Looks like the theocratic wing of the Republican Party knocked off Senator Garton. That’s a shame. Hopefully whoever succeeds him as President pro tem of the Senate has his devotion to the integrity of the Senate’s processes. He really was pretty good about putting the institution of the Senate above temporary political gain, particularly, I am told, when compared to his predecessors in that position.
Update Michelle McNeil has an article on Garton’s ouster in the Indy Star. One thing about Greg Walker of which I had been unaware: he supports public flogging. Under what context, I do not know.
Advance Indiana has had good coverage of the race all along.
Hi Doug:
Sorry, but when you get a chance, could you explain how the winner in the primary is aligned with “theocrats”? The article doesn’t say anything about his views.
Thanks.
Walker’s primary beef against Garton, as I understand it, is that he didn’t make it a priority for those hideous anti-abortion bills to get a vote in the Senate. The Focus on the Family type groups funded Walker’s campaign against Garton. Browse the Advance Indiana blog for more on Walker.
Let’s face it. Garton’s time was up, and it’ll be a good thing if the Senate President position gets knocked down a few pegs from its all-powerful position.
He blocked several good bills, but I hear it was his sweetheart thing for union bosses (see the Project Labor Agreement on the new Colts Stadium) that sealed his doom.
Forced unionism is bad for Indiana!
This is where letting a bliovator like Greg Garrison stir up the rubes for 3 hours a day on WIBC is going to cost the Republicans big time. Garrison’s daily right to life rhetoric really gets local wing-nuts going lots of whom are themselves not even praticing evangelical Xtians
Imagine if Indiana passes or even seriously proposes a South Dakota style anti-abortion bill. Up in Chicagoland where the state spends lots of money advertizing come on down to Indy for a weekend commercials, folks will be saying HELL NO, not in a million F’ing years.
Greg Walker another psuedo Christian “glow stick” Rethuglican could prove over night to be a national embarrassment. Furthermore lots of Hoosiers have seen what the self-styled Patriot Pastors and State Rethuglicans have done to Ohio and want no part in it.
Ok, Mitch enjoy dealing the insane asylum the Indiana Legislature will be for the next two years.
Doug,
I am I wrong about Indiana or has the state really gone insane. I just can not see how a serious frontal assault attempt at outlawing abortion is going to go over with the public.
Thats bloviator not bliovator
Soon to be New State motto:
Indiana, where live begins at conception.
Soon to be New State motto:
Indiana, where life begins at conception.
There were some union groups running anti-Garton commercials in the Indy area also, focusing on the Senate healthcare plan.
I think there was a large “throw the bums out” mentality this year.
And Garton, regardless of his merits, left himself open to that emotion by refusing to change the Senate healthcare plan. Bob Garton cost himself the election by being an out-of-touch politician.
As Jim Shella put it, it was more about Bob Garton vs. Bot Bob Garton than it was Bob Garton vs. Greg Walker.
As far as the Democrats winning that seat, and the theocrats, that area is so heavily Republican that Jesus could run as a Democrat and he wouldn’t win.
Garton’s passing would seem to put Sen. David Long (R-Fort Wayne) in the “pole” position for new senate leader. The grapevine on him locally is that he really wants to be governor. My impression of him is that he is the current Governor’s man in most things.
My biggest gripe with Garton lately was the Hope BMV branch. He used is pull to save it, but it was a decision that should have been outside his influence. Hope is still there, but now branches in places like Brownstown (county seat for Jackson) have been closed. He lost a lot of votes from outside Hope when people saw him wield his power in such a way.
Joe is totally right:
“Bob Garton cost himself the election by being an out-of-touch politician.”
Here in Columbus, the Gartons are pushing for a new, expensive, Senior Center. This center would take up room in a heavly used public park. Columbus currently has a senior center 2 blocks away form the site of the proposed one, and by all reports the current one is quite nice, but it is in a renovated power plant.
The thing is, Garton would be the first to take his tie off and protect the “historic and important symbol of Columbus” when the wrecking ball comes to the plant.
Too late to change that new motto? Indiana: Come for the Revs, Stay for the Flogging?
For the life of me I cannot understand why it isn’t the first impulse of a newly-elected exec to reach across the aisle. Mitch not only had to bad-mouth Dems at every photo op, he caved to the GOP power structure immediately (surtax, anyone?) just to get “his” legislative package passed. He could have put the Bronze Age wing of his party in place.
I’m not sayin’ that would have saved Garton, but it sure looks now like a Dem takeover of the House is in his best interests. In which case, my advice is get Becky out on the campaign trail now.
Doug,
One thing about Greg Walker of which I had been unaware: he supports public flogging. Under what context, I do not know.
Seriously, I quoted the Star on this flogging lunacy on your blog a couple of days ago.
Apparently flogging is all the rage among one of Walker’s biggest supporters like the American Family Association http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/4/afa/252005g.asp How reassuring and logical it is that if properly done flogging starts in the home, proceeds to the public schools, for those not capable of home schooling, and then finally the penal system.
Focus of the Family head James Dobson is notorious for advocating corporal punishment. He is famous for writing a chapter in one of his books Dare to Discipline on how beating the crap out of the family dauhsand was necessary to teach it not to sleep on the furry toilet lids on cold nights.
Check out:
http://nielsenhayden.com/electrolite/archives/006312.html
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_digbysblog_archive.html#111514677188282598
http://www.nospank.net/floggers.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin3.htm
Last from the parody site Jesus’s General
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_patriotboy_archive.html#111518262973637895
Doug, the truth is restoring flogging as part of the penal system is a stable of the Christian Reconstructionist/Dominionist viewpoint. They don’t call them the American Taliban for nothing.
Congratulations Indiana Republicans you just elected another certified fundy wing-nut extraordinaire.
Wow, it’s even worse than I thought. “The floggings will continue until morale improves.”
A result from another county I found of interest is from St. Joseph County where in the first District commissioners race Commissioer Mark Dobson received 1,690 votes on the Republican side to 3,943 votes on the Democrat side to David Nufer. Both men ran uncontested. Those who followed the time zone matter may recall that Dobson was the only dissenting vote among the commissioners on moving St. Joseph County to CT.
Funny, I thought they had moved in to the main part of the structure.