RACE WATCH: Watson V. Hollingsworth

RACE WATCH: Liz Watson V. Trey Hollingsworth

Democrat Candidate Liz Watson is by far a superior candidate to challenge Republican Trey Hollingsworth than his previous opponent. Liz has been able to capture the "new" democratic party voters who believe a socialist government is the way to go. 

Here's the other side of the story. Regardless of how vocal her supporters are, there are far too few of them outside of Bloomington to make an impact. The Bernie Sanders Democrats are funny to me. They are listening to a Senator who has spent more time in congress than they've been alive while believing in "change". 

While they attack Trey about being a Washington insider, they conveniently forget the fact that Liz IS a Washington insider. She spent all of her professional career in Washington as a lobbyist. This is something that has not been brought to the front of the conversation by the Hollingsworth campaign yet, but I believe it is probably one of the most important items that voters are not aware of. 

When it comes down to it, the 9th District used to be a coin toss. In more recent history, it leans heavily to the right. I believe it is because of this "new" socialist-democrat platform. I think that if the democrats fielded a moderate Bill Clinton type of candidate, for any race, they would have a really strong chance of taking hold of congress. 

In this time of divisiveness, I think both parties and the county as whole would be in a better place if everyone took two steps to the center of the political spectrum. The extreme right and extreme left are pulling this country apart. I long for the time of non-partisan common ground that we saw in the late 1990's. It wasn't about who controlled congress or the presidency, but about doing what was right for the country.  

...I digress...

While Trey is more "right" than some would like and Liz is more "left" then others would like, I think Trey wins this race easily. While not everyone agrees with his stances, there is no doubt he is engaged in the process, extremely knowledgeable about the topics, and in my experience very easily accessible. This is especially true if you are willing to have a productive conversation. Now, if you are one of those who only wants to make a scene and yell, that's a different conversation totally. 

I know he has taken some heat for not having townhall meetings. I honestly don't blame him. When the far left take advantage of those situations by making a scene so their group can record and edit it to make attack ads, nothing productive comes from those meetings. We have seen over and over again where those people crash the event and make a circus out of it. Some people do not conduct themselves with dignity, class, and patience. If "those" people would take a chill pill to have a REAL conversation, be open minded about what the responses might be, then maybe some elected officials would be more open to "townhall". A large dose of understanding is needed to comprehend that you are not going to agree with every thing someone else does. But be an adult and don't be turned off because of one or two issues. 

Liz Watson and her core followers have perpetuated the cycle of this type of behavior. Most recently this was showcased at the local Farm Bureau Meet the Candidates event. Liz and her group highjacked the event by preventing real conversations from being had. She brought a very rude group who automatically placed everyone on high alert. She falsely accused Hollingsworth of skipping the event when even the moderator stated he was never scheduled to be there because he was already committed in a different part of the district before the Farm Bureau event was planned. It was such a self centered showing, it even upset the local democrats because she showed no concern for what they had to say. When there is a limited time per candidate, out of respect for everyone, stick to your time. Don't overrun your time by more than double then have your people play "gotcha" by feeding a 6 year old little girl the questions. To me it was a shameless display that disrespected everyone who attended to learn about each candidate including her fellow democrats.

Below is a link of a website I follow. This site compiles different polls into one forecast. 

Midterm Election Forecast Indiana 9th District

All things being considered, I predict Hollingsworth by 9-10 points.

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RACE WATCH: Perkins V. Garten

RACE WATCH: Perkins (older) Vs. Garten (younger)

I have written on this subject before. However, they have both videotaped a series with WLKY where they both answer the same questions. Obviously they are going to have opposite answers. What really stands out to me is not just what they say but how they say it. The image that is projected from each is very telling. I have my own opinions but I'll keep them to myself. You be the judge.

Check them out below.

Perkins-----> WLKY: Perkins in his own words

Garten-----> WLKY: Garten in his own words

JUST JOKING! Of course I'm going to tell you what I think. This isn't a newspaper, it's my blog.

Perkins looks like a tired old man, unsure of himself and in what he's saying. It is clear to me he is well past his prime and is only reading what someone has told him to say because it's popular within the new democratic party. Garten, on the other hand, looks like a leader. Someone in his prime who is ready to make a real impact and not play games.

