My Man Mitch holds 16 point lead

After a couple debates and attacks from Jill Long Thompson, Mitch Daniels continues to lead by strong almost runaway margins.  

From Frugal Hoosiers We’re pretty busy today and won’t have much to post. We wanted to make sure everyone saw this, however. Yet another independent poll verifies what the other independent polls shows (with one notable outlier which we’ve already beaten to death): Mitch Daniels continues to hold a huge double-digit lead.  

From Fort Wayne News Daniels now leads in all regions of the state: in previous polling, Long Thompson led in Northern Indiana. 25% of Democrats cross over to vote for incumbent Republican Daniels; 14% of Republicans cross over to vote for Democrat Long Thompson. Independents favor Daniels by 25 points.

I have been asking recently: "Will Mitch Daniels' popularity, and the regained traction of Senator John McCain for President have down ticket effects on House or Senate races?"   Thoughts? Where do you project our Congressional Delegation to end up?  State house and senate?  

Post-bailout punditry

So, conservative republicans and very very liberal democrats (many who were in tight re-election races) banded together yesterday to defeat President Bush and Democrats $700 Billion bailout bill. That's the good news.  Now what?

We still have a credit crisis, mainly caused by over-regulation in the first place.  We still have banks failing, mainly caused by "mark to market" accounting rules.  We still have a non-existent housing market, mainly caused by the media's infatuation with talking about housing recession.  So, now what?

Open Market.Org calls for Mark to Market Reform

and calls for another look at Republican Study Committee proposal

The Foundry suggests that there are dire constitutional problems with credit bailout proposals. 

Word has it that the Senate will try to take up a revised version tomorrow.  I'm still calling for Senator John McCain to vote against it, and then immediately propose a bill with private insurance, reforming market to market, leave capital gains taxes alone, and re-instate FHA down payment assistance (which is private money not government)

From The Final Push Yet Rob Cox, for one, says on Breakingviews.com that while the investor freak-out is understandable, Financial Armageddon may not be upon us. 

He points to the government-orchestrated deals for Washington Mutual and Wachovia, as well as investments by Warren Buffett in Goldman Sachs and Mitsubishi UFJ in Morgan Stanley as evidence that "there are willing buyers alongside government mechanisms that can be employed to effectuate financial rescue."

There will be pain, he acknowledges, but without the asset-relief program, "the long-term result could be a beneficial restatement of sound market principle."

After the no vote, finger-pointing started on Capitol Hill.

A number of Republicans cited remarks during the debate by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that blamed the Bush administration for the financial crisis. "We could have gotten it if it were not for this partisan speech that Speaker Pelosi gave," said the House minority leader, John Boehner, according to Politico.com.

So, what are you proposing?  Of course the vast majority of comments on this site are against the government taking over the credit markets, but I'd like to hear what you do propose?  

Congress Says “NO” to Socialism

In a bi-partisan shocker, Congress voted down a $700 Billion dollar bail out of Wall Street that amounted to socialism.

From Foxnews.com (the only site that would load after the vote came through):

House leaders held open the vote as they tried to sway reluctant lawmakers to support the plan, which failed 205-228. Arm-twisting continued even after the vote clock expired. One member, retiring Republican Rep. Jerry Weller, did not vote.

The bill aimed to open up clogged credit lines for financial markets that had come to a near collapse. Sellers continued to shed stocks as the market teetered down more than 450 points after the vote ended.

Representatives worked throughout the weekend to make a bill palatable. Republicans had insisted on a mortgage securities insurance paid by firms who had invested in bad housing loans.

But many lawmakers continued to oppose the plan for a variety of reasons, including the massive price tag that would expand the national debt, and GOP members said constituents were calling 10-1 in opposition to the bill, which had been described as too much government intervention. Of 235 Democrats, 141 supported the legislation. Of 199 Republicans, 132 opposed it.

I hope to post later the way our Hoosier Congressmen voted on this bill once the House.gov sites are able to load again.

*Update*

Final Vote Results

Voted against the bailout:

• Dan Burton
• Mike Pence
• Steve Buyer
• Pete Visclosky
• Andre Carson
• Baron Hill

Voted For the Bailout:

• Joe Donnelly
• Brad Ellsworth
• Mark Souder

Thanks to Sean Hackbarth for sending me the link.

Right now, I’m a little speechless that Mark Souder voted for the bailout. I’m interested to find out why. I hope to have press releases shortly from a few of our congressmen on the issue.

(Originally posted to Hoosier Access)

House Republicans vote down Bailout Bill

Thanks to Mike Pence and other Republican leaders willing to put their jobs on the line, the government won't be taking over the markets ... At least for today.

Now the question is ... Will John McCain craft a market based bill, that protects tax payers, and get it passed ... And in doing so gut President Bush and wannabe Obama

Breaking News - Bush speaks before markets open

President Bush conducted a rare live press conference, or better stated, press release this morning.  He called for Congress to pass the negotiated bailout bill quickly to calm markets.  

Markets are not reacting well this morning, with future opening down. 

Question:  Do you think John McCain would gain if he voted against the bill today?  

Promise - Video from John McCain

Debate Results and Thoughts

Of course, we here on Porter County Politics found John McCain to be engaging and quite ready to assume the leadership of the free world. It was Barack's debate to lose, if he couldn't stand the heat of pressure on specific questions, without a teleprompter then he would begin to slide in the polls.

Alas, as is common in American politics, it was a draw. John McCain looked Presidential, perhaps even more so than Bush has looked this week. He listened, he corrected, he was polite, and he gave compelling reasons for us to elect him. But Barack Obama made the cut too, he has the lead in the polls and will probably maintain that 2-3% lead going into the first of next week.

