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Showing posts with label Evan Bayh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evan Bayh. Show all posts

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Did Mike Pence create a PAC simply to pay his lawyer?

If you live long enough you see just about anything happen. But even IR never thought we would see the day that Mike Pence would hire a lawyer from the firm that employs former Indiana Governor and Senator Evan Bayh. Apparently the shock of being dumped by Congressman Jim Banks and being replaced by Bobby Knight has shattered Pence's already fragile mind! The Washington Post revealed that Mike Pence has hired Richard Cullen of McGuireWoods to represent him in regards to possible investigation by congress and special prosecutor Robert Mueller into possible collusion between the Trump White House and the Russian Government involving the 2016 presidential election. Several Indy Republican readers alerted us to this story. There are a few interesting questions that pop up during an examination of the circumstances surrounding Pence's hiring of Mr. Cullen. We will ask our questions. First let's layout what facts we have so far.

Ashley Parker writing for the Washington Post on June 15, 2017 reported here on Pence's hiring of Cullen by citing his office making the following statement: 

“I can confirm that the Vice President has retained Richard Cullen of McGuireWoods to assist him in responding to inquiries by the special counsel,” said Jarrod Agen, a Pence spokesman, in an emailed statement. “The Vice President is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the President’s agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter.” 
Cullen will not be paid with taxpayer money, an aide said. Cullen referred questions to the vice president’s office.
The process of hiring a lawyer took several weeks and included interviews with several candidates, a Pence aide said. The vice president made his final decision earlier this week. 

Several INDY REPUBLICAN readers have contacted us and said they found it interesting that Pence's aide would emphasize that taxpayer money would not be paying Cullen's legal fees. In light of the fact according to Vice President Pence's financial disclosure here he filed last year it showed him as not having any money!

Mike Pence when he looked at his bank account: 

 


So if the taxpayers are not going to pay for Cullen, then how is Mike Pence planning on paying his attorney? Another question we have been asking ourselves is just when did Mike Pence decide to go around shopping for an attorney. The aide quoted said that several candidates were interviewed over a period of around two weeks with the decision to hire Cullen was made earlier this week. Now Vice President Pence was originally scheduled to give an interview on June 7, 2017 on PBS's "News Hour" program but canceled the interview shortly before it was to start.

Now the cancelled interview was to take place on June 7th. The news of Pence's decision to hire Richard Cullen was reported on June 15th, this past Thursday, or 8 days after the cancelled interview. That would fall within the "several weeks" timeline mentioned by Pence's office. So if Pence had to interview potential lawyers during that timeframe that could very well account for his abrupt cancellation with PBS. Since even if he did not interview potential lawyers in person. Pence at the very least would have had to speak to them via phone or some other means. 

The Post reports that Cullen is no stranger to representing high profile clients. Ashley Parker gives the following background information on Cullen:

Cullen, a former Virginia attorney general, served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia under President George H. W. Bush and worked on President George W. Bush’s legal team during the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election.
His other high-profile clients have included Tom DeLay, the former Republican majority leader who was investigated by the Department of Justice for his relationship with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Elin Nordegren, the ex-wife of Tiger Woods, in her divorce from the golf star; and former senator Paul Trible (R-Va.), during the Iran-contra investigation.
Ms. Parker elaborates further on how Mike Pence has potentially been drawn into the Russian-Trump collusion investigation:

As Trump’s No. 2 and as head of the transition team, Pence has increasingly found himself drawn into the widening Russia investigation.  Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, misled Pence about his contacts with Russian officials — Pence then repeated the incorrect claims publicly. The vice president was kept in the dark for nearly two weeks about Flynn’s false statements before learning the truth in a Post report. 

Trump fired Flynn for misleading the vice president. 
There were also news reports that Flynn’s lawyers had alerted Trump’s transition team that Flynn was under federal investigation for his secret ties to the Turkish government as a paid lobbyist — a claim the White House disputes. And aides to Pence, who was running the transition team, said the vice president was not informed of Flynn’s overseas work with Turkey, either.
James Comey and Cullen once worked together at McGuireWoods and Cullen is godfather to one of Comey’s daughters.
Forgive us if we are finding it impossible to believe that Mike Pence was in charge of the Trump transition team, but somehow was unaware of Michael Flynn's lawyers having informed the transition team that Flynn was under federal investigation! It is also bizarre that the lawyer that Pence finally settled on was an the godfather of one of fired former FBI Director James Comey's daughters! That's is to much for King Kong to swallow! 
The Vice President's increasingly being so repeatedly near the scandals of the Trump administration. Has caught the notice of several who are finding it harder and harder to buy the nonsense being shoveled that Mike Pence is just a nice, squeaky clean guy.
Pence's former congressional colleague and host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe". Former Congressman Joe Scarborough (R-FL) said last month:

“There’s no middle ground,” he added.

Allan Lichtman a history professor at American University in Washington, D.C. and the man most famous for correctly predicting the winner of every presidential election since 1984. Including being one of the only experts to correctly forecast that Donald Trump would win the 2016 election. Professor Lichtman has trained his sharp mind to trying to ascertain the Vice Presidents role in the Trump administration. The good professor is skeptical to say the least about old Mikey being a victim of those around him.

Lichtman writing in an op-ed piece on CNBC.COM on May 19th, 2017 had this to say:

According to a now standard account, Pence is the innocent victim of deceptions by others – former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the president himself.

But this is supposition only, with no hard evidence behind it. It is equally plausible that Pence is complicit in the lies propagated by the Trump administration and perhaps even involved in a cover-up of potentially impeachable transgressions. That's why he must be investigated thoroughly by the Congress and the FBI along with the president and other members of the Trump campaign team and administration.

