Spendocrats and Union rats want your vote! A job? Not a priority.

Thomas Semesky reminded me of this video clip -

So teachers support Democrats? Of course their union does because it is Republicans and conservatives and parents that want vouchers and charter schools, two systems proven to work but systems hated by the NEA. Of course they don't want parents to have any choices or else the worst teachers might be out of a job!

Businesses and the Chamber of Commerce support Republicans because free enterprise provides jobs and helps lift the economy.

Union leaders support Democrats even when their membership does not. They hope that the Democrats will eliminate secret balloting. How communist is that?  Plus the more government employees, the bigger the tax bite on everyone else.   Unions want you to support them!

The more Democratic the government, the more spending.  Thanks to Paula Priesse!
Oh yes, and lest we forget...where are the jobs?!

Kenard Taylor, Treasurer Of The 'Valparaiso Republicans' Goes After Lain & Harper In A Twofer Letter To The Editor

One more time from The Peon and it's time for bed.  Another cross-post from Political Peon:

In a previous and recent post The Peon noted an article in The Chesterton Tribune today that skewered the 'Valparaiso Republicans'. Note the Treasurer's signature below is that of one Kenard Taylor who also penned a Letter to the Editor that appeared in The Times today, that takes aim at Sheriff Dave Lain AND Commissioner Bob Harper.  Click the link above to read Taylor's letter and the comments on the discussion tab at The Times website.

Political Peon: 'Valparaiso Republicans' Skewered In The ...

Oct 29, 2010

The Chesterton Tribune has a review and analysis of the tactics of the 'Valparaiso Republicans' and the 'Valparaiso Republican Central Committee that is a must read for anyone questioning all of the absurd and ridiculous mailers with ..

The document below is a public record and accompanies State Form 46413 (R5/9-09), Regular Party Committee Statement of Organization for the 'Valparaiso Republicans', formed by Michael D. Simpson, Chairperson, and Kenard Taylor, Treasurer.

Simpson and Taylor appear to have established their political commitee, 'Valparaiso Republicans', with a definitive purpose in mind and that is to unseat Bob Harper as Porter County Commissioner, elect Nancy Adams in his place, and now perhaps to take incumbent Sheriff Dave Lain down, replacing him with their choice, Ralph Levi.  The outrageous claims they have made on the Harper attack mailers are very close to pure fiction, and so we are to trust what Taylor has to say in his letter about the performance and stewardship of Sheriff Lain?

Emphatic NOT!

Questionable at best.  There are also some comments on the discussion tab of the online version of Taylor's letter worth noting, that seems to speak with some authority.

PCSP27 said on: October 29, 2010, 1:09 pm

Taylor is either terribly misinformed, or is intentionally misrepresenting the truth. From 2003 to present, Porter County has received over $12 million dollars for housing approximately 40 Federal and 40 State prisoners. Taylor incorrectly indicates that the times article said that it costs $56 per day to house an inmate. The article actually said that the Sheriff would begin to receive $56 per day, up from $40 for a federal inmate; an increase of $200,000 annually. Nowhere was it said that the Sheriff houses State prisoners at a rate of $35 per day and that it costs $56 per day. The dollars generated are used to pay for utilities (NIPSCO, water), prisoner food, maintenance agreements, and formerly paid for salaries of jail staff. That is $12 million dollars that would have been required from general fund (property tax) allocations during the last eight years. Taylor also claims $400,000 has "disappeared." In fact, the prisoner account will have a cash balance of nearly $1 million dollars at year's end, after expenses. We have annual audits from the State Board of Accounts and pass with flying colors. It's all public money, with public records; nothing missing, nothing hidden. In today's tough economic times, we should be lauding elected officials that have found ways to generate additional revenue; not making false accusations in a veiled attempt to unseat them.

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On a subsequent post, current Porter County Council Member, Laura Shurr Blaney concurs with the above commenter:

laurablaney said on: October 29, 2010, 1:43 pm
PCSP27 has the facts straight, not Kenard Taylor. And he's correct that it's all public. I encourage you to check on your own if you're tempted to believe what you've read here.

It's up the voters to decide these races, thankfully, and not the 'Valparaiso Republicans'.

Today in the mail, I received some literature from Sheriff Lain's opponent, Mr. Levi who was recently reported on to the Porter PD.

According to the standard call-for-service report taken by the Porter PD, a couple living in town advised that at 11:04 p.m. Oct. 7, Levi “came to their house very upset because they had two different Sheriff election signs in the front yard,” one for Levi and one for his opponent, Democrat incumbent David Lain.

Levi “was verbally abusive towards them for representing both parties,” the couple further advised, and when Levi returned to their home around 30 minutes later to remove his sign, the woman observed Levi—and videotaped him—“kicking at the sign trying to get (it) out of the ground” and “damag(ing) the sign.”  source:  The Chesterton Tribune

It almost seems like Kenard Taylor, the 'Valparaiso Republicans' and Levi are in cahoots with each other on campaign mailers.

 

Not sure what the backside of the Levi mailer is about, except to attempt to tie Democrats to the current Auditor, who was voted out by Democrats in the Democratic primary, and that Repubicans have skewered because of late tax bills that have been a problem for Auditors of both parties for years and years and years.

Hope this clears some things up and hope enough folks read it to know what is going on more clearly.  Can't wait til it's over.  November 3rd cannot come soon enough, and I'm sure the candidates agree.

Additional Peon posts on the Chamber forum with Bob Harper and Nancy Adams.

Political Peon: More Peon Chamber Forum Thoughts: Commissioner's ...

Oct 22, 2010

My big deal of going to the Valparaiso Chamber forum on Thursday, October 21, 2010 was not to listen to the county council candidates, (although I'm very glad I got to hear what they had to say), but my keen interest was in the ...

Political Peon: Engaging Peon: Post October 21, 2010, Chamber ...

