Obama fighting hard for Indiana

If Indiana turns blue at last, it won't be simply because of overwhelming turnout in Lake County or the Democratic cities like Indianapolis and Bloomington. If Indiana turns blue, it will be because Indiana Hoosiers are disgusted with the Bush Administration... and because Obama has run a terrific ground offensive in this state. He has done what many (including myself) might have thought impossible: he is making serious headway in the wealthy Republican suburbs that ring Indianapolis:

Bruce Babcock, a lifelong Republican and a retired executive with a Fortune 100 company, had no reluctance about advertising his newfound political allegiance with an Obama sign. "Bush has not done a very good job. And the Republicans don't deserve another chance at all." Babcock’s last words were designed to underscore that he has no animus toward McCain: "They'd have to resurrect Lincoln to get me to vote Republican."

This is actually hard for me to visualize, because I used to live in the area bordering Dan Burton's district, and it is about as GOP as GOP gets. But I have been hearing for months that there is a quiet revolt happening in the White, Republican suburbs. Republicans in the wealthy suburbs that encircle Indianapolis are turning on the GOP and mobilizing for Obama:

Westfield, Indiana, is at the very center of Hamilton County, one of the most Republican counties in the country, and the location of my home. It was in my home that a couple of dozen Republicans for Obama (RFOs) met last week to socialize. Yes, I said Republicans for Obama, a phenomenon similar to the Reagan Democrats of the 80's. While the GOP is denying we exist as a movement, the Obama campaign is prepping to support our group on a national level with a presence on barackobama.com as well as staffer support for meetings like this one.

My wife, Sharon, and I have been Republicans since Reagan's first term. We hosted this first "Central Indiana Republicans for Obama In Home Social" on the evening of Thursday, July 24th. Two dozen Republicans attended, as well as several members of the Obama campaign who came to show their support for our nonpartisan efforts. Even a reporter from The Indianapolis Star attended to report on what could be said to be a historic event.

And that was only August.

From Salon:

Finding Democratic voters in fast-growing suburban Hamilton County, just north of Indianapolis, seems as unlikely as spying a herd of giraffes frolicking in a mall parking lot. In 2004, Bush rolled up the kind of victory in Hamilton County that Vladimir Putin might envy -- obliterating Kerry by 51,000 votes with a 74 to 25 percent margin. Yet Obama has two storefront offices in the county (among 44 offices statewide) and is running an aggressive canvassing operation. This unusual commitment of resources is not lost on the Republicans. "Obama's campaign has targeted the Doughnut Counties" -- local lingo for the eight counties that ring Indianapolis --"particularly Hamilton County," says Clark, the GOP chairman. "They are targeting upscale voters, particularly women."

About a dozen Obama canvassers headed out Saturday morning from the newly opened campaign headquarters in affluent Carmel; I accompanied Barbara Kirk, a retired psychotherapist wearing a black Obama T-shirt with a peace sign in place of the "O," and Beth Maier, a photographer who just moved to Indiana with her husband, a medical scientist. They were making the rounds in the Smokey Ridge neighborhood, where houses list for about $500,000. Carmel, where 89 percent of all high school graduates attend four-year colleges, is not anything like a typical Indiana community. But this is an area where the downside of the Bush era's hard-right tilt of the Republican Party can be observed -- as upscale moderate voters who might be attracted to John McCain for economic reasons recoil because of the social conservatism symbolized by Palin's presence on the ticket.

Laurie Dwyer, a youthful looking 62-year-old woman wearing a Citadel T-shirt (her husband's alma mater), is just this sort of repentant Bush 2004 voter. "I don't say that I'm a Democrat or a Republican," Dwyer told the Obama canvassers, after admitting that she would be voting for their candidate. "I just think that McCain did us all an injustice by choosing his running mate. McCain has made so many mistakes running his campaign, who knows what he would do as president." Offered an Obama lawn sign, Dwyer, presumably thinking about the reaction of her neighbors, said softly, "I better not." (Her precinct went for Bush in 2004 by a vote of 780 to 247.)

