Posted on 05/03/2010 5:08:40 PM PDT by ConservativeJen
John Hostettler, a former Congressman with a 97% A+ rating from immigration control groups, is the clear choice for conservative and independent minded voters in Indiana.
The establishment candidate, Dan Coats, would not be any better than the Democratic nominee for conservatives and others concerned about immigration and individual liberty. He received an abysmal 27% D ranking on immigration issues, worse than many Democrats in Indiana, including the Democratic nominee Brad Ellsworth.
Dan Coats also voted for Bill Clintons 1993 assault weapons ban, while John Hostettler voted against this anti-gun law. Dan Coats also voted for the anti-gun Brady Bill, and the NRA has said they will support Democrat Brad Ellsworth if Coats wins the GOP nomination. John Hostettler, on the other hand, has an A rating from the NRA.
John Hostettler has also shown an ability to reach beyond his socially conservative base, winning the endorsement of popular Congressman Ron Paul. Dan Coats, a former lobbyist who held a position in the Bush administration, will not appeal to the independent voters upon whom the GOP is depending to win control of Congress this election.
John Hostettler is the candidate closest in the polls to Dan Coats, and has the best chance of beating him. The only other candidate above 10% in the polls, Marlin Stutzman, has been criticized for not being clearly against illegal immigration and an amnesty, and refused to answer a question in a debate about homosexuals in the military, which Hostettler opposes.
Indianan conservatives, especially those who care about borders, language, and culture deserve a candidate who is better than the Democratic nominee on issues such as immigration and gun rights.
(Excerpt) Read more at westernyouth.org ...
I was talking about Hostettler. I hate to say it but he does notaveit. His last name is the same as mine except for one extra T.
Hostettler: No.
Coats: HELL no!
Stutzman: Yes..
AMEN BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!
stutzman voted for the largest tax increase in the history of the state as a state senator. hostettler is a solid conservative who is dedicated to 2nd amendment rights and the american military.
Hostettler also has an A from the NRA.
As to who is more ‘electable’, the last poll I saw has Hostettler well ahead of Stutzman. Coats of course has the lead but is a RINO
Was that the tax increase that passed the Senate by a final vote of 46-3 ?
Nobody can beat Coats because he is the one who IN people have vaguely heard about. It’s all abut name ID. I would vote for Hostettler if I were a Hossier, but people there haven’t given us an upset since Dan Quayle, and they have been apologizing about that for thirty years now.
Stutzman is coming on strong in polling. I wish John H would drop out.
I hope so. Do you think Carlos May is going to get votes to worry Carson in the 7th district? He has been running some very good radio ads targeting Carson for voting with Pelosi and Reid on health care against the wishes of the people.
Given that I’ve read more about the three main GOP candidates than just that one article schilling for Hostettler, I am not at all worried about Stutzman’s conservative bona fides. Hostettler, on the other hand, is up there with Ron Paul in his opposition to the War on Islamofascism (which is why he’s got the support of Paulites nationwide). Hostettler is excellent on most other issues, I’ll grant you that, but being an ally of Code Pink when it comes to our war in Iraw iis quite a strike against him in my book.
And then there’s the fact that Hostettler won’t fundraise or run a traditional campaign. That is a huge problem in a statewide race against a Democrat who will spend tens of millions of dollars, and I don’t think that you can brush that aside by saying “if he can win the primary then he will have proven his success as a campaigner, since it is possible to get 30% or so in a low-turnout primary without spending much money (with free publicity such as the one provided by this thread) and win he nomination, but it would be a recipe for disaster in the general election.
Remember, Hostettler represented a congressional district that gave President Bush 62% in 2004, and his refusal to raise money or run a concentional campaign resulted in his losing reelection by a whopping 60%-40% margin in 2006. The guy who beat him? Brad Ellsworth, who is the Democrat Senate candidate this year. As I said in my prior post, I was willing to give Hostettler another chance, thinking that he had learned his lesson from his disastrous 2006 campaign, but his anemic fundraising totals prove that he refuses to give this race the seriousness it deserves. Ellsworth will hurl as much mud as he can at the GOP Senate nominee; how will Hostettler fight back if he can’t run TV ads because he refuses to fundraise or go on TV?
“As to who is more electable, the last poll I saw has Hostettler well ahead of Stutzman.”
Looks like Coats is ahead:
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/04/29/in-senate-race-coats-claims-poll-position/?test=latestnews
UPDATE: The most surprising single piece of data in the poll was Coats strong standing among likely voters who “identify with the Tea Party movement”. In that group...Coats got 30%...Stutzman 23%...Hostettler 21%...Undecided 11%...Bates 9% and Behney 4%.
Why is that surprising? Coats did not win a single straw poll at any of the debates sponsored by Tea Party groups. Organizers have repeatedly told me that of the five Republican candidates...the Tea Party favorites are Stutzman, Behney and Bates.
In fact, Behney is a Tea Party organizer himself. Stutzman has courted the Tea Party vote and has won four Tea Party debate straw polls. The one candidate who has seemed to struggle for support among Tea Party activists is Coats.
Yet, this polls suggests Coats may have mended fences with Tea Partiers on issues such as Coats’ voting for a semi-automatic weapons ban while a Senator in the 1990’s...and Coats work as a DC lobbyist.
Tea Partiers may have grown pragmatic here in the waning days of the primary campaign...getting behind Coats because of his base of support among the regulars of the Indiana Republican Party. But if that’s true...it’s the first time this reporter has heard it.
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