POLITICO: “Indiana Sen. Todd Young is one of only four Senate GOP incumbents whom the former president has not endorsed for reelection.”
From Donald Trump to infrastructure, childcare, and jobs – Todd Young is trying to have his cake and eat it too on every issue in the U.S. Senate race
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today criticized U.S. Senator Todd Young for a “have it both ways” campaign strategy that is turning off both Hoosiers and even former president Donald Trump.
“Hoosiers are learning that Todd Young is the kind of spineless politician that people loathe about Washington, D.C. Todd Young is learning it’s impossible to be your own person in today’s Republican Party with the fear of Donald Trump looming over everyone and everything they do. Young’s attempt to have it both ways — negotiating a historic, bipartisan infrastructure deal only to back out at the last minute — not only makes Young look weak to the Donald, it makes him a weak senator for Indiana,” said Mike Schmuhl, Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party.
Since the start of the Biden Administration, the Senator has tried to have his cake and eat it too on nearly every issue. Todd Young once described Donald Trump supporters as having “anger and resentment” before voting to acquit the former president for inciting an insurrection. Young flip-flopped on the The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (The Jobs Act), and then instructed his staff to tout the law privately with stakeholders. The Senator also introduced legislation on childcare and clean water after voting “NO” on a $540 million investment to the state’s childcare system and $751 million investment for clean water – via The Jobs Act and American Rescue Plan.
Todd Young is looking for election-year participation trophies rather than actually delivering a better future for Hoosier families.
Schmuhl added, “Todd Young has had 12 years to deliver for Hoosiers and so far he’s only produced a tax break for big corporations and the top 1 percent. People need an aggressive fighter with a backbone who doesn’t care about what other politicians think about them. Hoosiers are in luck because that person is Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tom McDermott who is up against Young this November.”
Like the rest of the Indiana Republican Party, Todd Young has no plan for Indiana’s future – just hypocrisy and partisanship.
Key points from the POLITICO report are below:
POLITICO: “Young is one of only four Senate GOP incumbents without the golden ticket of a Donald Trump endorsement this year. He has a record of taking some decidedly non-MAGA friendly positions and said Trump bore responsibility for Jan. 6 — in a state Trump carried twice by double-digits.
At the end of last week, one by one, Trump blasted out endorsements for every House Republican incumbent up for reelection from Indiana, including Rep. Greg Pence, Mike Pence’s brother. Young was not among them.
Despite the frostiness from Mar-a-Lago, the cerebral former Marine, a disciple of the late moderate Sen. Dick Lugar and one who has called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene “nutty,” will skate to the Republican nomination unopposed on May 3.” […]
“Young has accomplished this despite taking all-but-guaranteed stances to provoke Trump’s ire.
Last January, video of Young pleading his case on voting to certify the 2020 election results with a group of protesters near the Capitol went viral. He was one of 10 GOP senators to visit with President Joe Biden to discuss a coronavirus relief package at the White House last year. He reached across the aisle to introduce fellow Hoosier Pete Buttigieg at his Senate confirmation hearing. He even refused to criticize the president’s mental acuity — an insult that’s become de rigueur to stay in the good graces of the Republican base.
Young briefly visited with the former president at an RNC donor retreat in Palm Beach last April, asking for his endorsement and, according to an adviser, was given no reason to expect one wouldn’t ultimately be in the offing. […]
“Closer to home, Young’s modicum of independence has not won him reprieve from Indiana Democrats. They plan to paint Young as a “spineless politician” during the general election, a weather-vane pol who flaked on voting for the bipartisan infrastructure law after working with a group of senators to craft key sections.
‘Young’s attempt to have it both ways — negotiating a historic, bipartisan infrastructure deal only to back out at the last minute — not only makes Young look weak to the Donald, it makes him a weak senator for Indiana,’ state Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl said.
After Tuesday’s primary, Young will face off with McDermott, a brash five-term Northwest Indiana mayor and University of Notre Dame-educated lawyer who frequently swears on his podcast and matches Young’s military service with six years as a Navy nuclear submariner.” […]
“…But that hasn’t stopped McDermott — who challenged Young to a charity boxing match last year, though Young did not respond — from pummeling the senator over his infrastructure vote.
‘Sen. Young has done everything he can to try and make the former president, a resident of the state of Florida, happy so much that he voted against the best interest of the Hoosier state that he represents,’ McDermott told POLITICO of Young’s reversal on the infrastructure bill. ‘I don’t see how anybody could get sent to Washington, D.C., and vote against bringing $8 billion home to their home state and still survive the federal election.'”
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