Oct 22, 2010

Engaging Peon: Post October 21, 2010, Chamber Forum Thoughts. The Peon went to her first political forum. It was a good experience that I think more citizens should participate and engage in. We can learn not only about the people we ...

Around Indiana: Polling Schmolling, Buttigieg...Buttigieg...Buttigieg, Trib Picks Brad Ellsworth, and Vote on November 2nd!

Cross-Post: For more really awesome posts like this one, please stop by and check out Political Peon

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.

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.

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.

From Wednesday, 10/27:

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.

'Valparaiso Republicans' Skewered In The Chesterton Tribune Today

Cross-Posted from Political Peon

The Chesterton Tribune has a review and analysis of the tactics of the 'Valparaiso Republicans' and the 'Valparaiso Republican Central Committee' that is a must read for anyone questioning all of the absurd and ridiculous mailers with bizarre pictures hitting mailboxes all over Porter County lately attacking Commissioner Bob Harper.

Let’s break it down: the “Valparaiso Republicans” are smearing Harper because he didn’t attend a meeting he was under no obligation to attend, at which a CEDIT increase was enacted which they themselves supported and Harper opposed.

It’s a Big Lie, all right, and in its sheer gall and breathtaking audacity it makes the head spin.

It's a must read all and also includes questions posed to the Republican candidate herself, Nancy Adams. She had nothing to do with it and can't control it, she says.

Alrighty then. That's the kind of lack of control we need in a Porter County Commissioner, ain't it?  None at all.  Right.

County government is not run by one man or woman.  The Commissioners don't set budgets, and do not have authority to levy taxes.  That is the County Council's responsibility.  Commissioners are not responsible for for mailing out late tax bills, (that's the County Auditor), and therefore are not culpable for the cost accompanied by late tax bills.  I've yet to find somebody who knows where this 13 million dollar figure came from on the red mailer.

These mailers are an attempt to dumb down voters, or to assume voters are already dumb.  You pick.

Here's a sampling of what I like to call the recent ludicrious and expensive pieces of mail box litter.

There is also this sense in which they mailings are very personal: they reveal on the part of the “Valparaiso Republicans” themselves a seething anger toward Harper not readily explicable in terms of the issues.

State House and Senate

Keeping in the line of predictions for next Tuesday, see previous post on national elections, a couple quick thoughts on the Indiana State Legislature:

1. Obviously the Senate will stay Republican controlled, they have a healthy majority and will probably expand that majority by three more seats. Young new faces like my good friend Jim Banks from Whitley County cause me to believe that there could be great things coming from the next Senate. Typically this body is pretty reserved and all the fighting happens in the House, but watch for the Senate to take more of a lead in government reform and the budget battles next year.
2. I will predict the the Indiana House will swing from Democrat control to Republican control, on a slim majority of 54-46, mainly as a result of the high approval ratings of Governor Daniels and his property tax caps. Here locally that bodes best for former Crown Point Mayor Dan Klein, who is surging late in the campaign due to a pretty weak campaign frankly by the incumbent. Can't say any of us loved the process whereby Mayor Klein found himself the primary candidate, local Republicans grossly overlooked by consultants downstate, but he'll win! I also can't see any other upsets in NW Indiana, all other incumbents should hold their seats. Speaker Bosma will find though that winning the House is not the same as controlling all those personalities, many of whom want even more aggressive moves toward spending cuts and redistricting.
   
3. Redistricting will be a mess, I've commented elsewhere my support for Sec. of State Todd Rokita's proposals to make it less political. Sure the Republicans are in the drivers seat, but sometimes the better move when in charge is to be merciful, this pendulum will swing.
   

What do you think? Think I'm being to positive for the Republicans, or not positive enough for the national wave effect? Come on be willing to venture a few thoughts.

Bob Harper, Patriot Pied Piper

Oh how I wish Oz wrote this post, it would be so much funnier. Can we now quit tying the NWIP's to the Republican party?

• 
  
• 

  Faith Jones and Laura Shurr Blaney shared a link.

  Bob Harper deserves another term in office :: Letters :: Post-Tribune

  www.post-trib.com

  3 hours ago · Share

  • 

    Faith Jones PRINCIPALS over Party!!

    3 hours ago · Comment · Like
  • 

    Faith Jones Principals over PARTY!!

    3 hours ago · Comment · Like
  • 

    Faith Jones Principals over Party!!

    4 hours ago · 1 · Comment · Like

I'm not voting for Bob but I understand why some will, he has positioned himself to the right of Reagan. I just don't believe it. I don't really care that Faith supports him, her credibility has been thoroughly shredded by Oz many times on this site. What I find so funny are the number of people that have defended Faith and the NWIP's because attacking them hurts the Republican party. Faith doesn't care about the Republican party. Maybe she'll pull her support later like she did with Obama, who knows? Now is it Ok for conservatives to point out what an embarrassment the NWIP's are?

I'm cracking myself up thinking about a hypothetical meeting where Bob is lobbying Faith for the support of the patriots. Love to be a fly on that wall.

Predictions Thread

Travis got the ball rolling, and I'd like to encourage many of you who read regularly to use this post and the comments herein to give your predictions for Tuesday.

I'll start with national elections today and add some further refinements on state and local races as we get into the weekend.

I do believe that this mid-term is a referendum on the Obama Presidency, and therefore Republicans nationally will do quite well. If you think about how bad Republicans got trounced only two years ago, you will see the wild pendulum swings that are now common place in our political world. I will predict that Republicans win the United States House of Representatives, picking up 3 new congressional seats in Indiana alone. Watch for new Speaker Boehner and the new Congress to move quickly to repeal and replace Obamacare, extend the Bush tax cuts, add additional tax cuts, and freeze all remaining Stimulus funds that haven't left Washington yet.

Watch for Pete Visklosky to win again in the 1st District though, that contest was over 10 years ago when the district was drawn.

