Bi-partisan Elected Women's Club?

It was reported last week that democrat Regina Moore, City Clerk and republican Sue West of the County Council held a press conference to announce the formation of a group made up solely of elected women from our community. Supposedly this group was created to work on improving cooperation between various governmental entities by setting aside all political differences for the good of the community. The formation of this club brings several questions to mind. Obviously when they get together there will be discussion about topics and issues that affect our local government. What happens when Joyce Poling and Iris Kiesling, two of the three Commissioners get together, wouldn’t this be considered a quorum? Apparently political caucuses are allowed under Indiana Code, however no provisions presently exist for a bi-partisan caucus, what category does this group fall under? Since a bipartisan, inter-local government committee doesn’t exist at this point wouldn’t a committee have to be established and approved by both the city and county before they could legally meet and furthermore can you legally exempt men? Are they presuming that only women posses the voice of reason and cooperation? What about an elected men’s group getting together, would that be considered sexist or would it be tolerated in the name of good government? Not knowing what topics were going to be discussed at any given meeting, will the meetings fall under the Open Door Law? Why only women, do they feel too intimidated talking in front of men?

The whole concept seems rather contrived and poorly thought out. What possible purpose this group would serve at this point is unclear. Obviously it is unlikely that all of the elected women, both democrats and republicans from the city and county government will ever get together and do a group hug just before breaking into a spirited rendition of Kum-bye-ya, folks it just ain’t gonna happen. I’m just not sure what they were thinking? There are laws in place to discourage this kind of “secret” meeting from occurring, why this group feels they are above the spirit of the law is not clear. Elected officials should leave the posturing to the public meetings where, at the very least, the political process can occur in the light of day, regardless of however dim that light may be.

Sustainability Initiative and the Emperors Clothing

Mayor Mark Kruzan along with Councilman Dave Rollo made a pitch for yet another piece of legislation under city control called the sustainability initiative. This recent initiative is supposed to promote economic vitality, improve human conditions and preserve and enhance community character. Their plan is to establish a commission to oversee what they call the three pillars of our community, economic development, environmental health and social equity. Interestingly enough this twelve-member commission will be made up entirely of mayoral and council appointees. This partisan commission has all the makings of being an environmental lap dog for the liberal no-growth left by diverting attention away from city hall. By establishing this commission the Mayor and City Council will add yet another layer of bureaucracy to local development and instead of having to oppose projects themselves they will be able to acknowledge the recommendation of the “Sustainability Commission” which will do their dirty work for them.

If our Mayor wants to work on a new initiative that will improve human conditions I recommend one that addresses problems that exist within city hall. Sources from within city government indicate moral is at all time low reportedly due to the Mayor’s tyrannical attitude and his incessant micromanagement. Furthermore he is gaining a reputation for being habitually late to meetings that is if he shows up at all. It was reported that during a recent visit to IU by the ambassador from Korea that Mayor Kruzan, who was scheduled to represent our city, never bothered to show up which was quite an embarrassment for the local and University officials in attendance. His lack of experience in understanding the intricacies of people management are obviously overwhelming him to the point where he is continually failing to meet his obligations as mayor. Several initiatives have come out of the Mayor’s office as of late; most are nothing more than smoke and mirrors seemingly to divert attention away from the real issues. Mayor Kruzan learned along time ago that in government words are stronger than actions and it couldn’t be more obvious than with the proposed sustainability legislation. It must have kept them up nights coming up with all the clichés and syntax to describe a whole lot of nothing. This reminds me of the fairy tale where the emperor is sold a new set of clothes, if you keep talking long enough before you know it people will believe just about anything.

Local Liberals May Derail Welch

Peggy Welch has snubbed the local democratic core again by voting for the recent Marriage Amendment to the State Constitution, a situation they are growing increasingly tired of. Last year she co-sponsored a similar amendment gaining broad support from the republican side of the isle, a situation she reported caused her a “lot of stress”. This session she voted with the republicans again defending her position by stating she supported the amendment because of her "personal convictions" about marriage. Predictably absent from her web site is any explanation of her vote on the Marriage Amendment. It appears Representative Welch is attempting to ride down the middle of the tracks by letting her Christian moral values influence her voting decisions, a position usually reserved for those on the far right side of the track. Generally the moral left would prefer that government stay out of their bedroom while the liberal left leans more toward anything goes. As she continues to play both sides against the middle it will be interesting to see if she can maintain her grassroots support in a district so heavily influenced by the far left majority. Fallout from her actions evidently peaked recently when organizers of the local Jackson Day Dinner scuttled the event purportedly in response to Welch being the featured speaker.

