Vogel

Reprinted from the South Bend Tribune, Ed Ronco reporting.

SOUTH BEND, IN -- When U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, and Republican challenger Luke Puckett debate for the first time Saturday night, one candidate will be missing.

Mark Vogel, the Libertarian on the ballot, will not be included.

Debate rules are set by the two major party candidates, and they did so using criteria from previous debates, said Andrew Lattanner, Donnelly's campaign manager.

Two of those criteria are that the candidate is waging an active campaign and that his party has generated "significant voter interest," by having their party's secretary of state nominee receive 10 percent or more of the most recent vote, Lattanner said.

WALKERTON, IN -- District 2 libertarians will host a town hall meeting at the Polk Township Community Building in Marshall County this Tuesday night, at 7:30 p.m. (ET). County Council candidate Ryan Liedtky and congressional candidate Mark Vogel will co-host the event. The town hall meeting is free and open to the public. The topic of the meeting is the economy, both locally and nationally. Refreshments will be provided.

If there are any questions, please call Ryan Liedtky at 574-952-8409.

SOUTH BEND, IN -- Mark Vogel believes Rep. Joe Donnelly's rush to bail out Wall Street investment banks is misguided, pointing to scores of economists who share Vogel's own view that a bailout is a temporary election-year fix and could lead to greater problems down the road.

"You've got the former Chairman of Goldman Sachs, Henry Paulson, serving as Secretary of the Treasury, asking for essentially a blank check with no controls," explains Vogel. "And, our Republican President and Democrat Finance Committee want us to believe this is urgent enough to pass this in a day? What happened to reading the bill in its entirety? Any time both parties are so eager to push something at the voters -- however nuanced it may be by the opposing parties -- that spells trouble."

SOUTH BEND, IN -- Funnel cakes, corn dogs, and hamburgers sums up the week Mark Vogel had. The LP candidate for the 2nd District Congressional seat kept a busy campaign week schedule with stops in LaPorte, Howard and St. Joseph Counties.

Vogel started the week working the LaPorte County fair alongside LPLP members. Working the Monday crowds along the midway, Vogel and his campaign staff passed out flyers, shook hands and answered questions from voters.

"It was great to have Mark join us," noted LPLP Chairman Andy Wolf. "The county fair draws everyone. It's an important event for us every year and great to have our candidate for Congress work here as hard as he did."

Vogel's week then included a campaign stop with potential supporters in the far southern reaches of the district in Northwest Howard County.