For a seasoned politician who served for 12 years in Congress and three years as governor of Indiana, Pence has seemed remarkably easy to fool. Supposedly, Mike Flynn fooled Pence into affirming that Flynn's conversations with Soviet Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were "strictly coincidental" and had nothing "to do with United States' decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia."

Pence was allegedly fooled again when he said that Trump fired FBI Director Comey because he accepted "the recommendation of the deputy attorney general and the attorney general." Trump later admitted that he had intended to sack Comey before he received any Justice Department recommendations and that "this Russia thing with Trump" was on his mind when he made the firing decision.

The theory of Pence as innocent victim lacks credibility.

As vice president on March 9, 2017, Pence said that regarding stories about Flynn's lobbying for Turkey, "Hearing that story today was the first I'd heard of it." Yet Pence was the head of the transition team that recommended Flynn for National Security Adviser and news reports in November 2016 had disclosed Flynn's lobbying for Turkey.

Beyond press reports, on November 18, 2016, Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Pence warning: "Recent news reports have revealed that Lt. Gen. Flynn was receiving classified briefings during the presidential campaign while his consulting firm, Flynn Intel Group, Inc., was being paid to lobby the U.S. Government on behalf of a foreign government's interests. … Lt. Gen. Flynn's General Counsel and Principal, Robert Kelley, confirmed that they were hired by a foreign company to lobby for Turkish interests"

Lies spoken softly by Mike Pence are no less insidious than lies bellowed and blustered by Donald Trump. Pence must be part of all investigations of the Trump administration. Under Article 2, Section 4 of the constitution, a vice president no less than a president is subject to impeachment.

Such damning statements made about a sitting Vice President of the United States by one of America's finest political experts and by a former fellow congressman are not to be dismissed lightly. If Michael Flynn's lawyers did indeed tell the Pence-led Trump transition team  about Flynn's work being the subject of a federal investigation. In all likelihood Mike Pence was aware of this as well! Which would mean that even a dimwit like "Pampered" Mike Pence would know he was going to probably need a lawyer. And he would have known this before assuming office. Which would make the matter of him being able to pay what would undoubtedly be exorbitant legal fees an urgent one.

But how to pay a high powered lawyer if he reported having no money on his disclosure form?

Well the Wall Street Journal's Rebecca Ballhaus may have an answer in her article "Here's How Pence Could Pay for a Personal Lawyer".

Ms. Ballhaus writes:

How does the former governor, whose financial disclosure last year appeared to show a negative net worth, plan to pay him?

The likely solution: an independent political group launched by Pence allies last month that can raise up to $5,000 per donor and has no restrictions on the personal use of funds.

Mr. Pence on Friday is set to attend a fundraiser for the group, Great America Committee, in Indianapolis, a day after his office said the vice president had retained Richard Cullen, chairman of the prominent law firm McGuireWoods, to represent him in the special counsel probe of Trump associates’ ties to Russia. Premier tickets to the event cost $5,000, while donors who pay $2,500 gain access to a reception at the hotel where the event is hosted.

Mr. Pence will most likely use funds raised through that group to pay for his legal bills, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Mr. Cullen said Mr. Pence’s office had directed him to “make certain that whatever method [of payment] is used is compliant with all federal law and regulation.”

There are no rules barring Mr. Pence from using the group’s funds to pay for his private attorney, said Kenneth Gross, former head of enforcement at the Federal Election Commission.

“There is no personal use restriction on a leadership PAC,” he said.

Using leadership PAC funds to pay for a private attorney would allow top donors to Mr. Pence to bankroll his legal defense as the special counsel’s probe heats up.

Ms. Ballhaus mentions that the creation of this PAC was most curious because:

The creation of one (a PAC) on Mr. Pence’s behalf earlier this year raised eyebrows, as vice presidents—particularly those in their first terms—rarely have their own political committees separate from the president.

Another weird twist is that Mike Pence is the honorary chairman of the PAC. And his aide Marty Obst is on the staff of the Great America Committee. Readers of this blog and Gary Welsh's Advance Indiana blog may remember that Obst was associated with the shady real estate agent John Bales and also unsuccessfully tried to save Senator Richard Lugar from losing the 2012 Republican Senatorial Primary. The inclusion of Obst on the Great America Committee and the fact that Pence came down to Indianapolis to fundraise for his pack one day after hiring Richard Cullen as his attorney does not pass the smell test.

So what are we to make of the increasingly boneheaded and paranoid actions of Mike Pence? 

Bill Kristol the founder of conservative magazine The Weekly Standard had this to say about an unusual tweet the VP made:

 Bill Kristol @BillKristol

Why this tweet now? Speculation: Trump's angry at Pence over news Pence hired a lawyer. Pence desperately trying to show Trump he's loyal. 1:58 PM · Jun 16, 2017
In the INDY REPUBLICAN mailbag a reader made this observation about VP Pence groveling like a submissive worm to his D.C. masters:
Typical Pence...the soft, weak link of any team....probably wears "depends" undergarments for as much as he pisses his pants. Wonder what is worrying the little pissant so much?
We love our readers insights into Mike Pence. We think they are mistaken about one thing though. They forgot that since Pence is Number 2 in Washington he most likely would have to wear depends because he just craps so much! 

