Some might ask why someone in Virginia cares anything about what is happening in Indiana’s Second Congressional district.  Well, I have several reasons why I am watching so closely.  First of all, I grew up in the South Bend area and I care about what goes on there.

Secondly, Joe Donnelly voted for the stimulus bill and the health care bill.  Representative Donnelly likes to bill himself as a moderate, mostly by playing up his pro-life stance in the heavily Catholic South Bend area; being fiscally conservative is not part of that moderate package.  Somehow he failed to see the crushing debt that a socialized health care system would create as a bad thing.  Furthermore, remember that stimulus bill that he was so sure was going to create jobs?  Remember Congress telling the American people that it was imperative that bill be passed immediately so money could get into the system? One-third of the money has been spent a year after the bill passed.  Sorry Joe, you’ve been duped; they are holding that money to be spent on highly publicized projects right before the November election to make incumbents look good.  It has nothing to do with creating jobs or economic recovery.  Anyone who voted for these two monstrous bills should be voted out of office.

But most of all, I like Jackie and think she would be an excellent addition to Congress.  I find her genuine and I share her views on issues I consider important (abortion, gun control, and states’ rights).

(Read more after the leap)

As your Hoosier correspondent on location in Washington DC, I feel it is my duty to report on the biggest story of the day. No, not the stock market, no not Toyota, no not even the demon sheep. No, I am talking about the imminent snow storm, or Snopocalypse 2010 as it has been dubbed on Twitter. (p.s. Has anyone seen Al Gore? He is strangely absent in the wake of current weather phenomena.)

I was born and raised in Indiana’s 2nd district, (side note: GO JACKIE! more on that in another post) so if there is one thing I know better than politics, it is snow (can you say Lake Effect?). Anyway, normally I am first in line to make fun of all the drama that occurs in the DC metro area when snow is in the forecast.  But this is a nor’easter aiming to dump close to 2 feet of snow with 50 mile an hour winds.  I would say that is pretty dramatic for even my Midwestern roots.

At the moment, the government is using their “liberal leave” policy, meaning employees can take unscheduled leave, and most places are taking it seriously and shutting down for tomorrow.  But alas, my employer is not one of those intelligent companies.  I fully expect to get to work in time for it to start snowing and absolute chaos to be reigning by the time I leave. Don’t worry, I plan on taking my camera to document the insanity.

Speaking of chaos, the supermarket situation in the entire DC area is a mad house as evidenced here, here and here.  I took my Midwestern level head and went grocery shopping last night thank goodness.  And now for the dumbest thing you have ever heard if you grew up around snow: in Virginia most counties have a policy of not beginning to plow until the snow has stopped.  Since it is supposed to start snowing tomorrow morning and not stop till 10 pm Saturday, I expect to not see blacktop until April.  And while on the subject of snow removal, I also stopped by the Home Depot and every person walking out had a snow shovel (I don’t know if Virginians realize this, but shovels are reusable and can be used for multiple snow falls).

As for the snow storm, I have 3 predictions:

1. I will make it to work, but I will there just in time to be told that we are closing for the day.

2. I will not make it to the Super Bowl party with all my fellow Hoosiers in DC on Sunday, but there will be an awesome Colts themed snow creation in my front yard.

3. DC metro maternity wards will be full in T-9 months.

Catch me on Twitter for up to the minute updates on Snopocalypse 2010 and now back to your regularly scheduled posts on Indiana politics.

From Jackie Walorski’s Twitter:

Bauer is allowing amendments to the tax cap constitutional amendment question. If they approve the amendment…voters cannot vote in Nov.

Constitutional amendments must be passed by two CONSECUTIVE general assembly sessions unamended in any way. If amendments were to pass the House, this would in essence kill the property tax caps.

Update from Jackie (via Twitter):

Amendment #1 is defeated now Amendment #2 is up.

If you’re one of those who does have a cell phone number or email to your state rep – shoot them a text message! These must be stopped now – and if the Dems succeed in spiking the tax caps they should be sent to the minority for a good long time in November 2010.

UPDATE from Frugal Hoosiers:

“HJR1, the constitutional amendment to cap property taxes, moves on for final passage in the House … unmolested”

You can also email your rep here.
Or you can call them at 1-800-382-9841

Don’t know who your Rep is?  Click here.

