Published: November 05, 2008 12:47 am         

Indiana transplants watch from east coast

Boston, Mass. — Indiana has done what couldn’t have been predicted in 2004: It has gone Blue — and by so doing, the Hoosier state has broken its 44-year tradition of being a Red state, and helped put a Democrat in the White House.

But that’s not a total shock to some former Hoosiers living in the Boston area. For the three profiled here, it’s also a welcomed and happy occasion for their Midwest home.

The transplanted Hoosiers interviewed were:

• A business consultant who grew up in Greencastle, wound her way around the world, and landed on the eastern seaboard two decades ago, who believed Obama had a more-than-fair chance at taking Indiana;

n An early-career editor who believed predictions for an Obama win in Indiana were skewed by the various pockets of loyalties within the state, but who believed if Indiana turned Blue, she’d burst with pride;

n And an Emerson College freshman and moderate, whose Republican family had her leaning toward McCain but who voted Obama even though she felt McCain would win Indiana.

• • •

Diane Darling, 49, a networking consultant and author in Cambridge, believed the Hoosier state would go to Obama, not so much for Obama or the Democrats, but because Indiana would’ve chosen to evict the GOP based on well-publicized “screw-ups.” And the mere presence of Obama signs in a Red state “says more to me about how the Republicans have lost their way.”

Darling grew up in Greencastle from 1967 to 1981; her father, Frank C. Darling, was chairman of political science at DePauw University.

Because of her parents, Darling believed she had an edge (that of education) that made her more accepting of a wide range of ideas and cultures: In her family, she said discussion was more important than thought bullying.

The philosophy was that “You talked about ideas and issues, but you would never try to tell somebody how to think, or especially, how to vote,” she said. “You learned very quickly to appreciate the differences in one another, and at the end of the day, you’re all just people.” Indeed, she’s not trying to sway, nor be swayed — she declined to say how she would vote.

She said that in the state where only pockets of multi-culturalism exists (Bloomington being one), she doesn’t think it strange that one cult of personality would prevail strongly.

After all, it’s the same in more liberal-leaning areas, such as Cambridge, known as the “The World’s Most Opinionated Zip Code.”

“When you’re living in Cambridge, you get into ‘group think,’ and sometimes I think we need a die-hard Republican in our group’ to offer another opinion.”

• • •

Morgen Murphy, 28, is a multi-media editor for a textbook company; she moved from her lifelong hometown of Fishers eight years ago and lives in Somerville (adjacent to Cambridge).

For her, the possibility that Indiana would go blue wasn’t straightforward. “My hopes are that it will turn Blue,” she said, but the NPR reports she has heard claiming Obama was pushing out the old guard were dampened by her mother’s reports that the old guard was still very much alive.

“From talking to her, she is not as confident,” saying her parents now live in downtown Indy where Obama support is stronger than in other reaches of the state. But, her parents still have Republican friends whose opinions and fervor are very strong.

“I love Indiana, and although I’ve lived in Boston most of my adult life, still people ask me where I’m from and it would be so exciting” to tell people Obama won the Hoosier state, Murphy said. “It’s not like Ohio, where it could go either way. For Indiana, it’s a really big deal.”

• • •

Jacquie Exline, the daughter of Jim and Teresa Exline of Sullivan, is 19 and a freshman at Emerson College. She believed on Election Day that Obama would win the presidency but that McCain would have taken Indiana.

Mostly, she said, because that’s just tradition. Indeed, she comes from a multi-generational family of Republicans. “We all respect McCain for what he has done,” but adds that her parents also “really respect Obama.”

The communications major felt positively about both candidates for their strengths — McCain for his veteran status and Obama for his fresh ideas and education — but ultimately, she voted for Obama, even though her family back home will likely vote McCain.

But a second key factor played into her Obama vote, she added: Palin, and the belief that the governor wasn’t strong enough to be president. “I’ve heard she’s one of the best governors Alaska has had,” but she doesn’t agree with Palin’s politics nor does she think Palin is experienced enough to be president if called upon.

“I don’t think that the Average Joe can run for president, and she’s trying to hit home with that appeal.”

Liz Carver is a freelance writing consultant living in Cambridge, Mass. She is a former reporter for the Tribune-Star.