Leonard Casts Conservative Vote
State Representative Dan Leonard should be commended by Hoosier conservatives today for his courageous vote against expanded gambling in Indiana. Leonard joined conservatives like Rep. Jackie Walorski in voting against a bill yesterday to allow pull-tabs and other non-skill related gambling devices in bars and taverns. The bill, HB1153, passed 62 to 36 unfortunately. Why is this important? Leonard has two primary opponents, one of whom has been working overtime to paint Leonard as anything other than a conservative, which he is. This bill, like many other examples, reveals a common sense conservative in Leonard who deserves support from Hoosier conservatives.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Mr. Sikma, Do you work for Dan or are is hoosieraccess.com becoming the personal blog page for the few supporters Mr. Leonard has left? The voters of HD 50 will be the judge of whether Mr. Leonard is the conservative you make him out to be. He is in deep trouble and the first real opponent he has had in the last fours years has struck a chord with the voters. Mr. Sikma, just stay on that sinking ship.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I do not work for Dan Leonard or the HRCC. Hoosier Access has not endorsed him though individual bloggers are quite free to express their views on various subjects.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but this is only the third post we’ve done on him. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more discussions of a variety of candidates, and not just Rep. Leonard, in the future as the various races heat up. One other House candidate that I’ve devoted a full post or two to is Mark MacKillop who is running in HD 17.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
How is this a conservative vote? Doesn’t he try to impose his view and big government on individual rights? Should we not be able to decide on our own, without the government dictating to us, if we want to go into a bar and play these pull tabs? As far as i can see, his opponent seems to be right on!
January 30th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Mr. Sikma,
Maybe you should work for him, he needs all the help he can get.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Admittedly Brian, the Leonard posts have all come in a very short time thus giving the impression of an endorsement for Rep. Leonard.
Whitely Resident, should we endorse in this race or in any other race in the state, that will come much later and closer to the primary. While Brian or any of our other contributors are allowed to post on whatever Indiana issue they please, I’m sure you have noticed that sometimes even we don’t agree on people or issues. Obviously some of us will post on certain individuals that may rub other people the wrong way. That’s just the way it works. But we encourage yours and other peoples comments so that we know what other people are thinking out there.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I’ve posted about Rep. Leonard and the House District 50 race as well. I don’t think this constitutes an endorsement. However, this race is quickly becoming one of the most interesting primary elections in the state of Indiana. Unfortunately, this race is likely to get ugly very quickly. I’m sure we’ll post more about this race!
January 30th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Josh, that is true but only one has been authored by yours truly.
This one was written by someone else.
January 30th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Perception is reality in politics Brian. Always remember that. But this post also has your name attached to it so people will assume you wrote it.
January 30th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Josh and the directors: A small technical note. I usually come to this site via RSS feeds that link to the full article. When I come this way, I cannot see who wrote the article, which adds to the messed up perception you mention. I know that tweaking themes is not a trivial matter, but it would be nice to change this characteristic.
January 30th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I see what you mean Joel. We’ll see how we can change that ASAP. Thanks!
January 31st, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Whitley: You’ve apparently mistaken being on the winning team with something that is actually substantive, like supporting someone with sound principles. Believe it or not, an individual’s ideology is more important than being on the winning team. It’s just that sound principles aren’t always pragmatic. That’s the world of politics. The point of the post as I understand it was more a matter of an elected official going against the status quo and casting a vote based on principle. In this case, the principles were conservative ones. Whether or not Leonard is going down in flames isn’t what’s at issue in this post.
As for Ian, the idea that Leonard is imposing his beliefs is only half right. The fact is, Ian, we all impose our beliefs…every time we vote or do anything which will affect a legislative outcome. If you don’t like that, then by all means don’t do it yourself. Especially don’t impose your belief that everyone should have a right “to go into a bar and play these pull tabs.” Your rant is rather vacuous and hypocritical in light of the fact that you, apparently, can’t follow your own advice. Be that as it may, I understand the sentiment, even if I don’t share it. I think it’s far more beneficial to realize we’re all in the same boat here. You impose your beliefs, as do I, and the conversation is much more fruitful when we both just admit it.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Chad,
If I read your thread correctly, it sounds as if you assume Mr. Snyder is not substantive, conservative or holds sound priniples, correct me if I am wrong. I am supporting Mr. Snyder because I truely beleive he is all the things you feel he is not or should I say assumes he is not. Mr. Snyder will win this primary because the voters of HD 50 recognize these traits in him, among other things.
February 4th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Not at all, Whitley. I don’t know enough about Snyder to make the judgment in any direction. It could be that Snyder, is all you think he is. I was just referring to your comment that Leonard “is in deep trouble and the first real opponent he has had in the last fours years has struck a chord with the voters. Mr. Sikma, just stay on that sinking ship.” It appeared to me as if you had missed the point of the post, which was Leonard’s very conservative vote on gambling devices in bars, etc. Also there was an appeal to his “common sense” conservativism which should, therefore, garner support from conservatives. The point for me was not his status with voters in the upcoming election, it was that he did the right thing on that vote. It was more of a moral post script. But your comment made me think that you couldn’t care less that Leonard apparently went against the status quo and cast a vote based on strong conservative principles. Sorry for the confusion.