Legislator's Force Hoosier Taxpayers to Pay for Governor Mike "Pampered" Pence's Bicentennial Boondoogle!

We wish we could say we are surprised to find out that Indiana lawmakers decided to fork over the money to take care of former Governor Mike Pence's Pork Barrel Bicentennial Projects! But as we predicted back in January:


If past experience is any indication the legislators including Kenley will probably come up with some other bone-headed plan to take care of former Governor Pence's mistakes!


An article written today by the Associated Press appeared on the Indianapolis Business Journal's website which details the bailing out of Mike Pence's stupidity. The AP writes:


Indiana lawmakers are bailing out the state's former governor, Vice President Mike Pence, after the Republican's efforts to pay for two completed projects celebrating the state's bicentennial foundered.
A provision tucked into the state's next two-year budget, which was approved late last month by the GOP-dominated Legislature, sets aside $5.5 million to pay for an elaborate plaza constructed outside the Statehouse in Indianapolis and upgrades to the state library.
"They did the work, so somebody had to pay for it," said Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, who is one of the state's lead budget writers.


As the AP points out though the bulk of Pence's planned projects have yet to be funded:


Still, funding for the rest of the $53.5 million in projects Pence planned to celebrate Indiana's 200th year has not materialized, including financing for a new state archives building and money to build an inn at northern Indiana's Potato Creek State Park. It's unclear when—or if—the state will move forward with those projects, which have been on hold for more than a year.
Lawmakers were skeptical when Pence first pitched the plan in 2015, with Kenley questioning "if we could afford a bicentennial." Pence won them over after proposing to pay for the projects by leasing out 340 state-owned cellphone towers through a public-private partnership.
But one year later, Pence was still struggling to make his plan work. He even declined an offer of help from Kenley, who proposed shifting money from a revenue stream used to pay for some of Pence's other priorities.


As IR wrote back in January:
Lawmakers agreed to spend tax dollars on these assorted projects because Mike Pence had assured them it would be paid for by leasing excess space on state-owned cell towers. And two years later the state has no cell tower deal. Now the IR staff does not generally handle large scale business transactions. But it seems to all of us that both Pence and the legislators share blame for this. Pence should have at least had some deal ready to cover the costs of these projects in full before proposing this to the legislature. The legislators on the other hand should have made certain that Pence actually had something on the table and wasn't just blowing smoke to get them to agree to another of his half-baked schemes!


AP continues:
Then last September, Pence touted a new 25-year deal with Agile Networks that his administration said would expand high-speed internet access in rural areas, while bringing in $50 million for the state upfront.
But that drew opposition from the state's cable and broadband trade groups, which represent companies such as AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner, because it would've allowed Agile—a competitor—to get a leg up and use the state's fiber network.
Gov. Eric Holcomb, Pence's successor, pulled the plug on the tentative plan shortly after taking office this year.
Rep. Greg Porter, the Democrats' point person on the budget, said Pence was counting on "magic money that didn't appear."
"I knew it was highly suspect because it took so long to develop," said Porter, of Indianapolis. "He planned for a party, had the party and didn't have anybody to pay for it."
A spokesman for Pence did not respond to a request for comment.
Kenley said the agreement with Agile ended up being more complicated than it initially appeared and could have negatively impacted local companies.
"The subject matter was more complicated than we initially expected it to be," he said.
It would have granted extensive control of state property to Agile, which would have been in charge of managing and operating the towers. That could have required competitors to reveal confidential business plans when seeking right-of-way approval from Agile to use state lands.
"On the face of it, it was anti-competitive to my members," said John Koppin, president of the Indiana Broadband and Technology Association, which represents AT&T and CenturyLink, among others.
Kenley and Holcomb said they hope to come up with a workable alternative in the future. In a memo, Holcomb administration officials said that the governor intends to "manage the individual leases on towers ourselves instead of seeking proposals for third-party managers."
They also hope revenues from a new deal will finally fund the projects Pence first proposed.


IR's staffs interest was piqued after reading about the now aborted deal with Agile Networks that would have given them what comes dangerously close to a monopoly over the state of Indiana's cell phone towers. Given what has been revealed about Mike Pence we seriously doubted that he wanted to lease the cell phone towers to Agile Networks for the benefit of Hoosiers. So we decided to do some digging into Agile Networks. It appears that Kyle Quillen, a founder and Chief Technology Officer at Agile had donated money to Mike Pence's Campaign. According to Quillen's bio on Agile's website:


Quillen is a "a nationally recognized leader in the design, engineering and deployment of Data Infrastructure aimed at Economic Development and reducing costs for Government."


Quillen's LinkedIn page says:
He is: "Experienced in Public/Private Partnerships aimed at Broadband Development and Data Infrastructure Building."


Sounds like a polite way of saying that Quillen is also responsible for trying to buy access to government officals in order to help fill his companies coffers! Public/Private Partnerships have become synonymous over the past few decades with legalized influence peddling!


Looks like the local and national media should start looking more closely into Agile Networks relationship with Mike Pence. Especially since Eric Holcomb's administration has stated they hope a new deal will come about that will fully fund Mike Pence's proposed projects! Sounds like "Bagman" Holcomb could have killed the deal with Agile only to be setting up taxpayers with an equally bad if not worse deal!


See below for the record of Mr. Quillen's contribution to Mike Pence in 2016:

Committee Name:	Mike Pence for Indiana	Filing Description:	2016 2nd Quarterly Report
File Number:	6171	Reporting Period:	04/01/2016 - 06/30/2016
Committee Type:	Candidate	Filing Due:	07/15/2016

---

Contributor Type:	Receipt Date:	Amount:	Cumulative Year-To-Date:	Large:	Contribution Type:	Amendment:
Individual	04/22/2016	$500.00		No	Direct	No

Contributor:	Kyle Quillen	Occupation:	Other
	518 Fair Ave. NW
	New Philadelphia, OH 44663

Rush Limbaugh Castrates Mike Pence

Mike Pence (Left) struggling to defend the budget deal to Rush Limbaugh (Right)

We have been getting some feedback lately and some of our readers express the belief that IR has been portraying fake republican former Indiana Governor now Vice President Mike Pence in too positive a light. This has us all scratching our heads. But to assuage our valued readers. We decided to write this post which we hope will once and for all settle any doubts as to IR's feelings towards Mike "Pampered" Pence. On Tuesday May 2nd, 2017. Mike Pence called into the Rush Limbaugh show to try to sell the God awful budget that the House of Representatives had just voted to pass.


Debra Heine of PJMedia.com wrote on May 3rd, 2017 about Vice President Pence's attempt to defend this un defendable budget deal. Ms. Heine writes:

Vice President Mike Pence called into The Rush Limbaugh Show yesterday to defend the budget deal. Right off the bat Limbaugh asked Pence, "Mr. Vice President, why vote Republican?"

What is the point of voting Republican if the Democrats are gonna continue to win practically 95% of their objectives, such as in this last budget deal?

