[IN-07 Special] Jon Elrod pledges "NO MORE EARMARKS"

Indianapolis Star

[Sir Hailstone]

Indiana State Representative and Congressional Special Election candidate Jon Elrod (R) has pledged today that he will not use nor support earmarks in any legislation when elected to Congress.

From the Indianapolis Star (cannot link per FR policy towards Gannett)

Congressional candidate Jon Elrod, who has tried to make fiscal responsibility the hallmark of his campaign for the seat vacated by the death of Julia Carson, said today that he would not put controversial earmarks into federal budget bills.

Elrod, who is running in the March 11 special election against Democrat Andre Carson and Libertarian Sean Shepard, said he also would like the government to return to generally accepted accounting principles for its budgeting. Rather than funnel federal money for special projects into Indianapolis via earmarks, Elrod said he would beef up the congressional seat's district office with experts on grant writing and other areas to help his constituents apply for federal grants. The difference, he said, is that grants are awarded on a competitive basis with objective criteria. Earmarks, he said, are awarded more based on a representative's clout. "Once we do that, the harder it is to hide things and the more transparency there is bills and what they are supposed to do," he said. "Those are the kind of structural reforms that we need in Congress. Those aren't the type of things that get people fired up," he said. "But they do want fiscal reform."

[jbwbubba]

What’s bad, is that a lot of people will vote against him because they want their piece of the pie.

[oblomov]

Too bad the major media in Indy would never consider an alternative to whatever gruel the Democratic PArty is serving up.

[SoConPubbie]

I bet this guy is a total Open Borders nut.

Not word 1 about Illegal Immigration on his web-site.

[SoConPubbie]

Furthermore, he is not much of a social conservative either. From his campaign web-site:

"And Elrod was the lone Republican in the Indiana House — out of 49 — who refused to sign a petition demanding a floor vote on an amendment that would effectively make gay marriages, already illegal, also unconstitutional. Elrod hasn’t had a chance to vote on the matter yet. But he says he is willing to become the first Republican in the General Assembly to vote against the amendment in the four years it has been an issue."