Hoosier Access would like to thank Lt. Gov. Skillman for answering another question in our “Ask Becky!” series. Here’s question #3.

“We have started to see several counties receive their property tax bills. Do you think Hoosiers are pleased with what they have seen — both homeowners and businesses?”

If you’ve not seen the latest edition of Indy South Magazine you really should. If you thought the media had a love affair with Barack Obama, wait until you see the campaign quality, no, make that better than campaign quality photo of Becky Skillman gracing the front cover. Actually the piece is not a news item about Lt. Gov. Skillman but instead a friendly story talking about her life, career, and family.

The story is a great look into the personal side of the most powerful woman in state government. (And if I have anything to do with it she’ll stay that way even after November.)

You can read the article here.

Just found these two gems. I don’t know which one is Dennie Ray Oxley II’s old job he gave up for his destined ill fated run for Gov Lite, but maybe you or someone you know is qualified to fill Dennie’s shoes.

Beam Longest & Neff Job #1

Beam Longest & Neff Job #2

Some Democrats would love to have you believe that the the qualifications for being “Lite Gov” would be that you have an active pulse. Why else would they continue to backhand compliment JLT’s choice of Dennie Oxley, while simultaneously saying the position doesn’t mean much or matter much to a ticket.

Obviously, these points were lost on Governor Daniels when he chose Becky Skillman to be his running mate. I have come to realize that Becky Skillman is one of our states most underrated and under-appreciated elected officials. Thankfully, that was not lost on Mitch Daniels when he chose her to be his LG. Part of the reason she may have been chosen may have been because she is from the southern part of the state, but her record in the State Senate is quite impressive. In 2004 alone, she authored or co-authored 16 bills. Every single one of them became law. The bill content is quite impressive too. These aren’t Seed Commissioner bills. Mind you she also did this in the short session of the General Assembly and with a Democrat governor.

But don’t take my word for it. Check out her record for yourself. Here is her activity in the State Senate since 1999, when online material was first made available:

(Available after the leap)

The contradictions between Jill Long Thompson and the only guy willing to run with her, err, her chosen running mate, Dennie Ray Oxley II, are many.

And certain Democrat spin-mistresses are already beating a swift retreat away from his importance to the ticket.

You can bet that they wouldn’t be downplaying the significance of his presence on the ticket if they really thought that he was such a great choice.

The contradictions with what young Dennie Ray II is saying now and with what he has done in the past are even more enlightening, however.

See why after the leap.

(Due to technical difficulties, we had to take the original post down.  But LG Skillman’s very impressive video is once again available!)

…this is how you handle disaster relief.

From Hat Chat, the official blog of Hoosier Ag Today:

No sooner had the flood waters stopped rushing across more than 20 Indiana counties, than top state officials were on the scene assessing the damage. One of the first was Governor Mitch Daniels. Close behind him was Lt. Governor Becky Skillman. On the surface, this seems only logical (this being an election year and all). Yet, from my perspective, it is more than that. These two have put out the word to all state agencies to get busy and provide relief. Skillman called it an “all hands on deck” approach.

The agencies are responding 24/7. I have been getting e-mails at 10 pm from the State Department of Ag and the Governor’s office. While government is by its nature inefficient, this time around Indiana is giving efficiency a good try. FEMA could stand to take a few lessons.

While this is a terrible storm for Indiana, it is the perfect political storm for the administration. For the past week, the news coverage has been dominated with stories of the Governor meeting with flood-displaced Hoosiers and promising help. Meanwhile, poor Jill Long Thompson sits on the sidelines watching helplessly.

Daniels and Skillman are acting like effective leaders- something I hope voters remember in November.

In addition, Lt. Gov. Skillman and eight other agency heads held a conference call last Friday with over 100 mayors and local officials to give an update the situation in southern Indiana. Skillman said “We know that community leaders need good information to help in their disaster recovery efforts. Governor Daniels and I want to make sure that we continue to move at lightning speed to get people the assistance they need.” She went on to say “The Governor and I have traveled the state surveying the flood damage, and we have talked with Hoosiers who have lost their homes, businesses, and crops. As the floodwaters recede, the real work begins. Today’s call helped us answer questions that many people are bringing to their local officals.”

Now that’s real leadership in the wake of the past weeks disaster and recovery.

Democrat Gubernatorial candidate Jill Long-Thompson has picked Dennie Oxley as her running mate according to the Star

Your humble correspondent attended the monthly Frank O’Bannon Glorification Ceremony in downtown Corydon this morning.

They were dedicating a monument to late Governor Frank O’Bannon, and the buzz was all about everyone’s favorite inept Senate Minority Leader.

I was going to wear my green My Man Mitch t-shirt, just to see the looks that I would get from all of those Democrats, but I decided against it. I have a lot of county candidates that will need cross-over voters, and that would probably have been sticking it into the eye of the Democrats just a tad too much.

One thing I will say about Mitch Daniels is that he tends to infuriate Democrats, and I love him for it.

Anyway, Richard Young, aka Batman, was a preening dandy. He was in his Sunday-best suit, kept straightening his tie, and had his hair all slicked back.

It’s hard to wear a suit outside in Southern Indiana in June. It was morning, and it was already 85 degrees and quite humid.

(Read more after the leap)

In the spirit of the many of the interesting (and often very rotation-happy; see “the Quayle regime” here, “we have always been at war with Eurasia and were always neutral in the AG race” here, “it’s all the fault of township officials” here, or interesting revisionism here) post-mortems put forward on the outcome of the GOP state convention, I have decided to join in the fun.

On the evening immediately after the convention, the Hoosier Access guys joined Chris Spangle, Adam Longworth, and Mitch Harper at the South Bend Chocolate Company on Monument Circle in Indy for a podcast. We did an “up and down” round table, and my post-mortem is based around that basic concept.

(Read more after the leap)

(Kurt Luidhardt originally posted this at Prosper Group Think.  He touches on some very important points as we consider the leadership of Indiana this year and beyond. – Josh)

I had the privilege of sitting down with Indiana L.G. Becky Skillman for an interview last week. There will be more thorough coverage of the interview on Veritas Rex later, but I thought I would provide some commentary here.

It’s clear to me that Skillman is the most underestimated politician in Indiana. Dem blabbermouth Jen Wagner calls her the Lite Guv and there are more than a few Republicans putting together operations for 2012- disregarding Skillman’s intentions to run (or not).

But every time I sit and talk with her I get the strong sense that of anyone in the Guv’s administration, she is the one with a finger on the pulse of the state. She’s got years of experience on a number of levels as a local elected official, State Senator, and now as LG. In addition, she’s not caught up in the Indianapolis-first mentality of so many of our party’s leadership (a key quality considering current controversy). Skillman also has worked hard to build relationships with local Republican officials from across the state. It’s been evident as I travel.

(Read more below the fold)

This evening, I asked Lt. Gov Skillman about any potential return of the marriage amendment here in Indiana in the wake of the California Supreme Court overruling a voter referendum. Lt. Gov Skillman referred me to Governor Daniels statement made last Friday. The Lt. Gov’s staff was kind enough to pass along the audio of that statement and I’m passing it along to you.

The marriage amendment is covered in two places . It starts at 4:37 goes for a bit, then picks up again at 6:15.

Podcast: Play in new window