Pence characterized the deal as a "win for the American people," a characterization Limbaugh didn't quite accept.

If I’m the Democrats, $21 billion, $15 billion for defense that was not originally authorized, that’s a small price to pay for continuing to fund refugee resettlement, continuing to fund Planned Parenthood, continuing to fund sanctuary cities, continuing to fund the EPA, and not build the wall. The Democrats clearly think this is a big win, and they’re confident they can block Trump’s agenda after this spending bill for the rest of Trump’s term. There isn’t anything of the president’s agenda in this budget, and people are beginning to ask, when’s that gonna happen? If you’re gonna shut it down in September, why not now? 

As much as all of us here at IR are no longer think very much of Rush Limbaugh. He is absolutely right in asking VP Pence why should the voters vote for republicans if all that winds up happening is that Democrats still get the overwhelming majority of their pet projects funded! Also why would the White House think that having a government shutdown is a reasonable idea in September but not now? This endless water carrying for Washington D.C. insiders only confirms our belief we expressed in a previous post. That Mike Pence is simply a yes-man whose man of the people image is simply a fraud. If this keeps up we predict that Pence has nothing to look forward to except another four or heaven forbid eight years of butthurt to experience trying to sell a load of crap to the American people.


Okay so does this satisfy all the naysayers out there that think we were going to easy on Mike Pence?

                 

Indy Republican Joins the Call to Defeat Blasphemous Bill to End Access to Public Records!

Back in February we published a column about the Indiana Legislature's move toward the goal of eliminating We The People's access to public records. Earlier today fellow blogger and freedom fighter Jon Easter wrote a great post entitled: "Holcomb Should Halt General Assembly Assault on Government Transparency". Urging Governor Eric Holcomb to veto House Bill 1523 the bill that would add a $20 an hour search fee to the public for requesting public records. We here have been following this issue for quite sometime. We had planned on writing about it today anyway. But Jon Easter's well written column helped to spur an even greater sense of urgency among us all to help protect the public's access to public records. For that you have our everlasting thanks Jon! Here is our take on HB 1523. You can read the bill by clicking here.


Kaitlin Lange of the Evansville Courier & Press wrote an article yesterday detailing this issue. Ms. Lange gives information on the bill's present state and gives statements from supporters and opponents of the bill here:


Gov. Eric Holcomb will decide the fate of legislation that would allow units of government to charge up to $20 an hour to  citizens and media representatives seeking public records.
The House on Tuesday voted 63-27 to send House Bill 1523 to the governor. It would allow the hourly charge to kick in for a records search requiring more than two hours of work. The bill previously cleared the Senate on a 44-3 vote.


Bill author Rep. Kathy Richardson, R-Noblesville, said 27 other states and the federal government already allow such fees.




Well Kathy a lot of elevator's play Kenny G music! That doesn't make it right! IR already has a low enough opinion of this bill! Couldn't you at least have come up with a better argument than to say "Well everybody else is doing this!"




Lange continues:


Former Gov. Mike Pence vetoed a similar measure two years ago, saying "the cost of public records should never be a barrier to the public’s right to know."


The governor has the option of vetoing the bill, signing it into law or allowing it to become law without his signature.
Those opposed to the bill say that people already pay taxes and should not have to pay again to get access to public records.
“It’s the taxpayer’s property," argued Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington.
The Indiana Coalition for Open Government and Indiana Pro Society of Professional Journalists also issued statements against the legislation, saying it could make it “cost prohibitive” for both journalists and concerned citizens to find out how their tax money is being spent and hold elected officials accountable.
“Government employees could deliberately drag their feet on such requests, racking up exorbitant charges to produce records the taxpaying public already paid for in the first place, either to shut down requests or deter them in the future,” SPJ said in a  statement.
Those in support of the bill said fulfilling the large amount of records requests that are filed can be time consuming for public agencies.
Rep. Karen Englemen, R-Corydon, said she saw this firsthand as former Harrison County auditor.
“Some people come in and ask for hours and hours of research to be done,” Engleman said. “We don’t get paid anything for doing that.”
The legislation heads to the governor a month after Indiana was ranked the No. 1 state for budget transparency and government administration.


Mike Pence's decision to veto this bills dad two years ago is probably the only good decision that he made while he was Governor. We agree completely with State Rep Matt Pierce-D when he states that public records are taxpayers property and hence we should not be charged a fee to examine our own property. You go Matt Pierce! We were so impressed by the Indiana Coalition for Open Government and the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists strong support for freedom of information that we have added them to our list of Pro-Freedom Sites! They are right on when they say: “Government employees could deliberately drag their feet on such requests, racking up exorbitant charges to produce records the taxpaying public already paid for in the first place, either to shut down requests or deter them in the future.” We have news for all of you government employees in this state already drag their feet on public records requests. The biggest problem with this bill is that we would then be paying them more to screw us over!


Fake Republican State Rep Karen Engleman's statement that based off her experiences as Harrison County Auditor gives her lame ass excuse to make taxpayers take it up the rear is laughable. Engleman says: “Some people come in and ask for hours and hours of research to be done,” “We don’t get paid anything for doing that.” So what in the hell are you paid to do then? We know that it is a major annoyance for you and your soulless friends to actually do their jobs and provide the public with their own records! You guys are supposed to make things easier for the people! We are not supposed to make your lives better! Karen if doing your job really sucks then our advice is that you quit!


As for Indiana having been ranked the best state in the nation for budget transparency and government administration see our earlier article last month here that shows why anybody who believes that needs to seek help for drug addiction! The overwhelming bipartisian backing for HB 1523 is proof enough that our state legislature is so bad it smells worse than the outhouse outside a White Castle!










This is to our knowledge the first article we have ever read of Ms. Lange's and we must say we are all very impressed with her work. Please contact Ms. Lange and let her know you appreciate her talent! She can be reached at (812) 549-1429. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange


The Indianapolis Business Journal also ran an article by the Associated Press which contains some more information on the legislatures blatant attempt to crush the voters.


IBJ's story includes these kernels of knowledge:


The bill requires a "good faith effort" to complete the search within a reasonable amount of time but does not set out who would audit agencies or hold them accountable. State law currently prohibits public agencies from charging a fee to search for, examine or review a record to determine whether it can be disclosed. Opponents say concerned citizens should not have to pay to access public records.
Supporters of the hourly fee argue government agencies can be bogged down by large requests and that compensation would help to alleviate the burden on government resources.
This bill also requires public agencies to provide electronic copies if they are requested and already exist. It does not require the agency to change the format of the public record.


It comes as no surprise that the legislation does not spell out what a "good faith effort" is on the part of government agencies. So that portion of the bill is completely useless! Since state law currently bans public agencies from charging a fee to search for records. Why should it be changed now? The traitorous lawmakers who support this are being less than honest when they say this is to help ease the strain on government resources. Most Indiana lawmakers have had no problem burdening us with the screw-ups of FSSA, the BMV, DWD, and DCS! Speaking of DCS any word on when the tragic death of Tajanay Bailey and DCS's handling of that case will ever be investigated? It's only been about a decade since she died! So don't give us this crap that you guys give a damn about burdening people!


