Archive for April, 2008

Larry Cooper, a perennial ballot filler that filed to run in the primary along with Michael Batz after the Party supported Christopher Swatts, dropped out of the Primary on Friday.

This leaves just one candidate for Chris Swatts contend instead of a three way race.

Republican Luke Puckett who will be challenging Democrat Joe Donnelly in the 2nd CD is starting to run ads.  Check out his first one below.

[youtube 9mQ6wvnQlWM]

For those who are raising it, they hope it brings victory. Especially if they’re running in the 7th CD. My favorite part of the Indy Star article below is that Andre Carson with all his DCCC and PAC money is being handily outraised (post special numbers mind you) by Woody Myers and David Orentlicher. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Myers and Orentlicher are their own biggest financial supporters.

Democratic Rep. Andre Carson is being outspent for the May 6 primary by two opponents who are investing their own money in their campaigns, according to campaign disclosure reports.

Carson reported spending $204,206 since winning the March 11 special election to fill the remaining term of his grandmother, Julia Carson, who died in December.
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Former state health commissioner Woodrow Myers, who has loaned his campaign nearly $1.3 million, spent $923,366 through April 16.

State Rep. David Orentlicher, who has loaned his campaign $327,000, spent $529,024.

Carson will benefit from the nearly $600,000 he spent for the special election. But he had only $69,131 in cash left three weeks before the primary. Orentlicher had $172,203. Myers reported $40,153 in cash, but that doesn’t include a $450,000 loan he made after the close of the reporting period.

Okay people, I’m really beginning to wonder why the 5th CD race is even a race. Time and again, John McGoff has proven that he doesn’t get how being a congressman even works. The only thing he’s run on is “if you don’t like Dan Burton vote for me”. Now that’s enough to swing some people, but that’s no platform. He’s run a negative campaign devoid of any real ideas from the beginning. And he’s still going on the attack trying to…get this…label Burton as a liberal. The idea is so absurd I don’t even know where to begin. Oh wait, yes, I do.

McGoff’s latest unfounded criticism of Congressman Burton comes on immigration. He’s going to start running ads claiming that Burton promoted amnesty for illegal immigrants. He’s even sent out mailers to scare voters into believing that Burton supported amnesty. The problem is, that couldn’t be further from the truth. So did McGoff just make this up? What he did was misconstrue the truth (that political-ese for lying).

Friend of the site Gonz O. Defenestrater wrote on his blog:

Sometimes, when you sit at the “big-boys table” and you understand the Rules and Procedures of the House of Representatives, you have to do something that they affectionately call a “kitchen sink bill” - wherein, as the Chairman or Ranking Member of a Committee or subcommittee, you put every idea that everyone has in a draft bill that will act like a “discussion draft” so that everybody has a chance to speak on the issues that concern them and beat up on the issues that they don’t agree with. It’s the process.

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

 

 Dan Burton interview on HAR [44:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted in Congress, Elections, Immigration | 9 Comments » | Read more..

Hat tip to Hot Air for this interesting article in the Los Angeles Times.

Barack Obama: transcending politics by descending to new levels of spin and untruthiness.

As gas prices reach record levels in Indiana, I wonder if Baron Hill will denounce the Obamassiah’s ties to the oil companies as he did with much more flimsy evidence with regard to Mike Sodrel in 2006.

Sen. Barack Obama continued accepting donations from oil company executives and employees last month even as he aired ads in which he stated he took no oil company money, his campaign finance reports show.

Obama has taken at least $263,000 from oil company executives, family members and employees since entering the presidential race last year, including $46,000 last month. At least $140,000 has come in chunks of between $1,000 and $2,300, the maximum permitted under federal law.

Texas oil executive Robert L. Cavnar of Milagro Exploration and his wife, Gracie, have helped the Illinois Democrat raise at least another $50,000 by helping host a fundraiser earlier in the campaign.

(Read more of this stunning move by the LA Times to report the truth below the fold) (more…)

Posted in Baron Hill, Congress, Elections, Presidential Politics | 1 Comment » | Read more..

The Burton campaign will start running this radio ad fairly soon, but it’s even up on You Tube with a little extra flair.

[youtube lN_Bhtkkkog]

From WISH TV, and it includes rough crosstabs:

QUESTION: How would you rate the performance of George W. Bush as President; excellent, good, only fair, or poor?
Excellent 6%
Good 31%
Fair 35%
Poor 25%
Not Sure 3%

That’s actually a good deal higher than I would expect.

QUESTION: If the election for President were held today, who would you vote for if the choice were between Barack Obama, the Democrat, and John McCain, the Republican?
McCain 51%
Obama 43%
Undecided 6%

QUESTION: If the election for President were held today, who would you vote for if the choice were between Hillary Clinton, the Democrat, and John McCain, the Republican?
McCain 52%
Clinton 41%
Undecided 7%

Not a lick of difference in the general between Obama or Clinton when they face off against McCain; ten point leads and being above the magic 50% threshold pretty much dashes lefty hopes of a presidential campaign being able to devote resources to make Indiana into a genuine swing state.

