Ellsworth still positive

Most polls show Democrat Brad Ellsworth trailing Republican Dan Coats in the race for U.S. Senate.
But Ellsworth isn’t discouraged.
“I’m comfortable,” he said Saturday while swinging through Jay County to attend the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.
“I’ve seen polls that say very different things. … We’re just going to keep working.”
Ellsworth, 53, a former Vanderburgh County sheriff who was first elected to Congress in 2006, said he’s not sure that increased backing from the Democratic National Committee would be a plus.
“I’ve seen national party help that is unhelpful,” he said. “None of those national Democrats are going to vote for me.”
Ellsworth is among the Blue Dog Democrats in the House and has a record as pro-life and supportive of gun rights.
“We all don’t agree on everything,” Ellsworth said. “The Democrats are the ‘big tent’ party. You have to know when to stand your ground and when to compromise.”
Calling on local Democrats to get out the vote in November, he said, “This country is calling 911 right now. I know we as Americans can fight our way through it. … It’s not time for a bunch of party politics. … Wouldn’t it be a novel thing if we worked together.”
In an interview prior to his remarks to the party faithful, Ellsworth said the economy is still the top issue in the minds of the voters.
“You hear the most about jobs, but along the way we’ve got to remember our sons and daughters and husbands and wives (in the military) overseas, we can’t forget about them,” he said. “We have to multi-task in Washington.”
Ellsworth said he supported an extension of the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers, rather than the targeted middle-class tax cut extension sought by President Obama.
“Before we raise taxes we’ve got to put this country back to work,” Elllsworth said. “Our tax code needs to be simplified and we need to close loopholes that encourage companies to move jobs overseas.”
“I would have voted to extend all the so-called Bush tax cuts, but not everybody agrees with that,” he added. “I think we should have extended it before we left. We should have put that behind us.”
Ellsworth predicted that when Congress returns to Washington after the election, the Bush tax cuts will be extended but possibly for just a two-year period.
Jay County Democratic Party chairman Tim Southworth was thrilled to have Ellsworth on hand Saturday.
“I’m really happy to have the top of our ticket here,” said Southworth. “We need to get our people out and get this guy elected.”[[In-content Ad]]