The liberal left’s tolerance level for Welch’s recent voting record puts her in a very interesting position in the 2006 election year. One possible explanation for her recent decisions is that she is looking beyond District 60 in 2006. Certainly voting a moral Christian conscious bodes quite well beyond the boarders of Monroe County and would obviously strengthen her support base of those voters in the middle. Only time will tell about her true intensions but one thing is for certain, the liberal left is not at all happy with her right now, which is something that could pose to be problematic and eventually derail her efforts.

Gaal Keeps Forgetting, He's on the City Council

City Council Member Chris Gaal weighs in on a topic that he has absolutely no jurisdiction over in his elected capacity. In the April 15th Herald Times article, headlined “Gaal takes on Bush on Social Security” all I could think of when I read the headline is, dream on! It appears several of our democrat city council members seem to be overly preoccupied with national and world affairs over issues that need their attention right here in their own back yard. It has been interesting to watch them spread their political ire while making their case for whatever position they’re taking on any given day by quoting some obscure self serving resource, usually from some ultra-liberal left wing organization. This article was based on information gathered from the “Institute for America’s Future”, and supported by none other than Milton Fisk, a recent partner in crime to the “Living Wage Ordinance”. This organization is quoted as wanting to“ challenge those who suggest that nothing can be done and expose the conservative agenda that has made things worse”. Gaal and Fisk evidently got so worked up about this issue they decided to hold a local press conference to get their names in the paper in support of the status quo, bankrupting the Social Security Administration.

Although the names of these organizations are creative most lack any real credibility. It’s a shame there isn’t an “Institute for Articles of Journalistic Relevance”, a resource that certainly could be put too good use at the HT. The information provided in their press conference was no more accurate than any other offerings from opponents of Social Security reform. They infused exaggerated numbers that were used simply as means of inciting their supporters and to demonize any type of support for reform. What everyone should know by now is the Social Security Administration has been borrowed from for years and if something is not done soon it is going to collapse within. President Bush is pitching several ideas although no definitive plan is in place. Rather than working toward a solution the democrats have offered nothing in the way of alternatives other than to suggest everything should be left alone. This once again shows it’s easier to promise, postpone and spread fear of change than it is to actually do something. Churchill was quoted as saying “It’s better to do something than do nothing while waiting to do everything”, how appropriate in this case.

More Useless Rhetoric

In the April 15th copy of Herald Times an article labeled “Simpson fighting for school funding” by Kurt Van der Dussen prefaced his article with the statement “State Sen. Vi Simpson is on the warpath”. First of all let me start out by chastising Mr. Van der Dussen by his callous and insensitive choice of words using the connotation “warpath” in light of Senator Simpson’s American Indian Heritage. It’s any wonder he didn’t go on to suggest she is simply beating her campaign drum across Indiana about a lack of adequate educational funding. Regardless of his choice of words in the article it served no useful journalistic purpose other than allowing a detractor from current fiscally responsible policy a headline that appears to indicate she is fighting for better education. It is easy to step forward and support funding for a single segment of the overall budget, it’s even easier to go around in support of increased funding for every facet of the budget whenever votes hang in the balance. What isn’t nearly as easy is finding the revenues to back up your support.

Devoid in Vi Simpson’s letter was any possible sources of funding for her proposed increases. What she wants people to believe is the State’s financial situation really isn’t all that bad and that going ahead and finding additional funding for the schools is fine with her even though the State has been drowning in red ink under her leadership. Hopefully people will realize the differences between hollow promises and real fiscal leadership. Governor Daniels is trying to right the ship and yes it is going to require that school systems across the state tighten their budgets on a short-term basis. Business as usual in Indiana under Democrat leadership over the last eight years has been a dismal financial failure. Vi Simpson has supported every possible social and educational program that would gain her the necessary votes to secure the Governors seat and this latest diatribe is no exception. She knows that people are passionate about education and rarely will anyone suggest not supporting adequate funding. The real question that needs to be answered by Senator Simpson is, what funding would you like to cut in order to provide the additional educational funding you are proposing?

