According to reports from various news outlets in central Indiana, Dan Burton has gone on record as saying, “he doesn’t plan on taking part in any debates or joint appearances with his challengers for the Republican nomination [for Congress].”
“He refused to debate me in 2008, and his refusal to debate again displays a cowardice that sadly has become his hallmark,” Dr. John McGoff points out. “Instead of allowing the voters an opportunity to ask their sitting Congressman relevant questions relating to this election cycle, he has scheduled scripted town hall meetings, using tax payer money to fund these disguised campaign events.”
“Dan Burton has proven once again why he is no longer the person who should be representing the 5th District, the state of Indiana or the people of the United States,” says McGoff who came close to defeating Burton in 2008.
“The voters deserve a chance to question Mr. Burton on campaign related issues,” McGoff says. “How can they ask him questions relevant to the campaign at an event which his full color mailer announced as a ‘constituent service update and town meeting?’ Since the summer, I have participated in candidate forums and have not shied away from answering any question, no matter how difficult. In the military, we are taught to never cut and run, never to back away from a challenge, never to hide and to always be forthcoming and honest.”
“The voters in the 5th District deserve a congressman that will participate in the democratic process. This summer Dan Burton avoided his constituents. While many of his colleagues were discussing health care reform he preferred the company of lobbyists outside the state and Washington insiders,” McGoff notes. “This attitude reflects the typical tin ear for which our elected officials have become known, and of which voters have become tired. Dan Burton has shown that he would rather play golf in California or Idaho than talk to the people of Wabash or Huntington.”
McGoff believes that the voters in the 5th District deserve leadership on issues, both foreign and domestic. As a soldier McGoff was recently deployed to Iraq and it bothered him to see that Dan Burton was absent during the Walter Reed Army Hospital hearings.
“The 5th District has a large constituency of active servicemen, veterans and families of soldiers who were betrayed by their congressman when he chose not to show up and protect the rights of soldiers,” McGoff remembers. “I urge Dan Burton to reconsider his decision and find the courage to answer those that placed him in office. The voters deserve to hear what every candidate has to say and no one should ever escape being accountable to the voters.”
Indiana’s 5th Congressional District contains all of Grant, Hamilton, Hancock, Huntington, Miami, Tipton and Wabash counties and parts of Howard, Johnson, Marion and Shelby counties.