I am comfortable predicting that Dan Coats (R) will win the United States Senate seat currently held by Evan Bayh but will only be joined by 48 other Republicans in the United States Senate and therefore Democrats will maintain their control of that body of Congress. Sadly for Harry Reid he will not be there, in my opinion, to celebrate the recapture of the Senate as I believe he will be one the of losses for Democrats.

... More to come! I did have one regular and longtime reader ask if we were going to do polls here on the site this week. At this point the answer is no, they get gamed and therefore don't mean as much as polls hosted on bigger websites with wider audiences.

The role of county government

I dropped by to talk to good friends Scott and Traci Young this weekend, and we recorded a bit of our lengthy conversation on good government in Porter County.

Election 2010: Key Races In Northwest Indiana

There are A LOT of close, key races in Northwest Indiana this year, and Republicans are poised to take over a lot of seats, whether it is nationally or locally. The first and most important aspect of these elections is the Congressional races. With Democrats having a majority in both the House and the Senate, this is do or die situation across the country, and that includes our own little corner of the world. The second, and this is probably as important to those of us in Indiana, is making sure that our state House and Senate seats are filled with Republicans this year. Not only is that to help ensure that bills get passed that Republicans want, but also because this is a redistricting year, which means we have to stop Democrats from gerrymandering the Districts.

In the House District 19 race, Democrat Shelli VanDenburgh, the incumbent, is in for a tough battle against Republican Dan Klein. VanDenburgh's campaign website takes an interesting approach on her opening page. Rather than having her immediate emphasis be on what she has done since becoming elected in 2007, or appealing to the reasons that Democrats would be better than Republicans, she has taken an approach of "balance of power". Her rational is that "It is necessary to have checks and balances and by keeping democrats in control of the house, Indiana will continue to have that" (quoted from her website).

This is interesting. While one can browse through the rest of the site and definitely find her Democratic rhetoric, the fact that the first page, the opening page, is focused primarily on this aspect is in line with what many other Democrats across the country have done: try and separate themselves from the Obama administration and appeal to the Independents and less-liberal Democrats. It's an intriguing tactic, however I don't think that it is going to work. Klein has great name recognition, and although the Post-Tribune seems to dislike him (it seems almost on a weekly basis Rich James has something to say about either him or other Republican candidates) most people I have talked to have a favorable opinion of him. As far as the yard sign war, it is definitely a close call, but I'd say just from the areas that I have driven in Klein signs vs. VanDenburgh signs eclipse hers by about ten to fifteen percent. Not to mention that VanDenburgh, for the voters that don't know anything about the race and are just showing up to do their civic duty, is a longer name and less recognizable than Klein. I predict a Klein win by about the same as the yard sign percentages, about ten percent.



Indiana's Congressional District 1 is a familiar race between Pete Visclosky, the incumbent Democrat and Mark Leyva, the Republican nominee. There isn't much to write about, really. While I've met Leyva several times and have no personal qualms with him,in this race his lack of exposure has been worse than the past times that he has ran against Pete. I'm not sure why, I don't know if work is busy or if he couldn't generate the funds, or whatever, but with all of Pete's legal troubles and ethics battles, not to mention the hardcore "anti-incumbent" attitude that is floating all of these races, and in an off year election cycle where Republicans traditionally do better, Leyva seems to be noticeably absent, particularly in my neck of the woods (the Hebron, Demotte area). Although yard signs don't vote, if they did, the ones that I saw would account for a half dozen total votes for Leyva and at least two hundred for Visclosky. My prediction: Pete will run away with at least 20% of the vote.

Shawn Olson, the Republican running against Karen Tallian, the Democratic incumbent who holds down the seat in the 4th District State Senate, is the wild card, so to speak. That district, if one is to look at the map, has been so gerrymandered to favor D's it's ridiculous. I was going to manage a campaign early on, before Shawn put his name in the ring, but after the candidate and I looked at the thin strip that reaches out and grabs a chunk of Lake County, we decided against it.

That is what is interesting about this race, and why I included it in my key races piece. I think he actually might have a chance. He's broken from what has been a problem with other RLC members in the past, which has been not always willing to cooperate with area Republicans, and has been embraced by many area office holders, including Charlie White and Jon Costas, who both spoke at his fundraiser not so long ago. I've known Shawn for some time, and I think that this particular seat would benefit greatly from a more libertarian minded individual and budget hawk. Additionally, his brother Eric Olson's run for the House 1 seat may have helped his name recognition enough to push him over the bubble. Even if voters that don't follow politics as closely as readers on this site do don't recognize the difference between Shawn and Eric Olson, that last name is still in people's minds. My prediction: flip a coin.



Dan Coats, running for the Senate seat that is being vacated by Bayh, is running against Congressional incumbent Brad Ellsworth. I've written a little about this race in the past already, and not every conservative minded individual like myself agrees with why I support him. I've had some pretty good discussions with buddies at work about why they won't vote for Coats, and primarily it is focused around the NRA's endorsement of Ellsworth. That was troubling for me, believe me. One of the primary reasons I'm a Republican is because of my gun rights, and Coats' bad calls on gun legislation in the past is not something that I'm crazy about. However, if one looks at the grades each received: Ellsworth an A and Coats a C+, and factors in Ellsworth's votes on health care and other liberal bills (he has voted with the Obama administration almost 90 percent of the time), one can get a feel for why I'm still pulling that hypothetical lever this November. Additionally, in a sea of freshmen Representatives and Senators, we're going to need some people with experience in the ranks. That's not to say I want Republicans to fall into some old bad habits: I don't. But, older, experienced people like Coats can help to teach a lot to what will likely be a group of "newbies". He can help with PR, he can help reach across the aisle and drag moderate D's over, sort of like what McCain has done in the past...there are many benefits to putting Coats in that Senate seat. And, like I've said in past pieces: Ellsworth may sell himself as a conservative, but he's still going to be caucusing with Reid (if he wins again). My prediction: the polls will prevail. Coats is up handily in the polls and those will reflect a W in his column.