Although she’s not a formally declared candidate yet, State Rep. Jackie Walorski (R) is preparing to mount a formidable campaign against incumbent blue dog Congressman Joe Donnelly (D) in the 2^nd District.  For months the rumors have circulated around the northern part of the district that if there was one Republican Donnelly did not want to face, it was Walorski.  A proven and tough fighter, Jackie can rouse a crowd, impress donors, earn media attention, and carry legislation forward like someone who should be in Congress.  Maybe that’s one of the reasons why she’s running.

At the end of last October, a detailed open records information request on Rep. Walorski’s official affairs was sent to the Clerk of the Indiana House of Representatives.  The request originated with a Kevin McKeon in Washington D.C. with the highly original e-mail address of kevin.mckeon+walorskirequest@gmail.com.  With an address like that you’ve got to wonder how long this guy’s been planning to make a request, or if he’s just really, really interested in what an Indiana State Representative is doing.

(Read more below)

Today State Senate hopeful Jim Banks received an endorsement from State Rep Jackie Walorski. She had this to say about Jim and his strong Conservative Values:

From Indiana conservative leader State Representative Jackie Walorski :

“Jim Banks is the real deal when it comes to conservative champions in the State of Indiana. He works tirelessly with a passion rarely seen in politics. If we want to maintain our traditional Midwestern values we  are going to need people like Jim representing us. His energy and enthusiasm will help Indiana  usher in a new generation of conservative leaders to the General Assembly.”

Congrats to Jim for receiving this endorsement. She is correct in her assessment on Jim and his strong Conservative Values. If you would like to know more about Jim and his State Senate run you can go to his website here.

According to Roll Call The GOP has Big Hoosier Dreams in next year’s election. With Todd Young (R) running against Rep. Baron “You’re not tell me how to run my congressional office” Hill (D) in the 9th Congressional District. You also have State Rep. Jackie Walorski (R) considering a run against Rep. Donnelly (D) in the 2nd Congressional District as well. Ellsworth’s District which we all know as the Bloody 8th is being looked at as well, but insiders say that would be the hardest to take back, because he has won 61 percent of the vote every time.

Here is the article (note…I am posting this because if you don’t have a Roll Call account you cannot read the full stories…so here ya go and if you don’t have an account…get one, well worth the money!)

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GOP Has Big Hoosier Dreams Next Year

Oct. 6, 2009
By Shira Toeplitz
Roll Call Staff

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In an attempt to recover the three Indiana seats they lost in the 2006 cycle, House Republicans are again setting their sights on the Hoosier State.

After failing to give any Indiana Democrat a tough challenge last cycle, Republicans already have a candidate in place against Rep. Baron Hill and said they are on the verge of recruiting competitive candidates to run against Democratic Reps. Joe Donnelly and Brad Ellsworth.

(Read more after the leap)

Although an oft heard rumor, this weekend the energy around a potential run for the 2nd Congressional District increased.

First the South Bend Tribune’s Jack Colwell chronicled the potential candidacy.

Jackie Walorski vs. Joe Donnelly. That’s the race for Congress the National Republican Congressional Committee wants in Indiana’s 2nd District in 2010.

The NRCC, plotting campaign strategy for Republican control of the U.S. House, tried unsuccessfully to convince Walorski to run against Donnelly, the Democratic congressman from Granger, in 2008.

Will Walorski run this time?

And then Howey Indiana Politics picked it up as well

Her Facebook page featues a few commenters mentioning the same. But nothing official in the least from Jackie. And she hasn’t written on Capital Letters in a few weeks.

She is currently the House Republican from District 21 and frequent Social Conservative advocate. What are your thoughts on a possible race between Rep. Walorski and current Congressman Joe Donnelly?

State Representative Jackie Walorski

By: State Rep. Jackie Walorski

Earlier this week I participated in a 2-day “fly-in” to Capitol Hill, asking our US Representatives and Senators to vote “no” on Socialized Medicine/National Health Care.  Contrary to what the President said during Wednesday night’s press conference, the reality on the Hill is that there is virtually no chance of killing this bill. Many of those Democrats who are opposed to the current plan are seeking only slight modifications.The most devastating part of this bill is the so-called “public option”.  The public option is the absolute core of National Health Care.  This option will force small employers, and a great deal of larger employers, to cut employees, go out of business, or force their employees into the “public option” when in reality there will be no option at all.

