It is the usual practice in this space on the Saturday after the first Tuesday of the first Monday of November (except once every four years) to reflect on what had happened on that Tuesday. While there is not a lot to write about on the local level, there was an interesting race on the state level … and then there was the national puzzle.
The widely predicted “Red Wave” was correctly depicted by Indianapolis-based cartoonist Gary Varvel in our Thursday edition as the “Red Ripple.” It has certainly given the talking heads on TV something to yap about, but I’m not particularly interested in all that hot air. My monthly gathering of politically astute euchre partners had some insights. (Well, I’m not sure how “astute” we are, but our heads can talk as well as any others.)
“What happened to the Red Wave?”
One proposed that the abortion issue played a bigger role than predicted. Another felt that people’s declining tolerance of a guy named Trump was a factor. Another perspective came from the one who chose to not have any children: “These young people,” he said, “their parents did not instill the proper values into them. It’s the old people’s fault.” Interesting. And easy for him to say.
Another conversation with a genuinely astute person was more pointed: “I think we discovered that quality of candidates matters.” As it happened, Kimberly Strassel’s column in Friday’s Wall Street Journal was on just that topic. “Want to win elections?” she asked and answered: “Run competent leaders.”
That column is in direct contrast to another that came in my emailbox Friday from a conservative think tank. It blamed stupid voters (“The American Electorate in 2022 is awful.”), which is not unlike President Biden’s claim that basically says: It’s not that people don’t like us, we’re just not getting our message across. But I digress.
Strassel’s point is that there was a Red Wave in those states whose leaders focused on delivering good government instead of whining about 2020 or Biden — specifically Florida and Georgia. Of course, there was one exception in Georgia that illustrates the point.
Do you feel compelled to defend the wisdom and appropriateness of a nominee for the United States Senate who has no public service or executive experience, who has fathered four children by four different women and has no relationship with any of them? I’d love to hear it. Whether or not he paid for at least one abortion is almost immaterial. Seems to me the GOP has always had this thing about “family values.”
Herschel Walker had other attributes that got him Trump’s endorsement. He properly questioned Trump’s 2020 loss. He is a celebrity. I think that might be it.
There was — to some degree at least — an unfortunate parallel on the Indiana ballot. Maybe someone will write the story someday about how a person who spent a few months in the Army that no one will talk about (and thus claims to be a veteran) and who was reportedly fired (twice) from the Indiana Secretary of State office came to be the Republican nominee for that office. Apparently, he drew the support of the party’s active far-right wing by referring to “irregularities” in Indiana’s voting process in 2020 — never mind that Trump took the state by something like 70 percent.
It’s very clear that if you get the Republican nomination for a statewide office, it’s pretty hard to lose. The same is obviously true right here at home which, I had heard earlier this year, had been dubbed as “the most conservative county in Indiana.” That story is findable on the internet and is based on Wells County having the highest percentage of its voters support Trump in the 2016 election. I could not find any such data for 2020.
But I think we’ve lost that distinction. You can be classified as a diehard Republican — party is more important than “candidate quality” — if you voted for this Secretary of State candidate. Wells County supported him to the tune of 74.96 percent, but three other counties did better (or is it worse?): Jasper County (75.02), Benton County (79.0) and Daviess County (79.4 percent). The unofficial title now goes to Daviess.
Don’t misunderstand. I’m glad I live in a conservative community. And we are blessed, almost universally, with good people in the key places of our local offices. But methinks it can go too far.
There are always exceptions to these things. In this case, it is Zanesville. The small community that sits on the Wells-Allen County line has had a Democratic town clerk and one Democrat on the town council. Incumbent Julie Christian had an eight-vote lead after Wells County votes were tallied but lost among the Allen County voters, 26-5; Republican challenger Tara Bowersock prevailed. Meanwhile, Democrat Barbara O’Connor retained her position in a four-way race for the three seats on the council.
Other than that, only two candidates with a “D” behind their name won here Tuesday — both unopposed. If they had been, you can bet the farm they would have suffered the same fate as Rockcreek Township Trustee Phylian Keefer, a Democrat who, by all accounts, has faithfully and efficiently fulfilled her duties since 1979. She lost this non-policy-making, administrative position she’d been dedicated to for 43 years Tuesday night by 40 points. It hadn’t occurred to Nathanael Wilson to run for that office until he discovered her party affiliation. Even though “she’s a really, really nice person,” as he told the victorious GOP crowd Tuesday night, he made it clear that anyone who has that Democrat tag does not have the morals or integrity to hold any office.
Also overheard: One of our reporters stopped by the Democratic Headquarters in the course of their duties Tuesday evening. In the short time they were there, at least a couple people walking by felt compelled to voice their displeasure with those inside in less than church-friendly language. This was not, our reporter was told, an unusual thing.
On the national, state and local levels, I will not hesitate to claim the titles of “conservative” and “Republican.” But frankly, I cannot say I am particularly proud.
miller@news-banner.com