There will be more on other races, but I thought this might at least kick things off. Any thoughts? Disagreements?

Brain Dead Democrats

What's wrong with this picture (which is a screen shot last night from the Lake County Democrat's site)? If you look at the bottom left, you'll see the phrase "Press 10", vote straight ticket Democrat on Nov. 2nd. There's only one problem with this phrase. There are no numbers at all on any of the election machines. The only place the number 10 is relevant is for mail-in absentee ballots.

You would think they would talk to their on Board of Elections people before they heavily invested in this phrase (you can see the phrase all over northern Lake County I'm told). They didn't. It's actually encouraging that they're this stupid.

Update: I just went to early vote and the numbers *were* there on my machine screen, 10 for Democrat straight ticket, 11 for Republican and 12 for Libertarian. I had 3 officials of the BoE say otherwise and I relied on their opinion. These are not low level employees. They should know what's on the ballot because they wrote it and they said it within hearing of each other and agreed that there were no numbers attached to the straight ticket options. Something went awry here and it's a puzzle.

Visclosky the Nation's Safest Democrat

The Washington Post has come out and suggested that Pete Visclosky is the safest Democrat in the nation, despite the scandal surrounding him and the sky falling down around almost every other Democrat in the United States of America.

Apparently, the Washington Post hasn't heard that there were top secret polls conducted that show Leyva winning this year! That's right, if you talk to Leyva's people, they're convinced that somewhere, there's a magical poll that shows that the 5th time's the charm in Northwest Indiana. Of course, there's absolutely no evidence of this polling data's existence anywhere.

But the truth never stopped a liar from opening his mouth.

I keep hearing, "This is the year." In fact, I've been hearing, "This is the year," for 10 years. Despite that, Leyva has never won more than 31% of the vote. And with a Libertarian candidate who is about as sane as Leyva is a viable candidate, I doubt anything is going to change in regards to our representation in IN-1.

Of course, if Leyva's people want to produce evidence of this magical polling data, there are a lot of people who want to see it, including myself.

Until then, I'll agree with the Washington Post: Visclosky is the safest Democrat in the nation.

I bet you were waiting for me to blame Jones' defunct Tea Party for this. To be honest, I doubt there's anything a competent, influential Tea Party could do to help Leyva... so it doesn't really matter that Jones and Leyva each ran their own Tea Parties into the ground. Leyva would still be a joke regardless.

A Tea Party movement with half a brain among its 10 members might have helped us nominate a stronger candidate, but there were a lot of better candidates and I think they'd all still have a vicious uphill battle against Visclosky.

The point of this article is to say that Leyva's supporters are either liars or unbelievably stupid for not releasing the numbers to the public... or some combination of both.

GOP Makes Wise Move With "Repeal and Replace"

Republicans running for Congress have found their perfect groove, at least concerning Obamacare.

Repealing the bill is, in my opinion and many many others, of the utmost importance before it becomes so ingrained into our health care system that repealing the bill becomes almost impossible. As many others, including myself, have written, there are a lot of key components of this health care bill that could have a negative, if not disastrous effect, on both our economy and our lives. Health care reform was necessary, yes. There weren't too many Republican Congressmen and women that were debating that point. However, what was passed was a dismal bill that didn't help all that many people, was wayyyy too expensive, and almost assured that it would result in raised premiums for more than half the country.

Democrats gained an A for effort, but a F on substance.

Fortunately, Republicans have realized that these grades could easily apply to them six months after election day. Thus, the slogan "Repeal the Bill" has mutated into "Repeal and Replace". Republicans seem to be committed to not only repealing this horrid piece of legislation, but applying those free market principles and common sense solutions that they espoused during the health care debates into a new bill. Essentially: putting their money where their mouths are.

This is good! Wonderful! Republicans are realizing that it's not enough to just say "no". Republicans should not be the party of "no". Rather, they should be the party of "smarter alternatives". Instead of including everyone up to the age of 26 the be on their parents dole, and forcing the insurance companies to honor such insanity, stipulations limiting it to college students would limit the damage this would do. So would allowing health insurance companies to operate like auto insurance companies, by allowing them to cross state lines to sell insurance. Instead of robbing from one social program that is going bankrupt in order to pay for another social program, which I still don't understand to this day, allow the health insurance companies to sell what would amount in automobile terms as "liability" insurance on ones body, and find a way to do it without punishing people that have those supposed "Cadillac" plans.

There were at least two dozen other great ideas that I have heard throughout the course of the health care debates. Utilize what works, get rid of what doesn't. Start with a bottom of the barrel, as little as possible approach, and work towards a good bill that does good things. The GOP seems to have realized this, and hopefully this is a good sign for things to come. Maybe we can start this decade out with a majority that will continue into the next.

What Constitutes A "Rally"?

With it having been quite some time since I was last at a NWIP Rally and convinced that nobody respectable would be there to recognize me, I decided to go to yesterday's "Get Out The Vote Rally" in Valparaiso. I think Jones might have recognized me from some stuff a while ago, but she didn't say anything to me, so she may not have remembered me. It doesn't really matter.

Take a look at my pictures from this incredible rally.





(My camera was low on memory, so it shrunk this picture to fit it in - sorry)



Did I use the adjective "incredible" earlier? Incredibly pathetic. I should add that as small as this group was, Jones still thought it was proper to use her megaphone to address everybody (maybe she's delusional?). Now mind you, this is 15-25 minutes after the scheduled start of the rally. This is it and it includes at least one member of the media who wanted to interview me (I said 'No' since I wasn't about to tell her I was "the Wizard of Oz").