Patrick Ruffini, accomplished blogger from the Next Right, posted his thoughts this morning on the debate, which I found solid and worth re-posting here:

Most of my instant reaction was on Twitter, but here are some thoughts in no particular order:

• McCain did very well in keeping the debate on his own ground. Notice how long we were discussing the surge and earmarks. This is a strategy he perfected in the primaries, and it's what enabled him to win the nomination -- because the Republican base disagreed with him on everything else. He is a very insistent debater, and controlled the flow and subject matter.
• McCain schooled Obama on the later non-Iraq foreign policy questions, particularly on Georgia. To the extent this wasn't covered by the snap polling since it occurred later in the debate, this should be to McCain's benefit in polling the next 24-48 hours.
• The pundit class seems to agree this one was a draw. There will be no rush to declare one man the winner like there was after the first 2004 debate. Kerry won the snap polls the night of the debate, but was winning 3-to-1 a few days later when asked who won. This made a 3-4 point difference in the polls.
• Obama is walking a fine line between professorial/detached and Zen-like/Presidential. You never know when he is going to slip into either mode. Debates are weird that way. They can turn liabilities into strengths and vice versa.
• Obama pronounces it Pah-kii-stan.
• Obama seems to have a major burr under his blanket when it comes to free markets and regulation. In both this debate and his acceptance speech, he seemed to go to great lengths to make a philosophical case for activist government. This inspires me to work even harder against him.
• McCain looked like a leader in calling for a freeze in government spending. Obama's line about using a scalpel not a hatchet reeked of rearranging the deck chairs, and thinking you can have your cake and eat it too in the middle of a major financial emergency. One of McCain's major calling cards is service and sacrifice. In this way, Obama would be like Bush who didn't ask us to sacrifice after 9/11.
• Was Henry Kissinger the gaffe of the evening?

Join the debate, what did you think? What will Barack have to do to seal the deal? What will McCain have to do to take the lead away from Obama?

Debate Video - Obama likes McCain's ideas

Current TV mashup with Twitter for Debate

Make sure your tweets feature #current for mashup on current TV tonite during debate

clipped from current.com Current & Twitter have teamed up for the very first time to integrate real-time Twitter messages (aka "tweets") over major portions of a live television broadcast. Hack the Debate by adding your Twitter posts to our live broadcast of the 2008 Presidential Debates. How to PARTICIPATE: 1. Tune in on September 26th at 9pm EST/ 6pm PST for the Live Presidential Debate. Find Current TV on your local cable/satellite provider or come here to watch the live stream of our broadcast. 2. Make sure you’ve registered with Twitter to participate. 3. During the debates, chime in by including "#current" in your tweet. Example: "This discussion about universal healthcare makes me want to pop some pills! #current" 4. We won't be able to air every single tweet on TV, but you can see all of the #current tweets by searching #current on Twitter search. 5. If you have any questions about participating, send us a tweet @current.

Follow election tweets on special twitter

Even though many of the tweets are liberal it does cause some great follow up conversations

clipped from election.twitter.com JohnMcCain: I Know, I know. It's the Times.: ABC News reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., reportedly.. http://tinyurl.com/529f64 BarackObama: Just launched a "Next Generation Veterans for Obama" video on YouTube. Watch it at http://tinyurl.com/4bfrc4 What’s this? We’re filtering hundreds of Twitter updates per minute to create a new source for gathering public opinion about the presidential election and a new way for you to share your thoughts. What do you think?

How did this happen? Video

Mark Cuban offers to invest in GOP plan

The alternative plans being offered, which feature private free market alternatives to the socialized version initially offered, are getting more attention. Donald Trump is suggesting this money could "make" a lot of money ... some phenomenal deals. But where do the profits go? ACORN?

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks has posted a lot more than normal today and offers to put $50 million of his own money up for an EFT type free market solution.

"If Treasury Secretary Paulson were to create an ETF to buy all the assets the bailout was planning to buy, along with all the warrants and shares of stocks in the bailout companies it can get, and then have any receipts generated by those assets, whether by sale, or regular income such as rent or mortgage payments or servicing them, go into the fund, I would buy at least $50,000,000.00 of shares in The Fund."

Ok, now real business people are starting to talk, and see opportunity, and none of them think the government should just throw cash at this and let any potential profits be squandered on community activists.

Larry Kudlow -Paulson plan with GOP protections

Larry Kudlow does a nice job of talking about the positives in the plan, plus adding some taxpayer protections that keep us a market economy and don't run toward socialized credit markets:

I have been in conversation with leading House Republicans all day. And they understand these key points. Unfortunately, this understanding did not materialize in their original meeting with Mr. Paulson a few days ago. But now the actual reality is sinking in.

Another point: Republican leader Eric Cantor has an excellent idea for a federal bond insurance guarantee for straight mortgage-backed paper, financed by private-sector insurance premiums. That will improve investor confidence in mortgage bonds and will make those bonds highly marketable. Importantly, senior Treasury officials have told me that Mr. Paulson will accept the insurance idea as an option in the final bill, alongside the ability of the Treasury to purchase distressed assets.

Sources also tell me that other conditions will be necessary to bring the House GOP along. First, the ACORN slush fund must be removed. Second, the so-called union proxy to run a slate of corporate directors is a big problem. Third, all profits from the Treasury rescue mission must be used to reduce the national debt — 100 percent. Fourth, Republican members are opposed to bankruptcy judges setting mortgage terms and interest rates (Sen. Obama also is opposed). Fifth, the so-called government equity ownership of banks is distasteful because it effectively creates a corporate tax increase on banks at a time when they are struggling. And last, the Treasury secretary’s request for $700 billion is regarded as way too high.

