A Personal Message to 'Mr. Briefs',
Thanks for the invite to post here. Go Valpo Cross!
Your friend,
The Peon
This was great news to me. The Times of Northwest Indiana endorsed Pete Buttigieg for Indiana State Treasurer. I heard from friends, of Pete's campaign when he met with local folks at an event hosted by DANI (Democratic Alliance of Northwest Indiana) at the Westchester Service Center in Chesterton, Indiana in January of this year. The buzz was red hot on this guy.
I listened carefully as I heard Pete speak at the Democratic convention in Indianapolis. I was impressed. I also heard him speak at a monthly Porter County Democratic Party meeting and in South Bend in June. He's the real deal and a good choice for this position. A good fit.
Pete has expressed some well reasoned criticism of the stewardship of the current State Treasurer, Richard Mourdock, with respect to the choice to invest state pension funds in low valued Chrysler stock (i.e. junk bond status). After that investment the economy imploded in September 2008, consumers immediately ceased spending, the auto industry globally took a catastrophic hit, and state pension funds lost big, due in part to the investment in Chrysler stock. The biggest loser was the Teacher's Retirement Fund.
Then there was the difficult and hideous choice of trying to save the auto industry. Nobody liked it. That industry was in trouble prior to the economic meltdown, but the choice was made by President Obama to allow Chrysler to restructure through bankruptcy, versus more lost jobs around the country, including many in Indiana, as the economy was shedding half a million jobs per month throughout 2009.
The current state Treasurer decided to stand on principle, spending two million Hoosier taxpayer dollars to challenge the bankruptcy (and ultimately lose) in an attempt to recoup the pension fund losses due to his choice to invest those funds in junk Chrysler stock in the first place. Mourdock was still appealing in April of 2010, oh and the auto industry is repaying its loans and doing surprisingly well in a slowly recovering economy.
We'll see on Tuesday how closely Hoosiers are paying attention to this race. If Pete wins, I'll know they were. The State positions of Auditor, Treasurer and Secretary of State have been largely monopolized by Republicans for decades. We'll see if these Democrats can persuade Hoosiers to give them a chance.
Pete, Sam Locke and Vop Osili will be in Portage on Sunday afternoon if you want to see and meet them.
There were a couple of good Letters to the Editor on the Post-Tribune today. Fellow Democrat, and overall smart person, with some wonderful and talented kids, Lily Schaefer, goes ahead and tells it like it is hearkening to what her father would have thought about this election cycle. 'Pop' as she refers to her Dad was 'history professor emeritus' at Valparaiso University. Martin Schaefer passed this earth ten years ago.
Lily, who has been appalled at the funneling of dollars into this election cycle by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with no transparency and accountability as a result of the Supreme Court ruling on the Citizens United Case expressed herself quite nicely I'd say.
There have been some interesting Quickly submissions lately weighing in on the Porter County Commissioners race.
Here's some pro Harper, but you'll have to go to the Post for the pro other candidate ones because I'm pro Harper here! Hah!
From today, Friday 10/29:
While The Times is wrong in endorsing lobbyist Dan Coats as their pick to replace Senator Evan Bayh, I can say the Post-Trib got it right in saying Brad Ellsworth is the right person for the job.
Tuesday is going to be a very interesting day, and Tuesday night is going to be pretty fun, and nail biting to watch. There will be thrills and disappointment to be sure (for both sides), and plenty of time for reflection on November 3rd, and going forward, but there's one thing I'm pretty sure of, and that's that both sides will be glad when it's over.
I listened carefully as I heard Pete speak at the Democratic convention in Indianapolis. I was impressed. I also heard him speak at a monthly Porter County Democratic Party meeting and in South Bend in June. He's the real deal and a good choice for this position. A good fit.
Pete has expressed some well reasoned criticism of the stewardship of the current State Treasurer, Richard Mourdock, with respect to the choice to invest state pension funds in low valued Chrysler stock (i.e. junk bond status). After that investment the economy imploded in September 2008, consumers immediately ceased spending, the auto industry globally took a catastrophic hit, and state pension funds lost big, due in part to the investment in Chrysler stock. The biggest loser was the Teacher's Retirement Fund.
That money came largely from the state Teachers Retirement Fund, which covered about $1.5 million. The Major Moves road construction fund and a state police retirement fund, which also invested in Chrysler's debt, covered the rest.
Then there was the difficult and hideous choice of trying to save the auto industry. Nobody liked it. That industry was in trouble prior to the economic meltdown, but the choice was made by President Obama to allow Chrysler to restructure through bankruptcy, versus more lost jobs around the country, including many in Indiana, as the economy was shedding half a million jobs per month throughout 2009.
The current state Treasurer decided to stand on principle, spending two million Hoosier taxpayer dollars to challenge the bankruptcy (and ultimately lose) in an attempt to recoup the pension fund losses due to his choice to invest those funds in junk Chrysler stock in the first place. Mourdock was still appealing in April of 2010, oh and the auto industry is repaying its loans and doing surprisingly well in a slowly recovering economy.