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Residency Issue Cost Former Indiana School's Superintendent Tony Bennett a seat on the Clark County Council

Finally some good news this week for a change! Earlier today it was reported that former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett was originally set to be appointed to a seat on the Clark County Council. But apparently is ineligible to take the seat because he has not resided in the county for the required period of time need to serve on the council. Elizabeth Beilman writing for the News and Tribune reports on this issue:


Former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett won't be serving on the Clark County Council after all, as he doesn't meet the residency requirements to hold office.
State law requires office holders must have lived in the district they represent for at least six months and within the county for at least a year.
The Clark County Assessor's office recorded Bennett became the owner of his Jeffersonville home Sept. 8, which doesn't meet the six-month requirement to live within the council district. His former home in New Albany was transferred to a new owner Aug. 29.
Bennett confirmed Thursday he has only lived in Clark County about six months, having previously lived in Floyd County.
"I'm not aware of any [such law]," he told the News and Tribune when informed by the newspaper of the residency requirement. "Frankly, I would assume [Clark County GOP Chairman Jamey Noel] would know that."


Bennett said he would step aside and allow someone else to fill the seat.
"I had no intentions of running when the two years were up," he said of the District 2 term. "I strictly saw this as serving the county."
Attorney Larry Wilder, often hired to represent local Republicans, took fault.
"Sometimes when you have lawyers that don't read every word in a statute, they give bad advice," Wilder said. "Tony and I talked about the opening, and I spoke with [Noel] as well, and they both asked a question about eligibility to serve and quite honestly, I made a mistake."
Bennett was one of two Republicans caucused onto the board Wednesday evening in a surprise move. But Bennett wasn't named to fill the seat vacated by Mike Popplewell, who resigned amid misdemeanor charges.
Instead, Bennett was going to represent District 2. Brian Lenfert, sitting District 2 councilman, was elected to fill Popplewell's at-large seat.
A call to Noel was not immediately returned.


Chelsea Schneider one of the only good reporters left at the Langley-Run Indianapolis Star had this to say:


Former Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett returned to Hoosier politics this week — but his stay was brief.
Bennett had been appointed to the Clark County Council in Southern Indiana on Wednesday. But a day later, Bennett said he would no longer serve after the News and Tribune reported he hadn’t lived in the county long enough to hold the office. State law requires a council member to live in the county for at least one year. Bennett told the newspaper he had lived in Clark County for about six months.
The development is the latest chapter in the high-profile Republican’s political career. He took a break after losing re-election as state schools chief in 2012 and resigning as the Florida education commissioner a year later.
After his selection, Bennett told IndyStar Wednesday that filling the vacancy was an “opportunity to do something that I think is really positive.”
“It’s just to serve the community I grew up in in a very positive way,” Bennett said. “I wanted to be a service to our county given my background. I have a good understanding of fiscal policy and budgeting.”
After learning he was ineligible for the seat, Bennett told the News and Tribune that he “had no intentions of running” when the current term was up.
Bennett and Clark County GOP Chair Jamey Noel didn’t immediately return requests for comment.


We are over joyed to hear that at least for now that Tony Bennett will not being serving in public office. It appears that his attempt to serve on the Clark County Council just went "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-wop-bam-boom!" Couldn't have happened to a nicer lowlife! One can't help but wonder if Tony Bennett is thinking about why they chose to apply local residency law to him when so many other office holders have flouted residency laws to keep their offices! Former Senator's Dick Lugar and Evan Bayh both have. Former Governor Mitch Daniels lived at his house in Hamilton County even though the Constitution of the State of Indiana states that the governor must reside at the seat of Indiana State Government which the court's have interpreted to mean Marion County. But at least Bennett is grateful that he is not facing any legal repercussions for this. He is undoubtedly thankful that he was not charged with federal wire fraud violations from stunts that he and his staff pulled when he was Education Superintendent.


Paul Ogden and Gary Welsh both have written extensively on Bennett's time in office. Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White has also discussed this at length on his podcast series "The Charlie White Show".


Especially of interest is a blog post by Gary Welsh over at Advance Indiana back on December 02, 2014. The post  is titled "Joe Hogsett And Terry Curry Gave Tony Bennett Pass On Multiple Wire Fraud Violations". Mr. Welsh gave some facts which should be reviewed in light of Tony Bennett's past and also the fact that he is clearly willing to seek office again. From the keystrokes of the Grand Master himself:


Before Inspector General David Thomas entered into a settlement agreement with former Education Supt. Tony Bennett this summer letting him off with a hand slap for using state employees and state resources for political purposes, he prepared another 95-page report in which his investigation concluded there were 100 instances in which Bennett or his staff violated federal wire fraud laws. For some reason, Thomas didn't bother to release that report at the time he entered into the state ethics settlement with Bennett, but State House reporter Tom LoBianco has now obtained a copy of the original report, which should have been posted on the IG's website for public inspection but wasn't.

. . . In a section labeled “Scheme to Defraud,” the inspector general laid out its case, saying Bennett “while serving as the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction of the State of Indiana, devised a scheme or artifice to defraud the State of Indiana of money and property by using State of Indiana paid employees and property, for his own personal gain, as well as for his own political benefit to be re-elected to the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.”  
The violations fell into five categories: political campaign fundraising, responding to political opponent’s assertions, calendar political activity meetings, political campaign call appointments and general political campaign activity.  
Through reviews of emails and calendar entries and more than 50 interviews with top Republicans and former staffers, investigator Charles Coffin determined that Bennett falsified mileage logs to cover fundraising trips and the use of two state workers as campaign drivers. The report also details 20 days on which Bennett used the SUV to go to local Republican fundraisers coded as “business” in his handwritten vehicle logs, as well as instances when trips to events billed as education-related also had calendar notes about political donors being present.  
Bennett also used tax dollars to send a staffer to attend the 2012 Republican Party convention on his behalf . . .
According to LoBianco, the report analogized Bennett's case to the recent federal prosecution of former Lake Co. Surveyor George Van Til, who pleaded guilty last December to six federal wire fraud counts related to the use of county employees and resources for his political campaigns. Bennett could have also been prosecuted for official misconduct and ghost employment under state law just like one of his predecessors, Harold Negley, who former Marion Co. Prosecutor Steve Goldsmith prosecuted on nearly identical charges. The question now that must be answered is why former U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett and Marion Co. Prosecutor Terry Curry, both Democrats, passed on prosecuting Bennett. What was the quid pro quo? Inquiring minds want to know. The answer should be quite obvious in both instances. Both of them should be holding their heads in shame for breaching their respective oaths of office.


