An Independent Thinker, Imagine That

For people who are tired of politics as usual and in search of a candidate who isn't afraid to buck his own party, State Rep. Jon Elrod is just what the doctor ordered. The Star's Robert King takes a look at the man Eric Miller calls "at odds with his own party." King writes:

Socially conservative Republicans look at Jon Elrod's position on gay marriage and question whether he is true to his party.

Democrats look at Elrod's suburban, almost rural upbringing and question whether he is fit to represent an urban congressional district.

And others look at Elrod's life -- an amateur stage actor and former rugby player who studied abroad in London -- and note that he hardly seems a typical Indiana lawmaker, much less a Hoosier Republican.

Elrod, it seems, doesn't mind being seen as a guy willing to thwart convention. By trying to defeat Democrat Andre Carson in a special election March 11 for the 7th District congressional seat, he's clearly bucking conventional wisdom. Carson's grandmother, the iconic Julia Carson, held the seat for a decade until her death in December.

And Elrod was the lone Republican in the Indiana House -- out of 49 -- who refused to sign a petition demanding a floor vote on an amendment that would effectively make gay marriages, already illegal, also unconstitutional. Elrod hasn't had a chance to vote on the matter yet. But he says he is willing to become the first Republican in the General Assembly to vote against the amendment in the four years it has been an issue.

Stalwarts among Hoosier conservatives such as Eric Miller say his stance "puts him at odds" with the Republican Party. Some conservative bloggers have gone as far as to call Elrod a "fake Republican" or a RINO -- Republican in Name Only.

I had to laugh at King's suggestion that Elrod had an almost rural upbringing. You are clueless, Robert. I grew up on a farm. There's nothing rural about Marion County, except maybe the very small thinking of some of its residents. As far as being a RINO, Elrod is actually a traditional Republican. It is only more recently that the George Wallace Democrats like Eric Miller came over and hijacked the Republican Party. A traditional conservative Republican believed like Barry Goldwater that we should keep the government off our backs and out of our bedrooms.

Unfortunately, the Millerites want to spend all their time pursuing their unending social agenda while Elrod focuses on either eliminating property taxes, or capping them and requiring public referenda on bond issues. "As long as they got fired up about the definition of marriage amendment or the Terri Schiavo case, that was fine -- then you could spend whatever it is you want to spend. . . . And I'm not one of those," Elrod explains. "I really believe in narrowing the scope of government," he says."I don't want to say I don't care what other people think about me," he said, "but I am just going to do what I think is right," Elrod said. "And everyone else can make their decision about that."

Elrod's explanation of his position opposing the marriage amendment demonstrates his independent thinking and points up the hypocrisy of so many who push the amendment, such as Miller and the amendment's author, Sen. Brendt Hershman, both of whom have been divorced and remarried. King writes:

The irony with Elrod's opposition to the marriage amendment is that Elrod said his position is rooted in a basic Christian principle.

"I think marriage is a sacrament. That means it is something ordained by God. To have government dictating what that is is generally a bad idea," he said. "Right now we define marriage pretty poorly by the government. You are married just as long as you want to be. . . . "That is not at all what my church teaches."

Elrod, who is single and a lifelong United Methodist, has seen marriages dissolve in front of him regularly through his law practice, which includes divorce cases. But he said his position on marriage -- that it is a church matter, not a state matter -- is also grounded in the writings of C.S. Lewis, the Christian sage behind "The Chronicles of Narnia," and a host of Christian books.

Elrod grew up attending University Heights United Methodist on the Southside and has more than a casual fascination with church history. He spent three years studying theology at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, mostly out of desire to learn more on a subject he enjoys talking about. He remains a thesis shy of a master's degree.

In recent years, Elrod has been ensconced Downtown at Roberts Park United Methodist, a church with a thriving homeless outreach and more than its share of liberal Democrats, including blogger and Indiana Democratic Party communications director Jennifer Wagner.

Elrod, Wagner said, is a good guy. But don't look for her to provide him campaign ad material. As she puts it, "I've never seen him kicking any puppies."

How generous of fellow church-goer Jen Wagner to say she hasn't seen Elrod "kicking any puppies." Her boss, however, was not as kind. "The other knock Democrats have against Elrod is what state Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker sees as a thin record of achievement that boils down to little more than winning elections -- as a township adviser and state legislator -- in Democratic districts," King writes. "Thin record of achievement." Excuse me, Carson hasn't even won an election yet; he's only been appointed to fill a vacancy and faced no opposition. He's only had government jobs his grandmother got for him by pulling strings. He finished 88th out of 89 in his class at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. He spent 9 years as a state excise police office without a single promotion. He got a degree which evidence seems to suggest is little better than a mail order diploma. As soon as he got on the city council, he took a job with a city contractor selling political influence. Give me a break, Dan Parker. And for the Carson people to even suggest the life-long southsider Elrod is a carpetbagger is beyond the pale.

If Elrod is guilty of anything it is being educated and having more worldly views of life than the race-based, hood mentality Carson seems to be stuck in. King writes:

Elrod, 30, has charted his own course in other ways.

Through high school, college and his adult life, Elrod has played a number of roles on the stage. He was the male lead in "The Gift of the Magi." He was the sword-fighting Inigo Montoya in "The Princess Bride" and cast as the fastidious Felix in "The Odd Couple."

He played rugby while an undergraduate at Cincinnati's Xavier University, giving it up only after knocking his shoulder out of socket for a third time.

As a history major, he spent a semester studying abroad in northern England at Harlaxton College, where both dorms and living quarters are housed in a 19th century English manor house. He used the location to his advantage, traveling to Scotland, Ireland and Belgium.

As a law student at Indiana University, he spent a semester studying British law in London and serving an internship with a wig-wearing English barrister.

To get the most from the experience, he chose not to live with other Americans but instead stayed in a house with a cluster of students from around the world -- Aussies, New Zealanders and a German, among others. Together, they navigated the quirky London neighborhood of Brixton, known for its African, Caribbean and Middle Eastern immigrants and as home of the mosque where the shoe bomber drew his inspiration . . .

And he said his five-year career in the law -- handling issues such as wills, custody matters, business formations and personal injury cases -- have given him a fundamental knowledge of how laws affect people's lives.

The truth is that Jen Wagner and Dan Parker have much more in common with Jon Elrod. If they spoke truthfully about it to you, they both would much rather have a candidate like Elrod to support. Instead, they have to go along with the Carson machine and support a completely unqualified person whose outlook on life repulses both of them to the core because the Center Township gang demanded the party only to support a black candidate and one whose last name must be "Carson."