The same day President Obama appeared in Elkhart, Indiana to ramp up public support for his stimulus bill, nearly 300 people showed up at Indiana Rep. Mike Pence’s (R.) town hall to vent their opposition to the legislation.
Pence said normally 30-40 people come to town hall meetings in his district. He was shocked at the hundreds of constituents who came to his event in the middle of the day Monday afternoon.
“They were strongly opposed to the so-called stimulus bill,” Pence told reporters Tuesday morning. “There was a strong consensus we should take the time to get this right,” he said. He mentioned his pitch for “immediate and significant marginal tax relief.”
According to a report of the meeting written by The Republic, a Columbus publication, Pence even received a standing ovation by critiquing the bill. At one point, a teenage girl asked Pence what the stimulus package would do to help her father whose hours have been cut from 40 hours to 24 a week.
“Because I can’t answer that question is why I can’t support the bill,” Pence told her. He was applauded for his direct answer.
Meanwhile, Obama trumped the importance of passing a stimulus bill in Elkhart, the RV capital of the world. Elkhart has been plagued by high unemployment, which Obama blamed on lack of consumer credit in the market. There he promised his plan would “create or save” 4 million jobs.
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