It is time to say enough is enough! We all must contact Governor Holcomb's office and tell him to veto this bill! Contact his office and tell him that if he signs this or any other bill like this one that you will recruit a real republican to challenge him in the primary. And also tell him if that fails that you will vote for whoever the Democrats nominate to oppose him should he run for Governor again!


We will provide below Governor Holcomb's contact information as well as how to get ahold of the Indiana Coalition for Open Government and the ISPJ. Don't just call, email, tweet, or facebook post or message, or send a signing telegram to  Governor Holcomb about this! Post, Call, Email, Voicemail, tweet, write him every five minutes! Send so many messages that his email, voicemail, twitter feed, and facebook starts begging you to stop! And then just keep piling on! Don't let up! Our freedom is at stake! Now get to work making some calls our friends!


Governor Eric Holcomb Contact Information:

Governor Eric Holcomb

Twitter

https://twitter.com/govholcomb

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/GovHolcomb/

Phone:
317-232-4567


Mail:
Office of the Governor
Statehouse
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2797


Email form link for Governor Holcomb:
http://www.in.gov/gov/2752.htm


Indiana Coalition for Open Government:
http://indianacog.org/


Indy Pro Society of Professional Journalists:
http://www.indyprospj.org/




Spread these statements all over the internet!


http://indianacog.org/icog-news/icogs-opposition-hb1523-gov-holcomb-must-veto/


http://www.indyprospj.org/news/2017/4/3/statement-on-senate-bill-1523


http://www.indianaforefront.com/bad-bills-never-die/

Marion County Republican Chairman Jim Merritt Blows Smoke at Matt Tully

Vacation was outstanding. But know time to get down to business. In a previous blog post we brought you the story about RINO State Senator Jim Merritt was seeking to run ruin the Marion County Republican Party by seeking election as it's chairman. Since that time as we expected Merritt has been successful at becoming Marion County GOP Chairman. He recently sat down with our most hated establishment flunky Matt Tully to spout nonsense about how he will revive the Republican Party in Marion County. Tully writes:

Marion County Republican Chairman Jim Merritt

Jim Merritt understands the task he’s taken on. It’s a tough one. Politically speaking, it doesn’t get much more daunting than this.
Merritt, the longtime state senator from Indy's northeast side, recently won his bid to become the new chairman of the Marion County Republican Party.


 Republicans have been swamped in every countywide election in recent years. They control none of the major offices in a city that has tilted more and more heavily to the Democratic side in recent years. Hillary Clinton won the county by 82,000 votes last year. Mayor Joe Hogsett won 62 percent of the vote in 2015, joining a long list of Democrats who have won big here in recent years. The GOP has lagged badly on fundraising.


"Ass Kisser" Tully quotes Merritt as saying:


“The Republican Party is in limbo in Marion County,” Merritt said. “We have to improve ourselves. I wouldn’t want to invest in the Republican Party locally right now.”
But he did, adding county chairman to his gig at the state Senate, where he has been a powerful voice on issues such as hunger and opioid addiction in recent years. He says he has to start “with the basics, the blocking and tackling of politics” as party chairman, recruiting new precinct workers and raising money. But then the party must focus on doing a better job of offering ideas and an “urban Republican model” that can appeal to more people.

“We have to show people that we can challenge Democrats and lead the county on tough issues,” he said. “In Indianapolis, we cannot be the party of ‘no.’ Not this time. This city obviously has crime problems, fiscal problems, infrastructure problems. There’s an opportunity to show that a Republican model of a big city can work.”
Unlike in many larger cities, Republicans at least don’t have to go too far back in history to find big moments of success. Former Mayor Greg Ballard won a surprise victory in 2007 and then cruised to re-election four years later. Former Gov. Mitch Daniels, elected in 2004 and 2008, won the county big. Those two men, known for running pragmatic, idea-driven administrations that didn’t get caught up on social issues and appealed to voters from both parties, have provided the road map for success in a big city, Merritt argues.
“We’ve got to be about having a broader appeal,” he said.


As evidence of that, Daniels won the county by almost 50,000 votes in 2008 after running, in large part, on a message of government efficiency, thinking bigger and making Indiana more attractive to employers. Four years later, fellow Republican Mike Pence, with his well-established position as a socially conservative leader, lost the county by 80,000 votes. That 130,000-vote swing tells you a lot about what kind of Republican can sell in Indianapolis.


The above paragraphs shows why under Jim Merritt the Democrats are in no danger of losing their dominance in Marion County. If anything the Marion County GOP will only continue to shrink. It's true that Greg Ballard was elected as Indianapolis Mayor twice and both times Mitch Daniels ran he carried Marion County. The problem is that Daniels was running against very weak opponents. That is the only reason he carried Marion County. In 2012 and 2016 both times the Republican Gubenatorial Candidate lost Marion County by large margins. Mike Pence did better in Lake County than he did in Marion and there are no republicans in Lake County! Ballard only won in 2007 because Bart Peterson was stupid enough to shoot himself in the foot prior to the election by pushing to raise Indianapolis's property taxes. In 2011 he narrowly won reelection against a very weak opponent. So citing Daniels and Ballard as a way for republicans to regain ground in Indianapolis is not a good suggestion. The baseline republican vote in Marion County is around 40% and that seems to be dropping each election. Greg Ballard is not very well liked by rank-and-file republicans due to his nonstop taxing and spending, his hostility to gun owners, and his turning the keys to Indianapolis over to the establishment hacks in both parties.




Merritt is moving the county party out of its standalone location and into the state party headquarters, a cost-cutting move but also one he hopes will help the local party better coordinate with a state organization that has won a solid string of elections in recent years. He believes he has a better chance of growing the party locally with the election of Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican who has won praise across party lines.


He is focusing on local races in 2018 and helping current GOP council members better get the word out on their initiatives. He is already scouting for 2019 mayoral candidates, but he knows the party must improve its infrastructure in order to attract a top nominee. Above all, Merritt said, the party must market itself as a force trying to improve the community by offering smart ideas on core city issues.
“If we do our job and add solid people to the organization and support a broad range of candidates, we have a chance,” he said. “Greg Ballard proved it, and that wasn’t so long ago. We have a chance to win in this county. But we have to give people a reason to want to be Republicans.”


