OK. I admit that I should give a “pass” to Senator Joe Donnelly who is running for reelection in Indiana. I went to undergrad at Indiana University, and I know plenty of Hoosiers. They are a unique bunch of people. I think the last liberal who Hoosiers voted for was Birch Bayh in 1974.
But does Donnelly have to tie himself to Trump??
In an ad Donnelly's campaign released just days ago, an image of Donnelly shaking Trump's hands flashes across the screen with the words, "Joe Donnelly, joining with Trump to build wall & protect our borders."
Donnelly's campaign also referenced Trump in another ad this summer. It focused on Trump signing into law a measure Donnelly pushed for to allow people with life-threatening illnesses to try experimental drugs.
Yeah, Donnelly is praising Trump’s policies and not the man himself:
Political scientists say there's a risk Donnelly could offend moderate and more liberal Democrats if he praises Trump as a leader, instead of certain Trump policies.
"Donnelly has to be careful from the word go, because he has to be worried about turning off moderates and liberals," Downs said. "When you look at what he has been saying so far, it has been about policy. 'I voted for the wall, I voted against sanctuary cities. I voted, I voted.'"
And all sides are dismissive of Trump’s legal troubles in Indiana, at least for now.
Now, Donnelly has an ad out that attacks his Republican rival, Braun, for outsourcing jobs to China in his auto parts business. I will say that I think this is a good move. I’m reasonably sure that Hoosiers are not fans of outsourcing jobs to China.
Are these smart moves by Donnelly? Maybe. But I wonder why Donnelly is not talking more about Trump’s tariffs affect on agriculture? I live in KY, and last time I checked, Indiana also had a lot of farmers in it, at least in southern Indiana.
Probably Donnelly does not want to piss off the Trump voters in the rural areas because they have decided to support Trump’s immolation of the farm economy. After all, Trump will not let al those Indiana farmers go under. Right?
Yeah, that was massive amounts of sarcasm on my part.
I leave it to the Daily Kos Hoosiers to explain if this is smart politics by Donnelly.