Polis Politics

Jill Long Thompson: If at First You Don't Succeed, Give Up!

From WISH-TV's Jim Shella:

Jill Long Thompson’s search for a running mate is an in-house operation.  The campaign originally reached out to Tom New, former Frank O’Bannon chief of staff, to see if he would head up a search committee.  New declined.

That led the campaign to take up the task on its own.  Campaign manager Travis Lowe and Communications director Jeff Harris will do the legwork.   Harris says New will be a consultant.

We read somewhere that a record number of people voted fro Democrats statewide in the recent primary, and these bozos couldn't even find one of them to head up a search committee for the potentially second-highest ranking Democrat in the state? Or even think of more than one name?

Pathetic, Jill. Simply pathetic.

Jill Long Thompson: If at First You Don't Succeed, Give Up!

From WISH-TV's Jim Shella:

Jill Long Thompson’s search for a running mate is an in-house operation.  The campaign originally reached out to Tom New, former Frank O’Bannon chief of staff, to see if he would head up a search committee.  New declined.

That led the campaign to take up the task on its own.  Campaign manager Travis Lowe and Communications director Jeff Harris will do the legwork.   Harris says New will be a consultant.

We read somewhere that a record number of people voted fro Democrats statewide in the recent primary, and these bozos couldn't even find one of them to head up a search committee for the potentially second-highest ranking Democrat in the state? Or even think of more than one name?

Pathetic, Jill. Simply pathetic.

The Angry Left come to Indiana

James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal refers to portions of the Democratic Party as the "Angry Left." The Angry Left are Democrats, liberals, and other like-minded folk whose enmity towards Republicans and conservative government cloud their public statements and ability for rational thought.

Until four years ago, Democrats had nearly twenty years of rule in the Governor's office. They captured one U.S. Senate seat, and the other GOP Senator (Lugar) is likable (works well with Democrats). Today, the Dems have a 5-4 majority in Congressional Seats and a bare majority in the State House (the Senate Districts far favor the GOP too much to be competitive).

Now, with four years of Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana Democrats have joined the Angry Left. Daniels is to blame for everything, from a shaky oil market internationally to the state paying for Kelvin Sampson's text messaging/cellular phone service. I'm sure the rain at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend was somehow attributable to Mitch Daniels environmental policies.

Democrats are riding high behind their competitive primary, but remember this: the glitter will fade. Under no scrutiny, thousand may be willing to follow someone because they say "CHANGE!" But eventually, someone will ask what will they change.

Barack Obama has only promised universal health care and green jobs (which should but everyone in private health insurance, private health care, and the current construction industry out of work). Jill Long Thompson was to bring jobs lost to her union backers (those unions who backed her opponent).

That's pretty much all we know. These folks may try and win an election on "change." But what are they going to change? Remember this: even Greg Ballard had proposals. They were laughed at by the Angry Left, but we knew what he was going to do when he got in office.

We have no clue what Obama and Thompson would do. Thompson cannot win Indiana unless she has a better plan for governing than Daniels. Obama will not win competitive states like Ohio, Florida, and others unless he gives them a reason to. Until they do, they should be considered underdogs in November.

Commentary: Beth White did not have a "successful election"...

...unless you use the Chicago Cubs' definition of success (100 years without a title), and not the New York Yankees' (where anything less than a title is not a success).

Beth White received a thumbs up from the Star's Matt Tully for not botching the election. Letters to the editor have come in saying she looked good on CNN.

Have the expectations of competent elections been diminished so much by her 2007 Primary failure that piss-poor elections administrations are considered successful?

Let's run down the facts:

• Once again, polls did not open on time in multiple precincts.
• Precincts opened without ballots to vote on.
• At least 30 precincts ran out of ballots by midday.
• White claims no voter was turned away, despite multiple stories to the contrary. What she meant is no voter who signed in the poll book was turned away.
• White was less than truthful on voter challenges, saying they did not exist because no inspector reported them to her.
• White chose to leave partisan precinct offices off the ballot, which could result in legal challenges by losing candidates at state conventions.

The best example, Abdul Hakim Shabazz and Chris Spangle on WXNT said White was having a great election and that the issues were "normal." Yet, minutes later, Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly called those same normalities "voting problems."

The fact of the matter is outside Indiana, voters don't put up with the types of failures Beth White has given us. If you think the issues we regularly experience are acceptable or normal, SHAME ON YOU! Our right to vote is too precious to accept mediocrity in administering it. And just because White's hand picked inspector's don't inform White of issues doesn't mean they did not happen; shame on the media for taking her at her word.

The rest of our great country does not accept these failures. Just because Beth White screwed up an election in the worst possible way before does not make her repeated mistakes any less horrific.

