Welcome to the HoosLeft podcast, a show about Indiana politics, history, and culture from the unapologetic perspective of the Hoosier left. My name is Scott Aaron Rogers and I’m recording from Bloomington.
This is part two of my interview with the Democratic nominee for Indiana’s 8th Congressional District, Erik Hurt. In part one, we learned a little bit about his background before spending the rest of the episode talking about the economy, including healthcare and education. If you haven’t listened to that one yet, I highly recommend doing so before continuing here.
Again, Indiana’s 8th congressional district is located in southwest and west central Indiana and includes Clay, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Martin, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, and Warrick Counties, as well as half of Fountain County. The sprawling district, is the largest in the state by land area and includes the cities of Evansville, Terre Haute, Vincennes, Jasper, and Washington.
Today, in the back half of our discussion, we pick up our discussion with post-secondary education, before considering what democracy COULD be, the overhyped issue of illegal immigration, the under-hyped matter of women’s reproductive rights, his Trump-sycophant opponent, and GOTV strategy.
Real quick, before we return to the interview, DO please consider supporting HoosLeft financially. I currently work as an independent craftsman during the day and work on this project on evenings and weekends. There are so many more things I want to do here at HoosLeft if I could do this work full-time, but I need your help to get there. If you can, help me out with a paid subscription at scottaaronrogers.substack.com. For five dollars a month or $50 a year, you can help me push our state in a better direction, and maybe if we reach critical mass, I can put down my tool belt and devote my full time to you, to this project, and to Indiana’s future. So, if you have the means, pause right now, go to scottaaronrogers.substack.com and subscribe at the paid level.
And while the best way to help this project is a financial contribution, if you can’t afford it at this time, you can still help. Subscribe at the free level over on Substack. Set your favorite podcast player to auto-download new episodes of the show. Rate and review the show on whatever platform you use - this is the most important thing you can do to help new listeners find us. Follow me on social media at facebook.com/hoosleft (spell); I’m also on Bluesky at the same handle. On Instagram, Threads, and Twitter, I’m at scottrog78 (spell) and on Mastodon at scottrog78@hoosier.social. Full video episodes of the pod are now available on YouTube, with clips on TikTok: the handle on both of those is @hoosleft. Please subscribe on whichever platforms you use, and send me a DM to discuss ideas for the project.
But, most importantly, share our message. Forward the articles to friends, family, and colleagues; don’t just like, but share, share, share on social media; invite others to this community of Indiana leftists. Nobody is coming to save us - we’ve gotta do it ourselves. To those who have joined this community already, especially those paid subscribers, thank you SO much - I am honored by your support. And to everybody, thanks for listening.
Now, here’s part two of my interview with Indiana’s 8th Congressional District Democratic candidate Erik Hurt.
Once again, that was Erik Hurt, Democratic candidate to represent southwestern Indiana’s 8th district in the next Congress.
Some closing thoughts:
Like I said back in May, right after the primary, I am excited for Erik’s campaign. For the last 15-20 years, Indiana Democrats have consistently run “centrist” candidates in big races. I’ve spoken to multiple nominees already this cycle, and I’m starting to see some boldness peeking out from under the moderate covers, but still, Hurt has put forward the most unapologetically social democratic, progressive platform of Hoosier congressional challengers.
Now, realistically, I know all seven of the Democratic non-incumbents in these races are competing on uneven playing fields, and are more than likely to lose. That won’t stop me from hyping every single one of them, and it should motivate all of us to work even harder to help their campaigns. I will be very interested however, come November 5th, to see how each performs against expectations, relative to each other, and in comparison to the top of the ticket.
I’m going to go out on a limb now and say Erik Hurt, win or lose, will outperform mainstream Democrats in similar districts. And when he does, I want party leadership to finally internalize the lesson that voters want change. Positive, people-focused change. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent a lot of time working under houses, but I keep coming back to the same metaphor. The system, the FOUNDATION, is rotten. We’ve got a corruption infestation. Republicans are chompin’ at the bit to dynamite the joint and build what they call “the Kingdom of God” in its place. They’ve become the radicals. We’ve become conservatives. Too often, all we’ve offered is SAVE THIS HOUSE, and a roll of duct tape, while putting forth no blueprint to fix the underlying, structural issues. Where are the progressives? Where is the plan for a thorough renovation? How do we save this house AND ensure it lasts another 250 years? Erik has a blueprint.