Welsh then goes onto point out some interesting information about former Indiana Secretary of State now Congressman Todd Rokita and how one of the staff members cited in the Inspector General's report on Bennett office. Had a spouse who was mentioned in regards to alleged violations at the Secretary of State's office under Todd Rokita.


I (Gary Welsh) would be remiss if I didn't remind people that former Secretary of State Charlie White reported his predecessor, Todd Rokita, to the state's Inspector General and the Marion Co. Prosecutor, for similar violations after he and his staff uncovered campaign-related documents on the state's computers in his office when he took office. The spouse of one of the employees cited in the Inspector General's report on Bennett's office was at the center of those violations in the Secretary of State's office. Both the Inspector General and the Marion Co. Prosecutor's Office refused to investigate White's allegations. The State House media has refused to report on White's allegations because they don't like him and want him destroyed.

Here was my reaction last July when the IG's settlement agreement with Bennett was announced:
Clearly, the admissions made by Bennett involve violations of criminal statutes, including official misconduct and ghost employment under state law. Former Education Supt. Harold Negley was forced to resign and prosecuted for exactly those same offenses back in 1985 by then-Marion Co. Prosecutor Steve Goldsmith. The state ethics commission can recommend forwarding the findings to the prosecutor for further investigation, but nothing is stopping Marion Co. Prosecutor Terry Curry from acting on his own. It remains unclear why he sat back and allowed the Inspector General's investigation to play out before convening a grand jury to conduct his own independent investigation. Remarkably, Bennett's lawyers at Barnes & Thornburg claim they have an agreement with Curry not to prosecute him, which is a complete outrage if true. Curry claimed he planned to get tough on the prosecution of public corruption cases when he ran for office four years ago, but he declines to take any action in the most brazen cases set in front of him.
It is completely beyond reason as to why Tony Bennett was not charged like his predecessor in office Harold Negley was back in 1985 for pretty much the exact same offenses! Some democrats complained about the refusal to prosecute Bennett and such refusal certainly cost the democrats their chance to pick up some more elected offices. Why Todd Rokita has been allowed to skate by in the matter of their being claims made that their was campaign related documents on the state's computers is also astonishing. It is way past time that someone looked into Mr. Rokita and his tenure as Secretary of State! We all must be vigilant in regards to Tony Bennett. He and other's might have thought that with the unfortunate demise of Gary Welsh. That he and the other parasites and vultures that seek to drain the life blood out of the citizens of Indiana with nobody noticing them. Surprise! Gary Welsh maybe gone but his influence lives on! You know we will let the great actor Henry Fonda break it down for you:






Once again we are your host here at the Indy Republican Blog saying goodnight and be happy wherever you are. But before we leave you we want to share a little treasure from the good Tony Bennett and also a link to a podcast by that great freedom fighter himself MR. CHARLIE WHITE!


Here is Tony Bennett performing that great classic "Anything Goes" with Lady Gaga:











And last but certainly not least Charlie White's take on Tony Bennett: http://indianatalks.com/site/2014/10/the-charlie-white-show-10-29-14-podcast/





Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Reasons to be thankful

We know it is hard for many of you to be hopeful at times like this. For we have to look forward to Eric "Bagman" Holcomb as Governor as well as Mike Pence as the next Vice-President of the United States. But there is a lot we all as Hoosiers and Americans have to be thankful for! For one thing we are Americans! We are citizens of the greatest country in human history! We have freedoms that are unparalleled throughout history! Ironically we the people have had these freedoms so long we have started to take them for granted and we are in danger of losing them. But we have them anyway. Yes it is true that Gary Welsh the great Titan of the Indiana Blogsphere passed way to soon. But we all need to be thankful for his contributions to this state and this nation. Thanks to him and Paul Ogden Dick Lugar and Evan Bayh are no longer rotting away in the Senate! Yes Misters Donnelly and Young are no prizes but at least it has been shown in politics that no one is invincible. Paul Ogden is still blogging all of us here have joined the cause as well! Inspired by Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden to be modern day troubadours to sing the songs of good government and freedom! Others here and there along the highways and byways will join us and ultimately we will succeed in making a more perfect state and a more perfect union! We must remember that although exposing corruption is one of our primary goals. In addition we must practice positive active goodness. Our enemies the Daniels, Bayh's, Holcomb's, Delaneys, the Matt Tully's, and the Jim Shella's wish only to continue their nihilistic crusade to destroy the good for being good. Unlike them we wish to be free and enjoy life not just avoid pain. The parasites mentioned above believe that others are merely tools to be used to further their own ends. All of us deal with others by choice and voluntary association. We strive to avoid using anyone in any manner. That is why the powers that be are scared. They know themselves to be full of it! And nothing scares them as much as men and women who can think! Slowly but surely people around this state and around the country are beginning to question the elites! Christine Scales has been the target of both political parties in Indianapolis because of her stateswoman like refusal to be bullied by either former Mayor Ballard and his RINO cronies or by Mayor Hogsett and his minions. Paul Ogden is the object of both praise and hatred for his refusal to stop calling out the garbage that has to long disgraced our state! Together and individually we shall smash the media monopoly in this state! We must remind each other and ourselves that the best things in life happen outside of government. We must remind our elected officials they work for us and we own their fate they don't own us. This struggle has and will be long and complicated. It may take decades and may require both parties to fade into oblivion before we have reclaimed our state. But ultimately we will win because we will not submit. We will honor the heroes gone before us. We will continue the work that Gary Welsh began. We will succeed and cause him and all the other angels in heaven to shout with joy at what we will ultimately accomplish. We will continue to offer advice as time, experience and the Holy Spirit guide us. As David struck down Goliath and the walls of Jericho came a tumbling down. So shall the cracks continue to open and widen in the bipartisan cabal that controls so much of our state! Remember the words of Christ who said: "Let not your heart be troubled", "let none be yee called masters", and lastly our brothers and sisters as the savior also said "Do not worry about tomorrow. For each day has enough worry unto itself. By worrying can you add a minute to your life or an inch to your height." Oh we all here forget to mention word on the street is that Holcomb is already ruffling feathers and might be in for a rocky start as governor. There are many who fear him. But just as many who will undermine him everyday he is in office. He would be wise not to trust anyone.

