U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, an Indiana Democrat who is one of two Muslims serving in Congress, cautioned against focusing on the alleged shooter's religion and instead said the discussion should be about mental health issues.
"This is no way a reflection of Islam any more than Timothy McVeigh's actions are a reflection of Christianity," said Carson, who supervised an anti-terrorism unit in Indiana's Department of Homeland Security and comes from a family of Marines.
Wilson must have slept in late today, because he hasn't yet plastered the site with references to this morning's Tully column on Congressman Andre Carson reaching one year in office, a mile marker that the Star political writer saw as an opportunity to check in with the 7th District's busy representative.
When Carson returned my phone call from D.C., I asked what he was up to.
"Working, working, working, working," he said.
Then I asked how things were going after a year in Congress.
"Great, great, great, great."
That's Andre Carson.
During his short stint in public office, he's proved himself to be relentlessly positive and seriously hardworking. He's constantly in motion and constantly smiling. He's frustrated his grandmother's fiercest critics by emerging as a solid U.S. representative -- one who has worked hard to expand the base of support he inherited.
The greatest testament to Congressman Carson coming into his own is probably the least easy to notice: Silence.
As in, you haven't heard a substantial peep out of anyone concerning a 2010 primary challenge.
Chris Cillizza, aside from his love of all things Drudge, is a pretty smart guy. Time and time again during the oh-eight election season, he showed that he "got it" when it came to the national political landscape. And I think he hits the nail on the head once more this morning with his discussion of the rhetorical importance of President Obama's visit to Elkhart, Indiana -- a city of 50,000 that has lost roughly 8,000 jobs in the last year.
Obama and his team demonstrated time and time again during the campaign that they grasped the importance of symbolism when choosing event locations -- witness the coming-together of Obama and his one-time rival in Unity, N.H. (get it?), a town in which they each won 107 votes -- and heading to a traditionally Republican state in the middle of America that Obama won last fall is not an accident. It's meant to reinforce the message that the economic crisis that catapulted Obama into office is not a partisan issue and woe to politicians who view in through that lens.
Just in case anyone misses that message, Obama is bringing along a bipartisan group of lawmakers that includes Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Illinois congressman, and Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton as well as Sen. Evan Bayh and Donnelly among others.
As Wilson would no doubt like me to point out, Congressman André Carson will also be in attendance.
In response to the recent Gaza War, a fundraising page was set up on ActBlue.com in order to contribute to elected officials who have been supportive of the peoples of Israel and Palestine. The page is called "A Dream of Peace: Justice and Equality for The People of Israel and Palestine", and can be found here.
The mission of the page states "All of the people of the Holy Land need to live in peace and security. We need to support and elect candidates that are willing to stand up for the rights of the citizens of Israel and Palestine. These candidates support measures to stop violence, increase economic and humanitarian aid, actively engage in negotiation, and promote co-existence among these two Peoples."
A new poll done by Research 2000 for CBS shows both Congressman Andre Carson and Governor Mitch Daniels cruising to large victories in their respective races next Tuesday.
Democratic Congressman Andre Carson is posting a 15 point margin against Republican social worker Gabrielle Campo, leading 53% to 38%. Carson is buoyed by near-universal support among black voters and a strong lead with independent voters. The only category Campo is leading other than Republicans is with white voters, where she has a 20-point edge.
Likewise, Governor Mitch Daniels leads former Democratic Congresswoman Jill Long-Thompson by 14 points, 54%-40%. Daniels leads among men and women, Republicans, Independents, and even takes 12% of Democratic voters. Most concerning for the Democrat are the numbers from Marion County, which show Daniels leading Long-Thompson by 8 in a county essential for a statewide Democratic victory. That's a 12 point swing downward for Long-Thompson since the last CBS poll in September. Of course we have to remember that during the last half of September and first half of October, JLT didn't even have ads on the air so it isn't shocking that her numbers cratered in Marion County. Daniels has run a positive campaign and has run some truly great advertisements. Jill was never able to cut through the clutter. To the right is one of MMM's more memorable campaign ads.
