incumbent and increasingly anti-Democrat political landscape fueled by an anti-Obama backlash, Bayh looked assured of winning in a cakewalk. With John Hostettler as the nominee, that is no longer assured.
Hostettler is a principled conservative who voted against the war in Iraq and often clashed with the Republican establishment because his conservative principles were more important to him than party loyalty. At a time when the annual budget deficit is more than a trillion dollars, a principled fiscal conservative like John Hostettler is what Hoosiers need representing us in Congress.
Scott Tibbs
