Published Tuesday 08 of June, 2010
Frankfort Times
Congressional candidate campaigns in Frankfort.
Sanders faces Rokita for open seat.
David Sanders thinks too many candidates running for the U.S. Congress have unrealistic goals.
“They’re going to be one of 435 congressmen and in many cases they’re going
to be a freshman congressman,” said Sanders, the Democratic candidate for
Indiana’s 4th District seat, vacated by Rep. Steve Buyer’s retirement at
the end of this term.
Sanders, who visited Frankfort to campaign door-to-door, noted answers given
during recent election forums in which up to a dozen candidates, most
Republican, appeared. He remembers all of the candidates mentioning the
budget needs to be reduced, health care concerns and other topics.
“I’m interested in these issues,” Sanders said. “But I understand the limits
of what I’m going to be able to achieve.”
Sanders’ interests would be in preparing for pandemics, problems with
antibiotics and bacterial infections acquired in hospitals.
“These are issues about which I’m passionate and which I can actually get
something done because I’m a life scientist and I’ll be the only life
scientist in Congress,” Sanders said.
Sanders, an associate professor of biological sciences at Purdue University,
believes his background can help in other areas.
“I understand how science and technology can be used to bring jobs to the
4th District,” Sanders said.
During the election forums prior to the primary, Sanders said all of the
other candidates promised to cut taxes when asked about bringing new jobs to
the district.
“There was no concept of bringing jobs to the district and being
representative of the district,” Sanders said. “I believe we have the
manufacturing base, the academic base, the entrepreneurial base, the
workforce base and the farming base to bring those jobs here.”
However, Sanders said he would fight to make sure the federal government
makes the proper investments in infrastructure and technology within the
district.
“I will be an advocate for that,” Sanders said.
While some business experts think Indiana’s dependency on manufacturing is
bad, Sanders thinks otherwise.
“I think the whole transportation sector is going to be transformed in the
next 20-50 years and that can happen here,” Sanders said. “We have the base
to do that. These are non-partisan issues.”
Sanders, promoting the fact he is not a career politician, acknowledged he
has an uphill climb to defeat the Republican nominee, Indiana Secretary of
State Todd Rokita.
“If you just look at the numbers I face a very uphill battle,” Sanders said,
“but I’m the one going door-to-door, running a full campaign and I think the
more people hear about me, the more they like me.”
