This is for the Indiana folks. Ever since Braun got shanked at the state GOP convention, I’ve been trying to figure out how we got here with Beckwith. Does anyone like him? Think he will do a good job? Isn’t completely nuts? I’m super curious on this one.
Is anyone for Micah Beckwith?
- Thread starter Cortez88
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I think what happened with Beckwith is a symptom of the increasing influence of the social right in the Indiana GOP. It’s very concerning.
I know Mike Braun a little bit. He’s a good guy, very smart. I have no issue at all with him, I even cut him a check.
But he’s obviously not being helped by Beckwith’s presence on the ticket. And I honestly don’t think the people responsible for putting him there care.
It’s giving Dems a golden opportunity to get back on their feet in state politics.
I know Mike Braun a little bit. He’s a good guy, very smart. I have no issue at all with him, I even cut him a check.
But he’s obviously not being helped by Beckwith’s presence on the ticket. And I honestly don’t think the people responsible for putting him there care.
It’s giving Dems a golden opportunity to get back on their feet in state politics.
I don’t know Braun. But I’m very concerned about his political acumen because he was the only person in the room at the state GOP convention who didn’t know about the knife in his back. His administration could get run over by the legislature and his own Lt Governor.
This is why I think the situation is likely to lead to a revitalization of the state Democratic Party. Maybe we’ll see evidence of that next Tuesday (McCormick could well win). If not, we’ll be seeing it manifest somehow soon thereafter.
The GOP is being deliberately divided, just like it is elsewhere. It’s reminiscent of the hijacking of the Tea Party -- which began life as a movement about fiscal policies…but was quickly seized upon by the cultural right on everything from same-sex marriage to abortion.
I'm not really a fan of his, but it's admittedly just because people say negative things about him. Overall, I think it's a nothingburger and Braun will win.
It’s why I think the supermajority has been bad for the GOP and bad for Indiana. Way too many extremists are in positions of power and are driving the state further and further right.
Trump's polling is up about 15 points. If that many Trump voters vote Trump and McCormick, I would be shocked. I can't help but think the poll that showed it close was an outlier.
In some respects, I absolutely agree. I've said that it's almost like a mirror image of California and their situation.
But I don't think the popular support for the Micah Beckwiths of the world is anywhere near the popular support the lefties have in California, Oregon, etc. They clearly have a lot of institutional strength within the GOP. They also have some strength in primaries....but not nearly as much as they have in the delegates, precincts, etc.
There will be a popular backlash to them. I don't know if it'll happen on Tuesday. But it could. Braun on his own isn't a problem, but Beckwith is -- and Democrats have wisely focused attention on him.
That's a good point. But I honestly don't think it's outside the realm of possibility. I can't say exactly how many Indiana Republican voters are of the "Daniels/Holcomb" mold and how many are of the "Pence/Beckwith" mold. But there's a divide there. And I think McCormick has made an effort to appeal to people in the former group (like me) who aren't terribly enthused about the latter group.
Also, talking about the GOP's supermajority, it saddened me to look at the list of candidates running for state House and Senate from here. I think they were all unopposed. That's not a welcome sight.
I'm going to vote for Braun -- largely because he's an acquaintance, a competent and accomplished guy, and I think he'd do a fine job. He takes some flak for having taken over Meyer from his dad. But he transformed their business model grew the hell out of it. And he's never struck me as a kook.
That said, the Indiana GOP certainly can't count on my support going forward....if it keeps sliding into the hands of the radicals. I've been supportive of some Dems in the past (notably Brad Ellsworth and Jonathan Weinzapfel...both of whom are friends) and I'd be entirely open to doing so again.
And you busted my balls for calling you a right leaning moderate 😁
Mourdock....
Good Christian man, effective State Treasurer, would have been a good Senator. What the pernicious 'State GOP' learned was that their dinosaurs were an endangered species. The high point of my political involvement was being a part of retiring 'Dick' Lugar
The Party organized back room opposition to Richard. Pence was part of it, as well as Coats, and The IBJ....Mickey Mauer was a snake. The State GOP was responsible for the election of Joe Donnelly....look up that lying ****"s voting record.
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Do NOT tie Beckwith to Pence.
Pence is an unprincipled, devious political rodent who hides behind his fake Christianity.
Beckwith has Pastored Life Church in Noblesville and benefitted from a relentless grassroots ground game to peel the Lt. Gov. candidacy away from the Chamber of Commerce reach-around republicrats.
