Evansville Courier & Press - Jill Long Thompson Fires up Local Democrats

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Evansville Courier & Press - Jill Long Thompson Fires up Local Democrats

Mark Wilson

Democratic candidate for Indiana governor Jill Long Thompson attempted Saturday evening to link her opponent, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, to the Bush administration and the current economic malaise.

Long Thompson — who with former Indiana Sen. Birch Bayh headlined the Vanderburgh County Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner at the Executive Inn Downtown — chided Daniels, who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget for several years under President Bush.

Linking him to the growth of a $400 billion national budget deficit, Long Thompson said, "We are losing jobs faster than neighboring states. We have the highest unemployment that we have had in 21 years. I don't think we can afford four more years of Bush-Daniels economic policies in Indiana or anywhere.

"With the right leadership, we can turn this around," she said.

For Long Thompson, the party fundraiser was one stop on a 10-day swing through 56 towns in her quest to unseat Daniels.

The dinner included a keynote speech by Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind.; Richard Wood, Democratic candidate for state superintendent of public instruction; and the local party's slate of candidates for county offices.

Speaking before her address at the dinner, Long Thompson said she would push hard on economic issues in the final weeks of her campaign and her plan to reform the state tax code, decrease health care costs, increase high school graduation rates and stop the privatization of state assets.

But in her address she also made clear that she believes Democrats can follow Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama to sweep into office in Indiana.

"I just want to ask a couple of questions," she said. "Are we going to take back the White House? Are we going to take back the governor's office? I think this is the most important election in my lifetime."

Long Thompson said she was concerned about developments in national issues, both abroad and at home, had upped the stakes since she began her campaign.

"I think my mission now is to be a partner in change with the person I think will be the next president of the United States — Barack Obama," she said.

Vanderburgh County Democratic Chairman Mark Owen estimated 350 to 400 people attended the event, paying anywhere from $150 per person or $2,500 to sponsor a table of eight. He said the party hoped to raise about $50,000 from the event, its largest of the year, to help pay for its get-out-the vote campaign leading up to and on Election Day.

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