Thank you for listening and thanks again to my guest Erik Hurt. Find him at www.erikhurtforcongress.com. That’s Erik with a ‘K’. Please help his candidacy however you can - with a contribution, by volunteering, by just talking to everyone YOU know in Evansville, Jasper, Terre Haute, Vincennes, and throughout Southwest Indiana about the stakes of this election. If you can afford to help one of us financially, let it be him, but if you can help us both, I kindly ask you to consider a paid subscription at scottaaronrogers.substack.com. Thats’s where you’ll find everything I publish, and you can find me on Facebook, Bluesky, YouTube and TikTok at hoosleft and on most other social media sites at scottrog78. If you want send me a message, my DMs are open on social media or email me at scottrog78@gmail.com. Forward the show to a friend and have them to forward it to another friend. Let’s keep this project growing. Until next time, this has been the HoosLeft podcast. I’m Scott Aaron Rogers. Love each other, Indiana.
Episode 43: Bringing the Hurt to Washington - Part II
Guest: Erik Hurt (D) - Candidate for Indiana’s 8th Congressional District
https://scottaaronrogers.substack.com/subscribe
https://www.erikhurtforcongress.com/
Shortage of trades workers: https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/4583268-labor-crisis-why-is-there-a-shortage-of-plumbers-and-electricians/
Why the humanities matter: https://www.catalinamunoz.me/p/why-the-humanities-matter-more-than
We have enough money for lots of stuff; billionaires are hoarding it: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/13/billionaires-taxes-inequality-one-percent
Corporate extortion: https://www.governing.com/finance/tax-incentives-the-losing-gamble-states-and-cities-keep-making.html
They took our jobs!: https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/%22They_took_our_jobs!%22
Immigrants commit LESS crime: https://www.npr.org/2024/03/08/1237103158/immigrants-are-less-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-us-born-americans-studies-find
Immigration can reverse rural population decline: https://www.fwd.us/news/rural-decline/
“The unborn are a convenient group of people to advocate for”: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pastor-dave-barnhart-unborn/
Messmer’s priorities: https://www.markmessmer.com/issues/
Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry: https://teamevansville.com/
Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun: https://news.iu.edu/live/news/34123-from-iu-graduation-to-terre-haute-mayors-office-in
HoosLeft on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/hoosleft
https://hoosleft.bsky.social
https://www.youtube.com/@hoosleft
https://www.tiktok.com/@hoosleft
https://www.instagram.com/scottrog78/
https://www.threads.net/@scottrog78
https://hoosier.social/@scottrog78
And once again, subscribe at
https://scottaaronrogers.substack.com/subscribe
Welcome to the HoosLeft podcast, a show about Indiana politics, history, and culture from the unapologetic perspective of the Hoosier left. My name is Scott Aaron Rogers and I’m recording from Bloomington.
This is part two of my interview with the Democratic nominee for Indiana’s 8th Congressional District, Erik Hurt. In part one, we learned a little bit about his background before spending the rest of the episode talking about the economy, including healthcare and education. If you haven’t listened to that one yet, I highly recommend doing so before continuing here.
Again, Indiana’s 8th congressional district is located in southwest and west central Indiana and includes Clay, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Martin, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, and Warrick Counties, as well as half of Fountain County. The sprawling district, is the largest in the state by land area and includes the cities of Evansville, Terre Haute, Vincennes, Jasper, and Washington.
Today, in the back half of our discussion, we pick up our discussion with post-secondary education, before considering what democracy COULD be, the overhyped issue of illegal immigration, the under-hyped matter of women’s reproductive rights, his Trump-sycophant opponent, and GOTV strategy.
Real quick, before we return to the interview, DO please consider supporting HoosLeft financially. I currently work as an independent craftsman during the day and work on this project on evenings and weekends. There are so many more things I want to do here at HoosLeft if I could do this work full-time, but I need your help to get there. If you can, help me out with a paid subscription at scottaaronrogers.substack.com. For five dollars a month or $50 a year, you can help me push our state in a better direction, and maybe if we reach critical mass, I can put down my tool belt and devote my full time to you, to this project, and to Indiana’s future. So, if you have the means, pause right now, go to scottaaronrogers.substack.com and subscribe at the paid level.
And while the best way to help this project is a financial contribution, if you can’t afford it at this time, you can still help. Subscribe at the free level over on Substack. Set your favorite podcast player to auto-download new episodes of the show. Rate and review the show on whatever platform you use - this is the most important thing you can do to help new listeners find us. Follow me on social media at facebook.com/hoosleft (spell); I’m also on Bluesky at the same handle. On Instagram, Threads, and Twitter, I’m at scottrog78 (spell) and on Mastodon at scottrog78@hoosier.social. Full video episodes of the pod are now available on YouTube, with clips on TikTok: the handle on both of those is @hoosleft. Please subscribe on whichever platforms you use, and send me a DM to discuss ideas for the project.