Buttigieg noted that one flaw with Mourdock's plan is that had he succeeded, the state pension fund's Chrysler holdings actually would have been worth less than they would have been had Mourdock won the lawsuit.
We'll see on Tuesday how closely Hoosiers are paying attention to this race. If Pete wins, I'll know they were. The State positions of Auditor, Treasurer and Secretary of State have been largely monopolized by Republicans for decades. We'll see if these Democrats can persuade Hoosiers to give them a chance.
Pete, Sam Locke and Vop Osili will be in Portage on Sunday afternoon if you want to see and meet them.
3:30 PM, Clancy's Irish Pub, 2542 Portage Mall, Portage, IN
There were a couple of good Letters to the Editor on the Post-Tribune today. Fellow Democrat, and overall smart person, with some wonderful and talented kids, Lily Schaefer, goes ahead and tells it like it is hearkening to what her father would have thought about this election cycle. 'Pop' as she refers to her Dad was 'history professor emeritus' at Valparaiso University. Martin Schaefer passed this earth ten years ago.
Lily, who has been appalled at the funneling of dollars into this election cycle by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with no transparency and accountability as a result of the Supreme Court ruling on the Citizens United Case expressed herself quite nicely I'd say.
In September 2008 this country's economy crashed because of the collapse of the house of cards built by multinational corporations. Vehemently opposed to government regulation, these corporations have bought and paid for the Republican Party. Corporate donations to defeat Democrats via the Chamber of Commerce's ads total $75 million.Well worth a read in its entirety, Lily concludes with what she knows her 'Pop' would have thought about the monied interests having even more sway in this election cycle.
Proud to be a Democrat, Pop must be spinning in his grave at this disastrous prospect: government of, by and for corporations.In the same section, Mara Pape of Chesterton, reminds us to remember from whence we came. I know that many people don't want to think about the eight years that preceded the 2008 election (especially Republicans), but we are here in some measure (large, if you ask me), because of decisions, policies, action, inaction, and politicization of the years from 2001 to 2008.
There have been some interesting Quickly submissions lately weighing in on the Porter County Commissioners race.
Here's some pro Harper, but you'll have to go to the Post for the pro other candidate ones because I'm pro Harper here! Hah!
From today, Friday 10/29:
I'm glad to see that County Commissioner Bob Harper hasn't stooped to the level of name-calling, mudslinging and outright lies of those trying to defeat him. Most voters don't respond well to that type of campaign.From Wednesday, 10/27:
Hey Porter County Republicans, you have lost my vote. I cannot believe the amount of negative campaign mail I have received. I'm thinking if you will waste money on this garbage, who knows what you will waste money on if you're elected. What happened to issue based campaigning? We are not in Chicago.
The Republican Party has been sending me ridiculous pieces of mail attacking Porter County Commissioner Bob Harper. Voters can look at these mailbox cards and think if there's even a little bit of truth in what they are saying I can't vote for this guy. I only see outrageous claims that don't resemble truth and I've been following government and this race very closely. They are bringing national politically negative campaign strategies to Porter County and that's a sad and unfortunate turn. I hope voters don't fall for it.A poll this week showed that for both Republicans, but especially Democrats, turnout is important.
According to this McClatchy-Marist Poll, 47% of registered voters nationwide report they are more likely to vote for a Democrat in their district while 41% say they are more likely to support a Republican. Six percent do not plan to vote for either party’s candidate, and 6% are undecided.These are registered voters. Of likely voters, the Republicans have the definite edge and the angry enthusiasm. If the traditional local Democratic parties are successful in motivating their voters, and if the organizing apparatus developed during the 2008 campaign, now known as OFA (Organizing for America) can turn out some of the voters that showed up for the first time in 2008, the Democrats might be in better shape than some folks believe.
While The Times is wrong in endorsing lobbyist Dan Coats as their pick to replace Senator Evan Bayh, I can say the Post-Trib got it right in saying Brad Ellsworth is the right person for the job.
When Coats left the Senate, he also left Indiana, taking up residence abroad as ambassador to Germany and then in Virginia, where he worked as a Washington lobbyist representing corporate interests.
[snip]
We see Coats as a step back to the times of ultraconservatism and social inequality. And Coats recently suggested raising the eligibility age for Social Security, which would be terribly unfair to senior citizens.
Ellsworth, who like Bayh is a fiscal conservative, also has the vision to help blue-collar families, not just talk about it.Then there is the issue of polling. A lot of polling is done relying on land lines, so some have questioned whether the polling accurately affects the modern landscape where many people no longer have landlines, but rely on cell phones as their sole form of communication.
Does it matter that many polls -- including the vast majority that we are currently watching at the state and congressional district level -- do not call Americans who use only a cell phone and thus lack landline telephone service? Yes it does. It creates a growing bias that appears to benefit Republican candidates. That's the message of a new analysis released this afternoon by the Pew Research Center.
Tuesday is going to be a very interesting day, and Tuesday night is going to be pretty fun, and nail biting to watch. There will be thrills and disappointment to be sure (for both sides), and plenty of time for reflection on November 3rd, and going forward, but there's one thing I'm pretty sure of, and that's that both sides will be glad when it's over.
