That was just my brief take on the matter from an outstater.
"I'll tell you the problem with the Indiana Republicans, and I've been saying this for about 5 years now, and the smart ones in this state have been saying it for about 10: they've got nobody on the bench. Republicans have had a strangle hold on Indiana for nearly forever. They have been content with the old ways and new blood and new ideas are discouraged and ridiculed within the Party. Anyone with ideas for change are driven out."
That's not a problem unique to Indiana. I've observed this in a lot of states. Here in Tennessee, we have a serious problem with "establishment" types and the more populist element. The split played a substantial part in costing us the governorship. If we can't get rid of a lot of those establishment types and get an infusion of new blood and ideas, with a unified 'Rat opposition spouting some of those populist tones, the latter will run circles around us.
"I've seen it over and over, like with Marvin Scott 2 years ago against Julia Carson and the Republicans left him hanging out to dry, when he was the best candidate they've ever had (and probably ever will have) to beat her for that district. They were perfectly willing to let their stubbornness cost them a Congressional seat against a woman who has been the thorn in the side of Indiana Republicans ever since she was elected."
It goes further back than that. Mr. Scott should've beaten Andy Jacobs in '94 (I presume his close call against Scott hastened his retirement, lest he find himself in a repeat loss like he did against Bill Hudnut in '72). He's been seriously disrespected by the state GOP then, and ever since, from what I've seen and read, and that's really a shame.
"But who do the Rs have, for anything? They are having to drag out old tired names like McIntosh and Coats for Governor? McIntosh got beat double digits by O'Bannon last election (in one of the worst run campaigns I've seen since, oh, Sue Ann Gilroy ran for Mayor in 99), and he is the hero of the party?"
As for Coats, I was really annoyed to see him flee from a match with Bayh (on par with an ex-GOP Senator from Virginia in the '80s named Paul Trible who, after an upset win in a bad GOP year of '82 (his opponent's campaign manager was none other than James Carville !), he turned chicken in a good GOP year of '88 and quit when ex-Gov. Chuck Robb declared (the latter was still popular then). McIntosh still had to take a bit of a kamikaze run at the then-still-popular O'Bannon in '00 and even if he had run a spectacular campaign, it was unlikely he was going to win (I think Mayor Goldsmith ran an even lousier campaign in '96, but the GOP has had a string of them going back to Mutz in '88), but I do think he has a better shot this time around. The GOP's problem in the Indy Mayoral is twofold; one, they've had held the office for over 30 straight years (largely due to the fairly brilliant UniGov), otherwise the old city would've elected a string of 'Rat Mayors without question; two, Indy is inevitably trending 'Rat because of the outmigration into the suburban counties. Had Gilroy run a spectacular campaign, it was hard to overcome the 'Rats argument for change (at some point, that's going to happen).
"The best young name in the Republican party is Murray Clark, and he's going to fall on his sword if he runs for Governor, which ain't going to be doing him or the party any good."
I'm not familiar with Mr. Clark, so I can't comment. What experience does he have and where does he hail from ?
"The Rs don't have anyone for Mayor, and the election is less than 11 months away! Brose McVeigh is the best candidate I've heard, and he's coming fresh off a beating in his Congressional election. Yeah, what a candidate!"
Let's not be too rough on Mr. McVeigh. After all, that district is still basically a 'Rat one, and the party largely ignored Carson's vulnerability and didn't pour in enough resources (they also seemed to ignore Baron Hill's opponent, who I believe ran a closer race than McVeigh). We really need to focus on taking back the State House and Governorship to redraw the Congressional seats (with some creative tinkering, all but the 1st should be ours, and maybe even that one if we were to risk putting more 'Rats into the 2nd if Chocola successfully converts the seat into a safe GOP one).
"The Rs really screwed the pooch the past 15 years in Indiana, and they are reaping what they've sowed. The run tired candidates with god-awful campaigns and they lose. Big. Unless there is a serious shakeup, expect it to continue."
Yup, some changes do need to be implemented. The only real success stories we've had there in the past decade is on the Congressional side of things (Hill and Carson the only black spots), though a lot of those seats we should've had already due to blunders in the '80s. I'm still thinking McIntosh is a good bet (at the moment) to take back the Governorship, though it's still 23 months until election day, and, as we all know, that's a lifetime in politics.
I was also going to touch on Quayle for a moment for those that were bringing him up. Some of those reading may or may not know of the reasons for his moving to Arizona. Before President Nixon's death in '94, he advised Quayle on a potential future bid for President to NOT get bogged down in running a Gubernatorial campaign in '96 (a mistake Nixon had made in '62, which sidetracked a potential rematch in '64 against JFK that was never going to materialize). But as with all politicians/political situations, what happens to one person may not happen with another. Quayle was also advised moving to a "Sun Belt" state was a good move from which to build a base of support, and it turned out to be a mistake. His leaving Indiana destroyed any hopes he had for the Presidency. Had he run in '96 for Governor, I believe he would've easily prevailed over O'Bannon (unlike Nixon in '62, he didn't have an incumbent to face), and we might've even gotten an added bonus in '98 with Marilyn Quayle taking on Bayh for the Senate contest... Instead, we got Paul Helmke, who seems to think running as a liberal RINO is a good move (and trying to pull a 'McCain in Michigan' stunt in the 3rd earlier this year... unbelievable). A Governor Dan Quayle might've been a serious contender in '00. Now that he's in Arizona, he has ignored that state's political affairs, and had he not done so, we might've even seen him emerge as a potential Governor there this year (and that was a state we lost this year because of a poor campaign run by Matt Salmon). Ah, well... Hopefully one of these days we'll get our respective acts together.