With that we bid you all Godspeed! May the blessings of God be with you all! AMEN!

Monday, November 7, 2016

INDY REPUBLICAN's Final predictions for Election 2016

Good evening ladies and gentlemen! You all may recall recently we gave you our prediction that John Gregg will win the Governors race. We still stand by that prediction. We are ready to give our predictions in the Presidential, U.S Senate, and US House races here in old Eerie, IN. We predict that Saint Evan will be defeated by Congressman Todd Young in his bid to regain his Senate seat. Donald Trump will carry the state and Hillary Clinton will become our next president. The Democrats will pickup the 9th district seat when Shelli Yoder defeats "Tennessee Trey" Hollingsworth. Otherwise Indiana's congressional delegation remains unchanged. In the state legislative races Republicans will easily keep control of both houses but will lose super majority status in the State House. Nationally the Republicans will easily keep control of the US House of Representatives with a diminished majority. And we give the Democratcs a 50-50 chance at taking the Senate. If Hillary wins the Democratic Governor and former DNC Chairman Terry McCauliffe will appoint Vice President elect Tim Kaine's replacement and the GOP has a shot of winning that seat in 2018. Okay Indiana don't fail us now! We all have high quality dinners riding on the accuracy of our predictions! So if we mess up to bad in our predictions we are out some serious coinage and unlike "Pampered Pence" and "Bagman Holcomb" we have to pay our own way!

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Evan Bayh's residency, Scott Tibbs advocates for merit employment, and INDY REPUBLICAN Predicts Governors Race

Hello fellow malcontents! INDY REPUBLICAN is proud to once again have your attention. Hopefully you have all managed to keep your sanity during this madcap election year! Now for news and views that the powers that be don't want you to have!

First item deals with where Evan Bayh lives. Three days ago the establishment run propaganda rag The Indianapolis Star. Breaking with their longstanding tradition of covering Evan Bayh's worthless ass. Ran a column that details according to Bayh's schedule he didn't once stay at his Indianapolis condo in 2010. The column states:

Evan Bayh says that his Indianapolis condominium has long been his home, and that he has spent “lots and lots” of time there since deciding to run for his old Senate seat. But a copy of his schedule shows Bayh did not stay overnight there once during his last year in office in 2010.


The schedule provided to The Associated Press shows the Democrat spent taxpayer money, campaign funds or let other people pay for him to stay in Indianapolis hotels on the relatively rare occasions he returned from Washington, D.C.
During the same period, he spent $3,000 in taxpayer money on what appeared to be job hunting trips to New York, despite the assertion of his campaign that the trips were devoted to official media appearances.
The AP obtained Bayh’s schedule from a source who requested anonymity because the information was private. The Bayh campaign did not dispute its authenticity.
Earlier this month, the AP reported that Bayh spent substantial time during his last year in the Senate searching for a private sector job, while voting for or seeking changes to legislation that benefited the corporate and financial world.
Since unexpectedly entering the race in July, Bayh, whose primary residence is in Washington, has struggled to explain whether Indiana is home. During an interview with WLFI-TV in August he tried to put the issue to rest, but gave the wrong address for his condo, which is listed on his drivers’ license and voter registration.
“I’ll always be a Hoosier,” Bayh said last week. “We own our condominium. Period. From time to time I would stay someplace else, but our condo has always been our home.”
Bayh stayed at Indianapolis hotels roughly a dozen times in 2010, though taxpayers paid only a few hundred dollars because campaign funds or other people helped pick up the tab.
When asked last month how often he has stayed at his condo during the campaign, Bayh said: “I haven’t kept track, but lots and lots and lots.” He also accused his opponent, Republican Rep. Todd Young, of “using this as a distraction.”
Bayh’s schedule shows the four taxpayer-funded trips to New York between September and November 2010 revolved largely around meetings with a veritable who’s who of American banking and finance, as well as a job headhunter.
Senate ethics rules forbid the use of public money for personal travel. Bayh’s campaign says the trips to New York were justified because he also conducted official business, including giving interviews to journalists.

This is the point where we all start saying Bullshit! When the Bayh campaign says the trips were justified because apparently to them giving press interviews qualifies as "official business"! The staff here are not constitutional scholars but as far as we can tell a Senator's official duties are simply to vote on legislation! How in the Hell does schmoozing with media airheads have anything to do with that! Many have raised serious questions about just when did Bayh decide to not run for reelection in 2010? Paul Ogden raised the question as to why Bayh was retiring rather than running for another term in 2010 you can read that here. Los Angeles radio host and author Larry Elder also discussed this in an article he wrote in 2010! It is nothing short of journalistic malpractice that other than a few here and there, no one in the local or national press has ever challenged Bayh on why he did a HALO jump out of his Senate seat six years ago!


