On Taking Oath

Photo: Courtesy of Suzy Barnhart

Inauguration Day

On Thursday January 6th, 2010 Indiana's three constitutional officers, State Treasurer, Auditor, and Secretary of State, were inaugurated in State House. I was honored to be invited to attend this prestigious event in support of Indiana's State Treasurer. A true conservative, and true person, Richard Mourdock criss-crossed the state this past year, shaking more Hoosier hands than any other candidate. And as always, Mr. Mourdock's genuine and compassionate nature showed as he was sworn in, not by his wife who was ill, but by two young children with whom he had maintained correspondence with well after the campaign ended. Even more touching was his emotional and heart felt speech which capture the heart and mind of all who heard. It is my honor to bring this fantastic acceptance speech to the online world.

The Countdown to Election Day Tour

And We're Off

At 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday night I was doing Spanish homework and checking my email. By 5:30 I was going on an adventure. A friend of mine, Diane Hubbard, had emailed me asking if I would like to join Richard Mourdock (R-IN), the Indiana State Treasurer, and herself on a two day van tour of northern Indiana. I had previously had the privilege to work with Mr. Mourdock on multiple occasions before hand so I immediately accepted. This one email set off a chain reaction that has since whisked me out of Bloomington, Indiana; through central and northeastern Indiana finally landing me in a beautiful bed-and-breakfast called the Oliver Inn, located in South Bend, Indiana. But I am getting ahead of myself, the end of Day 1 is not important; rather what is important is the journey we all took to get here.

A Lesson in Leadership

Hope on the Horizon

What does it mean to be a leader? A leader is someone who stands up for others, who takes responsibility on his or herself in order to help others, and who is ready to take the blame and share the credit for his or her policies. In Porter County, Indiana, incumbent Democrat Bob Harper is looking to retake his seat as a county commissioner; however, before one can go any further, one important question begs to be answered: Is Bob Harper a real leader? Is a leader someone who costs his county over $600,000 in fines for late taxes? Would a real leader idly sit by and watch as his constituents face financial hardships, all the while sitting upon $8.9 million dollars of unallocated funds earned from the interest of the sale of the hospital? The answer is simple: Bob Harper is not a leader. His policies have impeded the growth of Porter County as a whole and have led to increased financial burdens on its citizens when all along he had the ability (never mind the obligation and responsibility) to help. Porter County deserves a real leader, and fortunately it has one in the form of the Republican nominee for county commissioner, Nancy Adams.

Elections 2010: Indiana Primary Results

Here We Go Again

Two years ago to the day, and once again Indiana was heading back to the election booths, this time not to elect a President, but to elect a plethora of National and State level politicians. The race might not have been as important as high profile as the last one, but that doesn't mean it wasn't as divisive. The entire list of candidates and elections is simply too big to be covered in this one blog post so I will narrow my review down to three races that touch closest to home: the US Senate race to fill the seat left empty by the retiring Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), the US House of Representatives Seat for District 1, as well as the State Senate Seat in District 6. For more election results, or to find out who is running in your district, click here.