The State of Politics in Indiana
Friends,
It’s been a wild week and a half of politics!
For those of us on the political left, it has been a wild ride. We have seen the highest highs (the defeat of the Le Pen movement today at the polls in France, the defeat of the Tories in the UK on Tuesday) and the lowest lows (the abysmal debate performance from President Biden last Thursday). And we have more intense politicking coming up this week, as the Indiana Democratic Party holds its statewide convention this coming weekend.
I know and treasure that there are many constituents on this email list that do not share my exact political perspectives and philosophies. I’m honored that you read what I have to say, and I’d love any feedback you have. You absolutely do not have to agree with me on every political stance in order to support me as a Councilor; and you do not have to support me as a Councilor to agree with my political stances.
But in light of the massive debates going on among Democrats and lefties in Indiana, I wanted to spend a bit of time discussing the state of politics at the State level today.
I went on record a few months ago about my opinion that our state party has made some massive mistakes in terms of shutting out outsiders from participation and making decisions behind closed doors.
I’m sad to report that these mistakes are repeating themselves on the grandest scale right now.
A few weeks ago, our Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Jennifer McCormick, announced that she had chosen a running mate - former State Representative Terry Goodin. This immediately made the news because Goodin has in the past voted against gay marriage, voted in favor of restricting abortion, and carried an A+ rating from the NRA.
These were not a few isolated bad votes, either: Goodin repeatedly and frequently supported more prisons and police, co-sponsored a Jim Lucas bill to reduce criminal penalties for guns in schools, co-authored a bill to remove Indiana from a greenhouse gas reduction plan, co-authored a bill to expand the uses of the death penalty, co-authored a bill to have more guns in our schools, co-authored another bill to protect people who bring guns to schools, co-authored a bill to make it easier to bet on horse racing, co-authored yet another bill to make it easier to bring guns to schools, and co-authored a bill to make it easier to bring guns into casinos.
Despite all of these extremely right-wing positions, Goodin lost his House seat back in 2020, 46% to 54% to a Republican. This is a prediction of what I fear will happen in November: Democrats can't enthusiastically support these positions, and thus stay home. Republicans would prefer real Republicans to a Republican Lite, and didn't vote across party lines to support Goodin.
Our state does not need a Republican Lite - reporting to a recent Republican - on the top of our Democratic ticket.
And yet we have seen every major Democratic contender for a statewide office come out to endorse Goodin - before the delegates to the convention even weigh in. Every single politically-connected friend and ally I know has told me how hard the leaders of our state party have been pushing to close ranks and allow no consideration of alternatives.
The entire point of a convention is to democratically decide on candidates and a platform. Once again, I see Democrats afraid of democracy and insisting on stifling debate, pre-emptively shutting down conversation, and uniting behind a “moderate” candidate.
And how has that been working for our party for the last twelve years?
Centrist candidates will not excite the base, will not drive volunteers, and will not drive turnout. Some former Republican voters may indeed (please, dear God, please) decide they can not vote for Trump and his allies this time around. But there is no indication from polling or any other source that a sufficient number of these voters will change their affiliation and vote.
It’s the young people, the activists, and the progressives who make up the core of Democrats’ campaign managers, campaign staff, volunteer leaders, volunteers, and social media supporters. Those people are indicating as loudly and clearly as they can that a Goodin ticket is not one they can enthusiastically support.
Thanks to a pressure campaign from a host of party insiders, delegates have few options to vote for this coming Saturday. I feel incredibly strongly that our best option is my friend and constituent, Clif Marsiglio. I’ll be voting for Clif.
Regardless of what happens this weekend, in November I will be voting for the democratically-decided candidates that are picked at the convention - just like I’ve done for every single election since I turned 18. And I’ll be knocking doors, raising money, and fighting like hell to defeat the Republicans. But I know that the mission will be much, much harder with Terry Goodin as our Lieutenant Governor candidate.
(Speaking of raising money and fighting like hell, I am hosting two separate fundraisers for Democratic candidates this week. Join me Thursday evening at 5:00 at Hotel Tango to support Better Indiana, and Saturday evening at 7:30 at Mayfair Taproom to support Erik Hurt for Congress in Indiana District 8!)
How do you feel about the state of the Democratic party? How do you feel about our choices for Lieutenant Governor? I’d love to hear where you agree and where you disagree.
In love and solidarity,
Jesse