May 2008: Indiana Politics like never before
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:50 am by Jim Shella under Jim Shella's Political Blog
Questions that come to mind while watching the Indiana Primary unfold:
-Will this put a stop to talk about moving the primary in this state to an earlier date?
-Will it dull memories of 1968?
-Will the economic activity generated from campaign appearances and tv ads by Democrats improve state tax revenues to the benefit of Republican Governor Mitch Daniels?
-Does anybody miss all the car ads?
-Why did David Orentlicher wait so long to get on television and then to go negative?
-Why is Woody Myers staying positive?
-Is he ahead?
-Who wins the doctor vote in the 7th District?
-Why did Jim Schellinger appear on camera so much in his tv ads?
-Will Democrats pick the toughest opponent for Mitch Daniels (Jill Long Thompson) in spite of party leaders?
-How many Democrats will vote for President and then skip Governor?
-Why haven’t the Clintons worn out their welcome?
-Did Obama take Indiana for granted for too long?
-Will Republicans bother to vote on Tuesday?
Tags: Clinton, Long Thompson, Myers, Obama, Orentlicher, Schellinger
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Here is what I think:
-This year’s race will only intensify the call for an earlier primary, but moving our primary date will find little support from the legislature. We should further explore a regional primary with our neighboring states.
-Memories of 1968 will be pushed back, especially if Clinton or Obama are elected.
-Orentlicher first aired a positive, humorous ad on television (remember the one where people could not pronounce his name?). However, he needed to go negative because with so many Democratic candidates in the 7th he needed to draw a distinction and soon. A bright and sunny ad would have blended into the background.
-Most lay people I know want to see and hear a candidate in his or her ads. Jim Schellinger needs the name I.D.; hence his presence in his ads.
-Since when is Jill Long Thompson the toughest opponent for Mitch Daniels? Jim Schellinger has taken the high road and not attacked the Congresswoman very much at all. Do not expect the same from Daniels.
-Many new voters are only interested in the presidential race; a shame since we have a very important gubernatorial race this year. There is still time to reach these new voters.
-Hoosiers are still basking in their “Iowa Moment” with two major candidates criss-crossing the state. Neither the Clintons nor Obama could wear out their welcome. Just the opposite, we will hear more about where they weren’t than where they were.
-How could Obama take Indiana for granted? Here he had to work against Evan Bayh, Bayh’s staff (many of whom took a leave of absence from their Senatorial jobs to work the state for Hillary), Bayh’s contacts and those he swayed for Hillary. If anything Indiana was uphill all the way for Obama and he took North Carolina for granted.
-Republicans will vote Tuesday, but how is the question. I believe many will vote in the 5th district, either for or against Dan Burton. Others in the state may participate in “Operation Chaos”, Rush Limbaugh’s monkey wrench in the Democratic race, but how many? Will it make a difference? I think they are playing a dangerous game. Even if Hillary could win the nomination (unlikely at this point) she would be much more formidable than they think. It’s like intentionally walking a batter then taking your chances against the team’s number two hitter with the bases loaded.
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Obama claims 7 years experience in the Illinois legislature - Working Across the Aisles, Bringing people together to get good CHANGES passed -as exemplified by 26 good bills with his name on them.
A Chicago reporter says all 26 bills were passed in ONE Year, and they were not Obama’s legislation.
http://wweek.com/editorial/3418/10516/
EXCERPTS:
But what’s interesting, and almost never discussed, is that he built his entire legislative record in Illinois in a single year.
Republicans controlled the Illinois General Assembly for six years of Obama’s seven-year tenure.
Then Emil Jones Jr. (became the Senate Majority leader), He became Obama’s kingmaker.
Jones appointed Obama sponsor of virtually every high-profile piece of legislation, angering many rank-and-file state legislators who had more seniority than Obama and had spent years championing the bills.
During his seventh year in the state Senate, Obama … sponsored a whopping 26 bills including many he now cites in his presidential campaign when attacked as inexperienced.
Working Across the Aisles/
Making CHANGES = ZILCH
Taking Credit for Other People’s Work/ INTEGRITY = ZERO
HONESTY = ZERO
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Once again, Hillary Clinton has been caught in a lie. Contrary to Clinton’s claims, the Chris Mathews show reports that there’s been a memo found from Bayh to Clinton in 1995 talking about the sale of this Indiana company to China during the Clinton administration. Here’s the ABC link from World News on 5/1/2008, which also carried the story:
http://digg.com/politics/Hillary_Clinton_tells_tall_tale_in_Indiana. Why aren’t Indiana news outlets covering this important story at such a crucial time, when Indiana primary voters are deciding how to vote next Tuesday?