Hostettler, Perry battle it out in 'Bloody Eighth'

He had no background in politics. He was just a performance engineer at the Warwick Power Plant. But John Hostettler decided to run for Congress, making a bid to unseat Democrat Frank McCloskey. It was the "Bloody Eighth," the quirky southwestern Indiana district known for tight and hard-fought races. The six-term incumbent seemed a safe bet for re-election, with popularity and experience to his advantage. But it was a time of seismic change. In 1994, Republicans were swept into office in record numbers. When the dust cleared that November, the GOP held a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time since the Truman administration. As a freshman congressman, Hostettler quickly distinguished himself as a maverick, often forging a path to the right of his party. Though a controversial figure, he's held onto his seat -- often by no more than a hair's breadth. He narrowly defeated Jonathan Weinzapfel in 1996 in a race that lasted until after 1 a.m. Evansville television stations erroneously reported Weinzapfel had won, because he carried Bloomington and Evansville, the largest cities in the district. But Hostettler made up for it with a strong showing in rural areas. Two years later, Hostettler beat Gail Riecken, an Evansville city councilwoman, by a margin of only about 10,000 votes. His opponents have branded him an extremist, because he's voted against everything from reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act to a resolution calling for peace in the Middle East. "Hostettler is so far out of the mainstream," said McCloskey, also a former Bloomington mayor who now chairs the Monroe County Democratic Party. "He voted to the right of Newt Gingrich to keep the government shut down a few years ago, against the then-speaker's express wishes. He's on the extreme fringes." But his supporters say Hostettler often ends up on the losing side of lopsided votes because of his strong anti-federalist convictions. "The thing to understand is he's a strict constitutionalist," said junior Anne Scuffham, president of IU College Republicans. "He really takes the issues that are before him and dissects them very locally. He's voted against the party line a lot of the time if he thinks there's something we don't need." In this election year, Newburgh physician Paul Perry is challenging Hostettler. Perry has been running on health care issues, campaigning for a patient's bill of rights, voluntary Medicare coverage for prescriptions and reduced drug costs. While practicing medicine, Perry grew frustrated with HMOs and health insurance companies. So he chose to run for Congress. "As a doctor, I know all about the health care system and how big insurance, special interests and politicians have corrupted the system," he said. "Today, health care isn't about curing illness. It's about creating fatter corporate profits." Saying "it's time to put a doctor in the House," the orthopedic surgeon has charged Hostettler with turning his back on Hoosiers without access to quality healthcare.
A self-proclaimed conservative Democrat, Perry parts from his party line on gun control and abortion. While liberals have complained there's little choice in this race, Perry asserts there's a sharp difference between the two candidates. "I'm a proud Democrat in the tradition of (Franklin Delano) Roosevelt," he said. "I believe in the spirit of the New Deal." Hostettler has dismissed Perry as a one-issue candidate out-of-touch with the district. "There's more than one issue when you get to Congress," he said. "Perry believes there is one issue." Hostettler differs with Perry on the issue of health care, saying his plan would drive up costs, reducing benefits for many people. The Hostettler camp ran an ad alleging Perry has a hidden agenda of price-fixing. It questioned the support he's received from fellow doctors through political action committees. But it's no surprise the race turned nasty. The eighth district has been targeted by the national leadership of both parties, as experts agree it might be critical in tipping the balance in the House. Perry retorted with an ad accusing Hostettler of hypocrisy. It charged him with voting himself a pay raise in spite of bashing Riecken on the issue in the 1998 election. At their last debate in Evansville, Hostettler defended the cost-of-living raise as mandatory congressional spending. Previously, he has sponsored legislation to phase out the automatic raise. During the last debate, both candidates slung fistfuls of mud. Perry called Hostettler "deceptive," and Hostettler accused the Democrat of "speaking mistruths." Both sides have been charged with dishonest campaign tactics and illegally funneling PAC money into their war chests. The race stands in dead heat, and will be fought tooth and nail to the wire. Staff writer Sean F. Driscoll and the Associated Press contributed to this report.