Why Merritt thinks that Eric Holcomb will be able to help rebuild the Marion County GOP is beyond us. If the above photograph of Merritt is any indicator than it would seem likely that Merritt just has no damn clue what the hell he is doing! He looks like his brain is struggling to deal with his own stupidity! Holcomb lost Marion County by a large margin last year in his race for Governor. And years ago when Holcomb was the State Republican Chairman he did less than nothing to help out the Marion County GOP.  Holcomb seems like the person to go to if you want to mess things up in Indianapolis! Merritt is the last person who should be speaking about building the party up. He is one of the insiders that tried to defeat Christine Scales in the 2015 Primary and was probably a factor in her leaving the Republican Party. If Matt Tully had any brains he would have asked Jim Merritt for specifics on how he intends to fix the GOP. But he won't because that would cost him points with the members of his circle jerk club! Time will tell but so far there is no reason for us to believe that Merritt will do anything other than to continue turning the Marion County GOP into a wholly owned subsidiary of the Marion County Democratic Party.

Mike Pence Weasel, Liar and Slave to Washington!

Good Evening. Hope everyone is taking it easy and trying not to get to sucked into the craziness out there. As you all know by now. The IR team are not supporters of former Indiana Governor now Vice President Mike Pence. You may recall our recent blog post about his email scandal.  We all have been chided by many of our fellow republicans for saying that Mike Pence is nothing more than an opportunistic clod. Given Mr. Pence's conduct over the past week or so in regards to his unsuccessful attempt to "persuade" many of his former congressional colleagues to sell out there principles and support the American Health Care Act, aka AHCA, aka RyanCare, aka TrumpCare/ObamaCare Lite. We feel more than vindicated in our assessment of Mike Pence as a man and as a politician. Over at Redstate.com Jim Jamits has written an article critical of Vice President Pence titled "Never Trust Anyone Who Asks You to ‘Take One for the Team’"


Jamitis writes:


As someone who used to have high hopes for what Vice President Mike Pence might do for the conservative movement and who never got on board the Trump train, I wasn’t thrilled that Pence enthusiastically became Trump’s running mate. I had mixed feelings.
Part of me said that it’s good someone like Pence would have Trump’s ear, but another part wondered whether I had been wrong about Pence from the beginning. How could a solid ideological conservative submit to a guy like Trump?
Some of the anecdotes reported in the wake of the AHCA failure make me think Pence is just another Washington insider driven by politics instead of principle. Politico Magazine describes how the Freedom Caucus and their policy concerns were treated by the White House.


Quoting from Politico Jamitis says:


They hoped for a meeting with Trump and an opportunity to negotiate some major policy changes directly with him. Instead, they found themselves hauled into the less-than-inspiring Executive Office Building for a pep rally with Vice President Mike Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus, Bannon, and other members of Trump’s inner circle—but not the president himself. (As an aside, it’s impossible to ignore the failure of Pence, Price and Mulvaney, three former conservative darlings while in the Congress, to sell more of their ideological brethren on this bill.)


Jamitis responds to Politico by stating:


It’s impossible to ignore the failure because for the Freedom Caucus it was probably impossible to ignore the the defection of these men to the cult of Trump. They had abandoned their principled roots for a seat at the table of power.


The incident paints a picture of Pence as just another cynical Washington horse trader trying to score the political win even if it meant arbitrarily discarding the notion of actually repealing Obamacare.


Quoting again from Politico:


Members of the Freedom Caucus realized right away that there would be no negotiating. Pence tried to pump up the conservatives, telling them the fight was theirs to win and that they needed to help Trump and Ryan score a victory for the new administration. The plea landed on deaf ears. “Take one for the team” was a phrase repeatedly deployed; [Emphasis added]


Jamitis offers these parting thoughts about Pence's attempt at negotiating with strong arming his fellow republicans into doing the will of his D.C. masters:


In the GOP, being asked—or told—to “take one for the team” means two things. One, you are not really considered part of the “team,” and therefore your only value is as cannon fodder or as a scapegoat. Two, your values, principles, and campaign promises are worth spit to whomever is asking you. Only your vote matters and you should expect no reward from the team for selling it to them cheaply.


In theory, making a sacrifice for the good of something bigger than yourself can be a noble act, but when asked to compromise your principles for a dubious good, follow your instincts and not the crowd.


After a lifetime of working and being active in the republican party. We are in agreement with Mr. Jamitis's view of what "taking one for the team" really mean in the world of politics. What Jim Jamitis and many others many not quite realize is that Mike Pence doesn't have any principles! Of course the Indianapolis media's refusal to actually point out the truth about Pence probably explains a lot as to why so many people have such an unrealistic view of Pence. Dan Carden of the Northwest Indiana Times pointed out last year on twitter that Mike Pence had stated on his 2011 tax return that he and his wife Karen lived in Arlington, Virginia back when he was getting ready to run for Governor:

	Dan Carden @nwi_DanCarden
@KyleBabcock @indysentinel Oh hey, look who said he lived in Arlington, Va. in 2012 while running for Ind. governor pic.twitter.com/OHTakUWwDz 7:34 PM - 10 Sep 2016 Twitter by: Dan Carden @nwi_DanCarden This is interesting because Article V, Section VII of the Indiana Constitution states: Section 7. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, who shall not have been five years a citizen of the United States, and also a resident of the State of Indiana during the five years next preceding his election; nor shall any person be eligible to either of the said offices, who shall not have attained the age of thirty years. So how could Mike Pence meet the eligibility requirements to be Governor if as he stated on his 2011 Income Tax Return that he and his wife lived in Virginia? As all taxpayers are aware the address you put down on your Income Tax Return is supposed to be the address at which you are currently residing when you file taxes. Former Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was crucified by the Indiana political, media and legal establishment because they allege that he voted in the wrong voter precinct one time! So using the standard applied to Charlie White former Governor Pence should have some awkward questions to answer! It is amazing to all of us that the Hillary Clinton campaign didn't do more opposition research on Pence during last years presidential race. No doubt Indiana and National Democrats have this and other information to use against Pence should he ever decide to run for President. We are all grateful that some of our fellow conservatives and republicans are waking up and seeing that Mike Pence is not our friend. Pence is nothing but a scheming little weasel that the republican party should toss out on his ass! We here at IR in the meantime are more than happy to see "Pampered Pence" be used as a piñata for frustrated republicans! Hope you enjoy being a global joke Mike! Here is Mike Pence's real self!:

Oops! Mike Pence Did It As Well! The Day Mike Pence Became Hillary Clinton!

MIKE PENCE AS HILLARY CLINTON

Greetings Brother and Sister rabble rousers! As we have previously pointed out on this blog. The late great Gary Welsh compared Mike Pence with Rod Blagojevich. A belief we all share here at IR. But we never thought that we would ever be lumping Mike Pence in with Hillary Clinton but we believe that is a fair and accurate assessment of Pence given his ongoing email scandal and the fact that he used a private AOL email account to conduct state business on. We can all recall how former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton email scandal during her time running the State Department. Mike Pence's email scandal is a long and sordid tale, but it is one that must be told.  Miss Hussein is one of the only great reporters  remaining at the Langley controlled "Pravda Indianapolis"  Indianapolis Star. As some of you are aware Mike Pence has been fighting since last year to keep many of his emails he sent while he was governor a secret from we the people. Starting with Fatima Hussein's February 27th, 2016 article Ms. Hussein writes:




Vice President Mike Pence continued to fight to keep secret a political white paper emailed to him while he was Indiana governor, petitioning the Indiana Supreme Court not to review a public records denial for the controversial papers.
If opened, the communications could reveal a slew of Republican political strategies that Pence and dozens of other U.S. governors devised to fight former President Barack Obama and an executive order of his concerning immigration.
If the justices take the case, the court also could redefine the bounds of open, public communication for Indiana's executive office.