On a better note an alert IR reader found a wonderful article written by Scott Tibbs the author of the blog Conservatibbs. Although we here at Indy Republican like Mr. Tibbs are republicans, and consider ourselves to be very conservative we don't always see eye-to-eye with Scott. But he is always interesting to read. Especially this article he wrote back in August of this year titled: "Ending at-will employment for government" INDY REPUBLICAN, Paul Ogden, and Scott Tibbs all proudly back the Republican tradition of Civil Service Reform. The IR staff, and Mister's Ogden & Tibbs can scarcely be called "liberal" republicans by any stretch of the imagination. But we all feel that the Grand Old Party needs to return to it's true conservative roots of eliminating patronage in all levels of government! We will quote Mr. Tibbs article below:


The Indiana State legislature needs to add an exception to Indiana's "at-will" employment law to make it illegal for government at all levels (city, county, township and state) to fire employees without cause. This would better serve taxpayers and protect employees who are doing a good job.
Yes, civil service protections can be problematic and a permanent bureaucracy is not the answer. We have all heard the horror stories about government employees who cannot be fired and continue to be paid on the taxpayers' dime despite the fact that they lack the competence, professionalism, integrity and skill set needed to do their work. But because they were hired, it is nearly impossible to remove them.
But the way government operates now is not sustainable, especially as the workload becomes more complex. An elected office changes hands and all of the employees are frightened for their jobs. Employees are terrified to point out wrongdoing because they are afraid to lose their jobs, so outright theft happens without anyone trying to do anything about it or even letting the proper authorities know about the crimes. Elected officials remove qualified employees and replace them with people who cannot do the job through nepotism, cronyism and patronage. This is a system that does not serve the taxpayers at all.
The solution, then, is to professionalize local and state government by implementing basic best practices. If local government cannot be trusted to do this voluntarily, then the state legislature needs to force them to do it. Best practices includes removing bad employees, after progressive discipline and good-faith efforts to bring under-performing employees into line. (Obviously, there are some things that require immediate termination.) Leave the politics to the legislative bodies while focusing administrative offices on actually serving the taxpayers instead of serving their political parties.
Fortunately, we have an opportunity to move in that direction by casting the right votes in the general election. Republican candidates for office - specifically auditor candidate Ann Boehm and treasurer candidate Ann Collins - have pledged to end the "at will" nonsense in their offices and follow basic "best practices" with their staff. Electing Boehm and Collins would help, but that will only help those two offices in one of the state's 92 counties. The rest of the state needs the legislature to intervene.


Well put Scott!


Now INDY REPUBLICAN is going to offer our very first ever election prediction! After many months of careful thought and observation. We at INDY REPUBLICAN predict that Democrat John Gregg will become the next governor of Indiana! We feel confident in this prediction because with the exception of a single poll conducted since Eric Holcomb became the republican candidate for Governor. Every poll taken has given John Gregg anywhere from a 2 to 12 point lead. With most polls putting Gregg on average from 2 to 5 points ahead. According to a story on Eagle Country Online published October 20th, 2016:


A new Ball State University and WISH-TV Hoosier Survey released Wednesday gives Gregg a five-point lead over Republican Eric Holcomb, 48 to 43 percent.
The difference is within the poll’s 4.8 percent margin of error. The poll surveyed 544 likely Indiana voters.


Also reported is that  "Holcomb’s campaign reported raising $7.7 million in the third quarter while Gregg has brought in $4.5 million. Gregg does have more money in his campaign war chest, $4.8 million to $2.8 million."


So given the facts that we are less than two weeks away from election and inspite of Holcomb raising more money in the third quarter of 2016 than Gregg. That Gregg still has $2 million more in his campaign war chest than Holcomb. Coupled with Holcomb's less than inspiring campaign, and the fact that Gregg's campaign is sending out more emails, and pounding the ground more than Holcomb. We are fairly confident in Gregg defeating "Bagman" Holcomb! We are not endorsing any candidate for Governor but we do not want Holcomb to win! And if this keeps up he won't! You have been reading INDY REPUBLICAN here on blogger. This is IR and it's staff wishing you all long life and happiness! And if he is reading this up in heaven Gary Welsh you are still our hero!

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Jim "Shill" Shella to Retire! Thank You God!

Hello everyone out there in cyberspace! Hope you are all having a great day. INDY REPULICAN sure as hell is! Earlier this week in article by Anthony Schoetle writing in the Indianapolis Business Journal announced that after spinning reporting on Statehouse matters since 1982. Good old Jim "Shill" Shella has decided to run like hell retire from WISH-TV. Also Shella will be leaving Indiana Week in Review aka "Pravda Week in Review" on November 18th. He has been the political establishment's propaganda minister on IWIR for 21 years now. Here are some highlights of Anthony Schoetle's article we would like to share with you as well as INDY REPULICAN'S thoughts as well about the story:


Shella is departing WISH as its parent company, Media General Inc., is about to be acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group Inc. But Shella said he is not being forced out. In fact, he said he was offered another contract.


Shella told IBJ that “family considerations” are a factor in his retirement decision and he looks forward to spending more time with his wife, Connie, and their 38-year-old daughter, Katherine.


Our response to Shella saying he is not being forced out is: Bulls--t! If he wasn't being forced out then he had no reason to bring it up. And as far as "family considerations" go. Everyone who has any experience with people in public life know to often when someone is forced to leave or step down from a position against there will they always site family reasons as one of the main cover stories. Also very popular are health reasons. So if it is hard for all of us here to believe Shella it is mostly due to the fact that he is a hack reporter who spends his time sucking up to those in power rather than being a real journalist. We will get more in depth with that here shortly. Many of us remember Jim Shella's complete lack of professionalism and his out-and-out hit piece on the Revolt at the Statehouse back in 2009 put on by Paul Ogden, Mark Small, the late Gary Welsh and several others. For those of you who do not remember, or never heard of what transpired back in 2009 we refer you to Paul Ogden's account of the event here, as well as Gary Welsh's excellent post in which he refers to Jim Shella as a "washed up hack".