Essentially, House Republican leaders want a slimmer, cleaner Paulson plan supplemented by Mr. Cantor’s mortgage-bond insurance program. I think it’s a good package that would be great news for stock and bond markets that are now ailing badly. It would set the stage for a gradual return to normalcy on the part of bank lenders, including loans to small businesses, consumers, and homeowners. It would be a pro-growth package at a time when the economy desperately needs a prosperity tonic.

Economists against Bailout - agree with McCain

H/T to NWI Connect for this set of links to George Washington Blog.

Prestigious Group of 192 Economists - Including Nobel Prize Winners - Slams Bailout

Here's their letter, click to read the whole list and contents.

No one is really excited about this proposal, and every day that goes by raises the ire of more people who are looking at the details. Great work again to Senator John McCain for standing up to all the forces of "hurry up and don't look behind the curtain" and slowing things down.

Leadership from McCain approved by Americans

From Gateway Pundit: John McCain jumped in both the Zogby and Gallup polls since announcing that he would put the country first and go back to Washington to work on the financial crisis.

Well of course he did, because all the Democrats and President Bush working to create another huge government entity, without limits to it's growth, is going to backfire. Obama by the way is stuck, if he goes with the plan against House Republicans and John McCain, he's stuck siding with the President. No more "third term" bologna.

If he stalls, and hides in Mississippi for a now ill-fated and inappropriate debate, he'll come off as less than a leader, and for sure there's no "change" in politics first!

In the short run, the economy is losing, very little banking is being conducted. This is no longer just housing, this is corporate loans, small business loans, auto loans ... the life-blood of consumer and corporate growth and purchasing. No worries about inflation right now, who can buy? Watch for oil to drop to $80 bucks. Watch for an emergency interest rate cut in October, with Democrats screaming "foul" because this paints them even tighter into a box.

Credit Crisis Late Thursday Update - Breaking

I posted this morning in quite a few places: Finally an alternative - just in time for white house meeting While I was typing this post WaMu was seized by the FDIC and sold to JP Morgan, with zero insurance needed from FDIC. Hmmm, does that mean one more company is now back to solid footing with $700 Billion government agency?

Since I posted in so many places, the comments were all over the place and disconnected, but in general those of us who instinctively wanted to follow the President on this one, are starting to wane in our support. I think John McCain has been in the same place, with a general sense that this is big government at its worst.

Tonite: The Bailout Deal Stalls as Republicans House Revolt against the "done deal" with some quotes -

Weary congressional negotiators worked into the night, joined by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in an effort to revive or rework the $700 billion proposal that President Bush said must be quickly approved by Congress to stave off potentially "a long and deep recession."

They gave up after 10 p.m. EDT, more than an hour after the lone House Republican involved, Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, left the room. Democrats blamed the House Republicans for the apparent stalemate. Those conservatives have complained that the plan would be too costly for taxpayers and would be an unacceptable federal intrusion into private business.

So one of the biggest questions is: Where will John McCain stand tomorrow? Will he provide the leadership that America needs and cobble together a stand against big government? Will he go along with a watered down package and fly at the last minute to debate the kid Senator?

Bob Barr can debate Obama tomorrow

It would appear that Bob Barr is free tomorrow nite, not being an elected official he didn't have to go to Washington. So he has offered to debate Senator Obama instead. I think this would make even better theater than all the proposals so far

Here in Indiana it would have been a ton of fun to see Jill Long Thompson try to take on Andy Horning on her own. He would have destroyed her ... no he's not electable, but libertarian principles make for great debates.

Finally an alternative - just in time for white house meeting

Republicans propose alternative free market solution

With Congress knotted over the $700 Billion plan to bailout problem bonds, based on sub-prime mortgage problems ... President Bush called John McCain and Senator Obama to the White House for a meeting with leaders on Thursday. Interestingly enough Obama agreed to this meeting, which could frame him as supportive of the President. I believe that meeting takes place late this afternoon, so the markets will probably wander around in waiting today.

In the meantime Republicans have proposed an alternative plan, much more free market based, that eliminates the capital gains tax and the "mark to market" requirement that is causing healthy banks to become unhealthy in the eyes of investors. See WSJ op-ed.

The RSC plan is chock-full of measures to remove barriers to economic growth and market-distorting subsidies. It would suspend capital gains taxes to put trillions of dollars of capital in the economy, and set Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which as CEI has documented were at the root of this crisis, on the road to full privatization.

Most importantly for the crisis at hand, the RSC plan would make regulatory agencies suspend the mark-to-market accounting rules that a range of experts agree are spreading the contagion by forcing solvent banks’ to “write down” their assets, based on the last fire sale of a highly leveraged bank. As Gary Gorton, finance professor at Yale and member of the National Bureau of Economic Research has written, “With no liquidity and no market prices, the accounting practice of ‘marking-to-market’ became highly problematic and resulted in massive write-downs based on fire-sale prices and estimates.”

Although I am highly supportive of President Bush, I am worried that Democrats will take any chance they can get to create massive agencies that won't go away down the road. I'm willing to listen to alternatives today, but understand the brevity of the situation and that today and tomorrow a decision has to be made. If Republicans can't get support for the alternative, then I'd like to see John McCain seal the deal today and make Bush's plan happen. If Republicans start to get some support, I'd love to see the Maverick jump in with them and dare Obama to back Bush's plan over a market based plan. What an amazing day today is.