The case stems from a public records request made in December 2014 by Indianapolis attorney William Groth, a Democrat, who was gathering information about the former Republican governor's use of outside counsel for the immigration litigation and its cost to Indiana taxpayers.
Pence produced the requested emails “but those documents included substantial redaction,” including a white paper the governor failed to produce, according to court records.


The white paper in question contains legal theories used by many governors in their decision to join State of Texas et al v. United States of America, which challenged the Obama administration's executive order regarding immigration.
After Groth filed suit in Marion County Superior Court, a judge ruled in favor of Pence, saying the redactions the administration made to the public record were "proper."


This January, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that Groth does not have the right to view the political white paper, but disagreed with the governor's contention that it would violate the separation of powers doctrine for the judiciary to second guess the redactions.


That was an important finding to advocates of government transparency, who feared a Pence victory in the suit could set a broader precedent that would embolden future governors to refuse to disclose or heavily redact public documents with no court oversight.
Earlier this month, Groth petitioned the Indiana Supreme Court to take up the case.
Indianapolis attorney Greg Bowes filed the 19-page petition on behalf of Groth claiming the appeals court erred in determining that the white paper did not have to be released because it was "deliberative material" for the purpose of preparing for litigation.
Groth is arguing the Court of Appeals improperly applied the attorney-client relationship doctrine because the white paper was emailed to a wide range of people outside of the attorney-client relationship. He is also asking the court whether the court of appeals improperly created a "deliberative materials exception" to state public records.


Calling Groth's lawsuit "unfounded" in court documents, Joseph Chapelle, Pence's attorney from Indianapolis law firm Barnes & Thornburg, last week filed the 30-page response.


Chapelle told IndyStar that the appellate court majority’s decision should stand and that if the Supreme Court takes on the case, "it will be an opportunity for the court to clarify the separation of powers doctrine."
In the latest court documents, Chapelle maintains that Pence will use executive privilege as a defense in the future. "There are policy reasons for executive privilege," Chapelle said.
Groth told IndyStar Sunday that he wants to see transparency in government.
"Hoosiers are entitled to and should continue to demand more, rather than less, openness from all governmental officials, but especially from their governor," he said


The fact that Pence has an attorney from Barnes and Thornburg handling this situation is enough to make us think Pence is terrified of these emails being publicly released. Longtime readers of Advance Indiana and Ogden on Politics will recognize the name Barnes and Thornburg. They are the law firm that has represented the state in the FSSA Privatization debacle, also they fought like hell trying to save former US Senator Dick Lugar's butt! Word is that they went so far as to get WXIN the Fox affiliate in Indianapolis to spike a story about Lugar's residency issue that the station had planned to air in 2011 click here to read Paul Ogden's recounting of that incident. Other nefarious individuals associated with B&T over the years have included: Former Marion County Prosecutor Scott Newman and Democratic State Rep. Ed "Why Did I meet with some mysterious person in a Parking Lot" Delaney.  We are especially curious as to what Mr. Chapelle's reasoning is behind his claim that "There are policy reasons for executive privilege." That Pence is claiming as to why these emails shouldn't be released. For what policy is Chapelle referring to? And what policy could possible trump our right to know what Mike Pence was doing with the taxpayers money? This sounds a little to much like Nixon's bullshit claim of executive privilege during the Watergate Scandal!


Ms. Hussein wrote in her November 21, 2016 "Pence's legal team argues to keep emails secret":


"The statute (Indiana Access to Public Records Act) itself cannot get into the governor's personal papers," said Joseph Chappelle, Pence's attorney, from the Indiana law firm Barnes & Thornburg, referring to the legal bounds of the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.
Legally, the burden is on the governor to prove the documents are protected from public purview.


What we are curious about is if these were Mike Pence's "personal papers" as his lawyer says they are then why did he email them to 30 or so different people in several different states? Since it is Pence's job to show why these documents in question should be shielded from public purview it is reasonable to assume that he would not have sent such sensitive information to over two dozens parties! So either he believed they were sensitive at the time and chose to brazenly send them out to 30 people. Or more likely in as we believe he only adopted the stance that these emails should be kept secret when Mr. Groth asked for them. It is true that Pence's office had large amounts of his AOL emails that he sent out turned over to now Governor Eric Holcomb's office recently after he was called out on the carpet. But Pence's continued pursuit of keeping some of his official emails secret inspires no confidence in him. Pence might as well put on a blonde wig and a blue woman's business suit. Based off of his lack of transparency with his official emails the verdict is in. Mike Pence is now Hillary Clinton.


Update: WISH-TV has a story about Mike Pence defending his use of a private email account for state business. As usual his Propaganda Minister Spokesman Marc Lotter talks about how great his boss Mike Pence is. Click here and here for our past posts about Lying Marc Lotter.

Indiana Legislature Seeks to End Access to Public Records

If Hoosiers needed anymore proof that the Indiana State Legislature is the absolute worst in the United States. Then look no further than Tony Cook's article entitled: "Should you have to pay $20 an hour for a public records search?". Cook's article first published in the Indianapolis Star on February 17th, 2016 is in reference to the attempt by a large number of Indiana lawmakers to make access to public records even more difficult.







Cook writes:


"The cost to access public records could rise sharply under a bill the Indiana House approved Thursday.
House Bill 1523 would allow state and local governments to charge up to $20 an hour for public record searches. Those fees would apply when government officials spend more than two hours searching for a record requested by journalists or members of the public.
The House voted 62-25 in favor of the measure. It now goes to the Senate.
Lawmakers passed a similar measure in 2015, but then-Gov. Mike Pence vetoed it, saying "the cost of public records should never be a barrier to the public’s right to know."

Rep. Kathy Richardson, the Noblesville Republican who introduced the bill this year, said 27 other states and the federal government allow similar fees to address the costs of fulfilling large public information requests.
Her colleague, Rep. Karen Engleman, said that as a former Harrison County auditor, record requests could consume a lot of staff time.
“Some people come in and ask for hours and hours of research to be done,” Engleman said. “We don’t get paid anything for doing that.”