Schoetle goes onto share what some of Shella's colleagues at Pravda Indiana Week in Review say about Jim Shella.:


“If there was an Indiana political reporters’ hall of fame, Jim Shella would be going in immediately on the first ballot,” said Mike McDaniel, a former Republican state chairman and a regular on "Indiana Week in Review" for 21 years. “He’s among the best—and I’m not just talking about TV reporters—of any political reporters.”
Former Indiana Democratic Chairwoman Ann DeLaney said Shella was known for a wicked sense of humor, booming laughter and an irreverence that made him unafraid to ask difficult questions.
“He has the memory, institutional knowledge and lack of reverence to be an effective Statehouse reporter—the dean of Statehouse reporters,” said DeLaney, who has been a regular on "Indiana Week in Review" since Shella started with the show. “He has a healthy dose of skepticism. He’s not afraid to let that show. So he asks better questions and as a consequence, gets better stories.”


DeLaney said there isn’t a state lawmaker that doesn’t know—and respect—Shella. But his appeal goes beyond that, she added.
“He will be missed far beyond the Statehouse,” DeLaney said. “I get comments from the grocery clerk and the mailman about the topics we discuss on 'Indiana Week in Review.' Those are the people that Jim has helped bring the issues to.
“Through his reporting on [WISH] and his role with 'Indiana Week in Review,' he helps to drive the discussion on important topics across the state,” she added. “He’s been able to frame the discussion for 25 years. That’s a pretty significant impact.”


No doubt McDaniel and DeLaney are extremely grateful to Shella for not doing any actual investigate reporting! McDaniel is grateful that Shella bent over backwards in an unsuccessful attempt to try to save former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar's worthless butt, when it was revealed back in 2011-2012 that Lugar had not lived in Indiana since 1977!


Anne DeLaney is glad that Shella has always sucked up to her boss Evan "I am not a lobbyist" Bayh". She is also no doubt very pleased that Shella never delved into the circumstances surrounding the incident in late 2009 where her husband State Rep. Ed Delaney was attacked by Gus Mendehall. That incident is to complicated to go into in this post. Instead we will gladly direct your attention to REAL Investigative Work involving the Mendenhall-DeLaney row here:


Gary Welsh's Post's:


DeLaney Vs. Mendenhall: http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2009/11/delaney-versus-mendenhall.html




Ed DeLaney's Twisting & Turning!: http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2009/11/another-odd-twist-in-delaney-versus.html




Common Sense to Ed DeLaney Shut the Hell up!: http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2009/11/shouldnt-someone-tell-ed-delaney-to.html


Paul Ogden has provided information about what occurred from Mendenhall's point of view.


Paul Ogden's Post's:


The Mendenhall Chronicles:


Prologue: http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2011/01/mendenhall-chronicles-prologue.html




Part One: http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2011/01/mendenhall-chronicles-part-i.html




Part Two: http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2011/01/mendenhall-chronicles-part-ii.html


Part Three: http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2011/01/mendenhall-chronicles-part-iii.html


Part Four: http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2011/01/mendenhall-chronicles-part-iv.html


Part Five: http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2011/03/mendenhall-chronicles-part-v-trial.html






Also be sure to checkout Dick Cady's memoir "Deadline Indianapolis" for a look at how a real journalist would cover the DeLaney's. Needless to say Ed, Anne, Bayh, & Lugar do not come out looking that good in Cady's book.


Turns out that even though "Shill" Shella is leaving his positions at WISH-TV and IWIR we may not be hearing the last of him. The IBJ article ends with these words about Shella's life after television:


Shella said while he’s retiring from full-time work, he’s leaving the door open to other opportunities.
Shella said there’s a possibility he could make special appearances on WISH “to make commentary on political events.”
Shella also said he’s been approached about taking other positions.
“I’ve had overtures,” he said. “I haven’t pursued anything. I won’t say I won’t try something else, maybe on a part-time basis. I just think it’s time to pursue a new chapter.”


We would like to close this post with some parting thoughts all of us here share. If Shella thinks just because of the unfortunate demise of Gary Welsh. That he is going to get away with his endless spin doctoring of the news for the powers that be. He is sorely mistaken! Not going to happen Jim! To many of us are onto you! But in the spirit of honesty a regular reader of our blog asked us to share something special that they have to say to you. Are you ready Jim? Here it is:










On a lighter note in the immortal words of Kool & The Gang: Celebrate Everybody! This is the staff at INDY REPUBLICAN saying good night and God bless! If anyone is interested our some members of the staff also perform as entertainment at weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs!


Celebrate:









Monday, July 11, 2016

Democrats Pull Bait-and-Switch Baron Hill Out Evan Bayh in for US Senate!

Just when the staff at INDY REPUBLICAN thought politics in good old Indiana could not get any more bizarre. Word was sent to the staff by an avid fan of this blog to us about a little switcheroo that the Indiana Democratic Party has decided to pull. According to an article by Tom LoBianco at CNN.COM former Indiana Governor and former US Senator Evan Bayh has decided to grace the state with his wisdom and greatness and run for his old job as US Senator. According to LoBianco's article:


National Democratic leaders have encouraged Bayh to run for more than a year, ever since incumbent GOP Sen. Dan Coats announced he would not run again. Bayh was dismissive at first, insistent he was done with public life, but Monday's announcement will mark a significant victory for Senate Democratic recruiters.