Obama trying to buy off Lake County GOP?

Frugal Hoosiers digs a little deeper into yesterday's story about the Lake County Democrats trying to illegally open satellite offices in Lake County for polling, even though the law appears to say that the entire Election Board has to endorse the move unanimously. (Post article)

Read the whole article over at Frugal Hoosiers, I'm only grabbing a small exerpt here but the implications are chilling if Barack Obama's Chicago machine is trying to buy off the Lake County GOP and has already decided that Jill Long Thompson is done.

One question I have: Why the heck did John Curley cut a deal with Mayor Clay in the primary?

"And this is where the story gets really interesting and raises a lot of questions. Lake County GOP chairman John Curley issued a press release after the proceedings of the election board, which can be seen below (click for a full version). In it, he outlines that he is opposed to the resolution because the Democrats will not agree to open them anywhere. Then he says that the Lake County Democrat chair and Mayor of Gary Rudy Clay approached him last week about why they needed the satellite centers in those cities only:"

Rudy Clay, Lake County Democratic Chairman, negotiated a plan with me in the spring of 2008 to open satellite voting locations for the primary. I said I was not in favor of the satellites but would go along with him then but NOT in the fall. He agreed. Chairman Clay approached me again a few weeks ago and I reminded him of our agreement. He said Jill Long has pulled his “street money” and he needs the satellites. I declined. (chairman John Curley of Lake County GOP)

Instapundit suggest Sarah Palin debate Obama Friday

Gotta love good ole ingenuity, Instapundit has suggested a wonderful idea to make everyone happy: Have Governor Sarah Palin debate Senator Obama on Friday. She's available, and Alaska is flush with cash. He's available because he doesn't want anything to do with Washington right now.

I guess if Obama doesn't feel he can handle Gov. Palin .... then the debate will have to wait until this economic crisis has been handled by Senator McCain and congressional leaders

The Maverick Strikes Again - Breaking News

Senator John McCain once again struck a chord with regular Americans today when he proclaimed that he would shut down his active campaign, return to Washington, and postpone the Friday debates.

Oh my, Senator Obama was surprised! Of course he was, he's a typical Chicago politician and he's not used to being caught off guard. Obama of course wants to continue the debate and disregard the economic crisis.

You choose

From Gateway: McCain shows leadership and puts COUNTRY FIRST...
Senator John McCain announced today that he wants to delay Friday's debate because of the economic crisis and return to Washington to focus on the nation's financial problems.

Some people lead and some people follow.

Update the video of his announcement:

Crony Capitalism

A thought provoking article was written yesterday by Terry Jones at Investor's Business Daily concerning the debockle of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. Let's not forget that many of the decisions that have caused this debacle have been on a democratic watch (house & senate rule), not that soely of President Bush. While many republican are to blame as well, the real losers in all of this will be our children, who will end up paying for this in the next 20 years. I hope legislation will be passed that when a company looses millions of dollars and goes banrupt that the board of directors don't walk away with 10, 20 & 40 millions of dollars.

Should Valpo elect its school board?

With hearings upcoming on major changes to the way the schools are organized, and last week's school board debate getting front page coverage. As an aside, the only reason last week's school board debate was covered was that it so seldom happens.

Should Valparaiso schools go the way of most other school systems and elect their board?

Today's article in the Times suggests some public input meetings, and an interesting side note that teachers don't feel they can comment for fear of some kind of retribution, from whom? From administration?

Hearings to discuss the future of schools

BY BRIAN WILLIAMS
bwilliams@nwitimes.com
219.548.4348 | Sunday, September 21, 2008 |

VALPARAISO | A series of community meetings this fall will seek public input on a task force's report that recommends closing and consolidating seven of the city's eight elementary schools.

The School Board on Tuesday released the final report of the community task force that met through the spring to consider future directions for Valparaiso Community Schools.

The report is available online and in hard copy at all city schools and the schools administration building. It is also at the Valparaiso Public Library, the Valparaiso University library, the Village Park Enrichment Center at Banta and City Hall.

"Neighborhood conversations" will be held at each of the elementary schools starting Oct. 1 at Parkview Elementary School. The School Board will present background information from the report and then solicit public reaction.

Each meeting is open to all residents, board President James Bernard said.

All meetings will start at 7 p.m. A further meeting also may be held at City Hall.

The task force's proposal for consideration by the School Board and administration calls for replacing three existing elementaries with two new sister schools, replacing the high school pool and updating its auditorium between 2009 and 2014 at an estimated cost of $65 million. In a second phase to 2020, two further sister schools would replace four remaining older elementaries at an unspecified cost.

Bernard said the board would be ready to discuss the substantive matters in the report and public reaction in early 2009.

School parent Christopher Pupillo urged the board to make sure the process is open to teachers' participation. Pupillo said almost two dozen teachers had told him they would not speak on the issue for fear of retribution. Pupillo said he didn't know if the fear was merely a matter of perception, but he said the community needs teachers' voices on the issue.

School Board member Mary Idstein said teachers could e-mail her comments, which she would hold in confidence.

For the report and a complete list of meeting dates, visit www.valpo.k12.in.us.

Sarah Palin getting bigger crowds than Obama

Sarah Palin Packs Stadiums With 60,000 When She Visits The Villages in Florida

The Orlando Sentinel states,

"THE VILLAGES — With thousands of supporters packing the streets and sidewalks of this massive retirement community, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Sunday that she and John McCain would reform Washington, put America on the path to energy independence and nurse a struggling economy back to health."

Less government in market not more

Mortgage Market for Conservatives

Brian, sorry I didn't get anything posted until now, much crazier weekend than I expected, hope your trip is going well.

As a former home builder, and current partner in a mortgage company and consultant to a few real estate related companies, I have an avid interest in what has been happening over the last 18 months in housing and especially mortgages. I have been saying over at Northwest Indiana Real Estate, for months now that the problem is too much regulation. Of course this position isn't held in very high esteem, Presidential candidates are scared to even suggest that the government is getting in the way ... and regulators would lose their jobs if we found that they actually caused the problem.

But they did!

I read The Foundry most every day on my reader, and regularly post from those terrific posts to my numerous sites, including my Northwest Indiana Mortgages site. (Sorry for all the self links, but I'm trying to build a case that I actually understand a little bit). The key question in my mind at the end of last week's craziness? WHAT IS A FAIR POSITION FOR A CONSERVATIVE WHO ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT HOMEOWNERSHIP?

Some exerpts from today's awesome post at the Open Market.org $700 Billion for Disastrous Financial System Bailout. Not the Foundry but a well written article with great links:

Either the mortgages are just as worthless as their current market price suggests, in which case the banks that hold them, rather than taxpayers, should pick up the tab (and any insolvent banks should be closed, so that they cannot gamble with depositors’ and taxpayers’ money in the future).

"Or, the mortgages are worth much more than they are currently valued — their current value being set under federal “mark-to-market“ accounting regulations, which require that assets like mortgages be conservatively valued at what they can currently be sold for at the moment, rather than what they would be worth if held to maturity. If that’s the case, then federal accounting regulations need to be immediately relaxed by federal agencies like the SEC that enforce them — as John Berlau argues today in the Wall Street Journal, and as former FDIC Chairman William M. Isaac urged yesterday in a Journal editorial attacking the federally-enforced Fair Value Accounting Rules and Basel II capital rules. (This would also be a good time to revisit the truly senseless accounting regulations imposed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which cost the U.S. economy over $35 billion per year, and were used by sub-prime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial as a smokescreen to hide its risky business practices)."

Bankers need a reason to start lending again. Sure the government can buy all the junk bonds which have small percentages of sub-prime loans with even smaller percentages of unperforming loans. Imagine, the government buying $700 Billion worth of loans ... at 20 cents on the dollar ... they may actually make money on this investment! But all they really needed to do was relax regulations that don't make sense and cost us billions in overhead and management.

Anyone know a politician with the guts to step up and say that? I'm a little frustrated with John McCain this week for not stepping into the Maverick role and telling Americans what they need to hear. Barack Obama is predictably suggesting more and more government, which is not what we need. I'm waiting ...

Polls What do you believe?

Today I am reading the Chesterton Tribune and it says that Daniels race is close according to the Indianapolis star/wthr poll and that Obama is 47 to McCain 44. This poll was conducted by the Seltzer Co.

Another blog here states that Rassmussen states the governor has a 16 point lead.

Every day it seems that one poll or another states that either one or the other presidential candidate has a lead.

What do I think about these polls? I think that we need to make sure that we get out there and vote that's right this is not the year to sit back and figure our vote doesn't count so why should we be bothered.

Polls are only as good as the questions and who is answering the phone. I mean really think about the fact that one day they are two points up one way and then 2 hours later two points another way.

This is the time where we need to ask our friends hey are you registered to vote and if they are not they only have a week or so more to go. If on election day you call 5-10 friends and remind them to vote that is how we win!!

You can spend a million dollars on ads and mailers but if people don't go out and vote all that money is wasted.

Governor Daniels up 16 points on challenger

With Republican Governor Daniels showing signs of pulling even further ahead of his challenger, the obvious follow-up question is how badly will Obama lose this state? Will down-ticket races favor Republicans potentially returning the statehouse to them?

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (R) has a safe lead over challenger Jill Long Thompson in his bid for re-election this November. The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of this race finds the incumbent ahead 56% to 40%.

As reported by Rasmussen today with H/T to Frugal Hoosiers

And From Polis Politics

Memo to Jennifer Wagner: You do not live in a Battleground State.

Democrat hearts are a flutter over polls released by the Indianapolis Star that purport to show Barack Obama with a small lead with the Hoosier state, while Democrat Jill Long Thompson's moribund campaign is suddenly within 4 points of Governor Mitch Daniels.

McCain moves ahead in electoral projections

After a month of positive movement in polls, electoral projections now who McCain moving ahead in electoral projections. Senate races still look like pick-ups for Dems, though I've suggested a better result of 49 Reps and 50 Dems with Lieberman playing spoiler.

clipped from www.electoral-vote.com Obama 243   McCain 274   Ties 21 Strong Dem (143) Weak Dem (45) Barely Dem (55) Exactly tied (21) Barely GOP (90) Weak GOP (23) Strong GOP (161) 270 Electoral votes needed to win Map algorithm explained We have 38 presidential polls today due to a large number of new ARG polls. The results are given below. The upshot is that John McCain has taken the lead in the electoral college 274 to 243. We also have a House poll in PA-11, where challenger Lou Barletta is leading incumbent Paul Kanjorski. This may be the only House race in the country where an incumbent Democrat loses.

Porter County Commissioners Disrespectful

Full Disclosure: I wasn't at this meeting, but if our commissioners have sunk to a new low as suggested by this blogger, then I would agree:

Porter County Commissioners Disrespectful

For what it may be worth to the citizens of Porter County.

The other day I attended a meeting of the Porter County Commissioners.
The experience was not pleasant.
There was not a working sound system, but the room was so small that they shouldn’t have needed one anyway.
There were many people in attendance, mostly senior citizens, and yet these Commissioners spoke in such soft voices that nobody could hear what the heck they were saying.
They gave no consideration to the people in attendance and spoke so softly that nobody could hear a thing that was being said.
What a bunch of lily livered public servants.
Very disrespectful.
I don’t have a nickel in it being from Starke County, but I can say that if I were living in Porter County, I’d be wanting to attend one of these meetings to find out just which of these Commissioners should be given the boot.
This is what sometimes happens to people once they get a job in government. They think all of a sudden that they don't have to be considerate or polite anymore.
Sickening.
I'll blame the guy running the meeting. His name is Robert Harper, I believe. What a joke. It should have been up to him to make sure that the others spoke loud enough so people could hear, but he talked as if he had a mouth full of horse manure. What a disgrace.

Posted by Charlie Averill at 4:29 PM

Thanks for the report Charlie

Democrats top list of Fannie handouts

Although both parties accepted campaign funds from Fannie and Freddie, and there is no illegality in accepting funds from officials from either company ... Democrats far outpaced the Republicans with Barack Obama right up at the top.

When Barack spends the next 45 days blaming George Bush for the housing value problem, sub-prime mortgages, Hurricanes, global warming, Iraq and now Afghanistan, and of course the "bail-outs" ... he may need to be careful that he follows the money ... to his own pocket.

See Team Hammond for list of top beneficiaries.

We have said it here and on other Northwest Indiana real estate sites, the problems impacting Fannie and Freddie are greatly influenced by too much regulation, reverse red-lining, and out of control spending by Congress at the Federal level.

Some suggestions for political leaders who actually want to help, not just make things worse:

• Cut your local and state budgets as deep as possible now
• Eliminate any regulations that arbitrarily push housing costs up, eliminate foolish impact fees that were greedily contemplated when everyone thought housing could pay all the bills
  
• Talk to your engineers and planners, are they engaged in development concepts that will help create jobs and homeownership?
• Create down payment assistance programs that help renters move to homeownership, but use free market means
• Use a ton more common sense, stop relying on regulations to replace brains in government
• Lead with your pocket-book, buy real estate now
• Privatize things that private enterprises can do, government tends to stay in business far too long. Fannie and Freddie should have been fully privatized in the early 2000's
• Stop blaming, and seek to solve local and regional problems with both sides of the aisle
  

The Blame Game - Pin the flooding on someone

Look, we had a 100 year flood event. All the storm water calculations are estimates and in some cases engineers made mistakes ...ooooo. The truth is until a major flooding event takes place, it's just an estimate. Now, each community in Porter County knows where the problems are and can try and figure out how to fix them.

I really get sick of people blaming the big bad "developers" everytime something floods though. Developers are regularly shaken down by towns and cities to fix off-site drainage, a tactic I find a bit corrupt. If a city or town has drainage issues, then the entire community should work to fix them but not dump the cost on the last guy to try and develop something new.

The Blame Game won't fix the problems, and raising fees hasn't accomplished a ton either in many places because the money isn't wisely invested. Follow the dollars, will storm water fees, sewer impact fees, park impact fees, and trash fees start to find their way into payroll accounts because cities and towns are feeling the pinch from HEA 1001? I hope not.

From the Times:

HEBRON | Town officials will be knocking on the Porter County Drainage Board's door, and they are bringing a lot of people with them.

The town wants to get on the agenda for the drainage board's next meeting to get help relieving flooding problems, especially on the town's east side. Residents and business owners from the east side were at Tuesday's council meeting to complain of stormwater backing up at the county ditch near the railroad embankment at the southeast corner of town.

Leyva blogging from the shadows

You'll notice that last week I posted a comment on Mark Leyva's blog, when he was slamming the federal "bailout" of Fannie and Freddie.  At that time I wondered aloud if he would actually post the comment, or deign to debate the complicated issue.  Don't mess with housing until you spend the time and the energy to understand it.  

Let me be the first to say to politicians playing around at blogging, STOP IT!  Either engage and debate and be transparent, or quit playing like you care.  Blogs aren't for broadcasting your recent thoughts and then disregarding feedback, that's what newspapers and TV's do ... we've all moved beyond that. 

Here's his recent post and my comment, which again probably won't get published or responded, for the record I bought a ticket and now I'm wondering if that was a bad idea.

ELVIS NIGHT FUNDRAISER

SATURDAY * SEPTEMBER 20, 2008

WHERE: National Guard Armory

                1502 Linwood Ave. (U.S.30)

                Valparaiso, IN  46385

DOORS OPEN:  5:30PM

SHOW STARTS:  6:00PM

COST:  $25.00 a ticket, includes food & beverage

TICKET INFORMATION:  call 219.762.8344

 

Come join Mark Leyva and friends for a night of food and fun, with Jim Holmes a credited Elvis tribute artist.

1. 
   

   I knew I was wishing openness and fairness on you Mark. It can’t be a good call to try and raise money in Jon Costas’ neighborhood while going against the grain.

   If you want to blog, then blog openly.

   If you want to broadcast, there are other means for doing so.

Prediction: Indiana House will go 52-48 Republican

With the game changing entry of Governor Sarah Palin at the national level, terrific strength from Governor Daniels, and an already closely divided Indiana House ... I'm predicting a few seat pick up for House Republicans this election.  

Alan Greenblatt from Ballot Box digs a little deeper:

"Indiana Democrats are going to have a hard time defending their slim state House majority this year. They hold the chamber by the narrowest of margins -- 51-49 -- and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels has opened up a big lead in his reelection campaign."

