Indiana: Home of the Status Quo

Very much like Garth in Wayne's World, many people from my home state of Indiana are saying "We fear change!"

Change, it seems, may not carry quite the same political magic in this state as it has elsewhere.

“We hold onto a lot of traditional values,” said Brian L. Thomas, 39, as he bought a cup of coffee along the courthouse square here on Wednesday. “Saying you’re ready to change is probably not the best or only thing you would want to say around these parts. Frankly, we want it to be like it used to be.”

Ah. Like any good journalist, the author of this story had to find someone who will use stereotypical anachronistic colloquialisms like "around these parts" -- I'm honestly surprised the man didn't explicitly call the past the "good ol' days." (Which, might I add, were not so good for certain people in the Hoosier State.)

All that aside, there is something to be said for keeping things the way they are. My friend and former colleague Michael Moynihan had an excellent piece over at reason yesterday addressing Obama's comments on religion and guns and how that might reflect on the candidate's elitism:

...Barack Obama thinks that, whether they know it or not, the gun-toting plebes of America are in desperate need of "change."

I don't think Michael is too far off the mark here...and I think this may hurt Obama's chances in the Indiana primary, given Hoosiers' predilection for guns and God.