Ney discusses record, future

27 Mar 2006 // Congressman Bob Ney, R-Heath, is the incumbent from Ohio’s 18th congressional district, of which Knox County is a part. In addition to competition from the Democratic Party, this year Ney will also face a Republican primary challenger in James Brodbelt Harris, his first primary challenge from a fellow Republican since being elected to Congress in 1994.

Talking about his voting record, his campaign and his hopes for the future, Ney said incumbency has its advantages, chief among them being that his voting record serves as a kind of campaign all by itself. His record shows people not only where he stands on issues, but where he actually votes.

“If you are doing your job then you are creating policy and that’s an automatic campaign,” said Ney. He added that one disadvantage comes in the form of political action groups that target incumbents by calling voters with negative information, some of which he claims is outright false.

“These shadow groups who don’t have to tell you who they are have overdriven things with all the phone calls,” he said, talking specifically about a phone campaign that alleged he was on vacation when he was not. “Some of these are outright lies from groups who don’t have to tell who they are or whose money they are spending.”

Incumbency has also put Ney under scrutiny for alleged ties to Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist whose indictment has called into question the way special interest groups and their lobbyists deal with lawmakers.

Ney said he has been prematurely tried and judged by some media outlets but that when it comes to his re-election, ultimately the voters of his district will make the final decision.

“In parts if this district they have known me for going on 20 years; whether I get headlines good or bad they know me,” he said. “If I get bad headlines, the ones with the Abramoff controversy for example, they’ll decide what kind of job I’ve done and whether I’ve told the truth or not.”

Speaking about his primary challenge, Ney said the race should help clarify where his party and its voters stand with him after the bad press generated by the Abramoff controversy.

“After being horrifically featured for 17 months across the country, this is a bit of a litmus test to see where the Republicans are with me,” he said.

Traditionally, Ney has enjoyed support from some Democratic voters as well and his votes over the years have led some to view him as a moderate conservative. Harris has made traditional party principles a focus of his campaign and has challenged Ney’s votes against the Patriot Act and Republican budget initiatives, characterizing them as out of line with the will of Republicans.

Ney counters that his duty to his constituents rises above his party allegiance, and also challenged Harris’ grasp of the 18th district flavor, saying Harris has lived out of the state for many years and that he picks and chooses which issues are “conservative.”

“I think among people who have known me for years, if you ask them what I am they will say ‘Bob Ney.’ I don’t think they’ll put me in a category,” said Ney. “Sometimes I’m conservative on issues, sometimes I’m moderate.

“You can’t live in a place for 45 days and know the flavor of people,” he said, referring to Harris. “You have to live in a community. … He likes to pick and choose where he is conservative, what he thinks a Republican should be. My opponent wears conservatism like a coat. When it gets a little hot, he takes it off.”

Talking about some of his “moderate” positions, Ney defended his stance on the budget reconciliation bill as well as his opposition to extending permanent trade status to China.

He also addressed financial earmarks, the practice of lawmakers appropriating money for their home districts through amendments to legislation. Harris has raised the issue in his campaign, calling the practice wasteful pork-barrel spending.

Ney defends the earmark practice, saying it is part of the job of a congressman to bring local tax dollars back home to help accomplish projects that would not otherwise get done. He cited Knox Community Hospital’s new improvements as an example of earmarks used for the good of the community.

“If anyone thinks that without earmarks, the United States government would just say ‘Knox County needs a cancer center,’ they shouldn’t hold their breath,” said Ney. “You paid the tax and it went to Washington and my job is to return as much of it to the area as I can. … To rely on the executive branch and bureaucracy to decide for these areas is not the way to do it. So I will continue to bring home money to the district.”

What the earmark process really needs is transparency, according to Ney, who said he has supported and suggested proposals to make the amendments and the names of the lawmakers who proposed them readily available to the public electronically.

“We need transparency so you can see which member made an amendment,” he said. “Put our names on it and make it public. I have never hid from any appropriation request I have made.”

He also said the same paperwork transparency could help with lobbying reform, ensuring trips for lawmakers are electronically documented by the group providing the trip, as well as the lawmaker accepting the trip. Ney said this could provide definitive proof of who did and who did not finance a trip, and would provide lawmakers like himself with concrete evidence to back up claims that lobbyists like Abramoff were misleading about who was actually paying for travel.

Regarding the Patriot Act, Ney defended his votes. One of only three Republicans to vote against the original Patriot Act, he said the vote drew heat from some members of his own party, one of whom even said it would cost him his seat. Ney also voted against the act the second time it came before the house, this time with more Republicans joining him. Eventually, after he was satisfied with changes made to the act to protect civil liberties, Ney voted for it. He said that in the end, many of his Republican constituents thanked him for his original vote.

“The true conservative vote on the first Patriot Act was to vote against it. Ironically the liberal vote was also to vote against it,” said Ney. “I’ve never thought the government needed to know what you see on pay-per-view to fight Osama bin Laden. Am I soft on terror? No. A lot of that bill is good, but the way to go after Osama is not to take away civil liberties.

“We have a good Republican record to stand on,” he added. “But I’m also proud that when I’ve had to make decisions I leave the party label behind and do what’s right for citizens.”

If re-elected, Ney said some major points of focus would be on job creation and health care reform, and the need for lawmakers of both parties to work together on those issues.

“Health care is beyond a crisis in this country, it’s becoming catastrophic,” he said. “It’s easier to sue a doctor than it is to see a doctor, but that’s not the whole problem.

“We need private sector health care reform,” he added. “I’m not for government-run health care, but I do want reform.”

One of Ney’s major pre-election messages is that the best campaign for an incumbent is to do the job well while he or she is in office. He said he has done that, despite the Abramoff issue and claims from opponents that it has distracted him.

“Doing my job is campaigning; I like working on policy,” he said. “I’ve done my job; I’ve commuted and been a regular in the community. It’s a free country and they can say and think what they want. … I haven’t missed a beat.”