General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Brainwashing Of My Dad By Limbaugh, Fox & GOP Media [View all]DissidentVoice
(813 posts)South Bend area native. I lived in Indiana before moving to Michigan in '07.
As a native Hoosier, you know that the only "conservatives" that have ever really existed in Indiana are basically what the Tea Party have modelled themselves after. I don't know if you grew up in the city or the country, but out away from cities like South Bend, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Bloomington (which is like an enclave from somewhere else!), it's as far to the right as anywhere in the Deep South. About 15 miles from where I lived was a KKK training camp that the St. Joseph County Sheriff's Department tried for years to shut down (I don't know if they ever succeeded). The first "Rush Room" in the country was in Mishawaka. The head of the "Club For Growth," Chris Chocola, unfortunately used to represent my former district in the House.
There have not been any real Democrats in Indiana, not in my experience, that have gained elective office. Evan Bayh, Frank O'Bannon and (from what I know) Joe Donnelly are all Third Way "GOP-lite" types.