In 2012, I had the pleasure of hosting our U.S. Representative Todd Young for a brewery tour and lunch at Bank Street Brewhouse. It was a genuinely enjoyable chat with Rep. Young and his local organizer, Deb Johannes, who I've known since elementary school in Georgetown.
Rep. Young is knowledgeable about beer, and he actually drank a beer with me. We exchanged travel stories. He has a sense of humor (see his note above). It was a good time, and I thought about it when reading Tully's article, below.
Does this mean I'm voting for Todd Young for U.S. Senate? I don't know. Evan Bayh is an impressively empty suit. Does he stand for anything? I disagree with Young on many issues, and yet he's actually taken positions.
As for me, I'm a traditionalist in such matters. All politics is local, and breaking bread or enjoying an adult libation both mean something to me.
At the very least, Tully's piece isn't what you'd expect, given his evisceration of Mike Pence.
Tully: Evan Bayh is back, but Todd Young isn’t blinking, by Matthew Tully (Indy Star)
Two weeks ago, Republican U.S. Rep. Todd Young was on what appeared to be an easy glide path to election as Indiana’s junior senator. His Democratic opponent, the hardworking former Rep. Baron Hill, was trapped in a campaign that had failed to catch on, with either fundraisers or voters, in a state that leans Republican.
Then Evan Bayh happened.
The former senator and governor replaced Hill as the Democratic candidate and the Senate race suddenly was transformed. Young, a former Marine and father of four from Bloomington, is now facing arguably the most popular and enduring politician in modern Indiana history, one who also happens to enjoy a massive fund-raising and name ID advantage.
That easy glide path? It’s been replaced by an extremely turbulent flight ...
... “My hope is that the election comes down to issues and to who can bring people together to actually solve problems,” he said. “But I also think character matters. I think presence matters. And to the extent that we talk about things that make Evan Bayh uncomfortable — well, I guess that is unfortunate.”
Two weeks ago, Indiana’s Senate race didn’t seem worth watching. A lot has changed since then. Now, Todd Young is trying to do something nobody has ever done: beat Evan Bayh in an election. It’s a daunting task but, in Young, Republicans have a particularly strong candidate.
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