I realize I have upset a lot of people here by my harsh, unforgiving attitude towards this group's incompetence and foolishness. If you take a moment to be objective however, you should be able to admit to yourself, privately if you must, that something is seriously wrong in this organization if so few people show up for a rally 11 days before what may be the most important mid-term election in our nation's history. And the weather was AMAZING!

Go ahead and continue to ignore what I'm saying. Keep using your Democratic Playbook to say I hate women. Keep saying I'm not doing anything when you in fact don't even know who I am. Keep making excuses for ineptitude. Keep thinking that welcoming 9/11 and vaccine conspiracy groups in isn't scaring away normal people. Keep telling the Marine Corps that they don't know what they're talking about. Keep pretending that this group is as strong as ever.

Keep up the ignorance.

The pictures above are where it's gotten you.

1,000 participants in April 2009. 10 participants 18 months later.


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UPDATE - UPDATE - UPDATE
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UPDATE: One person has said I took these pictures before the event started and that there were really over 30 people there. Here is the wide angle shot of the rally taken by the guest speaker's people. I'll let you count the people there and tell me whether there were 10 or 30+.

Imaginary friends and CIA spies in invisible suits don't count.

Lake County leaders on tax caps

Can we take a few minutes off from the NWI Patriots debacle? For those that care I did reach out to Faith and offer her a chance to rebut Oscar's attacks, she has not replied. I did get an email last nite that the NWI Patriots were hosting a rally in Valparaiso today, although not sure on details or who they are supporting in the election. In the past they were adamant that they don't endorse anyone.

Now, to an election (political) story in the Times today, and by far the most commented with over 100 comments on the Times web-version. At least in Porter County there is wide-spread agreement that the constitutional tax caps should be passed, both Republicans and Democrats supporting Governor Daniels' referendum and urging members to vote "YES."

Lake County commissioners warned Wednesday of a potential humanitarian crisis in Gary being driven by a bad economy and property tax reductions.

Commissioners said policy changes in April by Calumet Township Trustee Mary Elgin has reduced from six months to three months the time the township will pay rent subsidies to house indigent residents.

McKinley Nuttall, the commissioners' bailiff who hears appeals from township recipients denied aid, said Wednesday many who have been receiving township aid for years, are in danger of being turned out onto the street. He asked commissioners for guidance in his appeals rulings.

Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Merrillville, said, "We cannot afford to put people on the street. But you must follow the township's policy." Commissioner President Fran DuPey, D-Hammond, said strictly enforcing the policy change may force Elgin change it.

Elgin said after the meeting she has little choice.

"Our township assistance budget was cut from $9 million last year to $5 million for the entire operation of the township, which puts us in a very serious hardship," she said.

However, she said she hasn't received any complaints from landlords refusing to accept a shorter period of rent subsidies.

Her office provides services to tens of thousands of destitute Gary residents annually. Although the office is supposed to provide temporary assistance only to those suffering recent financial emergencies, Elgin said, "We have had some clients who have been on township assistance for generations. There is a historic lack of jobs in our community."

Elgin said she is unwilling to declare the township as distressed because she doesn't want to further burden the township's taxpayers.

Commissioners complained crucial government services to the county's hardest hit residents are being cut because Lake County is being punished by state-mandated caps on the amount of property taxes individual property owners must pay and a freeze on the property tax levy for refusing to pass a personal income tax.

They urged voters to reject a referendum that would make the tax caps a permanent part of the state constitution.

NWIPs Mislead Public About Salvatori Award

You'd think that the Northwest Indiana Patriots were singled out for distinction by the Heritage Foundation for their amazing work in the region by the way Faith Jones and what's left of her tin foil enthusiast stragglers. That baffled me, because the Heritage Foundation is a very well respected organization in some circles and the Northwest Indiana Patriots are only respected in their own circle.

In fact, the award was given to the "national tea party movement" with mass printed certificates being given out to virtually EVERY Tea Party group in the country.

If Faith Jones was capable of reading, she would have noticed the following in the letter that came with the certificate:

Appropriate for a spontaneous, nationwide movement, the Prize does not recognize any one individual or group. Instead, the award will be used to deepen a commitment to and advocacy of America’s first principles through the popular distribution of pocket Constitutions and educational materials.

Although I would hate to sound cynical (that's a joke), the Heritage Foundation's motives were clearly self-promotional this year. Every one of the hundreds of "Prize Winning" certificates they sent out had their logo plain to see on it. For all the dupes out there like Faith Jones, it's free advertising for the Heritage Foundation. It also saves them $25,000, which is what is normally awarded to the individual or group prize winner every year.



To put this in perspective, it's like donating blood at a blood drive, getting a certificate for participating, and taking credit for donating 50 gallons of blood. The only difference is that donating blood is actually good for something, while the Northwest Indiana Patriots have been a hindrance to the local Republican Party and conservative candidates. Perhaps they should get an award from the Porter County Democratic Party... or more recognition from MSNBC.

What Do David Lain and Brad Ellsworth Have In Common?

Quite a bit, actually.

Both of these men either are or have been Sheriffs in their respective counties, both are Democrats that claim to have more conservative platforms, and both are going to be relying on conservatives to help propel them into their respective positions of power.

First, the conservative Democrat angle.

This actually has a lot to do with my last piece on gun control and Second Amendment rights, and the same goes with other areas. I haven't a doubt in my mind that either one of these two gentlemen are conservative, or the very least have some conservative leaning views. I'm sure they are very pro-family people who have a lot of right views on social stances, and I have no reason to attack them on their personal feelings and/or faith. BUT, and this is a big but, especially in the case of Ellsworth who is running for the Senate seat here being vacated by Evan Bayh, the fact remains that at the end of the day they still are caucusing with Democrats. And again, in the case of Ellsworth, we have his vote on the health care reform bill and other Obama initiatives to peer over and wonder how much we can trust his "I'm tired of the old political games in Washington" message. On an even more local level, one looks at the issues regarding the IRS audit of the Porter County Sheriffs office and wonders how much Lain's "Trusted and Tested" message holds up. Is that to say that every year we can expect that the Porter County police will be audited because of financial mistakes?

