We have a confession to make. Yes, our last name happens to be Stutzman. Yes, Marlin Stutzman is running for the U.S. Senate. No, voting for him is not a "given."
We take our right to vote seriously. Therefore, we decided to wait until we heard from all the candidates before making up our minds. Yes, Marlin Stutzman is a nice guy, is experienced, and is a conservative. Yes, we had helped gather some petition signatures to help him out. Yet, we needed to know for certain that Marlin Stutzman was the one to vote for.
We both felt we needed to hear the other Republican candidates before making our final decision. It was important to us to make sure our selection was one based on the candidate's position on the issues, the candidate's character, and not based on emotions. As a result, we went to the "Silent No More" candidate meetings and were impressed with what we heard.
Last weekend, at the public IFI/AFA/IRTL forum in Anderson, Ind., we had the opportunity to hear all three Republican U.S. Senate candidates answer the same questions, what we felt to be a level playing field. It was a long drive, but well worth the investment of time and money. After all, we are talking about out futures, right? We listened and watched. We came away that day with our final decision, based on our observations and what we heard.
Our choice? Marlin Stutzman
While all three said virtually the same things in so many words, Marlin stood out because of his grasp of the issues and the humility we saw. We also liked the fact that he is from Northern Indiana. He's one of us. Someone once said, "The closer to the dirt, the more common sense a person has." Marlin Stutzman is a fourth-generation farmer. That's pretty close to the dirt.
We would encourage you to also make the time and investment to listen to all three candidates before making your decision on who to support. An opportunity is coming up to do that.
All the candidates are speaking on Saturday, Nov. 21 at noon at Warsaw's Lakeview Middle School on Smith Street. The tickets are inexpensive for such an event - only $5. They are available for purchase at all the Courthouse Coffees in Warsaw. We understand they will also be available for purchase at the door that day. However, they are in limited supply.
