Election Reform, Teens & Screens, Trump? – American Family Association of Indiana
Indiana Election Results Counter the National Narrative
I want to revisit last week’s email with some results from Election Day in Indiana. The Indiana House saw a change in several districts, but overall, the Republican / Democrat breakdown is 70-30. In the Senate, the Republicans gained one Senate seat for a 40-10 split.
Out of four statewide races, the Democrats performed well below par. Only one candidate, Destiny Wells for Secretary of State even touched 40% (at 40.2%). Overall, the four statewide Democrat candidates averaged only 38.5% of the vote. Four years ago, in those same four races, Democrats averaged 42% of the vote. Every statewide candidate broke the 40% mark in 2018 outperforming the top vote-getting statewide Democrat this year.
Therefore, there probably was a bit of a red wave in Indiana. Incidentally, nationally thus far, Republicans have won 51.4% of the congressional vote compared to the Democrat’s 46.7% of the vote.
Contrary to the media talking points, and comments by President Biden, being pro-life on abortion was not a losing issue in Indiana. This is particularly important because Indiana was the first state legislature to restrict abortion following the Dobbs ruling returning the abortion issue to the states. If there was a backlash against life and for “the right to choose,” it should have shown up here. The Democrat US Senate candidate made abortion his top issue in TV commercials, but he didn’t even break 38% of the vote. I don’t know of any sitting state legislator who lost due to voting for Senate Bill 1, even though there were dozens who were targeted on that issue. (No Democrat legislator voted to restrict abortion in any way this summer.)
(Note: There are one or two legislative races in the Indiana House where a recount is possible. A candidate has until Nov. 22nd to request a recount.)
Teens and Screens
A new study has found that children from homes without a married mother and father spend almost two hours more per day online than those raised in a traditional home.
The study found that heavier tech users were about twice as likely to be depressed, lonely, and sleep-deprived than their peers from nuclear families who had less internet and social media usage.
The unknown for the moment is the question, “Does online time cause depression and loneliness among teens, or are depressed, lonely teens online more?”
A startling news item earlier this month reported screen time is increasing among the young. Americans ages 11 to 18 now average nearly 10 hours per day online.” This is more than the average time kids spend in school.
An Election Idea to Consider
There is a lot I could say about the slow walking of mail-in vote counting that always seems to benefit a certain political party days after an election. I won’t here because those messes are in states outside the influence of AFA of Indiana.
However, there has been an idea for a change in elections floating around the Indiana statehouse for a while that is worth considering.
Indiana is one of a handful of states that still allows straight-ticket voting. Perhaps it is time to change this.
The argument behind eliminating this option is that straight-ticket voting aids the ignorant or uninformed who simply vote for a party by pressing one button without ever seeing the names of candidates down the ballot. People could still go down the ballot and vote for every R or D, but they would at least have to look at each race and pick that candidate.
Fort Wayne area newspaper reporter Niki Kelly has written an interesting editorial on this in the Indiana Capitol Chronicle. You can read it here: https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2022/11/11/time-to-move-on-from-straight-ticket-voting/
Never Quit
I know that some reading this email today may be discouraged that candidates they wanted, fell short on Election Day. We stand for unchanging principles regardless of who wins or loses elections. We have a duty, a love of America, and care for others, that must continue to compel us to stand for what is right and true in a culture that needs guidance from citizens of faith and values. The far-left radicals won’t quit win or lose. Neither should we.
The 2023 Indiana General Assembly is not far off. I hope that you will continue to support the work of AFA of Indiana and our mission “to preserve the traditional moral foundations of American culture by advocating for these values in the home and public square.”
Trump for The Third Time?
Yesterday, former President Donald Trump made his announcement that he will run for president again. I am not going to share my thoughts on this, other than to say, after this week, I wonder if any Republican can win the White House again with states like Arizona that send ballots out to mysterious voters on notoriously unreliable voter rolls with the weakest verification measures possible.
However, if you’d like to let me know your thoughts on a Trump candidacy, send me a short email.
Speaking of the third time. For only the third time since 1954, Republicans have flipped the US House of Representatives. Yesterday, there was a leadership vote among Republicans. Indiana’s Jim Banks challenged moderate Congressman Tom Emmer (MN) for the position of Republican Whip, the third-ranking leadership position. Rep. Banks won on the first ballot, but narrowly lost 115-106 on the second ballot when a third candidate dropped off. I spoke with Rep. Banks last night thanking him for taking a stand and offering the caucus a conservative leadership choice.
In Their Own Words:
“Don’t give up on your ideals. Don’t compromise. Don’t turn to expediency, and for Heaven’s sake . . . don’t get cynical.” – Ronald Reagan, 1976, after his convention loss to President Gerald Ford.