LoBianco goes onto mention that the previous Democratic Party candidate for US Senate ex-congressman and old Hoosier Democratic Warhorse Baron Hill has announced that he is leaving the race for the Senate on Facebook this morning Hill said of his decision:




Also mentioned is this observation about Bayh's decision to run:


Readers of this blog may recall in our most recent post about the Mike Pence for VP Soap Opera about how we refrained from reading Matt Tully's propaganda piece Column in the Indianapolis Star because we felt no need to induce vomiting amongst ourselves! Well fortunately for good old ass kisser/hack reporter Matt Tully. The news of hearing of Evan Bayh's return to public life made us even more ill than that silly man ever could. So we decided to take a look and see what the latest round of establishment BS reporting Mr. Tully had to offer us about Saint Evan's return. Tully gushes over describes Bayh as: "the man who left politics in 2010 in deep frustration with partisan dysfunction." If that is not enough to make someone lose their lunch. Tully treats to another round of his cult worship of useless humans with this gem of insight: "On the Mount Rushmore of Indiana's modern-day politics, two politicians stand alone: Former Gov. Mitch Daniels and Evan Bayh. Put either name on a ballot, any ballot in Indiana, and you likely have an instant front-runner."

Fellow Blogger Paul Ogden wrote on his blog today about Bayh's abandoning his 2010 Senate Re Election bid and asked questions about Bayh and pointed out facts that the Indianapolis Lame Stream Media including Matt Tully's Circle Jerk Club will not about our state's newest Senate Candidate:

"At the time of his 2010 decision, Bayh said he was leaving because Congress was dysfunctional and he lost interest in serving:
After all these years, my passion for service to our fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so by serving in Congress has waned,  For some time, I've had a growing conviction that Congress is not operating as it should. There is much too much partisanship and not enough progress. ... Even at a time of enormous national challenge, the people's business is not getting done.
One has to wonder what Bayh saw about how Congress has operated in the last six years to cause him to have renewed faith in the institution.   Further, Evan Bayh does not even live in Indiana.  He is a Washington, D.C. lobbyist who lives in the Georgetown section of that city.  The Washington Business Journal published a story on the Bayh's purchase of a home four-bedroom home on N Street Northwest in March of 2015:
The former Democratic senator from Indiana, now a partner at the K Street office of McGuireWoods, said he would have been just as happy staying in Spring Valley. But with their two kids off to college, the big six-bedroom, Georgia-style brick home was more than the couple needed.
Susan Bayh, her husband said, "just liked the idea of being in the middle of things," including plenty of shopping options. After the sacrifices she made for his political career, the senator figured he could sacrifice for her by moving to Georgetown.
"It's really simple. We have twin sons who went off to college last fall, my wife really wanted to downsize, and we didn't need as much space," Bayh told me in a phone interview. "It's the age-old story. The wife wanted to move. The husband didn't. So we moved."
The couple, which celebrated their 30th anniversary last month, settled on an 1820 Federal that was completely renovated with modern amenities, an old-meets-new "best of both worlds" setup, Bayh said. The home is assessed at $1.4 million, according to the District, and initially hit the market through Washington Fine Properties at nearly $3.2 million. McEnearney Associates represented the Bayhs.
The constitutional requirement for Senate is only that a person running be a resident of the state at the time of the election. So Bayh could move back to Indiana to run for the Senate.  But the problem is that while clearly residing in Washington D.C. and working as a lobbyist in that city, Evan Bayh and his wife has for years (even after Bayh left the Senate) continued to vote in Indiana, claiming that a very modest downtown condo is the family's residence.  Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was prosecuted successfully for a felony based on the allegation that he didn't live at the address he used for voting.  Yet more popular political figures like Democrat Bayh and former Senator Richard Lugar continue to do the exactly same thing without even the slightest concern of being prosecuted.

My guess is that many Democrats will be quite displeased with today's turn of events.  Hill's donors, who could now see their donations transferred to Evan Bayh for use on his campaign, also have an even more particular reason to be angry at these turn of events."   

It is insightful of Paul Ogden to mention how many Democrats will not be pleased by Hill's decision to quit. Since the news broke this morning the INDY REPUBLICAN staff has been hearing of many angry Hill supporters who are extremely irritated at the eleventh hour move by Baron Hill to allow Evan Bayh to run in his place for Senate. Although at this blog we are mostly Republicans having had our share of ups and downs with various politicians throughout our combined 241.297 years of experience in the political arena. We can honestly say that we understand and share the frustration of people who thought they were helping out one candidate only to be gut kicked at the last second to help someone who is repulsive to them! Baron Hill should immediately refund all campaign contributions given to his US Senate Campaign! God knows Bayh doesn't need it! He has only been sitting on a $10 Million war chest forever! Paul Odgen also wrote back in 2010 about Bayh's sudden departure from the political scene.

Forgive us for being more than a little skeptical about the timing of all this. We have heard of suspension of disbelief but for the Indiana Democratic Party elites to ask us to believe that this is all a spur of the moment decision on Bayh's part to run for his old job. They are asking us to suspend insanity as well! We would much easier believe that the spirit of Frank O'Bannon appeared and told him to run than to buy this nonsense!

Paul Ogden also briefly mentions if Bayh even still lives in Indiana. If we are to use the standards applied to Charlie White than we would be compelled to say that Bayh in ineligible to be elected to the Senate from Indiana. But the laws that apply to us mere mortals do not apply to Evan Bayh or "Tricky Dick" Lugar! For an more in depth view of Evan Bayh's problems with Voter Residency we refer our readers to these two exceptional posts written by the master himself the Late Great Gary Welsh and to a Master's Thesis by Bayh's Former Campaign Manager Current Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogssett: