Published: August 27, 2008 11:48 am         

Congressional candidates clash over energy policy

Challenger’s statement on incumbent’s voting record sparks debate

Ask Luke Puckett what is the most important issue in his congressional race, and the Republican doesn’t hesitate.

“The price of gas is the absolute greatest concern on the minds of the people,” Puckett said in an interview last week. “There’s not another one even comparing.”

Puckett has been talking about his energy policy with everybody he meets in Indiana’s 2nd district, which covers parts of Cass, Carroll, White, Fulton and Pulaski counties. The Goshen businessman, who strongly supports domestic drilling, has also been discussing the policy of his opponent, incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly.

Donnelly, who won election in 2006 with 54 percent of the vote, has previously opposed drilling on Alaska’s outer continental shelf. This year, however, the congressman is campaigning on a platform that includes support for alternative fuels and domestic drilling.

“In June of 2007, with gas prices at $2.81, Joe voted with a bipartisan majority to maintain the moratorium on outer continental shelf drilling for an additional year,” Donnelly campaign manager Andrew Lattanner said in an e-mail statement. “In light of our current energy situation, Joe believes that it is now appropriate to allow for new oil drilling and gas exploration in the OCS.”

But the Puckett campaign is determined not to let Donnelly get off the hook by saying he changed his mind, the Republican candidate said.

Last month, Puckett traveled with six other Republican congressional candidates to the northern tip of Alaska to prove that the area was drillable. Puckett said the trip was a success, and he called the area “a barren arctic tundra, not a beautiful mountain region.” He added that if Washington worked efficiently, oil could be extracted in as few as five years, instead of the 10-year period that has often been cited.

Last week, the campaign released a statement outlining “Joe Donnelly’s Votes Against Lower Gas Prices.” The statement included 10 votes Donnelly made in the last session of Congress, claiming that each had led to higher gas prices.

“Joe Donnelly has never voted for drilling or refining in American oil,” Puckett said in an interview explaining the press release. “Please don’t tell us that you’re for it when you’re actually against it.”

The Donnelly campaign counters that a closer look at the votes tells a slightly different story.

Of the 10 votes cited, three appear to deal directly with energy policies. In those votes, all from 2007, Donnelly voted against tax breaks for oil companies and drilling in the outer continental shelf.

The fourth vote was a non-binding resolution, a piece of legislation with no tangible impact, and the fifth was passage of a $555 billion omnibus spending bill, approved as a last resort to approve an operating budget before Congress went into recess.

The five 2008 votes were each moves to “end the debate” on individual bills, including the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008. In those cases, an energy-related amendment had been made, and ending the debate killed the amendment, Puckett communications director Brian Sikma explained. Sikma stood by the claim that all 10 votes were moves that raised gas prices.

The Donnelly campaign dismissed the statement as a “waste of time.”

“You can’t make the argument that Joe Donnelly voted against drilling because he voted to consider a bill about child abuse,” Lattanner said. “They’re citing votes that have nothing to do with what they’re talking about.”

The Puckett campaign showed no sign of backing down from its attacks on Donnelly’s record. That’s because they believe their views are in step with people of the district, the Republican candidate said.

“People are beginning to realize that we have a congressman who stands for nothing,” said Puckett, referring to his opponent’s policies as the “dismal Donnelly death spiral.”

According to a July Harris Interactive poll, 64 percent of Hoosiers support domestic drilling. Several Logansport residents said they were in support of the idea.

“It’s like you have something,” 60-year-old Rachel Morris said. “And instead of using it, you go and buy it from someone who’s charging a lot.”

But other residents, such as 57-year-old Thomas Dechon, said research into alternative fuel sources was more important.

Both candidates support the research, but in different ways.

The Republican supports research into alternative energy through the private sector instead of government-funded research.

“Coal, nuclear, hydrogen, wind, solar, it doesn’t matter — I’m not the scientist,” said Puckett, calling alternative energy the “ultimate solution.” “But before we start doing a handout to scientists, let’s go to the private sector.”

Lattanner said Donnelly, whose energy policy has focused on alternative fuels, would love it if the private sector found a solution to the energy crisis. But he believes that the initiative could use some government help.

“Joe voted to repeal nearly $14 billion in tax breaks to big oil and re-invest that money into programs designed to accelerate the use of domestic energy sources and alternative fuels,” Lattanner said. “Some of which are produced right here in Cass County.”

Asked about gas prices, 28-year-old Catherine Pattengale simply said, “They need to come down.”

That’s one idea with which Puckett and Donnelly both agree.

“Lowering gas prices and ending our dependence on foreign oil will require an ‘all in’ policy,” Lattanner said. “If we’re serious about ending our dependence on foreign oil, Republicans and Democrats are going to have to compromise.”

Brian Rosenthal can be reached at (574) 732-5148, or via e-mail at Brian.Rosenthal@pharostribune.com