I have been doing a lot of diaries on Congressman Joe Donnelly lately, mainly because he is the choice for sanity and much better than Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock.
I was going to do a diary on how Donnelly's surge in Indiana(and Bob Kerrey's surge in Nebraska) matters not just for the Senate but downticket in the House races and the state races too. But I wanted to let my fellow Kossacks know of an important development.
The conservative-leaning Indianapolis Star has now strongly endorsed Joe Donnelly for U.S Senate.
http://www.indystar.com/...
I'll go below the Fleur-de-Kos to excerpt a little of the story, and explain the Star's recent endorsement history.
Donnelly, in contrast, can point to collaboration. He teamed with the rest of Indiana's predominantly Republican congressional delegation to get the state's share of federal highway money raised from 92 cents on the dollar to 97 cents, a record high. He joined with Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., to bring a veterans' health center to South Bend; and with Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., to keep A10 fighter jets at Fort Wayne's Air National Guard base.
Mourdock says he stood up for bankruptcy law and Hoosier pensioners in opposing the auto bailout. Donnelly proclaims that 100,000 Indiana jobs were saved by an intervention that Mourdock, as treasurer, spent millions in legal fees fighting. Lugar, who voted with Donnelly, said the same during the primary.
As an example of the sharp differences between the candidates, this issue is a microcosm of the election. How voters view the auto crisis response may well decide the overall outcome. On the basis of practical results of bipartisan effort, they should decide for Joe Donnelly.
The Star also criticized Donnelly's brave vote for Obamacare but they had mostly complimentary things to say about how Donnelly would "reach across the aisle" and stand up for "Hoosier common sense". I have diaried previously that Donnelly has had a long history for voting to protect and expand health care, and that he has been rated by UCFW as having a pro-union stance.
Just so Kossacks know, The Indianapolis Star is endorsing a Republican for State Superintendent of Public Instruction and praised his "taking on the teacher's unions."
The Star has also endorsed Mitch Daniels twice, and endorsed Daniel Coats in the 2010 Senate race.
When even a conservative-leaning newspaper thinks that Richard Mourdock is bad news, it should occur to my fellow Kossacks that Joe Donnelly is worth their support, even if it is reluctant due to Donnelly's anti-choice views. I would of course add that Donnelly would very likely confirm any Obama SCOTUS nominee(Richard Lugar voted to confirm Sotomoyor and Kagan after all, and Donnelly is clearly to the left of Lugar). If you want Obama to have his Supreme Court picks confirmed, then a vote for Donnelly will help. Letting Mourdock win would mean that Obama would have one more vote against him. Remember also that Donnelly surging will help bring votes to Obama and worthy Democrats running in the Indiana House races.
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