But not only the wealthy Hoosiers are 'getting it.' Indiana has been slammed by enormous factory job losses. We're being hammered by weather changes that have threatened our corn crops (alternating floods and droughts -- the weather here has been spooky even by unpredictable Indiana standards.) And the Indiana unemployment rate is now the highest that it has been in over 20 years.

Hoosiers aren't stupid. I've kept my ear to the ground, and have struck up conversations in rural restaurants, hardware stores, and with repairmen who have come to our house. Every conversation has turned to outrage with Bush, comments about how our government has gone 'straight to hell,' or about the ill treatment of returning war veterans.

I recall one conversation that I had with a repairman last year. He came to our house to fix our plumbing, and ended up spending an extra 20 minutes ranting about how badly his brother was treated when he returned from Desert Storm. He died from the strange 'Gulf War' illness that affected many returning vets, and according to the account I heard, he received little if any medical treatment from the government. When he died, his brother the repairman was outraged that the military would only provide a taped recording of Taps for his funeral. This is Indiana; blue-collar, working class Indiana.

People here are angry. People here are more than ready for change. All they want to hear is that someone really means the political rhetoric and really understands the suffering.

Back to the Salon essay:

But if Obama wins the state, more than anything it will be due to the best voter-contact operation Indiana has ever seen. Even Murray Clark, the Indiana Republican chairman, says with grudging admiration in his voice, "Obama's done these things right. That's how he nearly beat Hillary in the primary."

Ignored for decades by presidential candidates, Indiana in 2004 boasted a dubious distinction -- the lowest turnout rate among registered voters (57.4 percent) of any state in the union. Had the Obama campaign been pinched for cash instead of raking in a jaw-dropping $150 million in September, Indiana probably would have remained the Midwest's leading flyover state. Instead, buoyed by the primary turnout, the Obama team saw opportunity amid the decades of neglect. As Emily Parcell, the Indiana Obama coordinator puts it, "Unlike Iowa, where every election is hard fought and where a good field operation can add only about 3 percentage points, there is a much greater opportunity for a good field operation here. Hoosiers are not used to Democrats coming to their door. They're not used to being told about early voting."

If you live in Indiana, get out there and talk to people! Or simply listen and then tell them how you feel about Barack Obama. You may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

UPDATE: The Indianapolis Star ran a story yesterday about the struggling Indiana economy. More fodder for discussion while canvassing local voters:

After five years of concerted effort by government and business leaders, Indiana's economy is still falling behind.

About 40,000 high-paying industrial jobs have vanished since 2003, and efforts to replace them with a high-wage tech economy have not taken hold.

That means Indiana paychecks still are rising less than the U.S. average, a process that began decades ago and shows few signs of reversal despite successful efforts to increase biotech, advanced manufacturing and service jobs.

Those efforts were partly undermined by the rapid disintegration of the national economy brought on this year by high fuel prices and the global lending crisis. Hoosier unemployment, for example, was below the national average for years but suddenly surpassed it this summer as the U.S. economy slumped and high gas prices hit Indiana's RV industry.

Cross posted from Daily Kos, ePluribus Media, and Blue Indiana.

Dear Indiana...

We are officially a 'toss up' state.

Do any of us even remember the last time we were a toss up?

I hear that Evan Bayh spoke at yesterday's Obama rally in Indy, describing his memory of attending an LBJ rally with his father when he was a child (LBJ was the last Democrat that won this state.)

I'm not old enough to remember LBJ's 1965 campaign. I'm not even sure my mother would remember that!

But this time, we are a toss up. We have turned from 'red' to 'yellow.' I don't need to tell fellow Hoosiers about the significance of this; especially in this former Klan state.

We've come a long way, baby. Move over Illinois, Ohio... :)

Democrats, Republicans both scorn their bases

From McClatchy New Bureau (real news for discerning thinkers:)

Lawmakers buck party bases on drilling, bailout
By James Rosen | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — In a dazzlingly short span of days, Democrats and Republicans each have caved on a core issue.

Bowing to pressure by Republicans, Democratic congressional leaders agreed this week to let the 26-year-old congressional ban on offshore oil- and natural-gas drilling expire Tuesday, when the federal fiscal year ends.