Opponents argued that citizens shouldn’t be required to pay for records created and maintained with their own tax money. They also fear the measure could allow government agencies to charge large fees for information they want to hide.
“I just think as a matter of principle these records belong to the taxpayers. Government records are the people’s records. The employees in whatever level of government are paid for by the taxpayers. They are our employees. They work for us,” said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington. “To have to come in and pay to get access to your records I just think is not a good principle, not a good policy.”
He cited a case in Florida where a county sheriff’s office charged a newspaper $339,000 for a request seeking emails containing gay slurs. Other counties quoted as little as $37 for the same request.
“I think you’re going to open it up to where people come in that are looking for stuff the government doesn’t want them to see, they’re going to get a really high fee,” Pierce said.
State law currently allows local governments and most state agencies to charge a fee for actual copying costs, but not for the time employees spend gathering records."



As the article notes a bill just like this one did pass in 2015. But in perhaps the only good move that Mike "Pampered" Pence made while he was Governor he vetoed this insane piece of legislation. Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden have both blogged on this their articles can be found here, here, here, and here. This bill is nothing more than politicians attempting to shield themselves from being held accountable by the voters that they are supposed to be the servants of! So that you know who is looking out for you and who is only seeking to protect themselves from we the people. We have provided below the names of the legislators so far that have supported and opposed this bill. If you want to do your best to make a difference contact each and every legislator by phone, email, mail, and fax and tell them you want this bill HB 1523 destroyed! Make them fear you the voter! As promised here are the traitors who have voted for this garbage already also listed are the patriots that voted against this bill:


Judases who have voted for HB 1523:
Authors of this POS:


Rep. Kathy Richardson-RINO, Noblesville. Email: courtney.heiden@iga.in.gov
Rep. Phillip GiaQunita-D, Fort Wayne. Click here to contact him.
Rep. Karen Engleman-RINO, Corydon. Click here to contact her.
Rep. Kevin Mahan-RINO, Hartford City. Click here to contact him.                                     

 Other Representatives who voted for HB1523:

Arnold, Llyod-RINO  

Bacon, Ron-RINO   

Baird, Jim-RINO   

Beumer, Greg-RINO   

Borders, Bruce-RINO  

Braun, Mike-RINO 

Brown, Tim-RINO  

Burton, Woody-RINO, Johnson County  

Carbaugh, Martin-RINO   

Cherry, Don-RINO  

Clere , Ed-RINO  

Cook, Tony-RINO (Not INDYSTAR Tony Cook)  

Culver, Wes-RINO  

Davisson, Steve-RINO  

Eberhart, Sean-RINO  

Ellington, Jeff-RINO 

Friend, Bill-RINO

Frye, Randy-RINO

Gutwein, Douglas-RINO

Hamm, Dick-RINO

Heaton, Bob-RINO

Heine, David-RINO

Huston, Todd-RINO

Jordan, Jack-RINO

Judy, Christopher-RINO

Kerickhoff, Cindy-RINO

Klinker, Shelia-D

Lawson, Linda-D

Lehe, Don-RINO

Lehman, Matt-RINO

Leonard, Dan-RINO

Lucas, Jim-RINO

Lyness, Randy-RINO

May, Chris-RINO

Mayfield, Peggy-RINO

McNamara, Wendy-RINO

Miller, Doug-RINO

Morris, Bob-RINO

Negele, Sharon-RINO

Nisly, Curt-RINO

Ober, David-RINO

Olthoff, Julie-RINO

Pressel, Jim-RINO

Siegrist, Sally-RINO

Slager, Hal-RINO

Smaltz, Ben-RINO

Smith, Milo-RINO

Soliday, Ed-RINO

Stemler, Steven-D

Steurwald, Greg-RINO

Sullivan, Holli-RINO

Thompson, Jeff-RINO

VanNatter, Heath-RINO

Washburne, Thomas-RINO

Wesco, Timothy-RINO

Young, John-RINO

Ziemke, Cindy-RINO

Representatives that voted against HB 1523:

Austin, Terri-D 

Bartlett, John-D 

Brown, Charlie-D  

Candelaria Reardon, Maria-D 

DeLaney, Ed-D 

Dvorak, Ryan-D

Errington, Sue-D

Forestal, Dan-D


Goodin, Terry-D


Hamilton, Carey-D

Harris, Earl-D

Hatfield, Ryan-D

Kersey, Clyde-D

Macer, Karlee-D

Moed, Justin-D

Morrison, Alan-Real Republican

Moseley, Chuck-D

Pelath, Scott-D

Pierce, Matt-D

Porter, Gregory-D

Pryor, Cherirsh-D

Shackleford, Robin-D

Summers, Vanessa-D

Taylor, Joe-D

Wright, Melanie-D

             

                            



RINO Jim Merritt seeks to be Marion County GOP Chairman another reason why the Marion County GOP is Screwed!

It seems that the Marion County Republican Establishment has learned nothing from losing their greatest officeholder Indianapolis City-County Councilor Christine Scales! Word is out that Democratic Republican State Senator Jim Merritt has decided he is the cure for what ails the Marion County GOP. So he has decided to bestow upon them his great gifts be seeking to be their next chairman. Today's issue of the Indianapolis Business Journal has an article about Merritt's run for County Chairman:


State Sen. Jim Merritt is throwing his hat into the ring to become chairman of the Marion County Republican Party.
Merritt told IBJ that he “holds the party pretty close to my heart” and said his focus issues in the state Legislature—including poverty, hunger and addiction—are “ideally suited for Marion County and the urban Republican model.”
“If we don’t reach out to those addicted to drugs, those who are hungry, those who have vacant homes on their block, we are not doing our duty,” Merritt said. “I think the GOP should stand for community.”
Others are also expected to seek the leadership spot. A new chairman will be selected March 4 as part of the Marion County Republican Central Committee reorganization process.


IR has does not yet at this time have any information about any other candidates running for the chairman's position. Merritt may have ambitions beyond just being the new county chairman the article continues:


Many Republicans insiders believed that Merritt would run against Democrat Joe Hogsett, in the mayor's race in 2015, but he did not enter the GOP primary. The Republican candidate, businessman Chuck Brewer, ended up losing to Hogsett.
Democrats currently control the City-County Council, with 14 seats compared to Republicans’ 11 seats. Republican council member Christine Scales defected to become a Democrat this week.
Merritt, who represents portions of Marion and Hamilton counties as a state senator, said he believes "Republicans can win in Marion County with good organization.”


“We’re going to work on the grassroots,” Merritt said. “We’re going to work on raising money and working on communications and messaging. I think I can provide the leadership."
Merritt is seeking to replace Council Minority Leader Mike McQuillen, who led the party on a temporary basis until announcing he would step down this week.
"I believe that there is much work to do in my role as minority leader of the City-County Council, working with our Republican councillors to move the needle on thoughtful policy, hold the mayor accountable to the people, and prepare for 2019,” McQuillen said in a statement.
Asked if Merritt would be interested in running against Hogsett in 2019, he said he is focused on “reviving the party.”
“We’re not going to win the mayor’s office if we don’t have a strong party,” Merritt told IBJ.
Merritt said he counts on others running for the seat and that he will be working on a “full-throated plan of what I plan on doing in leading the party.”


