Oh, actually I could. I spent 4 years in Richmond, Indiana, earning a B.A. in Political Science at a small liberal arts college. I haven't been back since, only because it's kind of in the middle of nowhere. I mean, I can't even pretend to swing by there on my way somewhere else. It's one of the reasons I chose to go there in the first place.I think I've mentioned before, I grew up "inside the beltway," and have always hated that phrase. It disparages an entire population of hardworking dedicated public servants like my dad, who worked for the Federal government his entire life, started with his enlisting as a private in 1944, and ending with his retirement from the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration (yes, I come from old wonk stock).
Back to Indiana ... I just don't think it gets much more "America" than Indiana. This is a state that has just about every cross section, with rural areas and industrial cities, progressive liberals and strict conservatives. Its a place where the most important event in May (until this year, perhaps) is the Indianapolis 500. NASCAR before NASCAR was cool, man. When I was 18, I just wanted to spend time away from the D.C. area, and little did I know how far away I was going. Not geographically, but in just about every other sense. I mean, I went from watching the D.C. evening news cover world politics as the majority of their reports, to the Richmond Saturday morning hog reports. Seriously.
So it's very interesting to me to see how much attention is being paid to this state now, and to see how the polls are going. A poll by WTHR in Indianapolis found that the swing voter in this election may be the "undecideds," who are at 21% of those polled. I know there are several readers here with connections to Indiana, and I'd be really interested to know what you think about tomorrow's primary.
8 comments:
Of special interest will be the percentage differences between Republican and Democrat votes.
Back in Jan/Feb 'we' thought that PA would not matter for the Dems because of Super Tuesday, and now we are into May and Indiana matters!
Having spent more time in Indiana than I care to acknowledge, I say (with a quizzical look and lots of disbelief) "Indiana MATTERS??"
Although I usually hate this phrase:
I know, right?
First, just to set the record straight, NASCAR is in August in Indy (the Brickyard 400). May is the Indy 500, which is IRL. When I moved to Indiana, I actually had a question at a job interview of which race was my preference. Fans of each race look poorly on the fans of the other. NASCAR fans are called hicks by the IRL fans, and the IRL fans are called snobs by the NASCAR fans. Which brings us to Tuesday's primary. Basically, the only race going on is the Democratic Primary. Republicans are being urged to vote in the Democratic ballot and it is legal; and even they can not decide who they think they can beat in November. Democratic voters look a lot like the race fans. Each side has their own faction (cult) and believe the other is down right evil and/or plain stupid. The local blogs and message boards have gotten nasty with the exception of maybe 10% of the population trying to keep everyone's eye on the big prize. Here, one day before Indiana's primary, I could not begin to tell you which way it will go. I do believe though that many Democrats will not be voting in November due to animosity from the primary; and that in November, Indiana will still go red, as usual.
Morgan, thanks for setting the record straight. I will be the first to admit I know nothing about auto racing, and I apologize for assuming the Indy 500 was NASCAR. I forgot all about the Brickyard 400 until you mentioned it (I guess because I was never in Indiana in August).
I hope that when November rolls around, we are all able to focus on the importance of keeping John McCain far, far away from the White House.
can't breath... can't think... oh shit what is going to happen...
pace yourself there, sara. it's going to be a long day!
I am sure Hillary will do well in Indiana.
I didn't know you went to school there! That must have been a totally different experience than my 4 years in Boston, LOL!
mauigirl, I'm going to guess you didn't have to listen to the hog reports in Boston.
Post a Comment