My husband and I lived in this type of health care system in the European Union and it is a first class disaster.  The most vulnerable people in a government run system are the people that get sick!  The young and old, or people in the middle with chronic or incurable conditions, quickly lose access.  That’s the reason why people in other countries will sell their houses and make life-altering adjustments to get the money to come to the US to access state-of-the-art health care.

(Read more below the fold)

…that Jackie Walorski, conservative state legislator extraordinaire and suspected Secretary of State candidate, will not be running for Secretary of State after all. I have a call in to confirm, and will hopefully update this post as soon as I hear back.

A run by Walorski would have split the sort of anti-Indianapolis, anti-establishment, pro-conservative winning convention coalition pioneered last June to such stunning and decisive effect by Greg Zoeller and his campaign. Her candidacy, coupled with that of Charlie White, would have fractured that coalition (at least to the extent that it could even be reassembled or replicated; not that Charlie White running doesn’t similarly fracture the losing Costas coalition also).

On top of the “Jackie’s out” rumors, I’ve now started hearing buzz about a candidacy for Secretary of State by Mitch’s hand-picked Republican State Chairman, Murray Clark (one of my favorite people).

Murray Clark versus Charlie White, assuming that White were to stay in (I’m told that he won’t get out and is in it to win it) and Murray Clark would run as rumor has it (Clark has always wanted to grow up to be governor and SOS would be a useful stepping stone), would bring to mind echoes of Zoeller versus Costas, a redux of last year’s particularly divisive and heated–though abbreviated–convention fight.

By: Brian Sikma

In Lake County Indiana in 2008, a stack of 2,100 voter registration applications were determined to be fraudulent.  Filled out by ACORN quasi-employees (volunteers getting paid) the applications were not for dead people, they were for people who never even existed.  In one notable and now well-known instance Jimmy John’s, the sandwich shop, tried to register to vote.

Free, open, and honest elections are the heartbeat of our representative government.   The concept of self-government is only a theory until the mechanics of election law and procedure are brought to bear.  If an election is have consequences, and if it is to mean something, it must be held with integrity and the results must not be questionable or open to justifiable suspicion.  Energetic debate and intense campaigning between multiple candidates for public office is acceptable and healthy, but once the balloting is underway the voters must be assured that their vote is legitimate and that it will not be subjected to partisan pressures.

In many states the responsibility for insuring that election law is followed carefully, fully and properly falls to the Secretary of State.  It is this officer’s job to insure that the law is followed in every possible way in order to insure that the outcome of an election genuinely reflects the final judgment of the people.  Because this single task is one of the most important jobs in the state, some left-wing groups, including the supposedly non-partisan Secretary of State Project (SOS Project), have begun targeting Secretary of State races around the country.  They know that if the rules can be relaxed, what cannot win in an honest election can win in a fraudulent election.

[More Below The Fold]

By: Brian Sikma

On Saturday my able colleague, Josh Gillespie, interviewed Rep. Jackie Walorski on his Hoosier Access Radio/Josh Gillespie Show feature.  During the interview Rep. Walorski said that she would be introducing several amendments to bills being considered by the House today that would all have the effect of deny Planned Parenthood state funding as penalization for their actions to cover up statutory rape and child molestation.  Although Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi and the Attorney General’s office are both making progress on legal actions against Planned Parenthood as a result of the organization’s illegal behavior, Rep. Walorski is interested in making sure that Hoosier women and girls are not repeatedly failed by Planned Parenthood in the future.

Instead of coming forward and declaring that what took place at its clinics was wrong, Planned Parenthood has made token concessions (only suspending and terminating the employees involved after the story grabbed national headlines) and insisted on its innocence.  In a direct response to Rep. Walorski’s efforts, Planned Parenthood has now launched a lobbying campaign to fire up its base and get them to urge state lawmakers to oppose attempts to deny them state funds.  

I am told that the House of Representative’s phone switchboard at the Statehouse has been jam packed today with calls telling legislators not to vote against women’s health.  Legislators have also been getting an earful in their e-mail Inboxes.

Here is a copy of an e-mail sent to one legislator (and it appears to be a form e-mail that is being distributed to all legislators): [Read More Below The Fold]