Voter Reform Should Address Student Voters

Since our legislators are being asked to consider minor election reform in this legislative session, there is no better time than the present to address another serious problem, non-resident student voters in college towns. In Indiana a person is eligible to register to vote after only 30 days of residency in a precinct prior to the next election. Herein lies the problem; students are eligible to vote in local elections where they have little or no interest in local politics. No one wants to deny these non-resident students their right to vote and with that said, wouldn’t the most logical approach be for them to cast an absentee ballot in their own hometown? Why after only thirty days should a student be allowed to cast a vote and affect the outcome of a local politics for years to come?

For convenience sake, there is certainly nothing wrong with non-resident students being allowed to vote locally for Federal candidates. They should even be allowed to vote for State candidates providing they are from this state however, for them to be allowed to vote for local candidates that will be in office long after they are gone is simply unfair to local residents. Ask any resident in a community with a population of 120,000 if they would like to have 30,000 transient voters affecting the outcome of their next election. Granted, not all of these people vote but the percentages remain fairly constant.

Getting to the root of this problem one doesn’t have to look to far, you simply need to ask yourself, who stands to benefit the most from the student vote, Republicans or Democrats? Obviously, the answer is the Democrats and here is why. According to a recent study by Robert Lichter, a professor at George Mason University found that college faculties are overwhelmingly liberal, even more so than previously considered. According to the data, 72% of those teaching in American universities consider themselves liberal. This same survey revealed that 50% of the faculty considered themselves to be Democrats and only 11 % to be Republicans. This imbalance has created a power shift locally of catastrophic proportions and continues to provide the liberal left a powerful voting base each election cycle. When liberal professors are allowed to impress upon the student body day in and day out their own personal brand of political bias, these biases are adopted by the student body and become reflective of their own political viewpoints. Conservative candidates cannot possibly overcome the impact of the constant bombardment of liberalism on campus no matter how hard they try.

The Democrats cry foul when someone suggests that temporary residents, i.e. students, should not be allowed to vote in local elections. Why do they oppose these reforms, for obvious reasons, the deck is stacked heavily in their favor. They know what they’ve got and they're scared to death that someone is going to take it away from them. When Republicans suggest cleaning up the election process the Democrats immediately decry that people will be denied their right to vote and suggest that voters will be disenfranchised, intimidated and confused. How can anyone be denied the right to vote if they are offered the opportunity to vote absentee in their own hometown? Sure, maybe a handful of students do eventually end up living here and actually are impacted by their vote, but the vast majority of them are here for only a short time. Most of these students couldn’t tell you the name of our local sheriff but the odds are they know who the sheriff is back home. Until this inequity is resolved, our local elections will always be tainted with the stench of impropriety and that truly is disenfranchising to the permanent residents of our community.

Hypocrisy Hath No Limits

Once again the local democrats have found yet another method of picking the pockets of the tax paying citizens of this community. The democrat controlled County Council will be entertaining discussion today on a draft ordinance to raise the county’s wheel tax and possibly raising the vehicle excise tax surcharge or even a possibility of some combination of the two of them. This proposal was reportedly the brainchild of County Council Member, Warren Henegar. During the 2004 campaign Mr. Henegar repeatedly commented that he vigorously supported raising various taxes including the County Option Income Tax or (COIT) and establishing a food and beverage tax. At one point in the campaign he made the statement that “the citizens of Monroe County are under taxed”. It appears the democrats that cast their vote by the way of the donkey are likely to get exactly what they wanted, much higher taxes.

In itself, a modest increase in a single tax would not be unexpected especially if it were properly justified. However, what is happening is beyond comprehension as we are being showered with various new taxes and significant increases in others with hardly enough time to digest one before they hit us with another. Add up all these increases including paying more for our drinking water and you have imposed a significant hardship on the average citizen in our county. The most disturbing part about this situation is that no one has ever made a valid argument for the need for additional revenues. If the democrats go unchecked they will eventually manage to get a little bigger piece of your paycheck withheld by your employer along with the fact that they are not going rest until they raise your tab at the local eateries. Furthermore, they would like to see you pay more to plate your car, truck or RV in Monroe County.