I know what you are all thinking: what does a position like Sheriff or even something like Coroner have to do with politics? What does it matter what party is in those positions?

Just look at Ellsworth as the perfect example. He ran as a conservative Democrat for Sheriff, he ran on that same platform to make it to the House, and now he's hoping to ride those coat tails all the way to the Senate; even though his voting record doesn't match his rhetoric. A job like Sheriff or Coroner or even Auditor matter because they are stepping stones for those who want to enhance and move up on that political ladder. Who's to say that Lain couldn't become another Ellsworth? I don't know his political ambitions personally, and perhaps he has the best intentions in the world, maybe he really wants to get up their and change things that he doesn't like about his party. That may be. However, the theme of this post remains: he would still have to caucus and cut deals with people that are much more liberal than I think even Democrats in Northwest Indiana are.

Now let's make this clear as well, I don't claim to be taking a neutral position here for either one of these races, and I'm not trying to persuade Democrats not to vote for either Lain or Ellsworth. It wouldn't make too much of a difference if I was trying to do that or not; as a Democrat you'll probably vote for a Democrat because you believe in that party. That's fine, free country, vote away. I also don't claim to not have a horse in this race, so to speak. I'm a Republican, a precinct committeeman now, and know Ralph Levi and have met Dan Coats and think they are both stand up people with a lot to offer. I don't know if one could call this a campaign piece for them, I don't know what one would call this (although I'm sure there are plenty of distasteful things that people will, be it on the comment section or under their breath, and that's fine too). I prefer to think of this as a piece primarily targeted at those conservative Republicans who believe that Ellsworth or Lain are clear alternatives or even better picks than what their party has to offer. This is most definitely not the case.

I know that there have been a lot of "amongst political allies" talk regarding both Ralph Levi and Dan Coats, and I know that in some of the cases different people of different political persuasions are friends and so help each other out. That's fine and dandy, I get that. However, being supportive and voting for a friend doesn't mean that one should throw his party under the bus by trying to garner support from other political allies. At the end of the day we are all Republicans trying to help out one another. I'm sure we won't all check all R's; I will, but I'm sure not everyone will. And that's fine too. But if you're a candidate, it's a bit tacky and distasteful to speak poorly of fellow candidates. And for the non candidates that consider themselves to be conservatives, just remember that the road from county Sheriff to Senate is not one that is all that long...and when your conservative Sheriff gets in Harry Reid's office, will he still hold YOUR values dear or will he fall in line?

Lake County GOP needs phone callers

This is a call out to anybody in Lake County Indiana. The county GOP organization needs more callers to encourage Republicans and Independents to go vote. Office hours are 9am-9pm at the Lake County Victory Center (9167 Wicker Ave, St John IN).

You don't have to have credentials or fancy skills. You can go from zero to making live phone calls within 15 minutes (much quicker if you've done this sort of thing before). This is a very important election and the GOP in Lake County Indiana has several pickup opportunities if we don't fall behind in our efforts.

Please come in and let them know where you heard about the center.

When do conservatives like MSNBC?

Oy vey. Here we go again.

MSNBC is by far the most radically left of the news networks. There's really no denying that. As the most well known, far-left media outlet, I doubt it surprised anyone when MSNBC was calling Tea Party protesters racists, bigots, fools, and everything in between. MSNBC hates the Tea Party.

And what is their latest tool to belittle the movement?

Why of course, Northwest Indiana's own Faith Jones!

It was only a matter of time before this happened. She's one of their latest "faces of the Tea Party" feature they have, and there's a gigantic and unflattering photograph of her in a cowboy hat with a Michael Jackson glove (carrying a gun, of course), which MSNBC quickly points out is Jones "posing" outside her home... not actually hunting.

It goes down hill from there where as the simple minded leader strokes her ego, telling MSNBC that her group has 1,800 people... when in fact, she can't even get enough people together to march in a parade. Aside from the dozen or so active members in the group, the remaining folks are people like me who are members just to see what stupid things they're up to or are simply too lazy to end their membership.

Why would MSNBC report the movement is so large out here when it's not?

That's actually simple. MSNBC knows the Democrats are going to lose in 2010. That's plain to see. So they're going to shine the spotlight on people like Faith Jones, who embarrass the movement, and when it's all over, connect every Republican politician with QVC tin foil hat models and simple minded, oblivious, and irresponsible people like Faith Jones.

Simple minded and oblivious because she advertises that MSNBC featured her. Irresponsible because any conservative person with an IQ above 10 should know better than to cooperate with MSNBC.

Faith Jones = Epic Fail

Again...

Didn't someone openly say the left wing media was eventually going to pick on the nonsense happening in the Tea Party movement here in NW Indiana? I doubt any of you will help spark my memory on just who that person might have been. Forget I brought it up.

Barack Obama and the Socialistic Democratic Congress - America's Titanic Mistake!

Titanic's last secrets finally revealed

Woman breaks family vow to reveal her grandfather's key role in tragedy

By Peter Stanford, The Daily Telegraph September 25, 2010

All families have their secrets, but usually about things that don't matter to anybody else.
Not in the case of Louise Patten -- or Lady Patten to give her full title, the wife of former Tory education secretary Lord (John) Patten, though her career as one of the first women board directors of a FTSE 100 company, and as a successful author of financial thrillers, means that she has plenty of achievements in her own right.

As a teenager in the 1960s, Patten was let in on a secret by her beloved grandmother, which, if revealed, she was warned, would result in two things.

The first was awful -- it would destroy the good name of her grandfather, Charles Lightoller, awarded the DSC with Bar in the First World War, and a hero again for his part in the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.
But the second would change history, overturning the authorized version of one of the world's greatest disasters, the sinking of the Titanic with the loss of 1,517 lives in April 1912.