On the presidential front, the numbers tell the same story they did a month ago. Indiana is tight as a tick on a deer's behind. Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain are tied with 47% each. This is fueled in part by Obama's performance in Marion County, where he is leading McCain by 8 points in a county that was split 50/50 between Bush and Kerry four years ago.
Interestingly, the number of ticket splitters is the key to this. Back in May, I think most observers would have said the most likely ticket split is the one that usually happens in Indiana. People will vote for the Republican presidential nominee and the Democratic candidate for governor. This year, the anecdotal evidence points to the reverse. I can't count the number of Daniels/Obama yard sign combinations I've seen here on Indy's north side.
The economy is the issue that dominates. And Obama's latest ad reminds voters of what McCain has to offer on that front:
That is probably one of my favorite Obama ads of the season.
For you junkies out there, Sarah Palin is the only candidate who has a negative favorability rating. She is seen favorably by 45% and unfavorably by 48%. The other Pres/VP candidates have a favorability of +10 or more.
Whatever the final numbers on Tuesday, Indiana will be deep purple rather than crimson.
A friend sent some pictures to me and I just had to share. This series of pictures is a perfect example of the personal style differences between Obama and McCain. Obama is just the cooler candidate, and this discreet moment onstage yesterday caught by a supporter in the crowd (thanks Robynn!) captures the moment succinctly.
Obama approaches a veteran seated in the front row of the stage:
I'm reading in several places that Andre Carson's campaign has refused to organize a debate with the Republican nominee, Gabrielle Campo. Why is this? We know Andre is on the right side of the issues, but the voters of the 7th District deserve to at least compare the two candidates.
We certainly don't want Andre to become the Democratic Steve Buyer, do we?
I wanted the good folks at Blue Indiana to here about a Community Forum Congressman Carson is hosting this weekend. I'm glad that Andre has been willing to step out on be a leader on this topic, so I'm trying to get as many people as possible to show up to support this.
He pushed this yesterday and Amos Brown's show and he'll be on WIBC tomorrow to promote it further.
Congressman André Carson
"Green Jobs- Reviving our Economy and Restoring our Environment"
Community Forum
Saturday, September 13, 2008
10:00- 11:30 AM
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Headquarters
1029 Fletcher Avenue
Please join Congressman André Carson for a panel discussion and Question and Answer session with representatives from the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Building Trades, Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club.
While Republican Jon Elrod makes his latest leap to a different political campaign, the Marion County GOP is once again back to the drawing board in terms of finding a sacrificial lamb candidate for the 7th CD race. WISH reports on the struggle and spin:
Former city-county councillor Ray Irvin hopes a run for Congress is in his immediate future.
"I don't think it was anything I planned but it does fit into the things I've done. I think I still have a lot to contribute to our city," said Irvin.
When Jon Elrod dropped his bid for Congress last week it left the Republican Party at loose ends with no candidate running for a seat where they have little chance to win.
[...]
But former city-county councillor Scott Keller is also interested and so is newcomer Gabrielle Campo. She challenged Elrod for the Seventh District nomination prior to the March Special Election. Campo still has a Web site up and running and key party leaders in her corner.
Meanwhile, Congressman Carson continues to serve (and serve well) in Washington, and has been moonlighting as a damn good Obama surrogate in recent days.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton squeaked out a critical razor-thin victory in Indiana's presidential primary Tuesday but lost North Carolina's primary, a split decision that left her no closer to overcoming Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic nomination.
With 99 percent of the votes counted, Clinton was clinging to a narrow 51 percent to 49.percent lead. Only about 22,000 votes out of about 1.2.million cast separated her and Obama.
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson said it's time to reunite the party after winning a hard-fought Democratic nomination in the 7th Congressional District, where the race featured record spending and multiple candidates who split the majority of the votes.
With most of the precincts reporting, Carson led with 41 percent of the vote, according to unofficial tallies. The three top voter getters who trailed Carson together had 52 percent of the vote.
Carson said it won't be difficult to unite the party for the general election in November, when he will have a rematch with Jon Elrod, who easily won the Republican nomination. Carson beat Elrod by 9,000 votes in a March special election to complete the term of his grandmother, Julia Carson, who died while in office.
Jill Long Thompson captured a slim victory early today in a fierce battle for the Democratic nomination for governor.
