Throughout his campaign for Congress, Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) vowed not to set a deadline for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Shortly before the election on August 30, 2006, the Courier & Press reported, as it had numerous times before, "Ellsworth said he opposes setting a deadline for troop withdrawals from Iraq." Yet even under the thin veneer of confidence, Ellsworth never seemed quite sure of where he stood, what he believed, or even the issues involved. Two days ago the New York Times quoted a wobbly Ellsworth:

“There are a lot of things in there I’d like to vote for, but I’ve been against a drop-dead date,” Mr. Ellsworth said, adding that he had yet to make a final decision. “I know the danger of what people say is flip-flopping. People can change their mind based on new information — I’m not saying I have — but I’ve consistently been against setting a date.”

Sadly, when Ellsworth says he consistent, that actually means he's not. In a 218-212 vote which Ellsworth greatly influenced, the House of Representatives voted to set a deadline upon which troops must return home. Perhaps the only thing more disturbing than Ellsworth's blatant flip-flop was a rosy press release stating in bold caps that "Ellsworth Votes to Support Troops". Conspicuously absent from the press release was any mention of a deadline. Does Ellsworth not know where he stands? Or does he know but simply wishes to present one position to constituents before the election and a different one in Washington afterward? Either way, the result is a bad one for the constituents of the 8th district. We deserve better.

Update: Here's the Courier & Press article on the vote. In it reporter Tom Langhorne goes to great lengths to describe Ellsworth's gut-wrenching decision making process. (Ellsworth's predecessor had no trouble voting against the war - from the beginning.) It makes no mention of $20 billion in pork spending.