Is David McIntosh a resident of Indiana? Or did he give up his claim to Indiana residency when he moved to Virginia and obtained a Virginia driver’s license.

   McIntosh is a candidate in the Republican primary election to replace Dan Burton, who is retiring from Congress. McIntosh served three terms in Congress, from 1995 to 2001. He lost in his bid for Governor of Indiana in 2000, and moved to Virginia to do what so many do after losing a seat in Congress. He became a lobbyist. He holds a Virginia drivers license.

   Unlike Richard Lugar, who claimed his residency based upon a home he sold years ago, McIntosh continued to rent places in Indiana. He sought advice from Rodney Cummings, Republican Prosecutor for Madison County, the county in which McIntosh claims residence for purposes of McIntosh’s candidacy. Rod, a classmate of mine in law school, said he saw no problems for McIntosh, who has the support of Grover Norquist, Right-to-Life, and people with big bank rolls..

   I do not know if Rod has WestLaw in his office, or if his subscription to that or Lexis allows him to access the laws of other states (and commonwealths). Virginia Code Annotated §46.2-323.1 states, in relevant part: "No drivers license ... shall be issued to any person who is not a Virginia resident...." Perhaps he claims to be residents of both Indiana and Virginia. That is a possibility, although the legal steps are somewhat tricky. Besides, a lot of people might not want to vote for a person who comes to Indiana only for purposes of maintaining his eligibility to act as a representative of the people of this State. Some of similar reservations about Richard Lugar. They should have had those reservations about Dan Coats, who bragged to a crowd in North Carolina that he no longer lived in Indiana—then came here, after years as a lobbyist, to resume acting as a U.S. Senator. Evan Bayh maintained a condo in Indiana and therefore claimed residence here—he could afford the condo. His wife made seven figures as a board member of health insurance companies. I would not be so cynical as to suggest those board positions were offered to her because her husband just happened to be a United States Senator.

   The sugar is there. It is sweet and draws members of both parties.  

   As I have posted a couple of times, our guests on Saturday’s Show will be Democratic candidate for the 5^th Congressional District Tony Long and Lisa Carter, campaign manager for Scott Reske, Mr. Long’s opponent in the Democratic primary.

  Join us on Saturday morning at 11—we now stream "live"—as we discuss what could be one of the more interesting Congressional campaigns, in the State and possibly the country, this November. We shoot at Big Hat Books, 6510 Cornell Avenue in Broad Ripple.