I took a few days off after the primary to recharge the political batteries and it’s good to be back.
A lot of us are still dissecting Tuesday’s primary results and what they mean in the grand scheme of things. Although many of my colleagues will say high voter turnout was a good thing in this election (close to or exceeding the 2006 general election) I respectfully disagree.
I don’t think more participation is a good idea when the people coming out are voting for the wrong reason. I prefer a few smart people coming together to make a decision rather than a lot of stupid people. If the intellect of the voters are as high as the turnout then I’m excited. Otherwise, God save the Republic.
That also brings me to my next point which goes to the Limbaugh fans who participated in Operation Chaos, the Rush-inspired plan for Republicans and conservatives to vote in the Democratic primary in an effort to drag the fight to the convention floor, thus making the eventual nominee that much more vulnerable in the Fall.
I hope you know that by pulling a Democrat ballot in Indiana you are declaring your intent to vote for a majority of Democratic candidates in November. You could have been (and some were) challenged to sign an affidavit saying you had or will vote for a majority of Democrats in a past or future election. If you don’t , you’re violating Indiana law. Now some of you might be saying there’s no way you would ever get caught so what difference does it make? Easy, it goes to the character issue you people keep harping on. Isn’t character defined as what you do when no one is looking and you won’t get caught?
It’s one thing if you pulled a Democrat ballot with the intent to vote for a majority of Democrats, later saw who won the primary and later changed your mind. But for many of the Operation Chaos participants they likely have no intent for voting for a majority of Democrats this Fall. So I for one find it totally ironic that the same people who go on and on and on about character, ethics and the rule of law apparently have no problem throwing those values out the window if they think they can get away with it. I won’t call them lawbreakers yet because they have until November to redeem themselves. But if they don’t they are no different than the people they criticize. Actually they’re worse because they’re hypocrites.
Open the floodgates and let the rationalization begin. This is going to be fun.
Jill Long Thompson is the Democratic nominee for Governor. Jim Schellinger called her in the last half hour to concede. Now the fun can really begin. Mitch Daniels v. Jill Long Thompson v. Andy Horning. Who wins?
My sources tell me that Jim Schellinger isn’t ready to concede anything to Jill Long Thompson just yet. The latest unofficial poll number show Thompson leading with 50.25 percent of the vote to Schellinger’s 49.75 percent. However, Democratic sources say there are still provisional ballots that have yet to be counted as well as some uncounted precincts still out there. They estimate a 3,000 vote difference between the two. Could we have a Bush v. Gore problem on the horizon? I hope so. It makes for great punditry.
Wow, that was fun. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a political nail-biter. Hillary got a slim victory over Barack 51-49 (White men saved her while Blacks kept Obama competitive). In the end, Clinton only won by 22,412 votes out of 1.25 million voters or a 1.78 percent difference. She needed a big win, but didn’t get it. It’s like a student who needed a high “A” on his exam to pass the class, but instead got a “C-.”
Jill Long Thompson is sitting on a victory over Jim Schellinger in the Democratic Primary. Two observations about that race were that in Marion County Schellinger won by less than 3 percentage points. Had his margin been bigger, he would be declaring victory right now. Also, Schellinger was the party favorite. With his loss, I can hear the bodies start to hit the floor over at One North Capitol in downtown Indianapolis.
Andre Carson is living proof the Carson name is a brand and still works. However, there is a chink in the armor. 54 percent of people who voted in that primary chose someone other than Carson. If the GOP can figure out a way to capture that discontent, they just might be able to win the 7th one day.
And Dan Burton is living proof that you can never overstay your welcome.
Now that all this is over, I’m going to spend the next few days with a martini in one hand, a beautiful woman in the other and a cigar in my mouth. And I might even switch them around a bit.
Turnout continues to be high amongst Democrat voters and low amongst Republicans. Also, the word on the street is that the Barack Obama campaign is challenging some voters across the state. One of the latest is in Franklin 13 at the Lutheran High School where 10 voters were challenged and 8 decided not to vote and left. Franklin 13 is also a precinct where they ran out of ballots.
Don’t forget your ID if you’re going to vote this afternoon.
If you’re planning to vote after work today leave a little early. Marion County Clerk Beth White said the voting has been pretty heavy this morning and will likely be so this afternoon. White said the voting in some parts of the city has been heavier than it was in the 2004 general election. In 2004, the turnout was slightly more than 53 percent county wide.
She said voters may have had to wait, but no one has been turned away. She says some precincts are running low on paper ballots because of the high turnout and number of people requesting Democrat ballots. She says they will get those ballots to the precincts this afternoon during the lull times, however don’t expect any results anytime soon after the polls close at 6 p.m.
She says she doesn’t expect the votes to be completely tallied until late in the evening.
I’m noticing a trend this morning, for what it’s worth. Republicans who are crossing over and voting for Hillary Clinton are also voting for Jill Long Thompson and Woody Myers for Congress. They say they are doing it to stick it to the Democratic establishment. It may not be enough to make a difference, but it definitely makes life interesting.
Today is the primary. You know what to do so go do it. Here are my predictions about today’s outcome and the reasons behind them. You’re welcome to add your own.
Presidential – I say Barack by 2-3 points. While Hillary leads in the Real Clear Average Poll and she has the mindles zombies participating in Operation Choas, I think the 160,000 new registered voters will be enough to put Barack over the top if they come out and participate today.
Governor – I give this one to Jill Long Thompson. Jim Schellinger’s campaign only came to life in the last couple weeks. And Long Thompson has been ahead in just about every poll that’s been taken. I give her the nod by 5.
7th District – I hate to disappoint the Andre Carson haters but I think he will pull this one off, also by about 5 points. Had it been a two-person race between Carson and Myers, I think Myers would be able to score a clear win. He may be able to eek out a victory by a couple points, but I think the Carson-Obama connection puts Carson over the top by 5 over his challengers.
5th District – I don’t think change will come to the second most Republican District in the country. Dan Burton will likely stay. I think if Jon McGoff had more money and hit Burton earlier this would have been a different story. The sliver lining in all this is that if there is a God, this will be Danny’s last term in office.
These are my predictions, but the caveat in all this is that it could change. :-)
In case you were wondering how much of a big deal this primary was going to be check out some of these facts from the Marion County Clerk’s Office.
More than 7,900 absentee ballots were mailed out and more than 6,700 returned. That’s an 85-percent return rate.
More than 8,800 people have come into the Clerk’s Office to vote since early voting began on April 7.
Including the traveling board, more than 16,000 absentee ballots have been cast and 75-percent of those pulled a Democratic ballot.
Statewide, more than 143,000 Democratic absentee ballots have been requested; 44,000 for Republicans. That number comes from Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita.
Tomorrow is going to be fun.