The move has angered environmentalists, a key constituency for Democrats.

"The environmental community is united in its opposition to drilling," said Anna Aurilio, who heads the Washington office of Environment America, which represents conservation groups in 26 states. "There is no need to open our coasts to drilling."

At the same time, President Bush, Republican presidential nominee John McCain and Republican congressional leaders are pushing their party peers to pass a massive financial-services bailout that would dwarf any government program since the New Deal.

That prospect is infuriating fiscal conservatives and small-government activists who underpin the Republican Party.

"This may be your last chance to protect taxpayers and our economy from what could be the greatest fiscal policy fiasco in our nation's history," Pete Sepp, a policy analyst with the National Taxpayers Union, a Washington group that tracks federal spending, wrote in a letter to lawmakers.

With elections less than six weeks away, is this any way for senators and representatives to treat their parties' most fervent loyalists?

I assume these politicians - of both parties - pander to lobbyist interests (and totally disregard their 'bases') because in our country, the lobbyists pay for election campaigns. McCain's campaign is actually being run by an active lobbyist for Freddie Mac.

That's right -- for all of his tough talk about lobbyists in Washington -- McCain's right hand man, Rick Davis, is still listed as an officer and lobbyist for Freddie Mac... and is still being paid by them. Talk about 'in our face...'

'We the people' simply vote in these staged elections, now rife with bogus regulations, bullying and electoral cheating.

That, and they know we have no choice. We have no alternative party. They have a political monopoly.

By the way - again - why don't we yet have a choice? What will it take for us to pull together and build a viable and strong third party in this country?

Nader is right in that regard; we'll never get our country back without one.

The Democrat and Republican machines have auctioned themselves to the corporate and banking behemoths that now run our government. The rest is simply a staged production to keep us all working and paying taxes.

Peaceful consumers -- that's all we are. Although the consuming part is going to slow and eventually cease as we all lose our homes and our jobs. I suppose at that point they'll simply sell all of our food and goods overseas and patrol our streets with Star Wars police squads wearing black body armor.

Remember the days of real TV reporting?

Baby Rove cuts his teeth!

Banish the "Mayberry Machiavellis"

To all of you reasonable, decent, law-abiding, Constitution-adhering Republicans out there: have you had enough yet?

This can't be pleasant for you. Its horrifying for all of us, but I can only imagine how difficult this must be for those of you who actually voted for it.

You were deceived.

This 'compassionate conservative' lied to you. It happens.

Those of us who voted for Clinton also discovered a few dirty little secrets after he left office - Monica was the least of it. Clinton was simply a lot more clever at hiding issues that wouldn't be particularly popular with the masses - like selling out our media to monopolization by corporate overlords. Wonder why you always have to turn to cable TV to find anything authentic: ie, not white-washed, sanitized and 'dumbed down'? Thank Clinton.

This is much worse of course, because these Bushies don't make even a pretense of abiding by the rule of law. Its 'partisan-way or the highway' if you want to work in the Bushland: and they don't even bother to find qualified stooges for some of the most critical departments in our nation's government (*cough* FEMA.)

If you're a loyal Bushie, you too can be Ambassador to the UN! You too can be head of the FDA! Want your mining company to expand at an unprecedented rate and have rights to drill literally anywhere in the country, including National Parks and public lands from sea to shining sea? If you are a loyal Bushie - you too can be head of the EPA or Fish and Wildlife, or Forest Service, or Department of the Interior! Hate wolves? If you are a loyal Bushie, you can wipe them off the face of the planet! Want your business to make triple its previous annual earnings in a few months? If you are a loyal Bushie, you too can be an Iraq contractor! Are you totally unqualified to run a rural McDonalds, but you've always wanted a hot-shot position high up in the Federal government? No problem! If... you are a loyal Bushie.

But what if - heaven forbid - you are a Republican with a conscience?