He'll keep Braun honest..
I’ve never seen myself that way. But I guess it’s all relative!
You were conservative until the John Birch Society took control and redesigned conservatism away from you and Reagan.
They aren’t exactly Birchers. But it’s a similar idea.
And I’d once again implore the establishment leaders to gain a better understanding of how and why this happened - and their critical role in it. And they need to take steps to correct it.
Just haven’t seen that happen. They still think they can overcome it with brute strength, maneuvering, etc.
My fear is that the ship has sailed. The establishment Rs lack the power to do it. Look at the reply in this thread trashing Lugar.
Both parties had this takeover attempt, Bernie on the left and Trump on the right. Bernie was defeated. Which all goes to the point, there is virtually no difference between a Bernie Bros and MAGA voter. Completely interchangeable.
There has been a long thread of populism in the US, at least since the Know Nothing Party. The name changes every generation or two. It was called Birch at one time, the people in it today are just the successors to that mantle. US on gold, US out of the UN, all the other crazy beliefs (replace gold with fake coin).
As an aside to this, I first met Gov. Holcomb back in the late 90s. He was a staffer for 8th district Rep. John Hostettler and I attended a fundraiser at a friend’s house.
Had a nice conversation with him - and it never dawned on me that he’d be headed for elected office himself.
Looking back at that, it’s a little ironic. Hostettler was a bit of an odd duck. Very social conservative (he had a gay brother he never discussed, BTW). One of a small handful of Republicans to oppose the Iraq War. Didn’t get along well with Gingrich.
I wouldn’t put Holcomb together with him today.
Had a nice conversation with him - and it never dawned on me that he’d be headed for elected office himself.
Looking back at that, it’s a little ironic. Hostettler was a bit of an odd duck. Very social conservative (he had a gay brother he never discussed, BTW). One of a small handful of Republicans to oppose the Iraq War. Didn’t get along well with Gingrich.
I wouldn’t put Holcomb together with him today.
They’re going about it the wrong way. I agree they lack the power to overcome the populist revolt.
They have to outflank it. Instead, they come up with bills like that Lankford bill…and just inadvertently pour more fuel on the fire.
yeah, but you still gotta get elected. And what they got was Connelly and the ACA.
Nothing much. Hopefully, in Beckwith’s case, he gets a job offer that’s too good to refuse and resigns to take it…the sooner the better.
But I think this is going to be a closer race than double digits. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Trump outperform Braun by 8 or 9 points.
Lt Governor doesn’t do much. My fear is that it legitimizes him as an electable candidate and he funds for Governor.
That's just silly.
No one 'took' anything from anyone.
If anything, the neocons hijacked the conservative piece.
I could be wrong. But I don’t see a candidate like that having enough popular support to win a primary.
His cohort has a lot of pull among delegates. And I think the GOP needs to do something about that. But I don’t think that translates into votes.
If it ever does, I’ll be voting Dem…as long as they put forth a reasonable candidate (in the mold of O’Bannon or Kernan). I’ve never been all that loyal of a Republican.
Suzanne was a longtime local/county party activist and pol here. She served as County Auditor and Commissioner. Nice lady, but not much of a force electorally.
I helped retire him.
Didn't trash him at all.
The primary voters made the decision.
That's one problem with 'progressives '.
They use terms they don't understand.
Or in this case, just make shit up.
Like saying Micah Beckwith 'banned' books.
I like how Indiana has been governed in recent history. I'm sure there are some things I can nit pick, but overall I'm happy. The economy is growing, population is growing, taxes are reasonable, and passed school choice (and grown it). Are there any specific issues?
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I was never a huge fan of Pence. He was pretty “meh” as a governor.
But Daniels was a rock star and Holcomb’s been quietly effective and efficient (if a bit unremarkable).
But the Republican Party is clearly undergoing a shift — and it’s not a good one.
I support this statement. I never had a problem voting for the Holcombs or Daniels of the world. But once I know a candidate is tainted with (for example) rightwing Christian nationalism, and has support from people I think are nuts (one might be in this thread), I can't cross that bridge. I'm too much of a pragmatist.
It’s this kind of approach which ends up in getting statewide candidates like Kari Lake…twice.
She loses elections that ought to be very winnable…but at least she makes her supporters feel really good in the process.
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