The tension between these two outcomes goes some way to explaining why, for 40 years, Patten kept quiet, not even, she reveals with a girlish chuckle from underneath the fringe of her striking black bob, telling her husband. What did he say when she finally did?

"I think it was 'Good God.' "

Now, though, 56 year-old Patten has decided to come clean in her latest novel, Good as Gold.
But can there really be anything new to say, almost 100 years on?

"My grandfather was the Second Officer on the Titanic," Patten says. "He was in his cabin when it struck the iceberg. Afterwards, he refused a direct order to go in a lifeboat, but by a fluke he was saved." Astonishingly, he jumped into the ocean as the boat sank, was being sucked down into the depths -- but was then carried back to the surface by the force of an explosion beneath the waves and was rescued by a lifeboat.
As the senior surviving officer, he was asked at both official inquiries into the sinking -- by the U.S. Senate and the British Board of Trade -- whether he had had any conversation after the collision with the captain or the first officer, William Murdoch, who had been in charge at the time.

In other words, did he know exactly what had happened? And both times he said no.

But he was lying.

Lying is one of the most common traits of politicians.   Had her grandfather been a politician this would not even be surprising!   By now the American public has come to expect politicians to lie to them.   This is, of course, correctable by voting the liars OUT.

"After the collision," Patten goes on, "my grandfather went down with the captain and Murdoch to Murdoch's cabin to get the firearms in case there were riots when loading the lifeboats. That is when they told him what had happened. Instead of steering Titanic safely round to the left of the iceberg, once it had been spotted dead ahead, the steersman, Robert Hitchins, had panicked and turned it the wrong way."

Keynesian economics and socialist principles...that sound like a wrong way to you?  It was spectacularly wrong in the 1930's, when FDR's policies caused the Great Depression to last right up to 1940, when we still had 15% unemployment.


It sounds extraordinary that anyone -- much less the man in charge of the wheel on the maiden voyage of what was then the world's most expensive liner -- could have made such an error.

But, Patten explains, requisitioning knives, napkins and even the breadbasket on the table of the London hotel where we meet for breakfast to give a demonstration: "Titanic was launched at a time when the world was moving from sailing ships to steam ships. My grandfather, like the other senior officers on Titanic, had started out on sailing ships. And on sailing ships, they steered by 'Tiller Orders,' which means that if you want to go one way, you push the tiller the other way. Whereas with 'Rudder Orders', which is what steam ships used, it is like driving a car. You steer the way you want to go. It gets more confusing because, even though Titanic was a steam ship, at that time on the North Atlantic they were still using Tiller Orders. Therefore Murdoch gave the command in Tiller Orders, but Hitchins, in a panic, reverted to the Rudder Orders he had been trained in. They only had four minutes to change course and by the time Murdoch spotted Hitchins's mistake and then tried to rectify it, it was too late."

Back in 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was given the tiller of the United States.  He took America off the gold standard and began the socialization of government and the building of the national debt.  He took a big recession and helped make it a Great Depression.  In the end, with all the hardships and then the war and the deaths and the money spent to build war machines, America was left with a great industrial base and a big bill to pay.   The wealthiest men in the world got wealthier.  With most of the rest of the world forced to rebuild, the intact American industrial base plus the change in government from leftist FDR to centrist Truman to conservative Eisenhower changed America to the wealthiest nation on Earth. 

Patten's grandfather -- who later set up a marine-repair business at Richmond-on-Thames and is commemorated by a blue plaque where the boatyard used to be - shared with his wife, Sylvia, a second and potentially even more damning secret.

If the steersman had made a human error, Bruce Ismay, chair of the White Star Line, owners of the Titanic, and another survivor, gave a lethal order.

"Titanic had hit the iceberg at her most vulnerable point," explains Patten, "but she could probably, my grandfather estimated, have gone on floating for a long time. But Ismay went up on the bridge and didn't want his massive investment to sit in the middle of the Atlantic either sinking slowly, or being tugged in to port. Not great publicity! So he told the captain to go Slow Ahead. Titanic was meant to be unsinkable."

So stimulus bills and taxes and bans on drilling and more taxes and government takeovers of businesses and banking are the result of continuing to go the wrong way!

Cue more demonstrations with napkins and cutlery.

"Am I boring you?' she asks, as she arranges them.

On the contrary, I am gripped by the feeling of getting inside history and Patten has clearly checked her grandfather's account against all the other evidence.

"If Titanic had stood still," she demonstrates, "she would have survived at least until the rescue ship came and no one need have died, but when they drove her Slow Ahead, the pressure of the sea coming through her damaged hull forced the water over the bulkheads and flooded sequentially one watertight compartment after another -- and that was why she sank so fast."

Is it too late?   Can we get to the government via the 2010 elections and save the USS United States of America before the Obama Administration sinks us in debt and government bureaucracy?!


It is an extraordinary claim. After all the inquiries, films, books and, more recently, pinpointing of the wreck on the bottom of the Atlantic, a highly respected, but apparently unconnected businesswoman in London, rather than some Titanic obsessive, holds the key to what happened on that fateful night.

Why, though, would Patten's grandfather have lied and carried on lying?

"Because," she says, "when he was on the rescue ship, Bruce Ismay pointed out that if he told the truth, the White Star Line would be judged negligent and its limited liability insurance would be invalid. Ismay pretty much said that the whole company would go bust and everyone would lose their jobs. There was a code of honour among men like my grandfather in those days. So he lied to protect others' jobs."

But why didn't her grandmother speak up after her husband's death in 1952?

"She was worried about showing this heroic figure to be a liar. And my mother, who also knew the secret and was even uncomfortable with Granny having told me, felt even more strongly about it. She hero-worshipped my grandfather."

