James Antle takes a look at John Hostettler, the former Indiana congressman and Iraq War opponent, who hopes to challenge the centrist Democrat Evan Bayh in this year's Senate race. The race should be interesting, especially since Rep. Mike Pence, a pro-war Republican with national popularity, has declined to run, making Hostettler, at least for now, the apparent front-runner for the Republican nomination. Writes Antle:
There are reasons the National Republican Senatorial Committee preferred Pence to Hostettler. Bayh was re-elected with 62 percent of the vote in 2004; Hostettler lost his House seat, drawing just 39 percent, in 2006. Hostettler's independence from the party line makes him unpredictable -- he was one of just six Republicans in the House to vote against authorizing the war in Iraq -- and his refusal to take political action committee money frequently causes him to fare poorly at fundraising. Bayh is sitting on a $12.7 million war chest.
But Hostettler also was given little chance to win when he took out established Democratic incumbent Frank McCloskey in 1994. Then a mechanical engineer with no political experience, Hostettler labeled McCloskey "Frank McClinton." Although Republican at the presidential level, the district -- nicknamed the "Bloody Eighth" for its competitive nature -- frequently changed parties in the House. Hostettler nevertheless was able to hold on for six terms.
Some of the problems that have plagued Hostettler in the past may not be an issue this year. His Iraq war vote -- perhaps an unspoken reason some Republican hawks were so interested in finding a different challenger for Bayh -- could help his fundraising through Ron Paul-style "money bombs." Hostettler's campaign is already looking closely at Rand Paul's surprisingly successful effort in Kentucky. And while Connecticut candidate Peter Schiff hasn't fared as well in the polls, he has done well at raising money from like-minded donors.
Like the younger Paul but unlike Schiff, Hostettler has deep ties to the more mainstream parts of the conservative movement: politically active evangelicals, people concerned about illegal immigration, pro-lifers, gun-rights activists, taxpayers' groups, and especially the tea party movement. And Hostettler's biggest albatross in 2006 -- George W. Bush -- is gone. In his place is Barack Obama
We need folks who are new and energetic, but proven friends of liberty. Hostettler is is a good conservative, but he is not dynamic enough and has only been in the US Senate race for a little over a month! Kind of opportunistic while everyone else has been working hard to tear Bayh down (and it's working).
On the other hand, Marlin Stutzman is a proven to be a liberty-driven individual, he has been campaigning since last summer, and he has statewide support by an important cross-section of common-sense hoosiers. He has fought in the State Senate to strengthen Indiana's state sovereignty, strengthen our 2nd amendment rights, and to eliminate taxpayer funding of abortion.
If you want to oust the flipping flopping and Bayh-Kerry-ous liberal senator, please visit http://goMarlin.com and learn more about him.
Let's also not forget all the baggage Hostettler brings with him (bringing a gun to an airport and insulting a cancer patient being the most infamous and tactless). He needs to step aside and let some fresh perspectives bring the fight to Bayh.
Do we really want another Senate candidate whose former staffers inhabit various offices in DC and in other government establishments? Hostettler's former staff are now actively orchestrating this win for him because they didn't like the crop of candidates who were already running. Probably felt threatened.
Here is what Ron Paul said about John Hostettler's book. And, by the way, most of John Hostttler's staffers returned to their home states (mostly Indiana) and found real jobs. Only two that I know of still work around DC, and they don't work in government offices.
In Nothing for the Nation, my friend and former colleague John Hostettler, who was one of the few Republicans to oppose the Iraqi War, not only demolishes the 'official' justifications for attacking Iraq, but he demonstrates why true conservatives should have joined John and myself in opposing the war. I urge all Campaign for Liberty members, and anyone who wishes to understand how America was neoconned into the Iraq war, to read John's book.
-- Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX); 2008 Republican candidate for President; New York Times bestselling author of The Revolution: A Manifesto
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