After listening to former deputy attorney general, James Comey's testimony yesterday via YouTube, it occurred to me how absolutely horrific this must be for those within the administration that actually have souls, ethical centers and who believe in the rule of law. Comey is a real patriot: he was prepared to tender his resignation rather than allow illegal warrantless wiretapping to take place without the authority of the Department of Justice. From the sound of it, the entire department, as well as the head of the FBI -- all were willing to give up their jobs, because they believed in something greater than themselves. They believed in America. They believed in law and the Constitution.

Our government is going to hell in a handbag under the Bush Administration and its racketeers. Frank Rich, of the New York Times, summed it up pretty well, when he wrote:

By my rough, conservative calculation — feel free to add — there have been corruption, incompetence, and contracting or cronyism scandals in these cabinet departments: Defense, Education, Justice, Interior, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development. I am not counting State, whose deputy secretary, a champion of abstinence-based international AIDS funding, resigned last month in a prostitution scandal, or the General Services Administration, now being investigated for possibly steering federal favors to Republican Congressional candidates in 2006. Or the Office of Management and Budget, whose chief procurement officer was sentenced to prison in the Abramoff fallout. I will, however, toss in a figure that reveals the sheer depth of the overall malfeasance: no fewer than four inspectors general, the official watchdogs charged with investigating improprieties in each department, are themselves under investigation simultaneously — an all-time record.

Wrongdoing of this magnitude does not happen by accident, but it is not necessarily instigated by a Watergate-style criminal conspiracy. When corruption is this pervasive, it can also be a byproduct of a governing philosophy. That’s the case here. That Bush-Rove style of governance, the common denominator of all the administration scandals, is the Frankenstein creature that stalks the G.O.P. as it faces 2008. It has become the Republican brand and will remain so, even after this president goes, until courageous Republicans disown it and eradicate it.

Until courageous Republicans disown and eradicate it. Bingo.

My own Senator, Richard Lugar, is probably the best representative I've ever had in my life - hands down. No matter what the subject, concern or issue - every time I write to his office, I receive a personal response. Recently I wrote to him and begged him to do something about the pet food disaster (the tainted food ingredients imported from China.) I happened to mention that I was a Celiac and that its hard enough to find food that I myself can eat, let along trying to keep my pets from dying of ingredients I can't even verify. I received - as always - a response from his office, on his letterhead. It was an absolutely amazing letter, in that he responded to every bit of my content - right down to expressing his regret that I suffered from Celiac, and that he was working to get better labeling for food additives! Talk about representation... the man actually reads his letters. He also cares.

I don't agree with many of his votes, but I realize that in this now partisan time, his choices are limited. He can vote with his party, now ruled by these 'Mayberry Machiavellis;' or he can vote against his conservative values and with the Democrats - something that will be loudly attacked and trumpeted through the press as a betrayal to his party.

After a lifetime serving as a Republican Senator in a predominantly Republican state, I can see why he isn't willing to line up against his party. But I keep waiting for him to speak out against the unconscionable behavior of his associates.

Lugar is a good man. What is a good man doing in the middle of this new 'sewer' politics?

I am watching him closely, occasionally begging him to line up with Hagel or at least consider speaking out, where he can. Lugar has a soul, a conscience. Lugar is one of the chief reasons I can't throw the conservative baby out with the dirty, stinking neocon bathwater. And there are many other Lugars out there; the term 'conflicted' probably doesn't even come close to describing their current predicament.

Gentlemen and ladies: save your party. You don't have to put up with this... criminal behavior. Seriously, you don't. None of us should be tolerating this blatant abuse of power.

As an independent, its easy for me to rail against it, because I don't 'own it.' But I also believe that because you were so gravely deceived by these people who now run roughshod over our government - you don't have to own it either. You can, in the words of Nancy Reagan, 'just say no.'

Say no to the corruption. Say no to corporate pandering, lies, illegal behavior, torture, bigotry and just bad governance. Say no to partisanship and choose instead to be 'American' rather than just 'Republican.' Defend your Constitution against those within your party who blatantly attack and undercut it, and through these attacks - our democracy.

It is time to defend America here at home. This is stuff you can sink your teeth into... real patriotism, not just empty words.

Let's get it done. The only way we're going to clean up this stinking mess that sociopathic neocons have made out of our once working Federal government, is to pull together as a nation of citizens... and just say no.