QUESTION: If What is the single most important issue in determining your vote for President? (NOT READ):
Economy/job creation 25%
Lowering Taxes 23%
Troops out of Iraq 12%
War on Terror 11%
Health Care Costs 10%
Immigration Reform 6%
Gas/energy dependence 3%
Moral issues 3%
Social Security 2%
Balancing budget 2%
Global Warming/Environment 2%
Other/Not Sure 1%

Not surprising, but worth comparing to the similar question put to Democrat primary voters below.

QUESTION: If the Democratic Primary for President were held today, which of the following candidates would you vote for? (ROTATED):
Barack Obama: 48%
Hillary Clinton: 47%

This seems to be a shrinkage of the Obamassiah “lead” indicated in some recent polling.

QUESTION: What is the single most important issue in determining your vote for President? (NOT READ):
Economy/job creation: 41%
Troops out of Iraq 24%
Health care costs 21%
Global Warming/Environment 3%
War of Terror: 3%
Social Security: 3%
Immigration Reform: 2%
Balancing Budget: 2%
Other/Not Sure: 1%

Again, scroll up a bit and compare with the priorities of average Hoosiers.

QUESTION: Which candidate do you feel has run the most negative campaign, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
Clinton 48%
Obama 23%
Both Equal 21%
Not Sure 8%

No surprise here either.

It will be interesting to see the rest of this poll (since they doubtless also polled on the gubernatorial primary and the gubernatorial race at large while polling for the presidential races).
(more…)

On Tuesday there were numerous reports of irregularities and odd happenings coming out of Philadelphia, perhaps the toughest political battleground in the state of Pennsylvania. With the Pennsylvania primary giving Hillary Clinton a reason to stay in the race, the eyes of pundits are now turning to Indiana and North Carolina where primaries will be held on May 6th.

Aside from national attention shifting to Indiana, another way to tell that the primary is looming is the start of election shenanigans in Lake County.

Apparently the good folks over in Gary felt that part of their civic duty involved helping some of the city’s high school students vote early by busing them the county seat of Crown Point for a vote-early field trip. Yes, you heard that correctly: a school district in a city where Obama will probably win a landslide victory bused 200 voting age students on 32 miles round trip just so they could vote early.

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

The candidates for Attorney General are not laying low.  In one of the more spirited campaigns for the AG position before the convention to choose the nominee, the candidates are making the rounds at the various Lincoln Day dinners around the state.  If you’ve been to any in the last few weeks, most likely you’ve run into one or both of them.

For our readers up in Ft. Wayne, Mayor Jon Costas will be speaking to the Conservative Breakfast Club on the this coming Monday at 7:30.  For more information, please check it out here.

(H/T - Fort Wayne News)

The Allen County Right to Life Political Action Committee Endorses Candidates in the May Primary

Fort Wayne, IN., April 21, 2008 – The Allen County Right to Life Political Action Committee (ACRL- PAC) today endorsed a number of Federal, State, and Local candidates seeking elected office in the Indiana primary election being held May 6^th.

“We again this year are certainly fortunate to have an excellent slate of competitive candidates who, in our estimation, have demonstrated passion and support for life,” said ACRL PAC Communications Director, Cathie Humbarger. “Though many consider life a single issue in an environment of many issues candidates are expected by voters to address, we believe attitudes and actions taken towards life are core indicators that speak to the judgment and character of candidates” remarked Humbarger.

The slate of candidates endorsed by the ACRL PAC are:

(Check out the endorsements below the fold) (more…)

It’s been an extremely slow start to the day. Hopefully, we’ll get more up soon. For now, enjoy this Varvel cartoon. Also consider this your Thursday afternoon open thread.

We at Hoosier Access ask that you keep the John Borttoff family in your prayers. John Borttoff is one of three candidates running against Baron Hill in the 9th Congressional Democrat primary. Word is out today that his 4 year old daughter was struck and killed by a car.

From the WLFI website:

JASPER, Ind. (AP) - The 4-year-old daughter of a southern Indiana congressional candidate was struck by a car and killed in a department store parking lot, police said.

Demiah S. Bottorff is the daughter of John Bottorff, 1 of 3 challengers to incumbent Democratic Rep. Baron Hill in the May 6 primary.

Jasper police say she was with her mother and three siblings in the parking lot of a Kmart Tuesday afternoon when she was struck by a car. The Dubois County Coroner said she died at a hospital of head injuries sustained in the accident.

Police say the driver of the car, 89-year-old Jerome H. Klein, apparently became confused and stepped on the car’s accelerator instead of the brake pedal.

No charges have been filed, but police are continuing to investigate.

Please keep the Borttoff’s in your thoughts and prayers.