County Parties Give Bucshon Unfair Advantage

April 9, 2018 

By Richard Moss, MD

Candidate for Congress, Republican Party, 

8^THCongressional District

Jasper, IN: I attended a Lincoln Day Dinner in Washington Indiana, Daviess County, a community I know well for having a surgical practice there for more than 20 years.  I later attended another Lincoln Day Dinner at Greene County where a similar pattern unfolded.  At the Daviess County event, I had read on the Facebook page that candidates would be given a few minutes to speak.  Congressman Larry Bucshon was the featured guest and keynote speaker, but at least I would have a few minutes to get my message out however briefly.  As it turned out no one other than Bucshon spoke.  In a contested race with a primary, it seemed reasonable that while the Congressman would be expected to speak and even be the featured speaker, his primary opponent should also be allowed at least a few minutes to make his case.  

            Bucshon took some 40 minutes to deliver what was, in effect, a paid political campaign speech, while I was silenced.   Bucshon droned on about his many achievements and even mentioned that he had sent his yearly check in from his campaign coffers to the local county GOP party; he added that as a Congressman he could attract a lot of money from contributors and that he was doing his bit to help local county parties throughout the 8^thdistrict by sending them money, engaging in a bit of political patronage, a kind of bribe, if you will, and probably not something to air publicly, but the Congressman thought this fair game and indeed received some applause for this.  

            What was not mentioned by the Congressman, and what I would have said but was not allowed to, was that the Congressman is now a native of Washington DC not Indiana’s 8^thdistrict.  He has also dodged his one televised debate with me on May 2 to go to a dinner, ducking the one opportunity for him to have to defend his record.  He neglected to mention that he has a Heritage Action Conservative score of 52%, an F.  He tip toed around his recent vote for the disastrous Omnibus bill, the 2300 page $1.3 trillion monster that funded sanctuary cities, DACA, amnesty, importing more Syrian Muslim refugees, and Planned Parenthood, tacking on a trillion dollars to our national debt, while doing nothing to build a wall and secure our southern border.  Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer praised the bill.  Yes, our congressman stood with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to fund Democrat priorities but did not have to defend his vote because county GOP parties protected him. 

            As a candidate for Congress in Indiana’s 8^thdistrict, this is an infringement of first amendment rights.  It is an endorsement of the Congressman in the midst of a primary by allowing him unlimited time as keynote speaker to give a self-serving campaign speech.  If a sitting Congressman is involved in a primary then the county parties should allow both candidates to speak.  I’m on the ballot.  I should get equal time or at least some time.  My many supporters at the dinner and throughout the county were insulted and disrespected by this.  It is a form of censorship.  It is political cronyism - the GOP establishment at the local level protecting their preferred candidate, their useful foot soldier Larry Bucshon while silencing his opponent in the midst of a primary.  But we don’t need political favoritism, we need patriotism, an open system for all candidates to express their views and allow the voters to decide – including at Lincoln Day Dinners in front of the GOP faithful.   All candidates need equal time before the voters.

Dr. Richard Moss is a board certified head and neck cancer surgeon and was a candidate for Congress in 2016. He graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine and has been in practice in Jasper and Washington, IN for over 20 years. He is married with four children. 

For more information visit RMoss4Congress.com. Contact us at hq@rmoss4congress.com. Find Moss For Congress on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.