A few thought come to mind. For one when Merritt says he is going to "work on the grassroots". We are all scratching our heads trying to figure out if there is any grass where this man walks. It is also beyond laughable the idea that Merritt could beat Hogsett in 2019! He is correct when he states that they will not win the mayor's office without a strong party. Merritt however does not have the intelligence, drive or leadership to rebuild the Marion County Republican Party. Writing on his blog a few years back the late, great Gary Welsh had this to say about Jim Merritt:


Readers should know a couple of things about Merritt. He is behind the cabal of good ole boys who drafted Tim Craft to move into Councilor Christine Scales' new third district and run against her in the Republican primary next year. He approved of the same council Republicans who never asked Lincoln Plowman to resign or leave the caucus after being indicted for taking a bribe from an undercover FBI agent booting Scales from the Republican caucus because of her conservative and independent streak. Former Chief of Staff Ryan Vaughn liked to copy Merritt on e-mails deriding Scales for putting her constituents ahead of their petty politics. Merritt would reply approvingly to Vaughn's cutting e-mails of Scales. Secondly, Merritt lobbied hard for the bone-headed decision to locate the Regional Operations Center at Alex Carroll's Eastgate Mall property despite the legitimate misgivings former Public Safety Director Frank Straub had with using that location. Know the man before you jump to support him.


All of us have only this to say. If the above mentioned facts by Gary Welsh about Merritt are any indication of his style of leadership. Then the hell with it! We will have no part of his faux brand of Republicanism!


For further reading:
http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2014/11/star-claims-exclusive-on-ballard-not.html

Marion County GOP pushes Christine Scales away

Christine Scales




Yesterday Indianapolis City-County Councilor Christine Scales announced on Facebook that she was leaving the Republican Party to become a Democrat. We here at IR have for many years supported Christine Scales and we all will continue to do so regardless of her party switch. We previously have mentioned the inept leadership of the Marion County Republican Party under former Mayor "Boss Greg" Ballard and current fellow RINO Traitor Mike McQuillen. Although we here are all very sorry that Councilor Scales has left the Grand Old Party. We certainly can sympathize with her decision to leave. She was treated abysmally by the apparatchiks that pass themselves off as republicans when real republicans like Paul Ogden, Christine Scales and the late great Gary Welsh are treated as pariahs for holding the parties officials accountable. As for ourselves we all have been Republicans for many decades. We will agitate for reform until we leave this world. The Republican Party of Marion County and of Indiana is not and has not been worthy of laying claim to the historic conservative and libertarian principles of the GOP for many years. There have been some positive developments such as the ousting of former US Senator Dick "Carpetbagger" Lugar in 2012 and the refusal of former Mayor Greg Ballard to run for a third term in 2015. But there is still a long way to go to reclaiming the Grand Old Party in the Hoosier state. As we have pointed out the state house republicans wish to raise our state gas tax, and continue to fund projects of dubious value such as the previously mentioned bicentennial projects that were started by former Governor and now Vice President Mike Pence. Along with shielding our state legislators emails from we the people. Former Governors Mitch Daniels, Mike Pence and now current Governor Eric Holcomb have all ran on making state government more transparent but have increased the secrecy surrounding government immensely. Former Governor Pence went as far as to push to keep his emails a secret and so far Eric Holcomb has shown no willingness to rollback previous administrations secrecy. If newly elected State GOP Chairman Kyle Hupfer so desires he can order a long needed overhaul of the Marion County Republican Party structure. Until the State Republican Party returns to its historic roots of limited government, opposing pay-to-play schemes, obeying the rule of law, and not blindly following ever yahoo that runs with an R after their name they will continue their deserved decline! If it must come to the point where the State GOP is reduced to rubble. So be it. All us true republicans will be there to rebuild and reclaim our parties heritage. Godspeed Christine Scales! And to all our fellow brothers and sisters in arms! In the words of the savior: "Let not your heart be troubled." John 14:1 also remember "Blessed are you who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10

Paul Ogden of Ogden on Politics fame and our colleague on the left and still the undisputed king of Indiana Democratic Bloggers Jon Easter have both written about Christine Scales Party switch. The links to their pieces are below:



Republican Indianapolis City Councilor becomes a Democrat:
http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2017/02/local-indianapolis-republican-councilor.html

Jon Easters post on Christine Scales party switch:

http://indydemocrat.blogspot.com/2017/02/scales-makes-big-switch.html

Political Hack Jim Atterholt is begging for his old job back ruining the State Utility Commission

Just like a bad slasher film villain who just does not know when to quit. Soon to be former Chief of Staff to outgoing Governor Mike Pence thinks he should be allowed another chance to screw up the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC). John Russell of the Indianapolis Business Journal has the story:

Jim Atterholt


Gov. Mike Pence’s chief of staff, who will lose his job when Pence leaves office on Monday, is seeking to return to the five-member state commission that oversees utilities.


Jim Atterholt confirmed Thursday he has applied for an opening on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, where he served from 2009 to 2014—the last four years as chairman.
During his previous term as chairman, Atterholt was given the job of cleaning up the commission following the messy tenure of his predecessor, David Lott Hardy.
Hardy was accused of failing to disclose several secret meetings with Duke Energy executives concerning cost overruns at the company’s Edwardsport plant and of helping the agency’s top lawyer break ethics laws. He was charged with four felony counts for official misconduct, but the charges were later dismissed.
The IURC is a powerful agency that regulates $14 billion worth of electric, natural gas, telecommunications, steam, water and sewer utilities. It approves utility projects and determines how much utilities can charge customers.
The commission has an opening due to the retirement of Chairwoman Carol Stephan, who stepped down Jan. 1 after 2-½ years.
“I have submitted my application to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission Nominating Committee to fill the remainder of Carol's term,” Atterholt told IBJ in an email. “Governor-elect Holcomb will determine who will serve as chair of the commission.”
Prior to joining the IURC in 2009, Atterholt was the Indiana insurance commissioner for more than four years. He previously worked as director of government affairs for AT&T-Indiana and spent two terms as a Republican member of the Indiana House of Representatives
It’s unclear how much competition Atterholt will have in his bid to get his old job back. The process to fill openings on the IURC is cumbersome, with applicants required to submit letters of interest to a nominating committee, which selects candidates to interview and then recommends three finalists to the governor, who picks the winner.
The nominating committee has not yet released the names of other interested candidates.


Interestingly the article declines to mention Atterholt's sordid and unethical history at running both the Indiana Department of Insurance and also his time at IURC. Especially considering that John Russell reported on Atterholt's issue at the IURC back in a 2011 article he wrote for the Indianapolis Star! At the time both Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden both reported on Atterholt's unusually close relationship with Duke Energy. Which was the problem his predecessor David Lott Hardy had and was the reason why Hardy was forced out and Atterholt put in Hardy's place! Gary Welsh and Paul Ogden's pieces on Atterholt and the IURC can be found here and here. As for his conduct as head of the Department of Insurance Atterholt was told repeatedly by then Title Insurance Division Head Paul Ogden about various legal problems being created by a department head at the IDOI who had been put into their position by former Governor Joe Kernan. Atterholt responded by firing Ogden from his position. Longtime readers of Advance Indiana and Ogden on Politics.com will be aware of the story. But for those of you who may not have heard of it we will post links to both Mr. Ogden's accounts of his situation as reported on his blog and also a link to the asinine decision made by the Court of Appeals granting summary judgement to the Department of Insurance. If you like twisted and nonsensical judicial decisions then you will enjoy reading the Court's dismissing of Ogden's lawsuit.