When the time comes for who I would want to by my representative, hands down Garten.

Projection: Garten wins by more than 25 points.

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RACE WATCH: Murray V. Grooms

                    

          Senator Ron Groom                 Vs.          Senate Hopeful Anna Murray

RACE WATCH:

Anna Murray V. Ron Grooms

Two candidates could not be more polar opposite. On one side is Anna Murray, a Dan Canon disciple California democrat who is as far left as Bernie Sanders, maybe farther. On the other is Ron Grooms, an even keeled old school republican who has spent years making a positive impact on our community.

I find this race interesting to watch. With the overlap of Urban Clark County, Rural Floyd County, and Urban Floyd County weighing in on this race, I feel it will be a good test to how much of the republican base has eroded due to President Trump. It may be true that New Albany is an apparent Socialist Democrat stronghold here in Southern Indiana, but will that base turn out for Anna Murray? Only time will tell. My guess is that they will.

Ron Grooms has been a longtime elected city official and now 2 term state senator. Because of the name recognition and voting history of Sen. Grooms, I'm going to not review his stats in-depth. The Grooms highlights compared to Anna's website are (IMHO):

-On the surface, Grooms may be against medical marijuana because of how it's being pushed. But I don't think he's flat out against it, just the rush to embrace it. Remember, marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law. I think that plays into his decision more than anything. Years ago, synthetic opioids were pushed the same way medical weed is being pushed now, as a fix all for pain. Now we have an opioid epidemic. Weed may have some benefits medically, but without hard evidence Grooms will be hesitant to jump on board the train. However, I do know he is open to it. Remember, he is a pharmacist. He understands the impact of drugs better than most.

-Anna talks about respect. I've known Ron for years and he is one of the most respectful people I know. In fact, I know a lot of people who could learn a thing or two on how to treat people by learning from him.

-Anna talks about gerrymandering for votes. That is a mythological issues that someone has told her to use on a website. She refers to districts in other states as having issues. She can't even put an example of a district in Indiana to support her claims. Instead she has a district picture outside Pittsburg? In fact, we don't really have much of that here. If you know our community and the way the districts are done, it is in an attempt not separate neighborhoods while meeting the population requirements.

-And of course, like every good Democrat, Anna is supportive of Unions and raising the minimum wage. If she would take a step back from drinking the socialist democrat Kool-Aid for a second, she would see that raising the minimum wage would do nothing. There are jobs EVERYWHERE! Please, show me one that pays $7.25 minimum wage.  Go ahead. I'll wait... Waiting....  Waiting...….   You can't because there are none. This is called a free market. No one is going to pay $7.25 because when there are so many jobs they have to compete for workers. Don't like working where you are, drive down the road to one of the 5000 now hiring signs and apply. If they don't pay more that you are making now, keep looking. In all seriousness, there are 100's if not 1000's of local jobs right now that are paying $16-$18/hr starting out.

So what would raising minimum wage really do? Increase inflation. Grooms understands this. He also understands that if someone doesn't like how much they are being paid, that person can go find a new and better one that pays more. I guess Anna is a "handout mother figure" type of lady while Ron is more of a "responsibility for yourself" type guy.


Anna is a really nice woman. If you speak to her, she's very personable and easily likeable. But once you scratch the surface, I have found someone who is out classed compared to Sen. Grooms who has no real experience in the arenas that make up her platform. Most of her thoughts are based on feelings instead of facts, theory instead of proof. Of course she's endorsed by every union and LTGB group there is because they won't speak to anyone who's not a Democrat. I really don't put much stock in those endorsements nor most endorsements for that matter, for either side.

When the sun sets on this November election, one question will ring true: Did the very vocal minority of Socialist Democrats make enough headway to pull the old school conservative Steve Stemler type Democrats into their camp?

I say no way that happens. Every major Democrat running in this upcoming race is too far left to really have an impact in my opinion. If they were just left of center, everyone of them would probably have a real shot. The fact of the matter is they are all left of left and that is just too big of a swing for a majority of Southern Indiana Hoosiers.

I predict that Anna works hard with lots of little signs out but Ron has the edge in this race and will live to see his third term in the statehouse.

What are your thoughts? 

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