Update:  Daniels faces JLT tomorrow night in a debate expected to basically close the deal.  

"But there seems to be no overarching theme in Indiana politics this year, aside from the economy. Passage of a property tax relief package crafted by Daniels has helped both the governor and his party." 

There are a few competitive races in Indiana this year -- but only a few. Most observers believe that the House could fall either way and that neither party will win a majority large enough to keep the chamber from being competitive once again in 2010."

I wish I wish I wish

(Cartoon by the brilliant Michael Ramirez.)

Photographer uses Obama-world dirty tricks on McCain

This photographer should be seeing her last assignment. She tricked John McCain into posing for a scarry weird photo, and then bragged about it on her blog. What a nut case, and typical of the "anything goes" liberal thought.

clipped from gmroper.mu.nu Jill Greenberg Photographer or Propagandist? So, the liberal photographer, the gal that Atlantic hired to take photographs of John McCain tried to do him dirty with this photograph:

Obama's adisors see problems brewing

First he chose a boring VP, then McCain chose an exciting one. Then he attacked Palin, and forgot he's running against McCain. Now, his advisors are getting antsy ... next comes a dwindling money supply

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk Barack Obama under fire for ignoring advice on how to beat John McCain A senior Democratic strategist, who has played a prominent role in two presidential campaigns, told The Sunday Telegraph: "These guys are on the verge of blowing the greatest gimme in the history of American politics. They're the most arrogant bunch Ive ever seen. They won't accept that they are losing and they won't listen." The one thing everyone agrees the Obama camp have woken up to is the toxic effect on their chances of Mrs Palin's arrival on the national scene. Polls show that white women voters, attracted to her down home virtues, now support Mr McCain by a margin of 12 points, the same lead among white women that George W. Bush enjoyed over John Kerry in 2004. Until recently, Mr Obama led among that group of voters by six points.

Ron Paul on ballot - accidentally

What slays me is how hard Ron Paul's supporters worked, at the grass roots level, only to have the whole campaign end up looking like a joke. Hey Montana, if he doesn't want to run for President, why did you put him on the ballot in the first place?

Constitution Party - are you nuts? You're making a viable third party look foolish.

posted by Josh Goodman

There's more uncertainty this morning as to whether Ron Paul will appear on the Montana ballot. From the Associated Press:

HELENA - Republican Ron Paul does not want to be on the Montana ballot as the Constitution Party presidential candidate, but state election officials said Thursday it may be too late to remove his name.

Paul, in a letter to the secretary of state, said his name was nominated by the Constitution Party of Montana without his permission.

The secretary of state's office said there does not appear to be a provision to remove Paul's name at this point. At least some counties have started printing ballots, officials said.

Open comment to Mark Leyva

Mark Leyva, running for Congress in Indiana's First Congressional, posted to his blog that he's against the federal bailout of Fannie and Freddie. I commented but am pretty sure that Mark or Mark's blog administrator won't let the comment go thru. So, here is the original post in it's entirety and my comments.

Blogs and transparent campaigning require some guts, I hope Mark engages and doesn't play the same game as the NWI Times of deleting comments they disagree with.

Tax Payers’ Bailout

The federal government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a sham for a nation in which there is supposed be a free-market economy. The American taxpayers are going to be paying the price of this bailout for years to come. The open markets should be allowed to take care of themselves without government interference as they have done since the founding of this country. Citizens need to ask themselves: “Why is our government bailing out these two mortgage investment giants at the expense of the taxpayers? Why is Congress not yet having an in depth investigation of what really happened with this bailout?” The answers are simple if you examine who exactly it is that is profiting: politicians and officials from the current and past administrations who are receiving PAC money from these two giant companies. Our Congressmen and elected officials have been bought off again. They are saddling the debt on the American public and on our children who will be forced in paying it off for many years into the future.

Why isn’t your current Congressman speaking out on this subject and denouncing this outrageous act against our free-market economy and American freedom?

As your next congressman, I will vote to decrease our national debt and to preserve and defend our liberties and our economy. I will vote to ensure that our children years in the future are not paying for the bad mistakes of our current politicians.

1. Daltonsbriefs Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
   September 13th, 2008 at 6:41 pm

   Mark, I’m a lifelong Republican, supporter of McCain-Palin and conservative blogger … on this one you’re dead wrong. I understand your desire to separate yourself from Visclosky, but this isn’t an issue you can win.

   How about supporting the pending bill to re-instate FHA down payment assistance? That’s market based and allows sellers to gift a down payment to a buyer, to help the market.

   How about demanding that a re-tooled Fannie and Freddie be privatized, fully, and then they wouldn’t need the government’s bailout at the next housing downturn?

   How about calling for a national elimination of government impact fees on new construction, so that first time home buyers can afford to buy a home and enter the ownership society?

   The government messed up Fannie and Freddie by meddling and passing Sarb-Ox and over-regulating, they need to fix it, back up the debt as required by law, and then privatize it fully. Go ahead and privatize Amtrak and the Postal Service too at the same time.

Thoughts on Legalized Gambling in Indiana

This is a reprint from the Post-Tribune, guest column by Jon Wolf who is adamantly against all forms of gambling, what are your thoughts on privatizing the lottery? On the surface I like the idea, get the government out and make some bucks for the state coffers.

Lottery lease should be at center of governor debate

September 12, 2008

By John D. Wolf Post-Tribune guest columnist

Both Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich have come up with proposals to lease their state's lottery.

