9th District

JEFFERSONVILLE, IN -- On Tuesday July 1st, Dr. Eric Schansberg, the Libertarian candidate for Indiana's 9th District, will be the guest on WSLM's live show "Coffee Talk" (Salem; Channel 17; 8:00-8:30 AM). Afterwards, he will pump gas and talk with voters at S&S Petroleum in Salem (1306 W. Mulberry St.) from 8:45-9:45 AM.

Schansberg also took the occasion to criticize Baron Hill and Mike Sodrel for their remarks last week on gas prices and energy policy.

About Hill, Schansberg remarked: "Baron seems to think that more government and regulating markets is the answer. He pushed for tighter fuel efficiency standards, but higher gas prices will encourage people to demand more fuel-efficient cars quite naturally. And he wants to regulate the futures market and reduce the number of investors. At best, that's pandering and it may make things worse by limiting competition in the futures market."

JEFFERSONVILLE, IN -- On Tuesday, Eric Schansberg, the Libertarian candidate in Indiana's 9th District for the U.S. House, completed his tour of the 9th's business districts. Schansberg walked through 38 cities and towns, meeting small business owners and their employees.

Schansberg said, "Most of the time, it was just a brief introduction. But I really enjoyed talking at greater length with many people—talking with them about economics and public policy and hearing their desire to have someone new in Washington."

On Thursday, Schansberg will campaign with his wife Tonia at the Dearborn County fair—the first of 20 county fairs in the 9th District over the next six weeks.

And next week, Schansberg will debut his radio ad of the campaign—on gas prices. The 60-second ad will run more than 500 times on 10 different stations across the district over the next five weeks. The ad can also be heard at www.EricForCongress.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Libertarian Party proudly announces recipients of this year’s Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Jefferson awards. These awards are given out every four years at the Presidential Nominating Convention. They are given to individuals whose achievements place them among the best activists in the history of the LP.

The Thomas Paine award honors individuals within the LP who have excelled in the area of communications. This year the award will be given to two great communicators, Dr. Eric Schansberg, of Indiana, and Michael Ferguson, of Missouri.

Schansberg has run for public office and plans on running again this year for Congress. He is the author of three books on limited government, regularly writes articles for the Indiana Policy Review Journal, and publishes an influential blog called the “SchansBlog.”

NEW ALBANY, IN -- After challenging Rep. Baron Hill to a debate on gas prices two weeks ago, Dr. Eric Schansberg's campaign has yet to hear back from Hill's campaign.

Hill has responded through the media (in a News-Tribune story), but has not yet extended the dignity of returning a phone call.

Dr. Schansberg is following the tradition established by Rep. Hill in May 2006 when Hill challenged former Rep. Mike Sodrel to a debate on gas prices. Gas prices have risen 68% since Hill returned to Washington DC.

Quoting Hill's press release from May 2006:

NEW ALBANY, IN -- After challenging Rep. Baron Hill to a debate on gas prices, Eric Schansberg has yet to hear back from Hill's campaign. Dr. Schansberg is following the tradition set by Hill in May 2006 when Hill challenged former Rep. Mike Sodrel to a debate on gas prices.

Hill demanded a debate with Sodrel in 2006 after average gas prices increased from $1.99 in November 2004 (when Sodrel entered office) to $2.87 in May 2006—a 44% increase. Since Hill returned to Congress in November 2006, gas prices have risen from $2.23 to $3.74—a 68% increase.

"Voters deserve an explanation from Congressman Hill," Schansberg said. "Baron thought this was an important issue in 2006. Surely, he will want to address it now."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Club for Growth released its 2007 annual scorecard, awarding the Defender of Economic Freedom award to six senators and forty-nine representatives who scored a 90 or above on the Club's scorecard (see here).

"These top-scoring members of Congress are staunch defenders of American taxpayers," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. "Their votes are critical to lowering taxes, cutting wasteful spending, and promoting economic growth for all Americans. The Club for Growth scorecard allows taxpayers to see how their senators and representatives are performing in Congress and find out who is truly fighting for pro-growth, limited-government policies. We hope that support for pro-growth principles will continue to grow, allowing more members to earn this award and more Americans to benefit."

NEW ALBANY, IN - At the Indiana state Libertarian convention in Indianapolis on Saturday, Dr. Eric Schansberg was chosen as the Libertarian candidate for the U.S. House, 9th District. After the primaries on May 6, Schansberg is expected to face Mike Sodrel (R) and Baron Hill (D) in the November elections.

This will be the second battle between Baron Hill, Mike Sodrel, and Schansberg. In 2006, Schansberg earned 4.5% of the vote in Hill's re-election victory over the incumbent Sodrel.

Schansberg is a resident of Jeffersonville, the author of two books on federal public policy, and has been a professor of economics at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany for the last 16 years.

Schansberg said that he is "looking forward to running an even stronger race this time and building on what we accomplished last time. We're starting much earlier this time. And we have more money in the bank now than we raised from individuals during the entire 2006 campaign."