Slowly but surely they are establishing an elitist community with the haves and the have-nots. Those with means are forcing those without to move to neighboring counties where the cost of living is going to be more in line with their income. Isn’t it rather ironic that this is the same group that is constantly claiming to be the ones that are looking out for the lower-income segment of our community? One must ask, when will it stop? Lest we forget, their hypocrisy hath no limits, conversely, their time in office does.

Congressman Sodrel's Masterful Town Hall Meeting

Even though the Herald Times managed to bury some of the most important news of the day in the “Local” section of the newspaper, the headline said it all; “Sodrel masters town hall crowd”, a fitting headline to a masterful presentation for the freshman Congressman from the 9th district. The fact that the HT chose to print a front page story about tattoos over the grand opening of a local Congressional district office shows their ongoing political bias, never the less, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of the detractors left the town hall meeting Friday afternoon impressed with the rooky statesman. Congressman Sodrel could have taken the easy route and called on only friendly faces during the question and answer period, instead, one after the other he called on individuals in the audience that were there for the obvious purpose of making public attacks on the republican national agenda. One by one he addressed their issues with a depth of knowledge and frankness that seemed to surprise even his staunchest opposition.

For the most part the meeting maintained a civil tone but several individuals seemed determined to stir up controversy. It was reported that local democrats mobilized their troops by circulating an email “call to arms” and in response a fair number of local left-wing activist showed up with prepared material to attack Congressman Sodrel’s recent victory over their candidate of choice, Baron Hill. With the precision of a surgeon, Congressman Sodrel dissected their questions and provided straight forward, no nonsense and informed answers, something they obviously didn’t fully expect. Many of these same critics showed a total lack of proper etiquette and protocol by failing to stand and applaud in acknowledgement of the Congressman when he was introduced. Only further proof of how influenced these people are by the flow of propaganda out of the local democrat party. It appears a small minority of individuals in their party continues to fan the flames of hatred and anger toward anyone with an “R” in front of their name. If this town meeting was any indication, Monroe County is obviously going to be a battleground for the 9th district Congressional seat in the 2006 election. One thing is clear, Mike Sodrel appears to have all of makings of a great Congressman, and we can only hope that some of the more rational thinking democrats will give him the opportunity to prove himself before they participate in any further resistance efforts.

BCOS, Another Pet Project

Once again local citizens are punished with yet another unrelated diatribe from one of our elected city officials. Dave Rollo, a Bloomington City Council Member decided to take advantage of the crowded City Council chamber last week when the Living Wage Ordinance was up for a vote. Rather than confining his remarks to matters on the agenda Rollo went into what seemed to be an hour long rant on the status of the worlds oil production, depletion, exploration and exploitation. If that wasn’t bad enough he sent his narrative to the Herald Times and they printed it as a Guest Column. In it he describes another pet project of the City Council called the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability or (BCOS) that is reportedly up for a vote sometime in April. This commission is described as working on the subject of “peak oil” and working toward adapting our community to a post-peak petroleum world.

I don’t know about you but I really wish our City Council would put half as much time in managing the affairs of our city as they do in attempting to solving the world’s problems. Peak oil is so far down the list of important issues that face our city right now it should be a serious concern when they waste time discussing such matters and slight more important topics. When our city is neck deep in red ink and we have a utilities department that can’t calculate a flow rate or manage a budget, it would certainly seem more prudent if they spent their time finding resolution to these issues before running off on some other tangent. Why do they continually seek out the obscure when the obvious stares them in the face? Maybe it’s just me but I thought we elected them to represent us on the City Council not in the House of Representatives. If I could offer them a suggestion it would be, if their passion is for issues of a global nature run for an office that could actually have an impact on those issues and leave the city council seats to someone who can focus on the needs of our community. One by one the members of the democrat-controlled council take their turn at pushing their social agendas through the City Council, each one with its own burden on the budget. Most of these new projects require addition administration and overhead, something that most of them don’t understand or simply don’t care. After all its just tax dollars, something they seem to have no problem extracting more and more of from this community. Along with discussing the worlds shrinking oil supply I wish they would discuss ways to shrink local government to reduce their dependence on our tax dollars, an issue we could all support.