So there this secret sat, locked in a family circle from which Patten is now the only survivor.

"I have an older sister, but she was away at boarding school most of the time. Because I was ill as a teenager, I spent a lot of more time at home with my grandmother."

Why speak up now?

"Well, everyone else is dead, but" -- she pauses, clearly still in two minds about -- "I can still hear my mother's voice saying my grandfather must be remembered as a hero."

This is the sort of tale that most writers would have tackled years ago, and treated as a non-fiction, best of all a memoir. So why work it in to a novel?

"Because I write thrillers," Patten replies crisply, and makes me think what an effective chairman of the board she must be. "I started planning a thriller about a family with secrets, about a private banking dynasty involved with shipping, and then I suddenly thought I have this massive family secret and it is about shipping."
After all those years of silence, could it really have been that straightforward?
"Well, not really. This sounds mad, I know, but once I started thinking about it, I felt as if I owed it to the world to share the secret. If I died tomorrow, then it would die with me."

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix

Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Titanic+last+secrets+finally+revealed/3578907/story.html#ixzz10aKK4PXI

The Titanic.  A famous story, the inspiration for books and movies and a lesson for us all in 2010.   For in local and state and national elections, we have two kinds of steersmen.   Liberal "progressive" Democrats determined to keep steering the wrong way and moving forward despite the obvious damage to the ship of state.  

Tea Party inspired Republican candidates are ready, willing and able to stop the ship and turn it in the other direction, making the necessary repairs.   Go look at the national debt clock.   There is one at this site:

U.S. National Debt Clock

I dare you to take a look at these clocks.  You can see the Indiana clock here! 

Then go look at clocks of Democrat-dominated states like California or Washington or Illinois!

We dare not skip this election.  Barack Obama and his cronies lied to us, like Democratic Machine Politicos always do.   They promise you the moon and then you see stars after they whop you on the head and take your money...to give to others after they have skimmed a nice bit of cream off the top for themselves.   

You Seniors?  Where is your COLA raise?  Gone!   Those getting ready to retire?  Where is your pension?  Young people?  Where are your jobs?  Children?  I hope you are ready to pay back trillions of dollars, endure hyperinflationary depression and perhaps warfare with Red China!  Babies?  You fortunately cannot know where we are heading or your parents would NEVER be able to stop your crying... 


When John F Kennedy became President, the country was facing a small recession.  Recession and progression is natural in the ebb and flow of a normal free enterprise society.  JFK knew what to do - he LOWERED the tax rate on everyone.  The economy bounced back strong.   Heck, Kennedy would be a Republican today were he still with us.


But Kennedy was shot and Lyndon Baines Johnson took office.   Taxes soared.   Government grew.   The great economy of Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy was in trouble.   By the time Jimmy Carter was done with his first term, we had stagflation and businesses were dying off.   So much damage was done that big steel in the USA would never recover.


But Ronald Reagan was elected and he not only cut taxes, he cut bureaucracy and regulation.   Soon the economy was booming again.  The US had its longest period of sustained growth and success in its history.  Inflation fell, the unemployment rate went down to around five per cent and multiple millions of new jobs were produced.   The Iron Curtain, faced with an adversary in Reagan who showed no fear and an absolute dedication to its demise, fell along with the Berlin Wall. 


His successors and the Congresses that followed went back and forth between liberal and moderate and occasionally conservative economic policies. The first President Bush did not hold the line on either taxes or spending as his term came to an end, allowing a small recession to open the door to...The Clintons!   Bill and Hilary immediately began moving us to the left and the results were disaster.   Bill Clinton had to move to the center to deal with the 1994 liberal defeats and the economy did pretty well.   GW Bush had the right idea on tax cuts, but he allowed spending to go out of control.  Yes, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan took much of the money but Bush would not stand up for smaller government and controlled spending so the deficit grew.


Then came Barack Obama.  He doubled the deficit within the first nine months of his tenure.  His liberal-led Congress has spent money at incomprehensible rates and there is no end in sight.  Take a look at the debt clock again.  


U.S. National Debt Clock


Vote out everyone who supported Obamacare!   Vote out the good old boys network in Lake County, Indiana!  Help us all by voting out Pete Visclosky, a man devoted to draining the blood from NW Indiana for his entire career.   Vote for Republicans to defeat the Democrats and work to change the Republicans as we go forward.  The Democrats have proven to us to be beyond redemption.

You see, a tree begins at the roots.   Every vote for a Democrat at even the local level leads to Democratic leadership at higher levels.   A county official today will run for state office tomorrow and national office shortly thereafter if we let them.   How did Barack Obama go from nothing to National Leader?  He made it into Illinois State office in 1997 as a State Senator from a district that always elects Democrats as a hand-picked successor to Alice Palmer.  After a failed campaign for US Representative, he got a shot at the Senate Seat, winning in 2004 and then spending most of his time as Senator (usually missing votes or voting with the left when actually on the job) primarily working on becoming President with his Chicago Machine cronies, his leftist mentors and his shady money men working behind the scenes.  From a so-called law professor and standard-issue communist-style community organizer to President in just 11 years?  


Now Barack Obama is the Captain of the Ship of State.   This election we need to change the crew so that someone with a sense of responsibility can slow things down and rescue the passengers and crew and maybe patch the ship and allow her to once again sail the seas as a giant.

PS -

"The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the state of Illinois missed the deadline for mailing absentee ballots to members of the military and other overseas American voters as part of a new federal overseas voting law.

Cris Cray, Director of Legislation at the Illinois State Board of Elections, says not all of Illinois' 110 jurisdictions were compliant with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE).
The law requires every state to mail their absentee ballots 45 days prior to Election Day to overseas troops, government employees and other Americans who want to vote from abroad."

Is there a general attempt by the Democrats to keep the military from voting, knowing they (military families) are overwhelmingly anti-Obama and anti-Democrat?