But, most importantly, share our message. Forward the articles to friends, family, and colleagues; don’t just like, but share, share, share on social media; invite others to this community of Indiana leftists. Nobody is coming to save us - we’ve gotta do it ourselves. To those who have joined this community already, especially those paid subscribers, thank you SO much - I am honored by your support. And to everybody, thanks for listening.
Now, here’s part two of my interview with Indiana’s 8th Congressional District Democratic candidate Erik Hurt.
Once again, that was Erik Hurt, Democratic candidate to represent southwestern Indiana’s 8th district in the next Congress.
Some closing thoughts:
Like I said back in May, right after the primary, I am excited for Erik’s campaign. For the last 15-20 years, Indiana Democrats have consistently run “centrist” candidates in big races. I’ve spoken to multiple nominees already this cycle, and I’m starting to see some boldness peeking out from under the moderate covers, but still, Hurt has put forward the most unapologetically social democratic, progressive platform of Hoosier congressional challengers.
Now, realistically, I know all seven of the Democratic non-incumbents in these races are competing on uneven playing fields, and are more than likely to lose. That won’t stop me from hyping every single one of them, and it should motivate all of us to work even harder to help their campaigns. I will be very interested however, come November 5th, to see how each performs against expectations, relative to each other, and in comparison to the top of the ticket.
I’m going to go out on a limb now and say Erik Hurt, win or lose, will outperform mainstream Democrats in similar districts. And when he does, I want party leadership to finally internalize the lesson that voters want change. Positive, people-focused change. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent a lot of time working under houses, but I keep coming back to the same metaphor. The system, the FOUNDATION, is rotten. We’ve got a corruption infestation. Republicans are chompin’ at the bit to dynamite the joint and build what they call “the Kingdom of God” in its place. They’ve become the radicals. We’ve become conservatives. Too often, all we’ve offered is SAVE THIS HOUSE, and a roll of duct tape, while putting forth no blueprint to fix the underlying, structural issues. Where are the progressives? Where is the plan for a thorough renovation? How do we save this house AND ensure it lasts another 250 years? Erik has a blueprint.
Thank you for listening and thanks again to my guest Erik Hurt. Find him at www.erikhurtforcongress.com. That’s Erik with a ‘K’. Please help his candidacy however you can - with a contribution, by volunteering, by just talking to everyone YOU know in Evansville, Jasper, Terre Haute, Vincennes, and throughout Southwest Indiana about the stakes of this election. If you can afford to help one of us financially, let it be him, but if you can help us both, I kindly ask you to consider a paid subscription at scottaaronrogers.substack.com. Thats’s where you’ll find everything I publish, and you can find me on Facebook, Bluesky, YouTube and TikTok at hoosleft and on most other social media sites at scottrog78. If you want send me a message, my DMs are open on social media or email me at scottrog78@gmail.com. Forward the show to a friend and have them to forward it to another friend. Let’s keep this project growing. Until next time, this has been the HoosLeft podcast. I’m Scott Aaron Rogers. Love each other, Indiana.
Episode 43: Bringing the Hurt to Washington - Part II
Guest: Erik Hurt (D) - Candidate for Indiana’s 8th Congressional District
https://scottaaronrogers.substack.com/subscribe
https://www.erikhurtforcongress.com/
Shortage of trades workers: https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/4583268-labor-crisis-why-is-there-a-shortage-of-plumbers-and-electricians/
Why the humanities matter: https://www.catalinamunoz.me/p/why-the-humanities-matter-more-than
We have enough money for lots of stuff; billionaires are hoarding it: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/13/billionaires-taxes-inequality-one-percent
Corporate extortion: https://www.governing.com/finance/tax-incentives-the-losing-gamble-states-and-cities-keep-making.html
They took our jobs!: https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/%22They_took_our_jobs!%22
Immigrants commit LESS crime: https://www.npr.org/2024/03/08/1237103158/immigrants-are-less-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-us-born-americans-studies-find
Immigration can reverse rural population decline: https://www.fwd.us/news/rural-decline/
“The unborn are a convenient group of people to advocate for”: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pastor-dave-barnhart-unborn/
Messmer’s priorities: https://www.markmessmer.com/issues/
Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry: https://teamevansville.com/
Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun: https://news.iu.edu/live/news/34123-from-iu-graduation-to-terre-haute-mayors-office-in
HoosLeft on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/hoosleft
https://www.youtube.com/@hoosleft
https://www.tiktok.com/@hoosleft
https://www.instagram.com/scottrog78/
https://www.threads.net/@scottrog78
https://hoosier.social/@scottrog78
And once again, subscribe at
https://scottaaronrogers.substack.com/subscribe
