Free Republic

A notable buzz surrounded youthful Indiana State Sen. Marlin Stutzman as he was escorted around this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) by activist Donna Weisner. “Back in Indiana, they say he’s our Scott Brown,” she said proudly. Stutzman supporters elatedly boasted news of a Rasmussen poll that gives Stutzman a ten-point lead over the likely Democrat nominee for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Evan Bayh. All this is a stunning development for the young farmer and businessman who only four years ago was the youngest member of the Indiana legislature. In Washington power circles former Sen. Dan...

Senate Republicans were dealt another recruiting setback in Indiana this morning. Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, who had been mulling a campaign against Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), has instead decided to run for the House seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) "Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita discussed and prayed with his wife Kathy at home over the weekend about how best to serve going forward,” said Rokita spokesman Kevin Kellems.

The decision by Beau Biden not to run for Senate brings to mind an historical parallel. With no Biden in the race, with no Ted Kaufman serving another term, the Democratic candidate is likely to be New Castle County executive Chris Coons. Back in 1972, no Democrat wanted to run against a popular Republican, so a young New Castle County Councilman with no money entered the race. His name: Joe Biden. Historical parallels might be all that Democrats have to hang onto. Rep. Mike Castle (R) is sufficiently popular statewide and has a fairly unimpeachable record of service in Washington....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzpRZnnrjrs An empty suit? A Republican who hopes to prevent Democrat Evan Bayh from winning his third U.S. Senate term in 2010 is running his first commercial. The ad features Marlin Stutzman, a state senator from Howe, standing next to a suit on a hanger. "I don't approve of sending empty suits to Washington," he says, an implication that the moderate Bayh shifts with political winds. Stutzman is emerging as the front-runner among three Republicans who have entered the race. The empty suit commercial is running only on cable channels right now. Political observers think that to seriously challenge Bayh,...

Heart surgeon Dr. Larry Bucshon, the candidate that some 8th District Republican leaders say is the likely GOP challenger to Rep. Brad Ellsworth, is set to announce his candidacy. Bucshon, 47, will make a noon announcement Monday on the riverfront pavilion in Newburgh and appear Monday night at Princeton High School at a book-signing for former U.S. Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind. Bucshon's campaign issued statements supporting him by party chairmen in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey and Gibson counties.

After losing to Rep. Hill in 2002, claiming the 9th CD in the presidential year of 2004, then losing to Hill again in 2006 by 110,454 to 100,469 (Libertarian Eric Schansberg polled 9,893), the Democrat was able to hang on to the seat in 2009 with a 61,000 vote plurality. Many believed that Sodrel was headed to the dustbin of Hoosier congressional politics. Not so fast, the trucking executive told HPI. “What I’ve told everybody was that I wasn’t prepared to tell them I wouldn’t seek the nomination, but I’m not prepared to tell them I will.” Sodrel is writing...

The Board of Governors of the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) has decided to recognize one of its leading Members as the 2009 Republican Lawyer of the Year. The Republican Lawyer of the Year recognizes lawyers for outstanding professional accomplishments and years of dedicated service to the Republican Party and its ideals. James Bopp is one of the foremost lawyers in the field of Campaign Finance and Election Law and has been a leader in promoting the RNLA’s goal of ensuring elections are open, fair and honest.

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Republican State Sen. Marlin Stutzman confirmed for Howey Politics that he is seriously weighing a 2010 challenge to U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh. “There’s plenty of things to talk about,” Stutzman told HPI on Friday. “Sen. Bayh has been on the Banking Committee with Sen. Chris Dodd and Washington has just failed to watch out for Americans out here.” Stutzman, 32, is in his first term in the Indiana Senate - representing Kosciusko, Noble, Steuben and DeKalb counties - after three terms in the House. He serves on the Commerce, Pensions & Labor, Utilities & Technology, and Natural Resources committees. Stutzman...

Indiana is still updating its website and it appears that McCain's lead is growing.

Greg Goode, Republican Candidate for Indiana's Eighth Congressional District, kicks off an old-fashioned Whistle Stop tour of the Eighth District Friday morning, Oct. 25

In Lake County, IN the Registrar of Voters started examining voter registrations turned in by ACORN. Of the first 2,100 that were examined, 2,100 were found to be fraudulent. Yep, all of them. Drew Griffin at CNN has been doing an amazing job of reporting on various entities connected to the Obama campaign, and here's his report: (MUST-SEE CNN VIDEO AT LINK)

Please FREEP this poll! We're working hard to re-establish a GOP base in our county. We need all the help we can get.

Please Freeper this poll! Located near the bottom of the page.

There's a heartwarming story in today's Times of Northwest Indiana. Jane Pauley, one-time co-host of NBC's Today and Dateline NBC programs, made an appearance yesterday for Barack Obama. Joining her was Steve Skvara, the retired steelworker who in August of last year tearfully asked Democratic presidential candidates at a debate, "What's wrong with America? And what will you do to change it?" The Times reported: PORTAGE Former television news anchor and Hoosier native Jane Pauley returned to her professional roots Monday during a local appearance on behalf of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Pauley, who said she worked for the...

In the 5th Congressional District, incumbent Republican Dan Burton gets to try for yet another term in November. Burton withstood a challenge from former Marion County Coroner Dr. John McGoff, saying his opponent was very well-financed with special interest money. Plus, he says his campaign had problems with the Indianapolis print media. Heading into November, Burton believes the main issue will be the economy. McGoff says the Republican crossover vote was probably the biggest factor in his loss. Burton faces Democrat Mary Etta Ruley in the general election.

http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN HIGHER EDUCATION A janitor working for Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis has been reprimanded for reading a book on campus. Keith John Sampson does janitorial work for the campus while accumulating credits for a degree in communications. Sampson checked out a book from the government library called Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan. The book is apparently about two days in May 1924 when a group of Notre Dame students got into a street fight with members of the Ku Klux Klan. http://www.nuvo.net/articles/21st_century_catch22/ The problem began when...

Greencastle, Ind. - "Four years ago in this cycle there was a front-runner and his name was Howard Dean," recalls Jeri Kehn Thompson, in an interview with Kentucky's Lexington Herald-Leader. "John Kerry was running about eighth. You can ask President Dean how things went in Iowa." Thompson, a 1988 graduate of DePauw University, is the wife of Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson, who is currently running third among GOP candidates in an Iowa poll. She was in Louisville campaigning for her husband yesterday. The article notes that Jeri Thompson returned home to Washington immediately following her Kentucky stop so she...

More names are surfacing as another candidate announces his intention to run against Congresswoman Julia Carson. The ailing Carson has not publicly said if she will seek another term in Washington, but speculation is growing in this race and so is the field of candidates. Republican State Representative Jon Elrod first walked into the statewide political scene last year. In fact, he walked so much of the 97th District that he wore holes in the bottom of his shoes. Voters rewarded the 29-year-old southsider with an upset victory. Now he's going to try and tackle the 7th U.S. Congressional District....

Whether he's on the golf course or behind the wheel, Dan Burton loves taxpayer-funded caddies. "U.S. Rep. Dan Burton's primary challenger today accused the Indianapolis Republican of wasting taxpayers dollars by spending office funds on a Cadillac DeVille and on mass mailings touting his accomplishments. "'I'm sure the average Hoosier taxpayer struggling to pay their own bills will be comforted to know that they are paying for Dan Burton to enjoy a luxurious Cadillac DeVille for over $700 a month,' said John McGoff, an Indianapolis doctor. "Burton is not the only one of the state's nine House members who leases...