With just 26 of the state's 5,230 precincts left to report at 1:30 a.m., Long Thompson led Schellinger by just 5,400 votes.
She had won 50.25 percent of the vote statewide compared to his 49.75, largely thanks to winning 54 percent of the Lake County vote, which did not release most of its results until early this morning.
Of course, the Long Thompson victory is still subject to scrutiny and recounts, and there are some still making noise about the race still having a little life left in it. More on that later after I have a few hundred cups of coffee.
So what've you been hearing right before the primaries? You know me, I love to gossip. Here's what I've got. How about you?
I hear the party has pretty much given up on Schellinger. Jill Long Thompson's election night celebration is in Ft. Wayne and not with the establishment in Indy. Will "change" win over "insiders" in the gubernatorial race?
How about in the Presidential battle? Sources tell me that Team Clinton is feeling confident that they will carry the day while Team Obama is encouraged by the amount of new registrations state-wide and are banking on "change" to give him the win.
All the 7th Congressional District campaigns are sweating those new registrations too. With so many new voters outside of Center Township, will Orentlicher buck the polls? No one thinks Carolene Mays stands a chance. I've heard of three different polls now that puts Woody just a hair under Carson; perhaps the newbie "change" can sweep the day.
The happiest candidates the night before the election? Mitch Daniels, Jon Elrod and John McCain.
I posted the ad in question yesterday, but today brings word that Woody Myers and his campaign aren't taking the accusations lightly. In fact, if this release from his people is to be believed, they are willing to take the matter to court.
Yesterday a competitor vying for the 7th Congressional District seat released a television advertisement criticizing Dr. Myers saying he "worked with Republicans to defeat the Patient's Bill of Rights," a statement that couldn't be further from the truth.
Today Dr. Myers will call on his competitor to take down the desperate and erroneous advertisement or face legal action at a press conference in his campaign headquarters.
I'll have more on this as it develops.
Update: From a press release that hit the streets a short while ago.
"Today I demand my competitor take down this erroneous advertisement," Myers said. "Passing false statements off as facts for the sake of political expediency is not politics of real change. The 7th District needs a Congressman willing to roll up their sleeves and fight for universal healthcare, bring good jobs to Indianapolis and make sure all our children can have a better education."
Dr. Myers has been a tireless advocate for patients his entire career and has served boldly standing up for their interests in the very venues where they need the strongest voice. The notion that he would oppose the principles put forth in the Patient's Bill of Rights is simply ridiculous.
"I've taken care of patients my entire career and fought for them in every job I've had," Myers said. "Whether in the emergency room or in a board room, patients need to be taken care of. I'm the only candidate that has taken care of them in both places and I'll work the hardest to take care of them in the halls of Congress."
Any candidate claiming real change should be above inducing politics of fear in the campaign's final days. This claim is a desperate attempt by competitors to curb the momentum the Myers campaign is gaining. Recent polls have proven this is a two-person race.
Maureen Groppe updates us on a story that Wilson has been taking great pleasure in spreading in various threads -- Dr. Woody Myers has dropped more change into the 7th District primary.
Myers, a multimillionaire, reported to the Federal Election Commission Tuesday that he has loaned his campaign $356,000 on top of nearly $1.3 million in previous loans.
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Myers is one of seven Democrats hoping to defeat Rep. Andre Carson, D-Indianapolis, May 6 for the Democratic nomination in the district.
State Rep. David Orentlicher, another challenger, previously reported loaning his campaign $327,000.
Myers was outspending the field as of April 16, the end of the last full campaign disclosure period. After April 16, candidates also have to disclose if they loan their campaigns significant sums or if they receive contributions of $1,000 or more. Carson has reported receiving about $150,000 in contributions since April 16. Much of the money came from Democratic members of Congress and political action committees representing such interests as mortgage brokers, insurance agents and wine and spirits wholesalers.
Will the self-funding turn people off? Are any of them paying attention to this race at this point?
Maureen Groppe gives us another soft profile piece of Rep. Andre Carson this morning, noting that barely a day had passed after his victory in the March special election before he was casting votes.
It is probably worth mentioning that barely a day went by before the campaign to unseat the newly-elected grandson of Julia Carson began.
Fast-forward a month or so, and you find yourself at a grocery store watching Congressman Carson on the stump -- or at least you do if you're Star columnist Matt Tully.
The symbolism was impossible to miss.
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson stood at a Northeastside grocery store Monday morning, hoping to drum up publicity eight days before the May 6 primary. Behind him, on a large billboard, was the face of Woody Myers, the former state health commissioner who has dominated the 7th District's Democratic primary with his self-funded campaign.
Carson is the sitting officeholder, the man with the title, the family name and the built-in advantages that come with incumbency. But Myers has been the more visible candidate, with a powerful TV advertising campaign and a well-run campaign office that has many wondering whether he'll put an end to the Carson dynasty when voters head to the polls next week.
I got an unexpected letter in the mail on Saturday. It was from the Marion County Democratic Party; they were writing me as a precinct committee person. Of course when it came time to choose a candidate for the special election, they decided that I wasn't a committee person and refused to let me vote against Andre Carson. Now, apparently, I'm back in but who can be sure?
The letter seriously irritated me for it's sheer idiocy and threatening posture. County Party Chair Michael O'Conner's note to party insiders insists that Congressional candidates David Orentlicher and Carolene Mays can only hand out literature at the polls that asks people to vote against them. It also asks for poll workers to rat out any other lower level volunteer who hands out literature for any Democratic candidate other than Andre Carson and threatens an unspecified punishment. Keep in mind that O'Conner has maxed out his allowable contributions to the Carson campaign.
For those who don't know, "slating" is a process designed to make money for the party. Candidates pay a fee that varies depending on the race in question and generally runs in the thousands of dollars. After you've paid your non-refundable fee, party insiders pick which candidate the party is going to be on the "slate" at a slating convention. Slated candidates get the official backing of the party and get party resources, campaign materials, and from the sounds of this letter, a goon-squad to make sure no one strays from the script.
So much for democracy in action. Why in the hell do we even need a primary? Why don't we just allow candidates to pay the Party their money and allow the insiders to pick our candidates for us so those silly voters won't have to get involved at all! For the Marion County Democratic Party to threaten sanctions against those who participate in one of the most basic functions of democracy is beyond outrageous; it's treasonous.
Copy of the letter and my analysis at Bilerico-Indiana. Just for the record, my calls to the Marion County Democratic Party about this story were not returned.
Here's another reminder that last night will bring us what I believe will be the last joint appearance by the four front-runners for the Democratic nomination in the 7th District. Here's the scoop, for those that missed it earlier in the week:
IUPUI will host on April 27 a live debate among four candidates vying for the 7th Congressional District Democratic nomination in the May 6 primary. The debate will be shown on MyNDY Channel 23 and broadcast live on WIBC, 93.1 FM.
Jim Shella, 24-Hour News 8 political reporter, will serve as moderator of the debate between U.S. Representative Andre Carson, former State Health Commissioner Woody Myers, and State Representatives David Orentlicher and Carolene Mays.
The debate will be held from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.in the University Place Conference Center Auditorium.
My sense is that if you don't have a ticket already, you may have a hard time scoring one at this point. No worries, because you can listen to the WIBC broadcast via their website.
I never received any hard details from the organizers about the prospect of some Blue Indiana questions making their way into the event, so I have no idea if that will occur or not. I will be there, though, and if the 'net cooperates I will liveblog the event as best I can.
Expectations? Is anyone even paying attention to this race right now in Indianapolis?
Indianapolis Star columnist John Ketzenberger turns his eye toward the 7th District, and looks at one of the major issues facing the Indianapolis area: Job creation. He breaks down the various experiences of the candidates themselves, and their policy proposals, but the real question at the end of the day is whether any of the voters will be paying attention amidst all of the presidential noise.
Job creation is Job One in the 7th Congressional District.
The four major candidates for the Democratic nomination put that issue atop their list of concerns. That's music to local business leaders who spend an inordinate amount of time trying to replace lost jobs.
The public is engaged, too. An Indianapolis Star/WTHR poll showed Hoosiers care far more about job creation than anything else. So, as the primary nears, which Democrat has the best combination of business savvy and a plan to address job woes?
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