Quote of the Day: Amos Brown Edition

"I just went to CNN.com, and they must have found the only white precinct in Indianapolis."
               -Amos Brown on Amos in the Afternoon, 5/6/08

Desperate Schellinger caught on tape?

From Election Journal:

Election Journal snapped this photograph at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum in Ward 5, where precincts 3,4 and 6 cast their ballots.

Here you can see Indiana Democrat gubernatorial candidate Jim Schellinger making his way through the polling place shaking hands. Mr. Schellinger wasn’t there to vote, he votes in Washington Township’s second precinct at the Marten House Hotel

Read more here.

The 2007 Primary: Let Us Never Forget

The polls may now be opened for the 2008 Primary here in Marion County, and the focus may be on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but everyone one of us would be negligent in our civic duty if we did not take a moment to remember the gross negligence that Beth White and the Democrats exhibited with our right to vote last year.

The 2008 primary will be remembered for 5 voting sites that never opened. A sickening number more opened egregiously late, some for only 90 minutes or less total out of a 12 hour voting day. As the Indianapolis Star noted last May, Beth White knew before hand when she saw hundreds (HUNDREDS!) of precincts that had voting materials still not picked up, and she consciously chose to do nothing.

Two theories abounded as to who was ultimately to blame. In 2006, moribund state Democrats did the unthinkable, with their Secretary of State Candidate Joe Pearson slightly edging Todd Rokita in Marion County, largely due to the Libertarian pariah in the race. That gave the Marion County Democrats the statutory control of the Election Board and, by law, the responsibility of appointing inspectors for every Marion County voting precinct.

It was a responsibility Democrats were surprised to have and woefully unable to accomplish. Or were they just unwilling? We are not the only ones who heard the stories of internal Democrat meetings leading up to the 2007 primary during which White and Party Elders discussed the lack of inspectors, and where White was sent away with instructions not to worry since the problems would occur in GOP-leaning areas. White then fell on her sword, but refused to resign.

The other possibility was that Beth White, who ran on a campaign based on her experience as an elections expert the National Dems called in anytime they executed their "recount any election that breathes" strategy, was a complete incompetent hack. This theory is advanced by the fact that White has spent every subsequent election lowering expectations to the point where during the special election, inspectors locking keys inside buildings, showing up at the wrong places, and more than a handful of locations not opening until after rush hour, and all considered "resounding successes."

We should never lower our standards for our voting rights. We hold them precious because they were denied for so long: by monarchs, by bigotry, by malfeasance. It is still unimaginable that 231 years after the Declaration of Independence, people were prevented from voting by the arrogance of Beth White and local Democrats who purport to be the party of the working man.

So this primary day, take a moment to remember, and a moment to look forward to a primary two years from know when we will select a candidate to replace the unforgivable incompetence of Marion County Clerk Beth White.

Commentary: Sen. Waltz the far superior choice in District 36

Some in the local blogosphere have noted today's news regarding Sen. Brent Waltz's restraining order request against his opponent, Mike Beeles.

Regardless of whether you like Waltz, or whether you believe the whole residency flap, we cannot get beyond this fact: Beeles based his entire primary campaign on Waltz's residency. He tried to earn a seat in the Statehouse on a "gotcha."

Regardless of whatever merits there are to Beeles's claim, Waltz is still a valid candidate in tomorrow's primary. Beeles, on the other hand, has failed to show anything that would warrant voters to give him confidence as their representative in the Legislature.

We are not fond to violate Reagan's 11th commandment, but this case warrant's special merit. We encourage our readers in Indiana's 36th State Senate District to vote for Brent Waltz in tomorrow's primary.

Theatre of the Absurd: Bill Crawford vs...Lloyd Carr???

Our friends over at The Digital Farmers Blog found an interesting hit piece against entrenched Democrat State Representative Bill Crawford of Indianapolis. It is a YouTube video pointing out the many problems of central Indianapolis and relating them to Crawford's effectiveness after 35 years at the Statehouse: crime, job loss, homelessness, etc.

At the 15 second mark, representing either homelessness, panhandling, or hunger, is former University of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr. It's definitely a "What the..." moment.

The editor must be an Ohio State fan.

NY Times brings Bias to Broad Ripple

What do San Franciscans think of the War in Iraq? You can probably think of the correct answer pretty quickly.

Today, the New York Times reports that "Minister’s Comments Hold Little Sway in Indianapolis Enclave," referring to the Reverend Wright fiasco that has embroiled Barack Obama's presidential candidacy. So what enclave did the New York Times seek out?

Broad Ripple. Even the Times admits that Broad Ripple's demographics overwhelmingly favor Obama. Yet, that's where the Old Gray Lady of journalism decided to tell America what Indiana thinks about the latest Obama associate blunder.

Back loser to home, the Indianapolis Star endorsed Hillary Clinton. Go figure.