If Eric Holcomb is indeed stupid enough to give Atterholt any job in his administration than he deserves to get his butt whipped if he seeks reelection in 2020! This story of Atterholt's attempt to stay on in state government is disturbing enough. But we are all scratching our heads here as to why Mr. Russell made absolutely no mention of Atterholt's past problems at IURC since he reported on them five and a half years ago! Tell us John why did you fail to mention these facts in your IBJ article last week? It is relevant information and any competent third rate hack would have put it in there article! Why didn't you? If you ever care to explain yourself we are all ears! If any of you feel so inclined you can call John Russell at his office (317) 472-5383 or ask him on twitter if you feel so inclined at www.twitter.com/JohnRussell99.






We suspect that Mr. Russell will most likely not respond or will give some lame excuse as to why he dropped the ball in reporting on Jimmy Atterholt! If and when we here anything at all about this we will let you know. From all of us here at Indy Republican until next time have a good night and God bless.


Paul Ogden's time at the Department of Insurance:


http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2008/12/part-i-my-days-at-department-of.html


http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2008/12/art-ii-my-days-at-department-of.html


http://www.ogdenonpolitics.com/2008/12/part-iii-my-days-at-department-of.html


Court of Appeals boneheaded decision on Ogden's lawsuit against the DOI:


http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/02211201par.pdf

RINO Brian Bosma and Statehouse Republicans want to raise taxes on all Hoosiers

Happy 2017 to all of you from the IR staff! Hope the new year has been a good one for all of you so far. State House Speaker Fake Republican Brian Bosma started out the new year by outlining his plan to raise taxes on hoosiers. Tony Cook and Chelsea Schneider wrote a good piece for the Indianapolis Star about Bosma's plan to hose the taxpayers in an article dated January 4th, 2017 entitled "Why House GOP wants to increase your gas tax"


Cook and Schneider write:


House Speaker Brian Bosma’s plan would initially increase the state’s gasoline tax by 10 cents a gallon, resulting in a tax increase of $48 per year for the average Hoosier motorist.
The proposal also would create a new $15 per year fee on every vehicle registered in the state. Electric vehicles would pay more at $150 per year as a way to compensate for using less gasoline. Those fees are expected to generate an estimated $92 million per year with that funding going toward local roads.

In the long run, House GOP leaders say the plan — along with potential new highway tolls — is expected to generate the projected $1.2 billion per year needed to maintain state and local roads and fund expansions. Under the plan, gasoline taxes would see an initial boost, and then regularly increase with inflation and Hoosier income growth.
“The overarching goal of the House Republican caucus this year is to have a sustainable, long-term and comprehensive road funding program," said Bosma, R-Indianapolis. "For far too long, we’ve kicked this can down the road and been concerned about a single session or a two-year term or the next administration. It’s time for us to think about the next generation."
The announcement amounts to the second year in a row House Republicans have sought tax increases to support long-term road funding. Last year, those plans were blocked by Senate Republicans and Gov. Mike Pence who were hesitant to support tax increases.


But this year, Senate leaders seem more open to the role tax hikes could play in highway funding, though Senate Republican leader David Long declined to comment Wednesday. Incoming Gov. Eric Holcomb has said “all options” were on the table and is expected to say more on road funding Thursday.
"I’m very encouraged by where we are all starting on the many important issues we’ll be discussing over the next several months," Holcomb said in a statement. "When it comes to road and bridge funding, we all share the same goal — creating a long-term, sustainable plan that strongly positions us for the future, and I’m confident we’ll have one before we adjourn."
The House GOP plan would send nearly $300 million in new dollars to state roads in 2018 and then $480 million in 2019, House fiscal leader Rep. Tim Brown said. An estimate by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates higher revenue in 2019 at $540 million.
In 2018, the state would begin shifting more of the sales tax on gasoline to highway funding, a move that’s expected to raise more than $360 million when fully implemented in 2022, Brown said.
However, the shift would leave a hole in the state's general fund. Bosma made no commitment to plug the gap, but suggested lawmakers could look to increase taxes on cigarettes. Last year, House Republicans proposed to increase the tax by $1 per pack to help pay for roads.


Not surprisingly many true conservative republicans are opposed to Speaker Bosma's shafting of the taxpayers. The article goes onto say:


The conservative Americans for Prosperity-Indiana plans to oppose the tax hike through door-to-door visits with Hoosier voters, as well as by phone and mail. "Before any tax increases are discussed, gasoline sales tax revenue should be moved to a designated fund immediately, and spending should be frozen at current levels using a portion of revenue increases to fill the gap," state director Justin Stevens said. "Hoosiers overwhelmingly agree that if lawmakers aren’t using existing money to make roads a priority, they should not be trusted with more of our hard-earned paychecks.”


Legislative leaders say new revenue is needed because the state's 18 cents-a-gallon gasoline tax has not been increased since 2003. The introduction of more fuel-efficient vehicles since then has caused that revenue stream to stagnate.
The House plan also would increase the special fuel tax and motor carrier tax by 10 cents a gallon. It also would require the Indiana Department of Transportation to study the potential for tolls on existing interstate highways.


Justin Stevens makes an excellent point if our legislators are failing to use taxpayers money responsibly there is absolutely no reason to give them more of other peoples money to squander! This is another good pieces by Ms. Schneider and Mr. Cook. One point that nobody seems to be making though. Is back in 2006 when then Governor "Godfather" Mitch Daniels pushed his "Major Moves" legislation through it was sold as being able to take care of the state's road funding problems for decades. If that was true then the legislators need to be asked why in the name of hell do they need more money for roads now? Governor-elect Eric Holcomb also has come out in support of this plan. Not a surprise since Holcomb is a longtime tool of Mitch Daniels and his fake republican cohorts who have done nothing but enrich themselves by draining the lifeblood out of hoosier taxpayers! It is long past time that Brian Bosma should be put out to pasture. He has done nothing but enrich himself and try to hide lawmakers emails from the voters. Someone needs to ask what he is afraid that taxpayers will see. Let's all keep our eyes trained on dear old Brian and see what other nonsense he tries to pull!


We urge our readers to contact Chelsea Schneider & Tony Cook and urge them to keep digging into Brian Bosma's agenda and how it will impact all of us. Here is their contact information:


Chelsea Schneider (317) 444-6077. Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea. 
Tony Cook (317) 444-6081. Twitter: @indystartony.