Greg Zoeller's First Television Ad

It's a powerful ad. Steve Carter remains probably one of the most popular elected officials in Indiana, and his presence in the ad is a big plus for Zoeller.

And, as a plus, the ad isn't as questionable or shady as that of Linda Pence, as Advance Indiana points out.

Daily Ads

The Rescue

What Just Happened?

CJ: Yup, Baron & the Democrats Went Negative

Lesley Stedman Weidenbener warns Baron Hill and the Democrats that going negative might not have been such a great idea, particularly when they went negative with a smear that is not supported by the facts.

She's even "disappointed" that the Democrats went negative (recognizing that it was going to backfire). It wouldn't do for Baron to fall to friendly fire, after all; not when the media has done such a good job of avoiding to cover his liberal positions and his shady doings with regard to things like earmarks.

It was just last month that the spokeswoman for Rep. Baron Hill's congressional campaign told me how well voters were reacting to the Democrat's positive campaign commercials.

Katie Moreau, who worked in Hill's congressional office until leaving for the campaign, said the reaction had been overwhelming and bipartisan.

So that's why it was a little disappointing that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- the political arm of Democratic candidates for the U.S. House -- entered the fray with a negative commercial.

Now, I'm the first to say that negative is in the eye of the beholder. An ad that refers to an opponent's view on an issue isn't necessarily an attack.

But this ad hearkens back to the "Millionaire Mike" label Democrats have used in past commercials against Sodrel. It also misrepresents Sodrel's position on Social Security, accusing him of seeking to cut benefits.

While Sodrel has said an option for Social Security is letting younger workers put some of their retirement savings into private investment accounts, he has not advocated cuts in benefits. In fact, he has consistently said he wants benefits to remain unchanged for current and near-term retirees.

The Sodrel campaign is crying foul over the new ad, and spokesman Ryan Reger said last week that Hill should be calling for the committee to take the ad off the air.

Still, the new ad could prove a mistake for Democrats. Although the Hill campaign didn't sponsor the ad, voters may not make that distinction. That could alienate all those voters who have been pleased and excited about Hill's positive message.

Also, Democrats have now opened the door for Sodrel to do a response ad, and that's when the negativity can really start escalating.

Last week Sodrel said he plans to start advertising in the coming days. He said he plans to stick with a positive message, but he didn't rule out what he termed a contrast commercial.

A negative ad, she says, "is in the eye of the beholder."

And if even Lesley Stedman thinks a Democratic advertisement is negative, then it must be especially egregious in terms of its smear quotient.

Geography in the 9th District Race

Southern Indiana Times has an interesting observation:

Aside from obvious Liberal vs Conservative differences between Congressional candidates Mike Sodrel and Baron Hill, there are some glaring geographic differences as well. And they could make the difference in the election.

Hill’s obvious base is in Bloomington and the surrounding area. Sodrel’s strength is in Jeffersonville, New Albany and in the Louisville metroplex. In fact Hill has made VERY little effort to campaign in this area. He is essentially relying on people voting “straight ticket” to carry him to victory by getting “just enough” from Sodrel here.

It's a salient point, I suppose. From my observations, Baron Hill appears to be relying almost exclusively on the air war and on Barack Obama's efforts in Monroe County. Sodrel, by contrast, has virtually no air war at all and is relying on a heavy ground game and grassroots effort; not just in the "river counties" but throughout the rural areas of the district.

Sodrel's grassroots efforts have somehow (in defiance of all expectations and conventional wisdom) somehow made this a close race; one wonders what will happen when Sodrel starts actually airing television ads (he is already on radio). Democrats have started a negative smear campaign against him (first with mailings, then with television attack ads) to staunch this bleeding.

This race remains, fundamentally, one of nineteen counties against one; southern Indiana's rural (even if not Republican) conservatism and anger with Congress, on one hand, against the liberal nuttery of the People's Republic of Bloomington and various yellow dog Democrats who will vote for anybody with a "D" after their name, no matter what their positions are, on the other.

The Obama Youth

Surprised? You shouldn't be.

They also think that Obama is their "personal Jesus" (hat tip to Power Line):

Yes, I just said it. Obama is my Jesus. ...
As with many spiritual enlightenments, mine came in the middle of a bleak, hopeless period of my life. The innocent, idealistic world of politics that had shaped my childhood, the one that taught me how the president is a good guy, one who makes you feel safe, gives a speech on TV every once in a while and one you'd feel honored to shake hands with, had been slowly whittled into a deep rooted cynicism to anything politically related.

The crush of the Bush victory over Gore was only the first mar on my previously consummate ideal of the American administration. And the tragedies just kept continuing ...

Then I found my miracle. Stumbling through my hopeless world, afraid to turn to anyone with my political questions of morality, my concerns about the afterlife of the country I called home, a voice spoke to me.

Obama youth? Personal Jesus.

Geez.

Quote of the Day

“Sub-prime lending started off as a good idea.”
- Barack Obama, September 17, 2007 (after the subprime problems had already started)



Hat tip: Hoosier Access.

Daily Funnies

Varvel: No leaders there.


Ramirez: Joe Biden stands tall.


Varvel: Memorable debate quotes.

SNL on the Subprime Mortgage Crisis

More VP Debate Reaction

Andrew Sullivan:

Biden is just dreadful. He speaks in Washingtonese. [Sarah Palin] just issues the soundbites and wrinkles her eyes and tells stories. And that works. The speed and chirpiness she delivers overwhelms one's ability to even quite absorb what she's saying. And it has put Biden off-stride. It's Biden who seems over-crammed.

Contentions round-up:

Dick Morris on FOX: “A superstar.” Biden, says Morris “Looked like he was on downers.” From Chris Matthews, if you can believe it: “I think she’s an extremely appealing politician. Her energy level was much better than Biden’s. I think Biden lost a little speed there during the evening. I think she came across terrific in terms of presentation.” And Tom Brokaw (over at the grown up part of NBC) was kvelling about them “whooping it up in Alaska.”

Joe Lieberman on FOX liked the “magical moment” when she “did the backward looking” and took Biden to task for harping on the Bush administration.

The Associated Press:

Feisty Palin stands her ground in Biden debate

ST. LOUIS - Under intense scrutiny, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin stood her ground Thursday night against a vastly more experienced Joe Biden, debating the economy, energy and global warming, then challenging him on Iraq, "especially with your son in the National Guard."

The Alaska governor also noted that Biden had once said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wasn't ready to be commander in chief, "and I know again that you opposed the move that he made to try to cut off funding for the troops and I respect you for that."

Hot Air has video of the Luntz focus group; Palin swept it.

Ace has Biden's 14 lies of the night:

JOE BIDEN’S 14 LIES TONIGHT

1. TAX VOTE: Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000, but McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY.

2. AHMEDINIJAD MEETING: Joe Biden lied when he said that Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran. Barack Obama did say specifically, and Joe Biden attacked him for it.

3. OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Biden said, “Drill we must.” But Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping” the Outer Continental Shelf.”

4. TROOP FUNDING: Joe Biden lied when he indicated that John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of it’s passage.

5. OPPOSING CLEAN COAL: Biden says he’s always been for clean coal, but he just told a voter that he is against clean coal and any new coal plants in America and has a record of voting against clean coal and coal in the U.S. Senate.

6. ALERNATIVE ENERGY VOTES: According to FactCheck.org, Biden is exaggerating and overstating John McCain’s record voting for alternative energy when he says he voted against it 23 times.

7. HEALTH INSURANCE: Biden falsely said McCain will raise taxes on people's health insurance coverage -- they get a tax credit to offset any tax hike. Independent fact checkers have confirmed this attack is false

8. OIL TAXES: Biden falsely said Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska -- she reformed the state tax and revenue system, it's not a windfall profits tax.

9. AFGHANISTAN / GEN. MCKIERNAN COMMENTS: Biden said that top military commander in Iraq said the principles of the surge could not be applied to Afghanistan, but the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force Gen. David D. McKiernan said that there were principles of the surge strategy, including working with tribes, that could be applied in Afghanistan.

10. REGULATION: Biden falsely said McCain weakened regulation -- he actually called for more regulation on Fannie and Freddie.

11. IRAQ: When Joe Biden lied when he said that John McCain was “dead wrong on Iraq”, because Joe Biden shared the same vote to authorize the war and differed on the surge strategy where they John McCain has been proven right.

12. TAX INCREASES: Biden said Americans earning less than $250,000 wouldn’t see higher taxes, but the Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more.

13. BAILOUT: Biden said the economic rescue legislation matches the four principles that Obama laid out, but in reality it doesn’t meet two of the four principles that Obama outlined on Sept. 19, which were that it include an emergency economic stimulus package, and that it be part of “part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.”

14. REAGAN TAX RATES: Biden is wrong in saying that under Obama, Americans won't pay any more in taxes then they did under Reagan.

Peggy Noonan: "She killed."



Dick Morris (who thought Sarah Palin won) owns Alan Colmes (who just tried to quote Democrat talking points):

VP Debate Reaction

Well, I thought that Sarah Palin did well. She held her own and made no major mistakes. Her only mistake appears to be one of mispronunciation. Biden was wonkish, pompous, and windy.

This being said, I thought it was even. But then, many of the focus groups and talking heads seem to think that Palin won for whatever reason (perhaps low expectations). I thought that McCain wiped the floor with Obama; talking heads thought it was even or lean Obama. Now I figure it was even, and they think Palin came out ahead.

Go figure.

Sarah Palin reaffirmed the support of Republicans and conservatives in her tonight, even if she did nothing else (and I think that she might have, given the talking heads). There were no "wince moments" as there were during, say, the Couric interview. That alone, I suppose, is a big victory.

She was, as many people have said, shockingly ordinary. And for someone so ordinary and representative of the everyperson, she held her own against Joe Biden, the verbose windbag and vainglorious buffoon that is the personification of the Washington establishment.

And in a "throw the bums out" year, this sort of everyperson holding their own against the personification of a do-nothing Congress and a government in gridlock can't be anything but a good thing.

Corydon's Unsavory Past

From the CJ:

The Friends of Corydon Capitol will offer "Corydon's Unsavory Past" walking tours Friday and Saturday.

Guided tours will depart at 7:30 p.m. from the Hurley D. Conrad Memorial Bandstand on the grounds of the Corydon Capitol, 126 E. Walnut St. The last tour will depart at 9 p.m.

The fundraising event benefits the Friends of Corydon Capitol, which supports the preservation and programming of the state historic site. Volunteers will help stage re-creations of events covering Corydon's nearly 200-year history.

Tickets are $10 and must be purchased in advance at the Wright Interpretive Center in downtown Corydon during business hours or by calling 738-4890.

A great event. If you live in southern Indiana, drop by and see it.

They're Voting Democrat...

Hat tip: Tiger's Eye.

Quote of the Day

"I don't think me calling House Republican members would have been that helpful, I tend not to be that persuasive on that side of the aisle."
- Barack Obama, on his "bipartisan work" on the bailout bill.

Minor Obama Flack Coming to God's Country

From the Courier-Journal:

Jane Pauley, an Indianapolis native and former co-host of NBC’s Today and Dateline shows, will be in New Albany, Scottsburg, Jeffersonville, Corydon and Seymour during the next two days as part of a swing through Southern Indiana to campaign for Democrat presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

At 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, the pair will join Obama supporters and volunteers at the Harrison County Democratic Headquarters at 121 Chestnut St. in Corydon to kickoff some grassroots campaign efforts.

It will be interesting to see how many people show up, and what sort of reception they get for their "grassroots campaign efforts."

The Quotable Joe Biden

“We can call it quits and withdraw from Iraq. I think that would be a gigantic mistake. Or we can set a deadline for pulling out, which I fear will only encourage our enemies to wait us out — equally a mistake.”
- Joe Biden, 2005

Shock: Secret British Assessment Discovers Obama is "Decidedly Liberal"

Most of us, of course, knew this all along.

UK ambassador delivers frank assessment of 'decidedly liberal' Obama in secret letter to British PM Gordon Brown... LONDON TELEGRAPH to reveal all in leaked letter... Developing...

Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.

Todd Rokita in Iraq

Hoosier Access has a great post on Secretary of State Todd Rokita's visit to Iraq.

Check it out.

Columbia Journalism Review: Yeah, Gwen Ifill Has a Conflict of Interest

Remember this when watching the debate due to start in a few minutes.

Even the respected and prestigious Columbia Journalism Review thinks that debate moderator Gwen Ifill, who is writing a book about Obama, has a conflict of interest:

Conflict of interest is often about appearances. There appears, to us, to be a conflict in Ifill moderating tomorrow night’s vice presidential debate. Here’s why:

- Ifill’s upcoming book is called “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” It, apparently, “surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians [like Newark Mayor Corey Booker and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick] forging a bold new path to political power.”

- The book apparently will be published on January 20th, 2009, Inauguration Day.

- It stands to reason that a book with such a title would sell better if a certain person is inaugurated on that day.

Hat tip: Hot Air.

Truth Mirrors Humor, It Seems

I blogged several times (here and here) a while back about the above logo, made by a pro-McCain graphic designer to call attention to Barack Obama's position with regard to abortion.

Well, from Brad the Designer comes word that there actually is an Obama community group on the official campaign website entitled "Abortion Providers for Obama." It also has a fundraising page.

Truth, Mark Twain once said, is stranger than fiction. Fiction, he said, has to make sense.

But with Obama, reality and truth really do also mirror humor.

Greta Plays Stump Bill

Greta Van Sustren of Fox News asks Bill Clinton an interesting and pointed question, "How is a close association with Rev. Wright different than a close association with David Duke?"

This has got to be the first time I have ever seen Bill Clinton stumped and speechless in the entire time I've seen him in public life.

Baron and Bernanke

The title of this video is "Baron Hill rips out Bernanke's heart kung fu style," and contains Baron's amusing line about being laughed out of town halls back in his district.

Believe me, I've been to Baron's town halls (and you've heard audio from some of them). Rest assured, Baron knows all about being laughed out of his own town halls.

Given how angry people here are with Baron Hill and with Congress, I'd say Baron probably knows a little something about having his heart ripped out "kung fu style," too.

Anyway, the video:



If--should the rescue legislation not pass and the dire warnings come to pass--the auto dealerships and small businesses in Seymour start to fold from a lack of credit lines, or if banks start to become endangered, then I'm sure Baron will have to eat some of these words.

Daily Funnies

Ramirez: Reckless folks meet more reckless folks.


Ryskind: Gwen Ifill, conflict of interest? Surely not.


Ramirez: Congress's cratered approval ratings.

Daily Ads

The Joe Biden gaffe machine:



A little Straight Talk (tm):



Barack Obama's choices:



Another Obama gaffe anthology:

Star Wars, Episode II

The Moderator

Another Baron Lie: "Privatize Social Security"

As I noted on Sunday, the gloves have come off. Mike Sodrel's surge in recent polling has terrified Baron Hill and his liberal allies in Washington, and has spurred them to return to the same old negative campaigning we saw in 2006.

Mike Sodrel, as I noted before, made a proposal to avoid such unpleasantness, but was rudely rebuffed by Baron Hill. A positive campaign wouldn't suit Baron it seems; he says that negative ads work.

Following their opening salvo of negative mail containing lies about the Fair Tax, Baron's allies in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have put forward this ad:



Let's fact check this, shall we?

First of all, the ad takes a quote from a recent radio appearance by Sodrel out of context. Sodrel's interview included a lengthy discussion of the many challenges facing our economy, ranging from the price of gasoline to issues with the housing sector and the stock market. Sodrel's exact answer was that "In relation to the world, I think that, yeah, the U.S. economy is fundamentally in good shape. It's not going to stay that way long if we don't make some serious adjustments."

That wouldn't make for a very good soundbyte, though, would it? Nope, nor would it make for a good 30-second attack spot. So Mike Sodrel's answer had to be "reduced" and "tweaked" a bit, and then taken out of context to boot. The entire interview is available on the radio station's website; you can download it here.

Second, it's very in vogue for politicians to say that the fundamentals of the economy are strong or in good shape. John McCain did so (and was similarly misquoted) right before Sodrel did here (the above statement was in response to a question about what McCain had said), and Barack Obama did so as late as this Monday. McCain and Sodrel, at least, didn't make such statements after the stock market started to really dive and right as it saw its largest plunge in history on the same day Obama said this:



Sodrel, like McCain, qualified his statement with a sober and realistic assessment of the situation. Both saw their opponents omit the full quote in favor of a short soundbyte for misleading 30-second attack ads (fair is fair; the same has been done to Obama, but only inreference to his earlier criticism of McCain).

Third, the ad repeats an old and discredited assertion that Mike Sodrel supports the privatization of Social Security. An ad in 2006 claiming just this was so discredited and untrue that there were calls for it to be pulled from the air. The very Courier-Journal article cited in the ad as the source of Sodrel's position says that this is untrue. Back in 2006, I looked the article up. The text of it is available here. Mike Sodrel does not support the privatization of Social Security.

Fourth, the ad says that Sodrel supports "cutting guaranteed benefits." As the CJ article cited also clearly notes, this is not the case. The article notes that Sodrel doesn't favor any proposal that would cause a reduction in benefits. Indeed, it specifically notes he was concerned (and opposed) to such reductions.

Baron Hill and the DCCC love to throw around the notion that Mike Sodrel supports privatizing Social Security. It's a game of misdirection, because Baron Hill (a former employee of investment firm Merrill Lynch) has stated repeatedly that he supports investing Social Security funds in the market to obtain a higher rate of return.

In 2004, Baron was caught on tape saying that he favored investing Social Security in the stock market. I saved this from when somebody put it on YouTube during the last campaign.



Imagine how Social Security would be fairing today, after that 777 point record dive on Monday.

But that was 2004, and this is 2008, you say. You'd be right.

Which is why it is just shocking that Baron Hill, just back in August of this year, said it again:



Not only did Baron say that he favored investing Social Security, he said that he was attending private, secret meetings to "fix" Social Security after the election.

Baron proclaimed that "everything is on the table" as a part of those secretive closed-door, backroom meetings.

And, for Baron, everything means everything, including raising payroll taxes and increasing the retirement age. Everything probably also includes things like benefit cuts.

In short, by the Democrats' own definitions as described in their advertisements, not only Baron Hill supports privatizing Social Security and Mike Sodrel does not, but Baron Hill also supports things like payroll tax hikes and increases in the retirement age.

When it comes to Social Security, for Baron Hill, "Everything is on the table."

Mitch in Union Crosshairs

Polls continue to indicate that Jill Long Thompson's campaign is pretty much finished.

Big labor, however, which bankrolled her efforts to the tune of over a million dollars (and even pledged a blank check that apparently bounced), isn't done yet.

They're not finished with Mitch Daniels and his free market program. Not by a long shot. If Mitch is reelected, his policies of involving the private sector to make the (previously heavily-unionized) public sector more efficient will continue. And they'll likely start to catch on in other states, given success here.

If that happens, these unions can kiss their millions in mandatory payroll deductions, otherwise known as union dues, goodbye.

The Citizens Action Coalition (CAC), a lefty group with significant union ties (they share a building with the Marion County Democratic Party, interestingly enough), created quite a stir last year for developing a website (www.concernedhoosiers.com). They used this website to solicit complaints from state employees about the Daniels administration.

The complaints were sought by Beryl Cohen, who seems to be a disaffected former FSSA executive who lost her job when Mitch Daniels took over and started to clean house in 2005.

In addition, these groups have been sending out postcards to welfare recipients and handing out flyers at events.

Heck, their own website contains a presentation about their rather interesting agenda. Although CAC wants individuals to believe they are impartial and interested in helping applicants, they provide minimal information on getting such problem situations resolved. They mostly seem to be interested in finding and calling attention to complaints.

This is nothing less than a union front organization that is coordinating an effort to fight Mitch's FSSA modernization program.

The Concerned Hoosiers program isn't about concern. It's about revenge for the unions being deprived of millions of dollars in mandatory payroll deductions, err, membership dues.

That's why there is a blank check from the public employees unions to defeat Mitch Daniels (though it seems to have bounced, or at least Jill Long Thompson hasn't been able to run a campaign capable of cashing it in). That's also why they've been organizing these other shadowy efforts behind the scenes to build up to their ridiculous lawsuits and their absurdly comical committee meetings.

And this isn't all. At least three other groups who have joined in this attack with CAC are nothing but union front groups. I'll get into them sometime later.

Fun with News Aggregators, Part XIX: More on Baron Hill and Fannie & Freddie

It seems that, in 2004, Baron Hill signed a letter urging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their lending to people in rural areas that wanted to buy homes:

At the press conference, which was attended by more Congressmen than reporters, Rep. Mark Green, R-Wisc., who authored a letter signed by 20 of his colleagues urging Fannie Mae to look for ways to expand ownership opportunities in rural markets, said the hinterlands are often forgotten when the topic of affordable housing is mentioned.

"When we talk about housing policy inside the Beltway, we're locked into the mindset of big city public housing," he said. "But most people have no connection to that."

Reps. Bob Ney, R-Ohio., Baron Hill, D-Ind., and Ken Lucas, D-Ky., whose districts are almost entirely rural, also were on hand to complement Fannie Mae's return to 95 percent lending in the country's heartland.

Rep. Lucas called it "a great day for millions of Americans," and Rep. Hill said the move "is not just about housing, it's about people's lives." Manufactured homes "are a great fit for a lot of people," Rep. Ney added.

As we have found out, lending by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has had catastrophic consequences for our economy.

And, as the article itself reveals, even as Baron was signing a letter urging Fannie and Freddie to make more loans to rural communities, there were serious questions about problems with their accounting practices.

Even then, Barney Frank was on hand to apologize for Fannie and Freddie's shady behavior:

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., whose Boston area district is decidedly non-rural but had nevertheless chided Fannie Mae for "turning away" from manufactured housing, labeled the announcement "one of the most important things to happen to make home ownership affordable to people who might otherwise be shut out of the market."

"This is both more and better," the ranking minority member of the House Financial Services Committee said in praising the initiative.

He also noted the apparent lack of interest on the part of the press in what he called "an essential part of any program to increase home ownership in America."

Had Fannie Mae Chairman Frank Raines been stopped for speeding on the way to the press conference, the media "would have been all over it," Rep. Frank said, referring to the deluge of stories in the popular and financial press about accounting errors and oversight at the company and its sister GSEs, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

"If you read those stories," the 12-term lawmaker said, "you'd never know these are housing companies."

Rep. Frank's comments gave Raines an opening to repeat his warning that any major change in the manner in which the GSEs are regulated could hurt his company's capacity to step forward when it is needed.

"Anytime you have to go to a regulator to approve a new product, you have to consider that our ability to mobilize this number of lenders would be greatly impeded," the Fannie Mae chairman said. "I'm not sure they'd even want to be our partners."

Baron seems to have been perfectly happy to sign on the dotted line in 2004, even as problems became known, to expose Hoosiers and Americans to the looming crisis that were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.