Republican Gabrielle Campo is frustrated that Congressman Andre Carson (d-7th district) won’t agree to debate her.  That’s easy to understand from her perspective.  Yet its the Congressman’s perspective that rules here.

Rep. Carson is a heavy favorite in a Democratic district and Ms. Campo is late to the party (replacing Jon Elrod on the ballot.)  She has no TV ads and no yard signs, not in my neighborhood, anyway.  She also has no venue, sponsor, or broadcast outlet for a debate, only an empty request.  From what I’ve seen it doesn’t even rise to the level of a demand.

Campo and the Republicans need to mount a serious campaign before they can expect Carson or the media to care.

-Can Mitch Daniels separate himself from the Bush failures?

-Will Evan Bayh campaign for Jill Long Thompson the way he did for Hillary Clinton?

-Will the Jon Elrod/André Carson fall match compare in any way to the March special election?

-Is Attorney General candidate Jon Costas the heir apparent to the Daniels legacy?

-Has the window closed for Jim Schellinger to give a meaningful endorsement to Jill Long Thompson? 

-Is the window still open for a UAW endorsement?

There were three people in front of me when I went to vote in the 7th District election this morning.  That’s not a crowd but it is a sign of some voter interest.

It took me longer than planned, not because of any problem at the poll, but because a volunteer for Jon Elrod stopped me a the door to take issue with something I wrote in this space a few days ago.  Isn’t it that person’s to be nice to me at that point?

Now, I’ve never run an election so I’m no expert on these things, but I wondered about the time it will take to count votes when I had to fold my ballot three times to put it in a cardboard box.  Unfolding and smoothing will add considerable time to the count, I figure, and a bigger slot in the box didn’t seem like too much to ask.

The phone rang at my house last night and the person on the other end of the line wanted to know who I plan to vote for in the March 11th special election. 

“I’m not telling you!” was the response.

When I asked who was calling, the young man tried to get off the phone quickly.  I told him that was rude, especially since he called me.  I then inquired as to which candidate he was working for, André Carson or Jon Elrod.  He said Elrod, and read a short listing of what the Republican stands for.

This is how Jon Elrod is spending his campaign funds, trying to target individual voters through phone calls and direct mail rather than using television in a mass appeal for votes. 

Before my phone call ended the young man asked one more time if I planned to vote for Jon Elrod.  I finished the call by telling him that I will moderate the debate between Elrod and Carson this evening (MyNDY 7:30 pm) and, I said, he should tell Jon to ask me then.

Willie Sutton robbed banks because that’s where the money is.  Political campaigns buy ads in election coverage because that’s where the voters are.

That’s why Andre Carson ads showed up in cable news coverage of the Presidential primaries last night.  And because the coverage focused on the Democratic battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and therefore likely attracted more Democratic viewers, it was a good spot to launch a negative attack on Republican Jon Elrod. 

By the way, the Carson campaign folks want to point out that their Bayh endorsement ad is paid for by the campaign and not the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 

But tell me this: with a campaign manager and a press secretary supplied by the DCCC and donors directed to them by the DCCC funding the campaign, where do you draw the line?

Meantime, look for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Schellinger to launch his TV ads during special election coverage of the Carson/Elrod race next Tuesday.

Republican Jon Elrod now benefits from a radio ad purchased by the National Federation of Independent Business in his bid to win the March 11th special election in the 7th Congressional District. 

Compare that, however, with Democrat Andre Carson’s TV campaign and you can easily understand what Elrod is up against.  Carson’s campaign has ads paid for and produced by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and a new one that hits the air as soon as tomorrow features the endorsement of U.S. Senator Evan Bayh.

And, this just in, the NFIB ad was pulled this afternoon because of an apparent factual error.

When is campaigning in the Indiana Legislature ok?  Or, maybe the appropriate question is:  what amounts to campaigning in the Indiana Legislature? 

Several Democrats, including Rep. Bill Crawford, wore Barack Obama campaign buttons on the floor of the Indiana House this morning.  

You may remember that Indiana Democrats recently videotaped state Representative and congressional candidate Jon Elrod doing campaign work in the House and accused him of ignoring his elected duty.  No campaign rule applies to elected officials, but Elrod admitted making a mistake.

Maybe its ok to campaign for others but not yourself.

Greg Lubsen is the House Republican staff member who appears helping Rep. Jon Elrod in the Democratic Party videotape showing Elrod signing campaign letters on the House floor.

Minority Leader Brian Bosma calls it a “teaching moment.”  He says Lubsen will be punished for a policy violation and the punishment will be twofold.

First, all House Republican staffers will take part in a training seminar regarding staff policy.  Lubsen will lead it.

Secondly, he will receive “appropriate internal discipline.”   It won’t be severe.   Bosma says Lubsen’s violation lasted three minutes and the undisclosed punishment will be commensurate.