Confrontation With A Congressman
Posted: April 15, 2018February 19, 2018
By Richard Moss, MD
Candidate for Congress, Republican Party,
8THCongressional District
JASPER, IN: I have given some thought about the events that occurred last Saturday and after reflecting, I have decided that in the name of good governance it was best to share it.
The Vanderburgh County GOP through Chairman Wayne Parke kindly invited me to speak at their monthly Saturday morning breakfast meeting before fellow Republicans regarding my campaign for Congress to represent Indiana’s 8thdistrict.
In this venue, other candidates were permitted to introduce themselves briefly. There were two scheduled speakers, given roughly 10—15 minutes, which included Mike Duckworth, who is seeking the office of Vanderburgh County Commissioner, and myself. Mike went first, then me.
Congressman Larry Bucshon and his wife were present in the audience. I assumed someone notified them and was glad they decided to come.
I delivered my speech, introducing myself, my background as a Cancer Surgeon, local investor and businessman, columnist, author, and devoted husband of nearly 30 years, and father of four highly accomplished children. My oldest child, Arielle, is a Fulbright Scholar, fluent in Arabic who spent a year in Morocco after graduating from IU. She is an artist and musician and plays the violin, piano, and saxophone. She was drum major for the Jasper Marching Band for two years. She currently performs with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra and will be going to Medical School next year. Noah was number 2 in tennis for the state while playing for Jasper High School as a senior. He plays a mean jazz saxophone and recently graduated from IU with a degree in business management. Last June, he and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa together. He is involved with a start-up company in Jasper. Adina and Isaiah are in the 9thand 8thgrades, play the saxophone and violin and will be going to Indianapolis next week to compete at state. They are in “honors” level classes in school and getting A’s.
During my speech, I explained that my purpose for running was to provide a choice for Republicans in the primary. I stated that the Republican Party at the national level was a broken party cut off from its base, a party that refused to fight for the causes, values, and policies of the grassroots conservatives that help them win elections. I stated I was concerned that many conservatives would sit out coming elections because nowhere did they see their policies being represented and advanced. And that as a result, Republicans would suffer reversals that would be damaging to the party and, more importantly, to the country.
I mentioned that the Republican Congress just passed a budget with a trillion dollar deficit, worse than every year under Obama other than the first year, 2009, the recession year. The Republicans had now managed to position the Democrats as the party of fiscal discipline.
I stated that the Republicans were also busily negotiating an Amnesty Bill that would have upped the number from 690, 000 DACA recipients eligible for work permits to 1.8 million on a pathway to citizenship, a Democrat priority not a Republican. The Republicans were now to the left of Obama on amnesty. At this time, Congressman Bucshon interrupted me and accused me of lying. He said that it was Trump’s doing.
“Someone has to call you out when you lie,” he said to me.
Many in the audience were quite taken aback by his behavior and comments.
I presented a choice for the audience and Republican voters throughout the district. I explained that if they believed that the current Republican Party and Congress reflected their beliefs and values - they had their party and their Congressman. If they, on the other hand, were deeply frustrated by the Republican Party and did not feel that they represented their interests, they should consider me.
I mentioned also that based on two articles published by Tom Langhorne of the Evansville Courier Press I was concerned that, like Evan Bayh before him, Congressman Bucshon had chosen to move this family to Washington DC, which I criticized. I felt that a representative should live, work, and raise his family in the community he represented.
I brought up Congressman Bucshon’s liberal voting record. Heritage Action, a conservative think-tank, rated him at 52% conservative, an F. I mentioned that the House Republican average was 68% and that Marlin Stutzman a former Indiana Congressman was 86%, and that if he had such numbers I wouldn’t be opposing him. But I could not accept a 52% ranking.
After my presentation, Congressman Bucshon stood up, walked towards me, and angrily ordered me to “Come here,” as if I were a subordinate. Quite frankly, I looked at him as if he were daft. He obviously doesn’t know me. He then got into my face, inches away and began poking his finger in my chest, red-faced and angry. He threatened to defame me and stain my character and reputation over alleged domestic abuse allegations from 25 years ago, the same story that was published 2 years ago in the last election cycle, two weeks before the primary, in the Evansville Courier Press. I told him it was an old story and addressed already by my wife in the Evansville Courier Press and City County Observer. Beyond that, I’m still married to my wife, we have four wonderful children, the incident was based on a misunderstanding and, in any event, was 25 years old.
He angrily said to me, “You attack my family and now I will attack yours.”
I replied that I had never attacked his family; I only mentioned that he had moved his family to DC, based on two articles written by Tom Langhorne. He continued acting aggressively towards me until others present stepped in and separated us.
Congressman Bucshon’s behavior demonstrates him to be belligerent and intemperate, and unable to abide the normal back and forth exchange of a campaign. He appears incapable of tolerating a candidate who challenges him, points out differences, and provides a choice for the voters.
In conclusion, Congressman Bucshon physically and verbally accosted me in front of several witnesses at the Vanderburgh County GOP breakfast, and showed himself to be vindictive, rude, and a classic bully. I find his behavior unacceptable.
Finally, let me add that Congressman Larry Bucshon misread me. I will not be bullied by him or anyone. Nor will I be intimidated by such schoolyard antics.
I will continue to press the issues that are important to the people of Indiana’s 8thdistrict. I also pledge that if elected, I will continue to live, work, and raise my family in Indiana’s 8thCongressional district.
Sincerely,
Richard Moss MD
Cell: 812-639-2296
Below: Links to referenced articles
http://city-countyobserver.com/170869-2/
Dr. Richard Moss is a board certified head and neck cancer surgeon and was a candidate for Congress in 2016. He graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine and has been in practice in Jasper and Washington, IN for over 20 years. He is married with four children.
For more information visit RMoss4Congress.com. Contact us at hq@rmoss4congress.com. Find Moss For Congress on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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