Daniels cleverly brought presidents of state universities on board and proposed that the revenue from the lease would be used to fund tuition fees for Indiana students who would then be obligated to return for service in Indiana.

The underlying issue would mean expansion of gambling in both states. Privatizing would allow modern marketing techniques to increase sales to citizens under the guise of contributing to a worthy cause.

Most gambling sales pitches to legislatures echo some actual or perceived need, i.e., the environment, the elderly, schools, etc.

What happens is that the legislators simply deduct gambling revenue from their budgetary requests, and the gain is minimal.

In the 1993 vote to grant riverboat casino licenses, the pitch to the counties that voted was, "We must help Gary." Today Gary is near bankruptcy, with crime and corruption rampant.

Gambling is based on illusion. The mirage is simply that people live by hope and a lottery ticket or that a spin of a controlled machine will bring miraculous returns. People continue to buy into this illusion until they are trapped. A large share of foreclosures and bankruptcies can be traced to this lie.

The gambling industry is in trouble. The economic downturn plus travel expense has hit the industry hard. "(These are) the most turbulent economic conditions the casino/entertainment industry has faced in years," complained Gary Loveman, Harrah's CEO.

Gambling expansion should be a key issue in the race for governor. So far it is not.

Early in his first term, Mitch Daniels announced "No Expansion of Gambling." Indiana is second only to Nevada in total gambling revenue.

Democratic candidate Jill Long Thompson has said she is opposed to gambling expansion and lease of the lottery. Will the issue be raised in their statewide debates? Please take note.

Gambling interests were reported lobbying heavily at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

At the same time, the disgraced Tom DeLay made his appearances in St. Paul.

DeLay was part of the scandal involving Jack Abramoff for taking bribes from a Native American casino. Abramoff has since been sentenced to four years in prison. The judge said the case had shattered the public's confidence in government. The scandal contributed to the Republican loss of Congress in 2006.

The lottery is not an isolated proposal. It is generated by a false premise. Northwest Indiana is suffering for lack of new high-tech industry.

When will the business community, legislative wannabes and citizens wake up to the truth?

Who wants to turn any area where employees live into a Las Vegas or Atlantic City?

The illusion needs to be faced honestly. We cannot build government illusions.

John D. Wolf is co-founder of both the Indiana and National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. He is a retired minister who lives in Valparaiso. NCALG Blog which sadly hasn't been updated for two years. Looks like the group takes a highly religious position but doesn't take a libertarian position. I could be wrong, set me straight if so.

Could Republicans win Senate Back? Predictions

I've been thinking a bit about this election, especially now that McCain-Palin look so much stronger than just 45 days ago. Some questions and thoughts:

Could Republicans actually win back the Senate? I'll be the first to make a prediction here (remember I went out on a limb for Mccain and Palin when it wasn't famous) that the Senate will go 50-50 at this election and Vice President Sarah Palin will have a lot more say so than Cheney has ever had. I know it's a crazy thought, but frankly the Democrats are hurting themselves attacking women, the elderly, and the military. Hollywood and college campuses don't hold enough votes.

Could Republicans hold their current spot in the House, or even possible gain a few seats? My gut says no, that Pelosi and her cronies will pick up a few more seats, but that here in Indiana Sodrel and Puckett will both win back Republican districts. But watch for 2010 major pick-ups and a possible Speaker Pence.

Where will Presidential election land? I've been saying for months that it will come down to Ohio, and that it could be a late nite waiting for the dust to settle. I'm still there, with McCain winning barely with Ohio going to him late election night.

My next post will be predictions for Indiana and Northwest Indiana elections.

Indiana's Hardball Conservative posted a great list of links and quotes showing that Democrats are beginning to worry, especially those close to Hillary Clinton. It's really in her best interest if Obama loses, and she can start 4 years of running against Sarah Palin.

Demmies jumping ship, losing ground

Beautiful headlines off of Drudge:
GALLUP: Battle for Congress Suddenly Looks Competitive...
AP: MCCAIN/PALIN UP 4...
GALLUP DAILY: UP 3...
RASMUSSEN: UP 3...

This story is awesome to read:

Democratic jitters about the US presidential race have spread to Capitol Hill, where some members of Congress are worried that Barack Obama’s faltering campaign could hurt their chances of re-election.

Party leaders have been hoping to strengthen Democratic control of the House and Senate in November, but John McCain’s jump in the polls has stoked fears of a Republican resurgence.

A Democratic fundraiser for Congressional candidates said some planned to distance themselves from Mr Obama and not attack Mr. McCain.

“If people are voting for McCain it could help Republicans all the way down the ticket, even in a year when the Democrats should be sweeping all before us,” said the fundraiser, a former Hillary Clinton supporter.

“There is a growing sense of doom among Democrats I have spoken to... People are going crazy, telling the campaign ‘you’ve got to do something’.”

Concern was greatest among first-term representatives who won seats in traditionally Republican districts in the landslide of 2006. “Several of them face a real fight to hold on to those seats,” the fundraiser said.

Tony Podesta, a senior Democratic lobbyist, said members of Congress were “a little nervous” after Mr McCain shook up the race with his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate and intensified attacks on Mr Obama.

“Republicans have been on the offensive for the past two weeks... You don’t win elections on the defensive.”

The campaign manager for a first-term Democratic congressman from a blue-collar district in the north-east rejected suggestions that Mr. Obama had become a liability. He said his candidate would reach out to Republicans and avoid attacks on Mr McCain.

Now there are reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has referred to John McCain as "President McCain".

Buckle up, the next 50 some days are going to be bumpy.